Activision has very proudly announced the development of Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure, a game that will feature the first-ever cross-platform gameplay experience across the Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Wii and Nintendo DS. How's that possible, we hear you cry?

Using the game’s Portal of Power, players will bring their Skylanders interaction figures to life inside the game on any platform. During console and handheld gameplay, each Skylander remembers skill advancements and level-ups, allowing players to take their leveled-up Skylanders to play on any of the other platforms.

Activision explains more:

"Imagine a kid taking his Skylanders toy and bringing it to life on his XBox 360 one day, then bringing it to life on his friend's PS3 the next day, then bringing it to life inside his 3DS and playing it in the back of his parents' car the next day, then bringing it to life on the web the day after that, all the while, building his character's strength and powers across all of those platforms," said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. "It brings the physical and virtual worlds of play together in a whole new way."

When Activision hit the drawing board for Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure, the publisher turned to top Hollywood creative talent to create a story-driven narrative. The game, toys and technology were developed by Novato-based developer Toys for Bob and the story was penned by two of the Academy Award-nominated writers of the original Toy Story movie, Alec Sokolow and Joel Cohen. The resulting franchise will offer families a line of collectible characters, an inviting story, and an interactive entertainment experience when the game launches later this year.

Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure lets kids take on the role of a powerful Portal Master who can control over 30 different characters, including the beloved purple dragon Spyro. Each of these heroes is a protector of Skylands, a mysterious world which has been taken over by a sinister Portal Master known as Kaos; a powerful enemy that has frozen the Skylanders as toys and banished them to Earth. Only the players of Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure can help return these heroes back to their world by embarking on an adventurous journey where they will explore mythical lands, battle menacing, outlandish creatures, collect treasures, and solve challenging puzzles as a part of a quest to save Skylands.

Kids + Collectibles = Ker....ching!