Nintendo stars Donkey Kong and Bowser to invade new 'Skylanders' game

Mike Snider | USA TODAY

LOS ANGELES — Worlds are colliding for fans of Nintendo and Activision's toys-to-life video games: two classic Nintendo characters will be special guest stars in the upcoming Skylanders game.

Two classic Nintendo characters, Donkey Kong and Bowser, will be available as special figurines that can be played on the Nintendo versions of Skylanders SuperCharger, due to be released Sept. 20 ($74.99 for a Wii U and Wii starter pack and $64.99 for a 3DS starter pack that includes one Nintendo character and vehicle and another Skylander Super Shot Stealth Elf, plus the portal and game). The two figurines will also be playable in other Nintendo toys-to-life Amiibo games on the Wii U, Wii and 3DS game systems.

Last year, Nintendo launched its own line of Amiibo action figures that pop up in the video game when the toy is placed on a special portal included with the game. Activision kicked off the toys-to-life category four years ago and since then Skylanders games have generated more than $3 billion in revenue.

To get the new Donkey Kong and Bowser figurines to transform from a Skylander to an Amiibo you simply turn the base of the toy.

With this year's game adding vehicle toys that can be "supercharged" when combined with particular characters, "it just felt like the right time (for the companies) to do something cool together," said Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg.

The game's premise involves an attack by Kaos on the Skylands and the Nintendo characters join in the battle. "It looks like turbo-charged Donkey Kong was meant to be in that Skylander environment," said Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime. "It's magical. ... The care and creative capability that came across in making this happen is what is so wonderful about Activision and Nintendo working together."

Donkey Kong had appeared in 3D games but Bowser, a character that has thwarted Mario in many games, had never been playable in 3D. "These are two characters that fit in the Skylanders environment," Fils-Aime said. "These were the two that made sense."

Another reason the collaboration makes sense, said Hirshberg is that "any kid who is playing Skylanders on a Nintendo platform has had this idea themselves. We are not the only ones thought this would be cool."

This venture can be a bit costly for the completist. The Donkey Kong figurine comes with the Wii U starter pack, while the Bowser figure is included in the Wii and 3DS packs. They will not be available separately as other Skylanders are.

However, if you have both figurines -- by getting a Wii U and other version of Skylanders SuperChargers -- you can use both characters in your game.

Follow Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider