very true, very true
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You need to recognize that that is your perspective of it. To you, it isn’t high-risk, because it appeals to you.
But LEGO isn’t really as pertinent as it was in the early 2000s. Video games are more and more quickly replacing it, so if the company has a theme like Ninjago that’s super successful in two different media, they’re going to stick with it.
I hate sounding “kids these days”, but seriously: kids these days don’t really care about Castle and spaceship playsets, and LEGO knows that. So they stick with what works, mostly.
If you want more from LEGO, you’re looking in the wrong place. The days of good stories for this toy are over. Now they’re just above-average playsets in a world where physical toys are less and less relevant. Go play D&D, or Warhammer, or a good video game.
And a final note: to portray LEGO as one benevolent, turned malicious, to think of them as this evil mega-corporation, is just … not. That’s for movies and books. Like, when you say “LEGO is a soulless malevolent company” what exactly do you mean? Who exactly do you mean?
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LEGO is as soulless as every other corporation
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We literally have no proof of that, and neither does LEGO right now because they haven’t attempted anything of that kind in almost a decade. Just because LEGO doesn’t care about it anymore doesn’t mean kids aren’t into it.
On top of that, other toy companies still produce Castle/Fantasy stuff without any problems. Playmobil has continually produced that kinds of stuff for decades without stopping, on top of having other types of historical themes too, like ancient Rome and Egypt.
I would love to see how in ten years after Ninjago gets cancelled and it’s die hard fans would want to see it return, they will be met with the argument “kids aren’t into ninjas anymore” 
I never said they are benevolent or evil, I just said I personally find them soulless. There is a big difference.
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this is honestly, kinda sad
the fact that its kinda true - the fact that lego doesnt seem to care anymore
Me
I run LEGO
Well it’s kinda true.
But only kinda.
LEGO was started by one guy carving wooden toys as a way to make some cash on the side and put bread on the table. That business survived both world wars and two factory fires before eventually growing large enough to completely dominate the global market. They’ve nearly run aground during the very early 2000’s, but some timely arrangements with Lucasfilm and the development of BIONICLE pushed them out of bankruptcy.
Now, it’s the biggest toy company in the world. Obviously there’s going to be stigmas attached to that, and we can see some of them bleeding over into LEGO’s actual practices and approach to business. They’re not benevolent any more because they stopped being one guy making wooden trains and started being the largest toy market ever. It’s not fair to say they’re completely evil and irredeemable, but bank comes first and foremost, and I definitely wouldn’t consider them patron saints to the art of toy making.
They’ve sacrificed some morals in the past, which makes them no better than mattel or hasbro or any other major toy company. And no worse.
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To be honest, I don’t say Lego has lost its soul, but its conscience has disappeared.
Oh dear, I used to complain that the G2 bionicle was too expensive, but now I’m freaked out to see the small Avengers Brick set cost $30.
Because even if thay do that, it will be sold.
If we don’t buy it, the series will be discontinued, and collectors buy it because they are desperate. It’s not good.
If a new bionicle is released, it’s going to be $40 per canister.
Even if they don’t pay for copyright.
Then they would say, “Oh, G3 wasn’t sold, so it was discontinued in a year!”
Oh, hasbro?
I was really disappointed with that company.
Rather, I will play with my country’s robot toy. It is cool, strong, and above all, it is cheap compared to its size. and even possible to combine them. even it each transform itself!
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Lego should do a legacy rerelease of all the original Galidor sets. Ninjago should then end and be replaced by Galidor G2. The Lego Galidor movie should be created.
Since this reminded me they’re the biggest toy company in the world, I’m wondering…why would it matter if Bionicle, or some other buildable action figure toy line, was a risk? Even if it didn’t sell very well, I doubt it would have any big impact on them financially.
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They reported a 3% loss during 2019.
While that sounds small, that accounts for thousands and thousands of sets that did not sell. It was enough to send them into a bit of a panic, and yes, that was their highest reported loss in a long time.
They very well take risks, though. They took a risk with Trolls World Tour and from what I’ve been able to see, it appears it bombed pretty hard. Could they take a risk with Bionicle again? Sure, but it’s still not too long ago that they did just that and it died hard. No matter the reason, it - and shortly after, all constraction - bit the dust, and financially it seems unwise to tread into those waters again.
However, it has been five years. Perhaps there’s something being cooked up…
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I guess that’s true, even though a risk that failed wouldn’t make them go bankrupt, they’d still want to make money rather than losing it.
2019 was 3 years after Bionicle G2 ended though, so I’m guessing what happened during that year was more extreme than any losses G2 caused them? Idk, I guess I still see Bionicle as a small risk even if it doesn’t sell as well as G1, but maybe I’m underestimating how bad G2 sold.
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Didn’t think about it before now, but yeah… It’s been longer (or it’s about to be longer) since G2’s cancellation than the time between G1 being cancelled and G2 starting to kick into gear.
Time is wild.
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There are people @LegoDavid’s age I used to babysit for that will be graduating high school this summer. Some of the OG kid BIONICLE fans I went to K-12 with have their own kids now. My cousin’s step son loves the pull back monster jam technic trucks so this notion that kids prefer original themes is silly imo.
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I think this is the sentiment I agree with the most.
There’s a lot to be said (and that has been said) about the benevolence/lack thereof within corporations. And I’m not about to throw my hat into that ring.
But in terms of the raw sense of creativity, unique-ness, and spirit in most mainstream LEGO sets, I don’t feel it anymore either. As of late, the best way I can describe it is that everything is so…
Regulated? Sterilized?
There’s not this sense of “life” in most LEGO sets anymore, at least for me. They feel more like pieces of generic merchandise like a cheap mug or a graphic tee than as an imaginative toy.
Funnily enough, I feel more of that “life” in a lot of the more adult-focused themes like Architecture. Maybe it’s because the subjects of those themes resonate more with me as an adult as opposed to “elemental ninja warriors” or “cybernetic medieval knights,” but a part of me also thinks it’s because a lot of those sets have a lot of clear passion behind them.
The packages are unique and creative, and different. The build techniques are non-standard or interesting. Or maybe it’s just subconsciously clear that the designer(s) of that set had a lot of fun and put a lot of care and thought into it. Same for a lot of Ideas sets.
It’s this very weird, unquantifiable thing for me. But it’s lacking in a lot of the mainstream sets as opposed to the more niche ones.
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nah you’re just old
like me
/s
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I just think it varies depending on the kid. Some might prefer licensed themes, as a kid my favorites were the original themes.
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I remember eagerly awaiting more licensed themes as a kid, probably because there were only three at the time (discounting Duplo licenses and 4+ Mickey Mouse). I wanted LEGO Scooby Doo especially, because that was one of the few fantasy cartoons I was allowed to watch.
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Every individual person has its own LEGO preferences. Some people only buy licensed themes because all they want is just to get those “iconic” characters in minifigure form, and that’s it. Others have just one theme they are attached to like Ninjago or Bionicle and that’s all they care about. Others like me just simply like seeing all the creativity and imagination that goes into all their original themes in general, and want to see more of that.
Some of those interest groups may be larger than others, sure, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t people interested in the original stuff too.
And for the record, I grew up not caring about licensed themes whatsoever. I was completely unfamiliar with most of those franchises at the time I was growing up, and far preferred all the original stuff LEGO had to offer. And I am pretty sure I ain’t alone o that.
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Creative and imaginative themes, creative and imaginative themes, creative and imaginative themes…okay… What creative and imaginative themes do you recommend? And, no, rebooting a previous original theme doesn’t count.
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What do you mean? You mean what ideas I would have for potential new original themes? Or which pre-existing original themes I think are the most imaginative?
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