Do you like power function in every set?

[Brickthus]

Most sets are made to a price point. If a set of £50 is going to have a battery box and motor, it has to justify the £11.48 cost of those two parts by having better functionality than could be made with Technic parts of the same value. Some sets at that price point have done this, but not all. It is those where the price of the battery box is most noticeable. It put me off the tipper truck a few years ago.

Most of the largest sets will have some PF parts. The question is how to make the best value from them. Both 8043 excavator and 8110 Unimog have done well in that respect, yet they are at opposite ends of the PF complexity spectrum.

Mark

[mahjqa]

in short, lego needs to stop motorizing every stinkin' set.

They don't. Basic maths shows that.

Show your work, buddy.

They're still being sold. There you go.

Lego wouldn't still include them in sets if people thought they were worthless. Their accountants have access to the sales figure down to the last cent. If PF didn't offer anything extra, it would be gone in an instant.

[mobi]

But you can't say they would not have sold more sets if they reduced price of some sets by removing power functions.

[mahjqa]

They still sell sets without PF. Apparently, the did their homework, looked at the sales figures and saw there's people who want sets with PF and sets without. So they sell both, so both these groups can be happy*.

*Unless they are the kind of people who want a multimillion dollar corporation to listen to their whims because surely, their way of seeing things is ultimately right.

Edited March 13, 2012 by mahjqa

[lockdownTF]

build something technic is allot more interesting when your creation can actual do something without you needing physically push it yourself or work little levers and things for one thing I can actually tell if most of my designs will actually work or not in a really moving thing. I don't see much point in stuff like choppers but for cars tanks cranes robot arms or anything like that I think its brilliant.

[88high]

Why nowadays Lego supplies power function in almost every set?

Not only it pushes up sets' prices but also one would end up with so many battery boxes.

I liked the 1990s concept of selling motors separately and providing the instruction to show how a set can be motorised.

In many sets power function just drives auxiliary mechanism rather than powering the whole vehicles.

Lego motors and electronics are not long lasting as their mechanical bits. This might affect the resale value of the sets. For example, my 8479 barcode truck is still fine but sensors do not work any more.

I have 5 Lego standard battery boxes, 6 m-motors, and 3rc motors, and 1AAA battery box. All of that is accummulated since i bought my first power functions, of 2 of each motor, two receivers, and one of each battery box. All of my original motors have broken. I have had them all replaced for free. the rest I got in lego sets! Well, at least I can have a few mocs rc-ized at a time....