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No Bionicle in 2017 confirmed

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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)

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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.

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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.

I agree with you on all of this. Having had a few hours to mull the news over, I think I would have taken the news better if LEGO explained why they've pulled the line so early without giving us the final pieces of the puzzle. The need to know why things happen is part of my very nature, and it drives me crazy not having a reason why something has happened. Hopefully LEGO will at the very least put out a reason why BIONICLE was pulled. Furthermore, not knowing what the future holds for Constraction makes me worry, as I have probably already harped on about. I'd like to see Constraction continue to have presence in at least 2 themes, even if it's just Ninjago or Nexo Knights buildable figures to run alongside the Star Wars ones. Or if LEGO have any sense, I'm kind of hoping they make their own in-house Constraction theme and casually slip in a new head or mask-like mould that looks suspiciously similar to the MoUP. Well, one can dream can't they? :grin:

Though part of me is tempted to just pack up my Constraction MOC stock and go, part of me is also wondering if I should go and grab more Storm Beasts in case that's the last time we ever get Dark Blue CCBS shells. Suddenly the rumours of limited distribution in the UK I heard about from Huw (from Brickset) make sense!

I do get upset when a favourite collectable of mine is brought to an end. I found that when a popular trading card game called Chaotic came to an end (that had different circumstances but it still had quite a fallout), but I dealt with that by making my own expansions. Maybe it's time for me to make my own G2 Toa and villains for them to fight, then pretend they are sets :laugh:

But... there was one thing missing from my other post, and it's something more positive. I've got to say kudos to the LEGO designers for re-kindling my childhood passion for BIONICLE, you're all great people. And I seriously hope you've got another Constraction theme up your sleeve to compensate for the gaps that BIONICLE will leave, both on the shelves and in our hearts. Thank you! :sweet:

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How a lot of us are feeling right now

For the record I really liked the sets in general, but in terms of advertising i didnt see too much outside of typical bionicle social circles. Friends of mine who owned G1 sets had no idea that bionicle was even back for months until I told them. Say what you will, their advertising campaign was completely ineffective.

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I'm so sad now. I really enjoyed G2's sets and wanted to see more of them. Hopefully the next constraction line holds my interest.

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I feel so shot in the foot, burned, or however you like to put it! And to make it worse, this is the approximately the forth time...first time I was disappointed by TLG couldn't get the toy license for Spider-man 3, I never had money for a set from the first two films but I had save my money for this one, only to be disappointed. Second time was with the POTC line, we never got my favorite ship the Flying Dutchman (LEGO has a chance to make up for this next year though :wink: ). Thirdly, the premature ending of the LOTR theme, leaving out many things from ROTK and the lord of the rings himself Sauron, the main antagonist (I could go on and on ranting about this but I will not). And last but not least, the discontinuing of Bionicle g2 without getting Makuta and the MOUP!

I have been a fan of LEGO since I was three and wouldn't give up on them, but it seems they are giving up on me. I have sincerely considered dedicating my time and abilities to work at LEGO but am not sure I want to now. LEGO has said they are committed to their fans but more and more it seems they are more committed to the dollar.

Sorry for the rant guys.

If anyone at LEGO reads this please rethink your decision. I know you have already done the marketing but is the money really more important to you or are your fans? Please make just one more set or at least just the MOUP for us to complete the theme, you say the physical toy is more important to you than your virtual content but your actions say different. If it is to late for you to do anything like this, please realize that if you commit to something you need to see it through to the end.

-RAKRONDEWL (a concerned fan for LEGO's future)

Edited by RAKRONDEWL

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I know you have already done the marketing but is the money really more important to you or are your fans?

Kind of a moot question. Generally, themes that have more fans make more money and themes that have less fans make less money. If a theme isn't making money, then chances are more fans would be served by investing in more successful themes, or in new themes with the potential to appeal to a wider range of fans. LEGO doesn't have unlimited resources, so they can't keep all their less successful themes around for ever-shrinking groups of fans while also growing their more popular themes and introducing new themes for new groups of fans. Loyalty to the dollar IS loyalty to the fans if the fans are where the dollars are coming from.

Also, if a theme is not successful, then chances are a lot of stores won't want to carry them (the retailers want to make money too), which means even if LEGO did introduce a Mask of Ultimate Power mold, finding a way to get it to enough fans to both satisfy their desire for for that mask and subsidize the cost of making the mold could be tricky.

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This is kinda shocking, but not too surprising. Unlike G1 where we actually get a proper ending and conclusion, how G2 will end leaves more bad taste in my mouth.

I didn't join the discussions in this board that much, but I brought some of the G2 sets like Skull Warrior and Lewa 2015, and I like both of the sets. The problem I have with G2 in general is the story and poor advertising. I can still appreciate TLG for bringing G2 back and designing some good sets for Bionicle fans to enjoy and having the fans something to talk about.

I will miss Bionicle G2, but not so much like the others in this board.

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I remember seeing a TV ad for the webisodes back in very late 2014 in a hotel... long story... but I haven't seen much in the way of advertising since. My local Target didn't get very many of the winter sets, by the time I finally got there in March they had no Creatures or smaller Toa. I came back in April to buy Super Hero Airport Battle, and the same big sets were on the shelves that were there when I had went a month earlier. All through 2015 Target, and even Shopko (which has a notoriously limited LEGO selection in my town) had a bunch of the sets... ah well. I get the feeling much of the audience went, "Ooh! Star Wars action figures!" or "Ooh! Ninjago and/or Nexo Knights!" when 2016 rolled around. And now I have no opportunity to buy the summer wave, because there's no Toys R U or LEGO Store within at least 100 miles from me. The closest LEGO store to me is 500 miles away. And they're probably sold out online... not worth the fuss, with all the other stuff that I can still get. I personally called it quits on Bionicle when reviews rolled in of the summer wave, and it became clear that none of the sets were any good. I'm going to just catch up on some of the other terrific summer sets (Technic, Marvel, et cetera) and not worry about this too much.

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How long will take for a new theme to get on the selves?

That's pretty much my only question now, I honestly feel cheated.

Edited by GK733

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How long will take for a new theme to get on the selves?

That's pretty much my only question now, I honestly feel cheated.

Probably not before 2018. I think Lego's evaluating the future of Constraction.

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Kind of a moot question. Generally, themes that have more fans make more money and themes that have less fans make less money. If a theme isn't making money, then chances are more fans would be served by investing in more successful themes, or in new themes with the potential to appeal to a wider range of fans. LEGO doesn't have unlimited resources, so they can't keep all their less successful themes around for ever-shrinking groups of fans while also growing their more popular themes and introducing new themes for new groups of fans. Loyalty to the dollar IS loyalty to the fans if the fans are where the dollars are coming from.

Also, if a theme is not successful, then chances are a lot of stores won't want to carry them (the retailers want to make money too), which means even if LEGO did introduce a Mask of Ultimate Power mold, finding a way to get it to enough fans to both satisfy their desire for for that mask and subsidize the cost of making the mold could be tricky.

True but, it isn't a good business practice to start a theme, let it run a little while and then cut it short and turn off fans. If they would just give a "failing" theme a last wave to cover all potential/essential sets, many more fans may feel more inclined to give a different theme a try as apposed to being highly infuriated and giving up on the brand entirely. And as far as the set, they could make it a LEGO exclusive.

Don't worry I haven't giving up on LEGO, but I am infuriated.

Back to buying sets for pieces until something descent comes out...

Edited by RAKRONDEWL

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How long will take for a new theme to get on the selves?

That's pretty much my only question now, I honestly feel cheated.

Next year there will be Star Wars Constraction, and possibly Nexo Knights/ Ninjago (Former is more likely). Same for 2018. I think Lego is taking a break from construction for the moment because the last two themes they rolled out weren't that successful.

I expect the next line to come out with a smaller release in 2019 with drastically different design and approach.

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Wow. I remember being on vacation in Oregon almost exactly two years ago. Because I was new at my job and hadn't racked up vacation days, I had to work remotely for part of the time. One day I booted up my computer and checked Eurobricks only to find news that Bionicle was returning, alongside the grainy black-and-white photo. Not long after, the grainy color photo came along.

I was ridiculously excited. I was 12 when Bionicle came out--on the older end of the target audience--but I loved it. I was going through a tough time, and I'd never encountered anything like it. I remember there was a line about blending the mystical and the mechanical, and that thrilled me.

Now I'm not just a (casual) fan, but also a parent. As such, I didn't get as many G2 sets (not even close!), but I did get a few, and followed the story as much as I could. I've seen a lot of ideas people have had over why it failed--some have more merit than others (the idea that no effort went into it is silly). Here are a few that I haven't seen mentioned.

1. Price/Size. Though my kids are too young for Bionicle, this would also apply to how I as a parent would operate if my kids asked for something. The original Toa were $7--and they had mostly new molds, plastic canisters, and mini-CDs. By the time the Glatorians came around (the year I got back into the theme after entering my Lego dark ages in late 2004), that had increased to $13.

The $7 of the original Toa and the $8 of the Nuva and Metru put these squarely into the realm of an impulse but. For me, the cutoff is around $10. For example, I bought 6217 Surge on a whim at $9 (followed by Splitface, who was pricier, but he went well with Surge, whom I had already bought). This is something I appreciated about Hero Factory: they downsized the hero figures and bright the price down too--I prefer slightly smaller figures anyway.

Given inflation, $15 was a decent price for the new smaller Toa. But it still put them out of the impulse buy category, at least for me. I had to really think about whether I wanted a Toa or whether I could use the $15 on tea or other Lego. And with the exception of 2015 Gali and 2016 Onua, the other stuff won out. I did buy a Protector on an impulse, though. Still, having the main heroes so inaccessible really didn't seem to work so well.

2. The lack of CDs--or an equivalent. For at least the first few years, the canister sets came with those mini CDs. I know those wouldn't be practical now, but something similar would have been nice--maybe a website code. I know I spent lots of time exploring the lore, layout, and feel of Mata Nui from those mini CDs. That kind of immersive experience that helps with worldbuilding and is tied to a purchase really helped those early years, I think.

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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,

This is me XD. I am really sad they wont be continuing bionicle and ending it (again). Bionicle is the most awesome thing ever, at least G2 had an OK 2 year run. I guess they made the Makuta contest so kids could make what they thought Makuta would look like instead of making a set which I am really upset about, I was really hoping for a titan Makuta set about. We can only hope they don't revamp Hero Factory... Last comment about this news is: :iamded_lol: :iamded_lol: :iamded_lol: :iamded_lol: :iamded_lol: :iamded_lol:

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This is the 2 things I always want from G2:

1. A proper Makuta set

2. An actual MoUP

But now, with the early discontinuation of Bionicle G2, now what I and the other fans want is impossible and what I can do now is : *Sit aside and crying out loud*

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To me, at least G2 introduces the waist-turning function, which is what I have been coveted in Bionicle since 2001. I was just hoping that next year they'd introduce waist-leaning too, but I'm satisfied with the waist-turning.

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Ouch. >_<

Just like before, I wish it had just one more good wave to wrap things up, but once again, things kinda go out on a whimper. It's rather unfortunate, because things seemed like they were going so well in terms of set design; at the very least, I hope they'll use parts like the gearbox, armor pieces, and Uniter torso again in future themes.

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Kind of a moot question. Generally, themes that have more fans make more money and themes that have less fans make less money. If a theme isn't making money, then chances are more fans would be served by investing in more successful themes, or in new themes with the potential to appeal to a wider range of fans. LEGO doesn't have unlimited resources, so they can't keep all their less successful themes around for ever-shrinking groups of fans while also growing their more popular themes and introducing new themes for new groups of fans. Loyalty to the dollar IS loyalty to the fans if the fans are where the dollars are coming from.

Well said, that man! I can't but feel that people tend to forget that TLG is a company. Fans = money. They actually owe nothing to us - We pay them to get some plastic warriors, not for promises of long, impressive theme and story. If TLG invests in themes like Ninjago or Elves or City or Star Wars, which are vital and well-selling themes, they are likely to get more fans and therefore more money. LEGO didn't become as strong as it is today - the biggest or second-biggest toy manufacturer - by investing in themes that don't sell very well*, despite there being some loyal fans.

I'm not very upset about the ending of Bionicle. I feel I can't complaim because I only ever bought five sets and three of them were second hand... My invest of 50€ to Kopaka and Onua, both from 2015, isn't enough to keep the theme profitable... And I still feel those were overprized. G2 always felt rather expensive to me. Protectors felt just smaller than G1 sets with similar prize tag; Piraka, for example. Of course every Protector set was a lot better than any piraka, by having different builds, smaller pieces and, well, more dynamic posing and aesthetics. But that wasn't enough for me to buy them, which means that the theme wasn't succesfull on me.

I like parts though, and I'm slightly dissapointed that we'll never get the printed dish and cloth parts from overlord Makuta. And I hope we get another un-licenced constraction theme - SW sets are good but expensive. But I'm not sure. Was the problem of Bionicle poor sales of Bionicle sets, or poor sales of action figures in general? Despite smart phones and pads and other magical contraptions of children of our time, SYSTEM building sets seem to sell better than before. But is it so with action figures, or is the era of buildable characters over? I hope not. There are lot of CCBS (or CBBS, I never remember that one) pieces I want recoloured. Bionicle or not.

*At least not very much. Expect in Chima, maybe, and LEGO universe. And the odd non-buildable stuff of early 2000s.

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I don't know if anybody read it or not, but the main post of LEGO (on the first page) says "Currently the last wave of LEGO BIONICLE is launching in Europe and North America." (Second to last sentance in the second paragraph.) So we may get another set...?

Edited by Anthony12901

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I know this is to soon to ask, but what are the odds the Bionicle sets will go up in price on Bricklink now that the theme has been cancelled? Now that G2 is over I am hoping to round out the collection, but if Bricklink prices rise I worry I won't be able to finish the collection. :(

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