Why is LEGO so hesitant about bringing back classic themes?

[MAB]

2 hours ago, Mylenium said:

Ninjago has as much to do with "ninjas" as apples with cucumbers. To attribute its success to that just seems more than a stretch of the imagination. More to the point it's perhaps that Ninjago somehow managed to play on different themes like robot mangas, a tiny bit of ninja-esque fighting and a lot of other influences. Point in case: It's definitely not about the ninjas.

Mylenium

I agree. And Star Wars is not really just about sci-fi space travel. Harry Potter is not really just about wizards. Star Wars has succeeded and continues to succeed where other sci-fi has come and gone. Harry Potter has succeeded where other wizard-based franchises have come and gone. These stories are (or at least, have become) so much more than their simplistic theme. And Ninjago is about so much more than just ninjas.

[Lego David]

59 minutes ago, MAB said:

I agree. And Star Wars is not really just about sci-fi space travel. Harry Potter is not really just about wizards. Star Wars has succeeded and continues to succeed where other sci-fi has come and gone. Harry Potter has succeeded where other wizard-based franchises have come and gone. These stories are (or at least, have become) so much more than their simplistic theme. And Ninjago is about so much more than just ninjas.

Which brings us back to my point: LEGO can do a Castle or Pirates theme that it's unique in it's own way, just like they did with Ninjago. They have all the  resources required in order to do so. 

 

Edited February 26, 2020 by Lego David

[The Island Chronicles]

1 hour ago, Lego David said:

LEGO can do a Castle or Pirates theme that it's unique in it's own way, just like they did with Ninjago. They have all the  resources required in order to do so. 

Then how come Lego hasn't done it yet?

[Lego David]

41 minutes ago, Brandon Pea said:

Then how come Lego hasn't done it yet?

Actually, they have done it before with Knight's Kingdom 1 and 2, which integrated a unique story and characters. 

[The Island Chronicles]

21 minutes ago, GREG998 said:

People in charge of this kind of decision don't give a shxt about customers taste and only satisfy their biased and irrationnal desire...anyway they don't care because in 1 year they will work for Nestlé, Bayer, Toyoya or Durex.

That one might be possible in terms of themes that specialize in repetition. 

[MAB]

5 hours ago, Lego David said:

Which brings us back to my point: LEGO can do a Castle or Pirates theme that it's unique in it's own way, just like they did with Ninjago. They have all the  resources required in order to do so.

Another important resource is customers to buy it.

If LEGO did Castle or Pirates in their own way like Ninjago, it would most likely overlap with Ninjago. And why take away Ninjago (again) to let something else in that has not been tested? After all, Ninjago is more about  the characters than about real ninjas.

Plus they very recently did Castle like they did Ninjago. Ninjago took traditional ninjas, made them kids/teens and put them in a less traditional feudal but more modern and kid friendly setting and made up a story about them and their interactions with baddies. This is similar to Nexo Knights, they took knights and removed them from the traditional feudal setting and put them into a futistic / sci-fi one, made it more kid friendly and made up a story about them and their interactions with baddies. They probably know that it was not as successful as Ninjago.

Edited February 26, 2020 by MAB

[pombe]

21 minutes ago, MAB said:

Plus they very recently did Castle like they did Ninjago. Ninjago took traditional ninjas, made them kids/teens and put them in a less traditional feudal but more modern and kid friendly setting and made up a story about them and their interactions with baddies. This is similar to Nexo Knights, they took knights and removed them from the traditional feudal setting and put them into a futistic / sci-fi one, made it more kid friendly and made up a story about them and their interactions with baddies. They probably know that it was not as successful as Ninjago.

I watched Ninjago and liked it.  I gave Nexo Knights a try and found that the quality of writing wasn't as high and I stopped.  That killed off my motivation to collect Nexo Knights except as parts packs.  I just wasn't interested in the characters.  Maybe someone who watched both more comprehensively can disagree and explain why I'm wrong?  But to me it just seemed that the writing quality was very different.

[Mylenium]

1 hour ago, MAB said:

This is similar to Nexo Knights, they took knights and removed them from the traditional feudal setting and put them into a futistic / sci-fi one, made it more kid friendly and made up a story about them and their interactions with baddies. They probably know that it was not as successful as Ninjago.

And there's the rub: Not everything needs to be made "kids-friendly" nor re-invented in a cyber-punk-ish way. Playmobil's new Novelmore series is already making an impact and it's as traditionally "fantasy knight" as it gets. Similarly, Schleich's knights vinyl figures have sold out every year and even some figures from just a few years ago are already coveted collector's items. So it seems to me that the issue is not that knights couldn't be profitable or interesting, it's just that LEGO are going about it the wrong way and producing stuff that is not interesting to people. Rinse repeat for other themes and genres...

Mylenium

[TeriXeri]

2 hours ago, Mylenium said:

Playmobil's new Novelmore series is already making an impact and it's as traditionally "fantasy knight" as it gets.

Yes, saw that at their website, and they even sell a different theme of Knights alongside that.

Just overall looks like a great mix of sets across both their themes : buildings sold seperately from the siege "vehicles" , civilian sets, Castle wall expansion sets etc.

LEGO used to sell seperate parts of walls during the 80s but that's long long ago, but the philosopy of sections of Castles that can connect is still there with the Harry Potter line.

Just wish they'd translate connectable sections/walls like that to a Kingdoms/Castle theme again.

Tecnically, they even had that connectivity within Nexo Knights where the Library wall could connect to the Fortrex, they just never added more sections.

Edited February 26, 2020 by TeriXeri

[The Island Chronicles]

@TeriXeri I think Lego has been taking influence from Playmobil recently when it comes to City vehicles though.

......and has been succeeding. 

Edited February 26, 2020 by Brandon Pea

[MAB]

15 hours ago, Mylenium said:

And there's the rub: Not everything needs to be made "kids-friendly" nor re-invented in a cyber-punk-ish way. Playmobil's new Novelmore series is already making an impact and it's as traditionally "fantasy knight" as it gets. Similarly, Schleich's knights vinyl figures have sold out every year and even some figures from just a few years ago are already coveted collector's items.

There are Nexo Knights characters that are coveted collectors items too.

 

[leafan]

Just now, MAB said:

There are Nexo Knights characters that are coveted collectors items too.

Any examples? Is there a list somewhere?

Genuine question because I've got a ton of them.

[MAB]

Just now, leafan said:

Any examples? Is there a list somewhere?

Genuine question because I've got a ton of them.

Stone Clay, General Glarg, Lord Krakenskull.

 

[TeriXeri]

1 hour ago, leafan said:

Any examples? Is there a list somewhere?

Some characters like half-stone clay and non digital merlok came with books.

[The Island Chronicles]

Lego isn't a billionaire company. They don't have money to waste like a car company or clothing company would have. They only have time to do what they KNOW will be successful. I'm not saying that the themes themselves would be a waste. I'm talking about wasting money in general. 

That's why they're hesitant to bring back classic themes from the dark ages of Lego. Tbh, if bringing back those themes would bring back bad memories... I'd suggest that those stay dead. 

How about we put this topic to rest and give ideas on how to expand what themes are already being made by Lego and that are actually successful. Like City or Ninjago or themes like those. 

Edited February 28, 2020 by Brandon Pea

[icm]

14 hours ago, GREG998 said:

Just an idea, a conceot: "Classic Space, Year 0"

A "prequel" to the classic space theme, with emergence of Blacktron gang/mafia, more "archaic" (that is realistic) spaceships or rockets. A TV show ala Ninjago and let's see how much it can generate.

They actually did that back in 2009, sort of.  A lot of fan builders at the time did so-called "Pre-Classic Space" builds, with the PCS astronauts facing off against the "3vil" faction, which was a precursor to Blacktron and had a skull motif.  Lego asked two AFOL builders to design sets in those factions for the short lived Factory label.  They were released as "Star Justice" and "Space Skulls".   I'd rather have what you describe than PCS or 3vil, but TBH I'd prefer an honest to goodness Classic Space revival as long as I'm dreaming.

[Lego David]

44 minutes ago, Brandon Pea said:

Lego isn't a billionaire company

Correction: LEGO is a billionaire company:

In 2012, it was reported that The LEGO Group had become the world's most valuable toy company ahead of Mattel with a value at over $14.6 billion. 

(Quote from Wikipedia)

 

53 minutes ago, Brandon Pea said:

That's why they're hesitant to bring back classic themes from the dark ages of Lego. Tbh, if bringing back those themes would bring back bad memories... I'd suggest that those stay dead. 

Fun Fact... None of those themes were actually around during the "Dark Age" of LEGO. It wouldn't be until after that time period that those themes came back.

55 minutes ago, Brandon Pea said:

How about we put this topic to rest and give ideas on how to expand what themes are already being made by Lego and that are actually successful. Like City or Ninjago or themes like those

Nah, no thanks. I quite enjoyed this topic. If you don't like it, then just don't post on it. Nobody forces you to discuss something that you don't really enjoy discussing.

[The Island Chronicles]

Just now, Lego David said:

Correction: LEGO is a billionaire company:

In 2012, it was reported that The LEGO Group had become the world's most valuable toy company ahead of Mattel with a value at over $14.6 billion. 

(Quote from Wikipedia)

Wikipedia is hardly reliable. 

Just now, Lego David said:

Fun Fact... None of those themes were actually around during the "Dark Age" of LEGO. It wouldn't be until after that time period that those themes came back.

Fun Fact, the dark age was during the 80s and 90s and space, pirates and castle were made during those days. 

Just now, Lego David said:

Nah, no thanks. I quite enjoyed this topic. If you don't like it, then just don't post on it. Nobody forces you to discuss something that you don't really enjoy discussing.

Just like no one is stopping you from choosing another hobby if you can't accept that certain themes just won't make a comeback anytime soon. Or you could just accept the fact that you lost this argument and that its practically baseless at this point. 

[Lego David]

1 hour ago, Brandon Pea said:

Fun Fact, the dark age was during the 80s and 90s and space, pirates and castle were made during those days. 

No, LEGO's dark age was during the early 2000's. As far as I know, they didn't face any financial problems during the 80's and 90's.

1 hour ago, Brandon Pea said:

Wikipedia is hardly reliable

Just look online on different sites if you don't trust Wikipedia. You would probably came out with the exact same results.

1 hour ago, Brandon Pea said:

Just like no one is stopping you from choosing another hobby if you can't accept that certain themes just won't make a comeback anytime soon. Or you could just accept the fact that you lost this argument and that its practically baseless at this point. 

Excuse me? I am not going anywhere. LEGO is my hobby, and nothing is going to change that. With Classic themes or not, I am still going to be a LEGO fan.

If you consider my arguments baseless, then ask other people who have posted on this topic. They would probably tell you the exact same thing.

Edited February 28, 2020 by Lego David

[The Island Chronicles]

1 hour ago, Lego David said:

Excuse me? I am not going anywhere. LEGO is my hobby, and nothing is going to change that. With Classic themes or not, I am still going to be a LEGO fan.

Good to know. 

[MAB]

10 hours ago, Lego David said:

Excuse me? I am not going anywhere. LEGO is my hobby, and nothing is going to change that. With Classic themes or not, I am still going to be a LEGO fan.

LEGO doesn't really care about LEGO fans, they care about LEGO customers. That is, fans that are currently buying their products. You said a year or so ago that you haven't really bought anything new since Bionicle Generation 2 and what you had bought had been a disappointment.  You are clearly not a LEGO customer, even though your are a LEGO fan.

 

And here that you have discovered old sets that keep you being a LEGO fan as you have quit buying new sets.

 

LEGO has moved on, and so has its audience, from the 1970s, 80s and 90s. It moved on through the 00s and the 10s. It will continue to move on releasing what a majority of LEGO customers want and they will draw in new customers too.

You can of course remain a LEGO fan without being a LEGO customer, as you have classic sets of the past available on the secondary market or you can just play with your existing LEGO collection. Similarly LEGO can keep moving on and you will continue to not buy their sets.

[Medzomorak]

12 hours ago, Brandon Pea said:

Fun Fact, the dark age was during the 80s and 90s and space, pirates and castle were made during those days. 

I'm sorry but that is false. The dark age had started around 1998 when Lego forced corny innovations on itself to keep sales growing against an the upcoming video games industry and other new trends in the world.

[TeriXeri]

1997 started the junior type of Town and that continued all the way through the early 2000s via themes like Jack Stone (2001) , Racers , Island Extreme

Also weird experimentation themes that barely look like LEGO with Galidor (2002)

Scala from 1998-2001 looks much much worse (to me) then Belville of the same era, and now glad they went with Minidolls over both Scala & Belville scale

Even Castle of 1997-2000 looked more simplified then the years before.

Not that I disliked Fright Knights or Ninja or even Knight's Kingdom 1, I just compare the design in restrospective.

 

Overall, just based on the designs of that period (1997-200x), a lot more larger bricks and less plates were used in designs across many themes (but not all of them) , more Burps and Pillars and such as well.

After around 2004 designed started to evolve back into more detailed and smaller parts and plates.

 

Edited February 28, 2020 by TeriXeri

[The Island Chronicles]

@Medzomorak That still doesnt mean Lego will change things around from going for their targeted audience to satisfy the small percentage of adults. We don't really know the limitations Lego is under. 

....and 1998 is still the 90s. 

@TeriXeri To be frank, I'm right up there with the people on this thread who are fighting for some classic themes to be revived as I myself prefer generic themes over licensed. Its just that with all the licensed themes out there.....I don't see it succeeding. That's what I'm trying to stress to everyone else. But everyone else wants to get all offended. 

Edited February 28, 2020 by Brandon Pea

[Maple]

They wouldn't sell.
That was easy, three and a half words. :)

Pirates was never really a Classic theme, it was always kind of wishy washy, but it amazes me we didn't even get a D2C pirate ship for the 30th anniversary. There have been two 40th anniversary sets of Trains in two different years but nothing for Pirates is a bit of a let down.

Also Dark Ages started when they retired Town and replaced it with City Center Jr. At least that lead to the best theme, World City during the recovery years.

Edited February 28, 2020 by Maple