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Is anyone else fearing that Nexo Knights is meaning NO new castle them

Will TLG produce historic castle themes in your opinion while Nexo Knights is in production?  

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  1. 1. Will TLG produce historic castle themes in your opinion while Nexo Knights is in production?



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AFOLs aren't the core audience for any of those themes

Are AFOLs the core audience of any theme? They should be.

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Lego's discal results for the first half of 2016 are out. They described the Nexo Knights' sales as a promising debut.

So yeah, my guess is that the theme is selling well...

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Are AFOLs the core audience of any theme? They should be.

It's tough to tell because most "advanced" themes, like Architecture, Ideas, Ghostbusters, Mindstorms, Star Wars UCS, and Creator Expert, have age recommendations that include both AFOLs and TFOLs. So its hard to say how much of those sets' sales each of those age groups makes up.

Generally, AFOLs make up a pretty small portion of the LEGO Group's audience and overall sales compared to kids, so it shouldn't be any surprise that the vast majority of themes are aimed at kids first and teens and adults second. That's not to say the LEGO Group ignores us. After all, many LEGO set designers are AFOLs themselves, and do their best to vouch for and cater to our perspectives, even in places we might not expect it. The LEGO Group continues to release AFOL and TFOL targeted sets to continue to test the strength of those audiences. With the Exo-Suit from LEGO Ideas, they even brought in a panel of AFOLs to help decide on that set's branding and marketing strategy. They've also done a lot to involve AFOLs in big changes like new versions of LEGO Mindstorms or the switch from 9V to Power Functions trains, because they recognize that AFOLs can bring a lot of expertise and firsthand experience to the table.

But overall, LEGO is still a toy, and kids remain its strongest and most reliable audience. If that weren't the case then it honestly would be reason to worry, because today's KFOLs are tomorrow's AFOLs. Anyway, a lot of us are still drawn to LEGO by the same factors that drew us to it as kids. A set doesn't need to be geared primarily towards an older audience to scratch that particular itch.

Edited by Aanchir

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Interesting opinions of late, I will try to add my own, although is more leaned toward speculation and personal wish list rather than facts.

I expect(hope) in the future we see a "castle" theme with a thematic around the ancient world & mythology.

During the CMF production a lot of new molds had appeared with iconic figures(medusa, poseidon, minotaur, roman, greek, egyptian, celtic, barbarian, pharaoh, liberty statue, satyr, yeti, wolfman, etc) that I constantly hear are an attractive material to the historical fanbase.

Maybe TLG could exploit those already created molds with a theme that appeals equally to kids and adults.

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Lego's discal results for the first half of 2016 are out. They described the Nexo Knights' sales as a promising debut.

So yeah, my guess is that the theme is selling well...

A promising debut. Sounds good, but not as good as the praise other big selling themes got in the past.

It's tough to tell because most "advanced" themes, like Architecture, Ideas, Ghostbusters, Mindstorms, Star Wars UCS, and Creator Expert, have age recommendations that include both AFOLs and TFOLs. So its hard to say how much of those sets' sales each of those age groups makes up.

Generally, AFOLs make up a pretty small portion of the LEGO Group's audience and overall sales compared to kids, so it shouldn't be any surprise that the vast majority of themes are aimed at kids first and teens and adults second. That's not to say the LEGO Group ignores us. After all, many LEGO set designers are AFOLs themselves, and do their best to vouch for and cater to our perspectives, even in places we might not expect it. The LEGO Group continues to release AFOL and TFOL targeted sets to continue to test the strength of those audiences. With the Exo-Suit from LEGO Ideas, they even brought in a panel of AFOLs to help decide on that set's branding and marketing strategy. They've also done a lot to involve AFOLs in big changes like new versions of LEGO Mindstorms or the switch from 9V to Power Functions trains, because they recognize that AFOLs can bring a lot of expertise and firsthand experience to the table.

But overall, LEGO is still a toy, and kids remain its strongest and most reliable audience. If that weren't the case then it honestly would be reason to worry, because today's KFOLs are tomorrow's AFOLs. Anyway, a lot of us are still drawn to LEGO by the same factors that drew us to it as kids. A set doesn't need to be geared primarily towards an older audience to scratch that particular itch.

It's a highly sophisticated interlocking brick system.

:tongue:

But yeah, I do see the issue, and how they make efforts to include and produce for us. Still, it'd be nice if they would produce sets in Castle, Pirates, and Space themes that catered more to AFOLs rather than sticking to the themes you mention above.

Interesting opinions of late, I will try to add my own, although is more leaned toward speculation and personal wish list rather than facts.

I expect(hope) in the future we see a "castle" theme with a thematic around the ancient world & mythology.

During the CMF production a lot of new molds had appeared with iconic figures(medusa, poseidon, minotaur, roman, greek, egyptian, celtic, barbarian, pharaoh, liberty statue, satyr, yeti, wolfman, etc) that I constantly hear are an attractive material to the historical fanbase.

Maybe TLG could exploit those already created molds with a theme that appeals equally to kids and adults.

Interesting idea. To me, those minifigures are great and useful, but always as fringe characters. Still, I wouldn't mind it if the sets and minifigures were done well.

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The amount of Castle based CMF does suggest the theme will return at some point. Same goes for Pirates.

Not that I'm denying that both themes will return at some point (I think it's practically inevitable for both), but I don't think CMF representation is really a good way to judge whether a theme is ready for a comeback/debut. It's true that sometimes the CMFs include figures from popular past and present themes, but I've never really noticed that any of the figs seem to have been designed to foreshadow future themes, and I also get the impression that sometimes they're also used as an outlet for figs that couldn't really sustain a theme of their own or otherwise don't fit neatly into any current themes. For instance, there have been a great many Western-related figs in the CMFs, but so far there's no Western revival in sight and hasn't been for a long time. There have also been plenty of figs related to themes Lego has never done before and may never do (Roman history, Greek mythology, the American Revolution, etc.).

Edited by Lyichir

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A promising debut. Sounds good, but not as good as the praise other big selling themes got in the past.

Absolutely. In the German translation I would actually read it quite mixed for Nexo Knights. There they say that "LEGO City, LEGO Creator, LEGO Technic, LEGO NINJAGO™ and LEGO Star Wars™ had very strong results. Additionally, Nexo Knights had a good start".

No really, if Nexo Knights hit it like a bomb, this sentence would surely sound different.

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Absolutely. In the German translation I would actually read it quite mixed for Nexo Knights. There they say that "LEGO City, LEGO Creator, LEGO Technic, LEGO NINJAGO™ and LEGO Star Wars™ had very strong results. Additionally, Nexo Knights had a good start".

No really, if Nexo Knights hit it like a bomb, this sentence would surely sound different.

I agree. I feel it was one of those cases where they just want to mention their new product line. It doesn't sound like it's a flop, though.

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I agree. I feel it was one of those cases where they just want to mention their new product line. It doesn't sound like it's a flop, though.

That's true. So I'm afraid we won't get rid of it so fast.

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That's true. So I'm afraid we won't get rid of it so fast.

It's not like there'd be any advantage to "getting rid of it fast". I mean, it would still take at least two years to develop a new Castle theme to take its place. It's just a distinction between "Nexo Knights ends in 2017 and Castle is renewed in 2019" and "Nexo Knights ends in 2018 and Castle is renewed in 2019". Castle isn't likely to come back any sooner either way.

I agree that nothing about this interim result makes it sound like Nexo Knights has the same spark that Ninjago had in 2011, so in lieu of any huge upswing in popularity, it'll probably have a healthy two and a half to three year run and then retire, much like Chima did. And then in 2019, judging from previous cycles, we'll probably get a different take on LEGO Castle.

Edited by Aanchir

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I just hope that whatever comes next gets rid of the extreme sci-fi influences. I'm indifferent about it containing characters vs. nameless armies...but I just want the setting to be traditional medieval, possibly with some D&D type fantasy. In all honesty, if they are adamant on character-driven themes, I think Castle would work great if they did it like D&D, or the countless other examples of video game and tabletop games set in medieval fantasy settings.

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There are countless ways a good castle theme could go. Standard with new heraldry, Warcraft based fantasy, updated older factions.... I just want some something nice

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I just hope that whatever comes next gets rid of the extreme sci-fi influences. I'm indifferent about it containing characters vs. nameless armies...but I just want the setting to be traditional medieval, possibly with some D&D type fantasy. In all honesty, if they are adamant on character-driven themes, I think Castle would work great if they did it like D&D, or the countless other examples of video game and tabletop games set in medieval fantasy settings.

I agree. D&D is a great influence for them to use for fantasy elements, but I'm mostly interested in normal medieval armies.

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At the very least hopefully the next wave will have useful villains

I actually don't hate some of the minifigs from the nexo line. I did integrate the child Robin and a couple of the evil red orc type guys. They blended pretty well with my other stuff imo. Its the sets and the futuristic type stuff that doesn't work for me.

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I actually don't hate some of the minifigs from the nexo line. I did integrate the child Robin and a couple of the evil red orc type guys. They blended pretty well with my other stuff imo. Its the sets and the futuristic type stuff that doesn't work for me.

Agreed. I can't use any of the knights (although I would love to have some that I could use), but some of the villains are great. The futuristic stuff doesn't work for me, either.

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Just to clarify, the minifigs I mixed with my classic castle figs, I did so because I received them free from Lego when I bought other things. I have not purchased a single Nexo Knights set, yet I have like 6 minifigs.

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Just to clarify, the minifigs I mixed with my classic castle figs, I did so because I received them free from Lego when I bought other things. I have not purchased a single Nexo Knights set, yet I have like 6 minifigs.

Fair enough. I haven't purchased a set yet, either. I do have an unopened polybag with a red guy and a shield keychain, as well as Jestro, a good few minifigure bodies, visors, and shield tiles I ordered from BrickLink. That's about the extent of it, though.

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It's not like there'd be any advantage to "getting rid of it fast". I mean, it would still take at least two years to develop a new Castle theme to take its place. It's just a distinction between "Nexo Knights ends in 2017 and Castle is renewed in 2019" and "Nexo Knights ends in 2018 and Castle is renewed in 2019". Castle isn't likely to come back any sooner either way.

I agree that nothing about this interim result makes it sound like Nexo Knights has the same spark that Ninjago had in 2011, so in lieu of any huge upswing in popularity, it'll probably have a healthy two and a half to three year run and then retire, much like Chima did. And then in 2019, judging from previous cycles, we'll probably get a different take on LEGO Castle.

In all likelihood TLG is already designing a new castle theme. They usually have stuff in the pipeline long before most of us realise it. As for Nexo Knights, I can see having a least one more year since TLG couples their big bang theme in with a TV shows life cycle. I don't think it's that popular with the kids in the same way as Ninjas are. Personally I think Castle will return in 2018.

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In all likelihood TLG is already designing a new castle theme. They usually have stuff in the pipeline long before most of us realise it. As for Nexo Knights, I can see having a least one more year since TLG couples their big bang theme in with a TV shows life cycle. I don't think it's that popular with the kids in the same way as Ninjas are. Personally I think Castle will return in 2018.

Keep in mind that even if the Nexo Knights TV series were to end, Chima still lasted one final year after its own series ended.

I agree with my brother that whether or not Nexo Knights lasts a full three years, chances are that there will not be another Castle theme until 2018. That'd be in line with past Castle themes, which have tended to debut three years after the previous iteration's introduction whether or not their predecessor lasts for the entirety of the intervening time.

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My gut tells me when a new theme comes out, Lego already has a plan for exactly how long it will run. They probably already have the entire release schedule mapped out for the duration of the theme, with a little wiggle room for minor alterations. Even if a big bang theme isn't doing as well as they had hoped, I can't see them cancelling their plans unless the theme is just selling abysmally. As long as it is doing "alright"....they would probably see it through to the originally planned conclusion. Only under extreme circumstances would they likely change their planned schedule for a theme...such as Ninjago doing MUCH better than anticipated....warranting further development of the theme.

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Keep in mind that even if the Nexo Knights TV series were to end, Chima still lasted one final year after its own series ended.

I agree with my brother that whether or not Nexo Knights lasts a full three years, chances are that there will not be another Castle theme until 2018. That'd be in line with past Castle themes, which have tended to debut three years after the previous iteration's introduction whether or not their predecessor lasts for the entirety of the intervening time.

Wouldn't that be 2019 instead of 2018? Since Nexo Knights debuted this year, 2016, 3 years later would be 2019.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see it in 2018 (or sooner), just wanted to see if I was missing something.

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