Bad news for LEGO universe?

[Marckeyh]

Hi all,

I just saw this article on Eurogamer. It worrying news for people who play this game, as some of the developer staff have been made redundant.

-Marky

[Blondie-Wan]

This is being discussed over here, too. Here's some good news, quoted from a post in that thread that itself quotes one Andrew Arnold, PR and Communications Manager for Community, Education and Direct TLG:

Firstly, just to reiterate, LU hasn't been the success that was hoped for, that's no secret. As some of you have picked up on, starting out on a subscription MMOG is certainly not the easiest option that the LEGO Group could have picked. But we are in it for the long haul.

We are still growing and adding new players every day. The challenge is to keep as many as possible and keep those who have already signed up.

The plan is obviously to make money, but in the meantime we are on a very steep learning curve and amassing huge amounts of information about online gaming.

The complication of LEGO Universe from a purely technical angle shouldn't be underestimated, but we've been even harder on ourselves by insisting on 24/7 moderation and safety features that most MMOGs wouldn't bother with. But we take our responsibility for other people's kids very seriously. That obviously comes at a cost, but it was one that we wouldn't contemplate not paying.

LEGO Universe has still been in a development stage up to this point and changes are on the way to move it further into a operational stage. Changing the price was a decision not taken lightly. It was taken as a result of feedback from parents - who aren't used to the subscription model - to try and encourage them in and see how good the game is.

Other changes have been made on the community side - including more prizes and activities. There are new games and areas being added nearly every month so there is no sign of a slowdown on that front.

More changes could come, but only with the goal of getting it right.

The fact that we've not hit budgets will have no effect on set prices; we just don't calculate things that way. LEGO Universe sits within the business area called Community, Education and Direct, which is where Jan, Jim, Tormod and I all sit. We've seen our budgets shaved a bit, but you all should be OK :-)

LEGO Universe is important because it represents the combining of physical LEGO with virtual LEGO, while still maintaing the systematic elements, the creativity, the storytelling - and the fun. There's lots of exciting digital things going on at the moment - from the Digital Box you know from brand stores, LEGO Digital Designer and Design By Me, and fun projects like the Intel/LEGO collaboration where kids can interact with physical LEGO and projected digital images.

[WhiteFang]

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