No Bionicle in 2017 confirmed

[Kalta the Noble Mind]

i just read Dorek's letter:

[quote name='

BIONICLEsector01:An Open Letter to BIONICLE Fans

']

They could not give us specifics of what led to that decision; people are still free to rage and debate on factors like reception, sales, cost of production, or what have you. It was implied that the decision was made during production of the Netflix series, and that rewrites altered the final outcome of the story.

I think this may be worse than G1 because the decision was made smack in the middle of production! it wasn't like in the middle of the pitch prep when it was just written down ideas they had at least some designs and specialty elements manufactured (assuming Lego is as tight knit with the studios making their shows like they were with the lego movie to ensure product consistency) so that is like some expensive processes wasted.

and it baffles me even further that they cut it from the final year when they could have made some returns on the molds and whatnot they already made. just give us a winter wave with some sort of ending and the complete collection of the3 legendary masks! they could have even gone the downright cheap route and just released a single protector sized Mask maker Makuta with the MoUP and let fans make the "original" by giving him the MoCo we already own from Umarak .

what has happened that made them halt production so abruptly???

[Dorek]

So that thing that was supposed to happen on Sunday happened today instead?

Yuuuuuup.

[Onepu the Protector]

I was going to say that LEGO didn't want to ruin our weekend by making us wait but they kinda ruined it anyway, so...

[Takanuinuva]

Honestly I'm fine with the decision to end it early. Though the fact were not getting the MOUP is a big dissapointment. I guess I will be using the red and gunmetal Umarak mask as the MOUP.

I think they could at least give us the instructions for JTO Makuta's design seeing as it is a combination set of 2015 and 2016 sets.

[DOTM Shockwave]

I guess I will be using the red and gunmetal Umarak mask as the MOUP.

I'll probably be doing the same as well.

[Dorek]

Honestly I'm fine with the decision to end it early. Though the fact were not getting the MOUP is a big dissapointment. I guess I will be using the red and gunmetal Umarak mask as the MOUP.

I think they could at least give us the instructions for JTO Makuta's design seeing as it is a combination set of 2015 and 2016 sets.

I'll be asking LEGO for some high quality photos (they gave me some for every model except that one! And shadow villager) of the model, but hopefully people will be willing to make a start on reverse-engineering it based on what we have now. We're not going to get instructions, but I sure as hell plan on building him.

[Fulcrumfan91]

I actually could see LEGO perhaps releasing a final Makuta set in the near future....perhaps if fans want it so badly. I wouldn't be expecting it, however, other than perhaps releasing the MOUP in another way and releasing combiner instructions for the character. I'm sure it's an open end there....but it is highly unlikely.

[Cjd223]

Sad to see Bionicle gone for good. G2 sets were underwhelming in my opinion compared to G1 sets. Yes initially seeing them in stores was awesome, but after the first wave, none of the sets stood out to me and I just lost excitement with the reboot of my favorite childhood theme. Maybe it's just me being nostalgic, but G1 sets were just better. Down to the point of the boxes being well-designed plastic containers with different color schemes based on the color of the set just made them so appealing to the eyes of children rather than a delicate complex cardboard box with the same bland design on each one.

Looking back at the 2001 sets, what Lego failed to do this time around was hit us with some awesome BIG sets early. In 2001, the 5 big rahi sets released, the most expensive one being like $80, but people fell in love with the series. This time you were stuck with small henchmen villains and couldn't get a menacing creature the size of the 2001 Manas Crab, Tarakava, or Muaka and Kane-Ra. Not to mention that there still hasn't been another remote-control set since the Manas. It's a shame because remote controls are the ultimate functionality for Bionicles.

So I am not too surprised that this theme reboot came to an early end, I just wish that they would have done this reboot right and I think if they did release bigger sets and better design, innovation, then we would not have received this message from Lego this early.

Not to mention that the functionality of the new sets' shooters was awful and got studs everywhere. I prefer the hinge mechanisms and disks much more.

Edited July 29, 2016 by Cjd223

[Bbrink1996]

I'll be asking LEGO for some high quality photos (they gave me some for every model except that one! And shadow villager) of the model, but hopefully people will be willing to make a start on reverse-engineering it based on what we have now. We're not going to get instructions, but I sure as hell plan on building him.

Can you ask Lego to atleast release the Mask of Ultimate Power? I'm actually being half serious here, Lego probably wouldn't do it but considering the MoUP is literally the most important mask in the story of G2 I(and I assume many others) feel kind of betrayed to not get it at all.

[Jetrax99]

A guy going by toaprime on TFW made a point that LEGO could have included the MoUP with Ekimu instead of the insignificant repaint of Umarak's mask.

At least that way we would have gotten all 3 legendary masks.

Edited July 29, 2016 by Jetrax99

[Dorek]

I actually could see LEGO perhaps releasing a final Makuta set in the near future....perhaps if fans want it so badly. I wouldn't be expecting it, however, other than perhaps releasing the MOUP in another way and releasing combiner instructions for the character. I'm sure it's an open end there....but it is highly unlikely.

LEGO Ideas, plain and simple. We won't be getting the mask, but if there'e enough fiscal demand, it's at least in the realm of possibility.

Can you ask Lego to atleast release the Mask of Ultimate Power? I'm actually being half serious here, Lego probably wouldn't do it but considering the MoUP is literally the most important mask in the story of G2 I(and I assume many others) feel kind of betrayed to not get it at all.

They've already said they won't release the mask, and they told me as much in June, when I was in Denmark. I think Aanchir pointed out that they were made using a rapid prototyping machine, and he was right, the few that exist were; for legal reasons, they weren't allowed to send one home with the fan groups (nuts).

Although, amusingly, they also had one in black (like in the show), which I have yet to see in their images released.

A guy going by toaprime on TFW made a point that LEGO could have included the MoUP with Ekimu instead of the insignificant repaint of Umarak's mask.

Not really... a recolor is much less expensive than a new mould. They had likely already decided to cease production at that point.

[Voxovan]

I disagree about this. LEGO did a LOT of things to promote Bionicle G2: making it the sole focus of their NYCC 2014 presence, giving it its own official Facebook page (and cross-promoting a lot of Bionicle content on the main LEGO Facebook page), filming lots of designer videos, making a Bionicle mask one of their highly publicized SDCC exclusives, running TV spots for both the first three waves of sets AND the year one webisodes on channels like Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, giving it its own insert in the January 2016 LEGO Club magazine, putting highly conspicuous Bionicle displays in stores like Target and Toys 'R' Us, creating two free mobile apps, publishing chapter books, graphic novels, and an activity book, giving it its own Netflix miniseries, sending a Bionicle designer to BrickFair New Jersey, and as you mention, running various contests.

Maybe these things might not have been as effective as LEGO hoped they'd be, but no sensible person could reasonably suggest LEGO didn't spend any money or go to any effort to advertise or promote the theme.

And I disagree about this. Say, how many people from your target demographic actually attended NYCC? It's a very small percentage if we're talking about the kids from the whole world - which is what the theme was aimed at. Own official Facebook page? And how many people who don't know what Bionicle is would find it? Same with the designer videos? Kids who had no interest in Lego before had like no chance of finding those, simply because they weren't really advertised outside Lego communities. SDCC exclusives? Again, very few of your customers would go there. TV spots? You mean those things that like, every other theme has? Not to mention they were hardly a thing in most countries outside US. Insert in the LEGO Magazine? Again, available only for those who were into Lego before. Displays in Targets and TRU? Cool, especially in countries were shops like that don't exist. Mobile apps that weren't really advertised anywhere? Yeah, I'm sure a lot of effort went into their marketing. Netflix series? Yeah, because it surely would be more succesful than an actual TV series. Not to mention JtO was hardly advertised anywhere.

Oh, and don't even get me started on the chapter books, graphic novels and the magazine. We should've gotten all of this in the very first wave, the fact that we got the graphic novel covering the plot from the first half of 2015 in literally one of the last days of 2015 is downright ridiculous, same with the magazine, which was released at the time it was basically a fact that the theme is dead. Lego released all of this material way too late, if they actually put some money and effort into releasing them at the beginning of 2015 it would actually give Bionicle a lot of more media presence, which would only benefit the theme.

Again, for people who weren't into Lego Bionicle may as well never return, because it's media presence outside Lego communities was almost nonexistent.

[HawkLord]

I was not collecting back when G1 came out and while I saw the excitement of G2, it just never sparked an interest with me. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but none of the theme or sets really had a focus from a casual observer like myself. Whenever I walked through the Lego store to make a random purchase I would like at the Bionicle stuff, but never buy any of it. I didn't understand the story, the characters didn't have enough flavor for me to differentiate any of them, and I didn't have anything that could help connect them my larger collections of Lego themes.

Overall, it felt like Lego really tried with this one, but I would if they were hoping for nostalgia more than new fans. I never felt like they were trying to get me buy the product.

[neithan]

I'm with you, HawkLord, except I was collected a lot of G1 sets. I was delightly suprised when G2 was announced, but I never really got in love with any of the new designed Toa.

The first Toa were clearly red, white, green, blue, black and brown. This continued in the following years, but in G2, the decreased the amount of these dominant colours.

I think the new Pohatu is ok, but about the other five... nah.

The enemies are even less impressive, like some mentioned before: where were the big, intimidating guys/creatures?

I really, REALLY wanted to get into bionicle once again, but the sets made it to difficult for me to love them.

[Toa Palpo]

Wow how insanely disapointing and upsetting. I thought we were gauranteed at least 1 more year but no MOUP and no G2 Makuta? That hurts. I'm on vacation this weekend so I won't be able to see the new episodes until monday. I was excited, now watching will be bittersweet. No wonder they didn't base Makuta off of the set because there never was one. I guess on the upside, i can now focus on Marvel and Star Wars sets. What makes me mad is that LEGO never gave the reboot the attention it needed. No wonder it only lasted 2 years, almost no marketing, little inclusion in LEGO media, small budget, minimal story with little creativity, they should've capitalized on nastalgia a bit more by recreating popular characters and villains like Rahkshi, etc. I still don't have the last book and the last G2 set for me, Storm Beast. This has made for a sad start to my vacation. On top of this news its storming right now so this is just a very sad time. At least I'll be picking up the Ghost Rider set on my way home on Monday when it comes out, my hype for that cannot be contained! I feel so meloncholy right now...

Edited July 29, 2016 by ToaDraco

[Quisoves Pugnat]

It seems the prophecies have changed. Shame about that.

My feelings are well and truly mixed. I am by turns darkly amused, morbidly curious, sad, and rather relieved.

Let's start with that ending. Hmmm.... Not my piece of cake. I had already given up on Journey to One being even passable fare, so I only watched the finale to see what all the fuss was about, but still, it's hilariously rushed. "Makuta is coming through the Black Gate Shadow Portal. It's a good thing that we're actually stars! All we need is to believe in ourselves! Bye-bye!"

I am genuinely curious as to how much of this they planned from the start. It looks to me like they made it up on the spot, but I know from experience that this is a tremendously unfair assumption. If nothing else, it does parallel the climax of LoMN.

Then there's the loose ends... The Mask of Time's the biggie, but I don't doubt there were many other stillborn concepts. Let's hope they all see the light of day.

I'm quite curious as to how Gen2 bombed so badly. Hero Factory sold well enough to run for five years (though it was playing the porter for BIONICLE on both ends, to be fair,) and yet BIONICLE didn't last three. What changed? I almost wonder, absurd as this may sound, if the target audience at large mistook it for a licensed IP, and were turned off by knowing nothing about it.

It's a shame it had to end on this note. A death at three years would have been natural. Sure, we'd have been disappointed at not seeing the Once and Future Theme return to take its rightful place in the Immortal Pantheon of Break Out Themes (for now occupied only by magical assassins with a penchant for outrageous vehicles,) but hey, there's no shame in doing well enough. It's also rather sad, IMO, to see the decline in set quality. Winter 2015? Awesome. Summer 2015? Not quite as cool, but still pretty good, not to mention novel and with some fantastic pieces. Winter 2016? Disappointing, overly-greebled Toa (Onua being a major exception,) but at least Umarak and the creatures were lovely. Summer 2016? Blargh, meh, humbug. Winter 2017? Well, hopefully they'll have learned from the reaction to the 2015 sets and they'll make a- Oh.

But in a strange way, it's a relief to know that Gen2 is dead. Gone is the oppressive uncertainty and fear born of hearing whispered reports of the theme's ill-health. It failed, yes, but we are at the wake, and the funeral is not long in coming. It will not bring joy, but it will bring closure, and that can not be undervalued.

On the bright side, provided LEGO doesn't decide to jump the in-house contstaction ship all together, Gen2's successor must be more than just a cut-price BIONICLE. Perhaps we'll get something new and wonderful. Perhaps out of this tragedy, much good will come.

Regardless, I would like to thank the Gen2 team for their efforts. It's clear they put their hearts and souls into this, and for that I commend them. Thank you all. Thank you for helping to recapture some of the magic of my childhood. Y'all rock!

[Kingslayer]

I'll be asking LEGO for some high quality photos (they gave me some for every model except that one! And shadow villager) of the model, but hopefully people will be willing to make a start on reverse-engineering it based on what we have now. We're not going to get instructions, but I sure as hell plan on building him.

I think I speak for a lot of fans here when I ask if it's possible you could get the instructions for the big purple Makuta. I know there was a few prototype pieces in there, but I'm sure it's nothing we couldn't work around. I had my hopes we'd get a set like that and was disappointed when we didn't.

Thank you so much if you can.

Edited July 29, 2016 by Kingslayer

[Dorek]

I think I speak for a lot of fans here when I ask if it's possible you could get the instructions for the big purple Makuta. I know there was a few prototype pieces in there, but I'm sure it's nothing we couldn't work around. I had my hopes we'd get a set like that and was disappointed when we didn't.

Thank you so much if you can.

I can't provide actual instructions unless I build it myself (and I don't necessarily have the resources for that) but once the contest comes out in proper, I'll share all of the great pictures of that model they sent me, so hopefully together the community can recreate it!

It seems the prophecies have changed. Shame about that.

My feelings are well and truly mixed. I am by turns darkly amused, morbidly curious, sad, and rather relieved.

Let's start with that ending. Hmmm.... Not my piece of cake. I had already given up on Journey to One being even passable fare, so I only watched the finale to see what all the fuss was about, but still, it's hilariously rushed. "Makuta is coming through the Black Gate Shadow Portal. It's a good thing that we're actually stars! All we need is to believe in ourselves! Bye-bye!"

I am genuinely curious as to how much of this they planned from the start. It looks to me like they made it up on the spot, but I know from experience that this is a tremendously unfair assumption. If nothing else, it does parallel the climax of LoMN.

Then there's the loose ends... The Mask of Time's the biggie, but I don't doubt there were many other stillborn concepts. Let's hope they all see the light of day.

I'm quite curious as to how Gen2 bombed so badly. Hero Factory sold well enough to run for five years (though it was playing the porter for BIONICLE on both ends, to be fair,) and yet BIONICLE didn't last three. What changed? I almost wonder, absurd as this may sound, if the target audience at large mistook it for a licensed IP, and were turned off by knowing nothing about it.

It's a shame it had to end on this note. A death at three years would have been natural. Sure, we'd have been disappointed at not seeing the Once and Future Theme return to take its rightful place in the Immortal Pantheon of Break Out Themes (for now occupied only by magical assassins with a penchant for outrageous vehicles,) but hey, there's no shame in doing well enough. It's also rather sad, IMO, to see the decline in set quality. Winter 2015? Awesome. Summer 2015? Not quite as cool, but still pretty good, not to mention novel and with some fantastic pieces. Winter 2016? Disappointing, overly-greebled Toa (Onua being a major exception,) but at least Umarak and the creatures were lovely. Summer 2016? Blargh, meh, humbug. Winter 2017? Well, hopefully they'll have learned from the reaction to the 2015 sets and they'll make a- Oh.

But in a strange way, it's a relief to know that Gen2 is dead. Gone is the oppressive uncertainty and fear born of hearing whispered reports of the theme's ill-health. It failed, yes, but we are at the wake, and the funeral is not long in coming. It will not bring joy, but it will bring closure, and that can not be undervalued.

On the bright side, provided LEGO doesn't decide to jump the in-house contstaction ship all together, Gen2's successor must be more than just a cut-price BIONICLE. Perhaps we'll get something new and wonderful. Perhaps out of this tragedy, much good will come.

Regardless, I would like to thank the Gen2 team for their efforts. It's clear they put their hearts and souls into this, and for that I commend them. Thank you all. Thank you for helping to recapture some of the magic of my childhood. Y'all rock!

This was a really beautiful sentiment, thanks for that =). I'm sure the team is reading too.

[Kingslayer]

I can't provide actual instructions unless I build it myself (and I don't necessarily have the resources for that) but once the contest comes out in proper, I'll share all of the great pictures of that model they sent me, so hopefully together the community can recreate it!

Appreciate it man, thanks.

[Bbrink1996]

If the team is indeed reading the forums(not just Eurobricks) then I hope they see the public outcry for a Makuta set or a physical version of the Mask of Ultimate Power and maybe do something with it, unlikely as it may be.

Also, assuming again the Bionicle team is reading this: thank you guys for putting everything you had into G2 and making it as good as it was! You guys rock!

[DraikNova]

If the team is indeed reading the forums(not just Eurobricks) then I hope they see the public outcry for a Makuta set or a physical version of the Mask of Ultimate Power and maybe do something with it, unlikely as it may be.

Also, assuming again the Bionicle team is reading this: thank you guys for putting everything you had into G2 and making it as good as it was! You guys rock!

Yeah, I want to echo this. I may not have liked all of the sets, but a lot of them were surprisingly great, and overall, I really enjoyed it!

[Krulis]

I haven't bought any G2 sets (however I adored G1 as a kid) but it still feels sad. And not releasing Makuta just feels wrong.

I may buy Ekimu or Umarak the Hunter one day in memory of the theme.

[MakutaDreadscythe]

Apologies for the constant posting, being as this event is causing a massive stir my emotions are all over the place, happy, sad, confused, angry, the list goes on.

The fact that it was ending was not the issue but rather the way it was presented. I can't watch JtO without this bitterness that the line had been canned very early on. What could have possibly transpired that caused the line to be cancelled with a lifespan comparable to the Throwbots/Slizers? The finality that we can't even imagine other events transpiring after JtO, the lack of a Mask of Ultimate Power, we don't even get the main antagonist of the series in the reboot? It's almost amazing.

It's much worse than the ending of G1 in the sense that it had an amazing run, we were prepared and we had both closure and an open end, that is to say closure to why it ended and an open end to the story so the story could continue. Here it came out of nowhere, slamming the irrefutable end in our faces without saying why it ended. Perhaps it's premature seeing as apparently they haven't released a statement yet, but I can't say I've ever felt so bitter towards looking back on anything, and that's sad.

Oh and for the record teasing Makuta and the MoUP in the contest was straight up mean, especially given the timing of it. Timing is a key aspect as to the much more intense reaction I'm both giving and observing.

Edited July 29, 2016 by MakutaDreadscythe

[DuckBricks]

Now that I've gathered my thoughts, I'd like to share a few sentiments as most people here have been expressing.

Bionicle Gen 1 was my childhood. I remember unwrapping canisters for Christmas under the tree, derailing the family vacations to search for toy stores selling Bionicle, and a particularly fond moment of playing with Bionicles on a cruise ship after finding some discontinued sets at a toy store on a land tour. I must have been 8, maybe 9 when my love for Bionicle was the strongest. I'd coerce my parents to watch the movies again and again with me, and even found this little site called Bricklink to order sets I'd missed but seen in the movies. When 2010 rolled around, I was a lot older but still collecting Bionicle. I was, of course, quite sad and disappointed when the line ended, picking up 4 or 5 copies of the horrid Stars sets just to appease my need. However, I knew it had lasted a long, long time - longer than most Lego themes, so I felt a sense of satisfaction as I looked back on its beginnings. It had gone far.

So you'd probably guess I was beyond overjoyed when that first display leaked in summer 2014. Despite now being an AFOL, I felt just like a kid again, looking at pictures of the new Bionicle sets I so eagerly wanted to own. By December of 2014, despite my pneumonia, I refreshed and refreshed Brickseek until I finally found the sets in stock at my local Target, whose employees came to know me as the "Adult Bionicle Lover." Within a few days, I had the full lineup. I was amazed at how well-built they were, how CCBS was being used in better ways than I could ever imagine.

When the summer months came, and I was away on vacation in the UK, the high prices didn't stop me. I rushed to purchase all the Skellies, flaws and all. December of 2015 and I had the full 2016 lineup, just like the year before.

It was this summer when I first started to be worried. I had rushed over to my local Lego store, only to be informed that the line was not selling well and only Toys R Us stores carried the sets. Luckily, there was a TRU down the road, but this time it was different. I struggled to be optimistic about this December, where I told myself I'd surely be getting the 2017 sets, but that optimism failed.

A few weeks ago, I had already forgotten my worries. The next two Journey to One episodes were releasing, and I was pumped. There was a new poster, a few trailers, and I had seen the summer sets at different Lego stores. Then the Makuta contest came, showcasing a bunch of new parts, an awesome new mask, and I was sure that my worries were for naught and the line was continuing on.

Then came this morning. I checked EB as usual, only to see the facts staring up at me - Bionicle was ending, just as it begun. I rushed to watch the last two episodes. It only confirmed the news. I began to feel anger, sadness, and frustration. I was about to write a long rant when I thought twice and paused to gather my thoughts.

Hence, here's what you're reading now. Unsurprisingly, my initial anger has died down, and I'm left with a feeling of emptiness. Gen 2 is gone, just as it begun. From a business standpoint, it makes total sense. If a line is consistently not selling well, it makes sense it was canned. I just wish that we could have gotten one more set of Makuta, with the MOUP and all. But I realize this makes no sense financially for Lego, so I concede.

I'll end with a thank you - a thank you to the awesome designers, who brought back so many good memories as I built the sets. A thank you to Volta, to Netflix, to everyone involved with Journey to One. A thank you to the fans here, who readily embraced the line and were integral to the hype surrounding it. Yes, a thank you to Lego, for bringing it back in the first place and despite what others are saying, giving it a LOT of attention - more than several other themes. Thank you for the good memories and amazing sets these past two years, and I look forward to the future of constraction.

(and thus concludes what's probably my longest post on Eurobricks)

[Aanchir]

And I disagree about this. Say, how many people from your target demographic actually attended NYCC? It's a very small percentage if we're talking about the kids from the whole world - which is what the theme was aimed at. Own official Facebook page? And how many people who don't know what Bionicle is would find it? Same with the designer videos? Kids who had no interest in Lego before had like no chance of finding those, simply because they weren't really advertised outside Lego communities. SDCC exclusives? Again, very few of your customers would go there. TV spots? You mean those things that like, every other theme has? Not to mention they were hardly a thing in most countries outside US. Insert in the LEGO Magazine? Again, available only for those who were into Lego before. Displays in Targets and TRU? Cool, especially in countries were shops like that don't exist. Mobile apps that weren't really advertised anywhere? Yeah, I'm sure a lot of effort went into their marketing. Netflix series? Yeah, because it surely would be more succesful than an actual TV series. Not to mention JtO was hardly advertised anywhere.

Oh, and don't even get me started on the chapter books, graphic novels and the magazine. We should've gotten all of this in the very first wave, the fact that we got the graphic novel covering the plot from the first half of 2015 in literally one of the last days of 2015 is downright ridiculous, same with the magazine, which was released at the time it was basically a fact that the theme is dead. Lego released all of this material way too late, if they actually put some money and effort into releasing them at the beginning of 2015 it would actually give Bionicle a lot of more media presence, which would only benefit the theme.

Again, for people who weren't into Lego Bionicle may as well never return, because it's media presence outside Lego communities was almost nonexistent.

Congratulations, you named a bunch of a potential problems with the LEGO Group's marketing approach for G2. But none of the problems even come close to refuting my point: that the ways LEGO DID choose to market G2 Bionicle, effective or not, required effort, care, and money. I'm getting really sick of all these claims that LEGO didn't care or didn't try or was too cheap just because the ways they DID focus their efforts, care, and money weren't effective enough to make the line successful. Particularly when so many of these same marketing techniques have been used effectively for other themes in the past but now suddenly weren't enough.

Sure, many of these marketing techniques were more likely to reach LEGO fans than non-LEGO fans. But at a time when the LEGO fan community is bigger and wider-reaching than it has ever been before, when LEGO is being praised in marketing circles for the effectiveness of their social media strategies on sites like YouTube and Facebook, why does promotion via those kinds of sites and communities suddenly not count for squat? LEGO even ran Bionicle TV spots and trailers as ads before other YouTube videos. But kids don't watch YouTube, I guess?

The amount of flak the Bionicle books get for taking so long to come out is likewise ridiculous. People bash the first chapter book and graphic novel for not coming out until August and December, but even so, the chapter book was literally the FIRST piece of media to reveal the entire summer story! And the Bionicle graphic novel was originally scheduled for November, so its later release was clearly due to unforeseen delays, not a lack of care or money or effort. Furthermore, the first LEGO Ninjago chapter books didn't come out until September of 2011, and the first Ninjago graphic novel wasn't out until October (or, in many countries, until years later), yet Ninjago still managed to become the LEGO Group's most successful launch year of any new product line ever.

More recently, the first LEGO Elves chapter book came out August 25th of last year. Does that sound familiar? It should, because that's the same day the first LEGO Bionicle chapter book launched. LEGO Elves, by the way, is still going strong, even though its TV specials' Disney Channel premieres get pretty much zero promotion even on LEGO.com, Facebook, and the LEGO magazines! There's no official LEGO Elves Facebook page at all, no LEGO Elves graphic novels, no LEGO Elves designer videos, hardly any presence at all for LEGO Elves at events like Comic-Con, and only two LEGO Elves apps which are advertised no more than their Bionicle counterparts. Its webisodes, fewer books than Bionicle, store displays, and barely-advertised TV specials are practically all the promotion it gets. It has no heritage as a beloved classic LEGO theme, no nostalgic credentials to call its own. And still it thrives. It's starting to look like a lack of promotional investment isn't the real problem, huh? Maybe today's kids just don't care for Bionicle sets the way kids once did.