Toys For Games 'Cast - Collecting, playing with, and discussing toys-to-life

Sometimes, slow news weeks just happen. You can squeeze blood from a turnip as much as you’d like, but that will only get a podcast so far. That’s when the toys-to-life gods have to intervene and drop a giant, juicy news story right in the laps of Toys For Games, the community, and really, the entire video game industry.

We start off talking about all the established toys-to-life franchises, discussing some sales for Skylanders, how LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens might improve LEGO Dimensions, the continued frustrations over Disney Infinity’s silence, and the busy weekend for amiibo releases.

After the four franchises are taken care of, we jump to the biggest, most exciting news of the week, which was the out-of-nowhere announcement of a new game entering the toys-to-life genre, Infinite Arms. This new IP, releasing later this summer, is promising to evolve the genre into “games-to-life”, and it has us both excited to see if this could be an actual contended for a fifth franchise in the genre we know and love.

We also examine the #CommunityQuestion and answer a bunch of great emails, many of which are from first time emailers! All this and more on Episode 63 of the Toys For Games ‘Cast!

Check out the Infinite Arms website HERE!

Executive Producers: Brett Cangemi (@Brettman79) & Jorge Torres!

Our Sponsors:

• SHOW SPONSOR - Devin Laschinski
• Ken Pescatore (@ProudGamerTweet), who’s in charge of the Toys For Games Facebook group
• James Holian (@InfinityMuseum)
• Matt Sonnenberg (@SCLMatt) from SkylandersCharacterList.com and Facebook.com/SkylandersCharacterList
• Micheal O'Driscoll (@amiibo_Museum)
• @AmiiboAmigo, from AmiiboAmigo.com. Also be sure to check him out on Instagram and his other YouTube channel, 8Bit CR!

Want to become a Sponsor as well? Check out our Patreon page!

Episode 63 was destined to be a good one, not only because of it falling right in the middle of one of the biggest toys-to-life weeks for the genre in quite some time, but also because it features a special guest. Mike Otero, aka Big Mike, aka @BigMike8109 won the Patreon raffle to be a guest on one of our podcasts, and this was the episode he chose!

After getting to know Mike a little bit, we jumped right into the news, discussing the crazy sales for Skylanders, the upcoming release of amiibo, the Midway RETRO Arcade Level Pack from LEGO Dimensions, and the good/bad/confusing week of Disney Infinity, including the release of the Marvel Battlegrounds Play Set.

We also examine the #CommunityQuestion, try to stump the resident expert in the “Inquire This!” segment, and answer a bunch of great emails. All this and more on Episode 63 of the Toys For Games ‘Cast!

Executive Producers: Brett Cangemi (@Brettman79) & Jorge Torres!

Our Sponsors:

• SHOW SPONSOR - Devin Laschinski
• Ken Pescatore (@ProudGamerTweet), who’s in charge of the Toys For Games Facebook group
• James Holian (@InfinityMuseum)
• Matt Sonnenberg (@SCLMatt) from SkylandersCharacterList.com and Facebook.com/SkylandersCharacterList
• Micheal O'Driscoll (@amiibo_Museum)
• @AmiiboAmigo, from AmiiboAmigo.com. Also be sure to check him out on Instagram and his other YouTube channel, 8Bit CR!

Want to become a Sponsor as well? Check out our Patreon page!

Episode 62 was perfectly timed, as the toys-to-life gods rewarded us for pushing the episode back a day with a crazy 24-hour news cycle! Before getting into the fun stuff, however, our friend Matt Sonnenberg jumped into the middle of the show like Spider-Man in the new Captain America: Civil War trailer and promised to make the episode even more amazing than it was originally planned.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of the operation, we talked about a lucky find for one Skylanders fan, the new amiibo line announced during the Nintendo Direct, the craziest 24 hours for leaks possible for Disney Infinity, and finally got to the bottom of what is all included in the Midway Arcade Level Pack for LEGO Dimensions.

We examine the #CommunityQuestion, try to stump the resident expert in the “Inquire This!” segment, and answer a bunch of great emails. All this and more on Episode 62 of the Toys For Games ‘Cast!

Executive Producers:

Brett Cangemi (@Brettman79) & Jorge Torres!

Our Sponsors:

SHOW SPONSOR - Devin Laschinski

Ken Pescatore (@ProudGamerTweet), who’s in charge of the Toys For Games Facebook group

James Holian (@InfinityMuseum)

Matt Sonnenberg (@SCLMatt) from SkylandersCharacterList.com and Facebook.com/SkylandersCharacterList

Micheal O'Driscoll (@amiibo_Museum)

@AmiiboAmigo, from AmiiboAmigo.com. Also be sure to check him out on Instagram and his other YouTube channel, 8Bit CR!

Want to become a Sponsor as well? Check out our Patreon page!

Volume 14 of the Collector’s Edition has been a month in the making, and what a month it was! With so much collecting going on outside of the toys-to-life realm, it’s incredible that we were able to wait an entire month before recording one of these special episodes!

We break down the contents of SIX subscription boxes, talk extensively about the rapidly expanding world of Tsum Tsums, discuss the life-altering Funko POP! decision that Jason has made, and geek out over what’s coming from LEGO minifigures. Oh, and we also read and answer some great listener emails, including one from our great sponsor, Alex!

Executive Producers: Brett Cangemi (@Brettman79) & Jorge Torres!

Sponsored By: Alex Carrejo, @AtariAlex!Check out his Funko Pop collection HERE.Want to become a Sponsor as well? Check out our Patreon page!

Episode 61 starts off by doing something we can’t do enough - thanking you all for all of your continued support and love! Seriously, it means the world to us both. After that, we talk some politics, which was mainly just Jason explaining his landslide victory as an elected official awhile back, and how the political superstar celebrated.

Divining into the world of toys-to-life, we discussed our high hopes for new amiibo announcements, the team behind LEGO Dimensions receiving cool trophies, Skylanders Battlecast being MIA, and a complete wrap-up of the Disney Infinity NEXT event, and where we go from here.

We also talk extensively about the #CommunityQuestion, skip the Inquire This! trivia question, and answer a bunch of great emails. All this and more on Episode 61 of the Toys For Games ‘Cast!

Executive Producers:

Brett Cangemi (@Brettman79) & Jorge Torres!

Our Sponsors:

SHOW SPONSOR - Devin Laschinski

Ken Pescatore (@ProudGamerTweet), who’s in charge of the Toys For Games Facebook group

James Holian (@InfinityMuseum)

Matt Sonnenberg (@SCLMatt) from SkylandersCharacterList.com and Facebook.com/SkylandersCharacterList

Micheal O'Driscoll (@amiibo_Museum)

@AmiiboAmigo, from AmiiboAmigo.com. Also be sure to check him out on Instagram and his other YouTube channel, 8Bit CR!

Want to become a Sponsor as well? Check out our Patreon page!

After finally almost fully recovering from illness, Jason returns to the Toys For Games ‘Cast to record episode 60! After a lengthy welcome back chat, encompassing everything from Napoleon Dynamite to PAX East, everything felt back to normal with the dynamic duo reunited once again.

Getting into the toys-to-life news, we discussed the absurdity of Skylanders lore, a new web series for LEGO Dimensions, Nintendo forcing collectors to open amiibo (still), and what Disney Infinity NEXT is probably all about.

We also talk extensively about the #CommunityQuestion, try to stump the expert with the Inquire This! trivia question, and dive head first into some great emails. All this and more on Episode 60 of the Toys For Games ‘Cast!

Our Sponsors:

• Ken Pescatore (@ProudGamerTweet), who’s in charge of the Toys For Games Facebook group
• James Holian (@InfinityMuseum)
• Matt Sonnenberg (@SCLMatt) from SkylandersCharacterList.com and Facebook.com/SkylandersCharacterList
• Micheal O'Driscoll (@amiibo_Museum)
• Brett Cangemi (@brettman79)
• @AmiiboAmigo, from AmiiboAmigo.com. Also be sure to check him out on Instagram and his other YouTube channel, 8Bit CR!

Want to become a Sponsor as well? Check out our Patreon page!

The recording of Episode 59 was put off for a few days in hopes of Jason recovering from his horrible illness enough to be able to record, but alas, more rest was needed for the best co-host in the game. That wouldn’t stop the Toys For Games ‘Cast from happening, however, as we have yet to miss a week and this wasn’t going to be the one. Instead of Jason, Valerie Striplin aka @MrsNoyse stepped in, not to try to fill Jason’s shoes, but at the very least, give the listening audience something fun to listen to.

While we didn’t get right into the toys-to-life news, we definitely had our share of fun for a late night Friday night podcast. Eventually we got to the nuts and bolts of the podcast, discussing the quietness of LEGO Dimensions, the secrecy of the Power Blue Skylanders, the plastic prisons of amiibo, and what is “NEXT” for Disney Infinity.

We also talk extensively about the #CommunityQuestion, and then go deep into some really awesome emails. All this and more on Episode 59 of the Toys For Games ‘Cast!

Our Sponsors:

Ken Pescatore (@ProudGamerTweet), who’s in charge of the Toys For Games Facebook group

James Holian (@InfinityMuseum)

Matt Sonnenberg (@SCLMatt) from SkylandersCharacterList.com and Facebook.com/SkylandersCharacterList

Micheal O'Driscoll (@amiibo_Museum)

Brett Cangemi (@brettman79)

@AmiiboAmigo, from AmiiboAmigo.com. Also be sure to check him out on Instagram and his other YouTube channel, 8Bit CR!

Want to become a Sponsor as well? Check out our Patreon page!

This is a very special episode of the Toys For Games Cast, where several members of the great community chipped in to help wish our Jason a very happy birthday!

Happy birthday, Jason. Thank you for everything.

(cover art done by the amazing @ToriRoz)

With Episode 58 being recorded a day later than normal, tons of news was able to surface before we hit the record button, ensuring that the show was packed with relevant news! Before getting into the four franchises normally covered on the podcast, however, we had the pleasure of interviewing Alex Fleetwood, the Studio Head of Sensible Object, creators of Fabulous Beasts!

A couple of weeks ago, we tried to explain the upcoming Fabulous Beasts game that fuses the toys-to-life genre and tabletop games, but we couldn’t do it nearly enough justice. We had to get the information directly from the source, and thankfully, Alex was gracious enough to come to the podcast and fully explain the beautiful world his small studio is creating in Fabulous Beasts. While currently on Kickstarter, all signs are pointing to Fabulous Beasts being the next evolution of the toys-to-life genre of gaming.

Check out the Fabulous Beasts website HERE!

Want to back Fabulous Beasts on Kickstarter? Visit the page HERE!

After championing the inclusion of a jellyfish creature into the game in a great interview, we eventually had to let Alex go to enjoy the rest of his evening, but we weren’t done there! We jumped right into the news of the four main TTL franchises, talking about the upcoming LEGO Star Wars animated show on Disney XD, the saltiness of amiibo fans, the leak of Alice in Wonderland characters, and the Pow(D)er Blue Skylanders.

We also discuss the #CommunityQuestion, play another round of “Inquire This!” and answer some emails from the community.

Our Sponsors:

Ken Pescatore (@ProudGamerTweet), who’s in charge of the Toys For Games Facebook group

James Holian (@InfinityMuseum)

Matt Sonnenberg (@SCLMatt) from SkylandersCharacterList.com and Facebook.com/SkylandersCharacterList

Micheal O'Driscoll (@amiibo_Museum)

Brett Cangemi (@brettman79)

@AmiiboAmigo, from AmiiboAmigo.com. Also be sure to check him out on Instagram and his other YouTube channel, 8Bit CR!

Want to become a Sponsor as well? Check out our Patreon page!

You know an episode is going to go off the rails when it’s recorded on a Friday night, but when it’s also a Collector’s Edition episode PLUS has a special guest, well … you should see this coming a mile away. Jason and Josh are joined by Joys of Games co-host Collin as the trio discusses the last month of non-TTL collecting.

They break down the three Funko subscription boxes, pick apart the most recent Loot Crate, unload a show’s worth of info about Tsum Tsum, touch on Pop Vinyls and LEGO Minifigures, and most importantly, discuss the crazy collecting happening with Yo-Kai Watch.

Sponsored By: Alex Carrejo, @AtariAlex!Check out his Funko Pop collection HERE.

Want to become a Sponsor as well? Check out our Patreon page!