Should LEGO Star Wars take a break?

[Thomas_w]

On 9/21/2019 at 1:16 AM, AManofNoConsequence said:

A break? No. Diversify the source material stuff they're releasing? Absoloutely. The film release gap would be perfect to go back and redo some older stuff or go back and revisit stuff they missed out on. 

I would like to see this. Perhaps a series of vignette type sets that were not exclusively focused on some sort of battle or conflict. Civilian life in Star Wars perhaps? I don't think it will happen as it has been ~ 20 years and the pattern is very familiar now. I echo what lots of other posters here think in that the cycle of X-wing, Snowspeeder, AT-ST and landspeeder has become quite uninspiring. I was hoping that the sequel trilogy would really diversify the type of sets we got, but it has been largely the same. That being said, I don't think this is a fault of the Lego designers, but more that the sequel films have been quite uninspired in their designs (a TIE fighter, but with white wings for example). 

I think Lego have tried to branch out where they could. They tried making their own stories (Freemaker) and explored other spin outs of Star Wars like the Old Republic MMO, but it always comes back around. What even would a break mean for Lego Star Wars? If they took 5 years out and came back, it would just be the same stuff and everyone would lap it up. It would be more-or-less the situation now, but with a gap in the cycle. 

[timemail]

I think that as long as they have the ability to make money from it they should keep making it. I only got into Lego about 4 years ago (in my mid 30's) and about 30% of the sets I have bought are Star Wars sets. These would have all been re-releases or at least different sizes of previous releases. I only have a couple more Star Wars vehicles I want to buy and I will likely no longer buy Star Wars anymore. By all means I am not a huge Star Wars collector, only really have original trilogy sets with a couple of exceptions, however I am sure there are many people like me who will get into this hobby over the next few years and want to buy that classic X-Wing, Millennium Falcon, Tie-Fighter.

While I'm sure having recent movies or shows will increase younger audiences (and potentially new audiences or set designs) there must still be more than enough people wanting to buy these sets for themselves, or for their new kids/nephews/nieces etc. This constant breeding that keeps going on will often result in a new young market kids who would want (or whose older, Star Wars fan relatives will want to gift) a recognisable vehicle. These people would likely never buy from E-Bay, BrickLink or similar so constant re-releasing of the old sets will find a market there.

If Star Wars was replaced with another space theme (except maybe Star Trek) I can almost guarantee I would never have bought any of the sets.

[KevinYoung]

It makes too much money to take a break. But I agree with you on the product.Its old and tired.Its the same ole stuff being produced time and time again.I wont buy any more unless its something new and I have to truly like it. I basically been buying mocs lately cause lego just doesnt do it for me at the moment.

[LegoFjotten]

They should just keep going as long as the market is there. Sure, after years of buying LEGO SW sets I'm getting tired of repeats too, but imagine children discovering SW and no products on the shelves? Or fresh AFOL's coming out of their dark ages with only the secondary market - that would suck.

Plenty of AFOL's who could benefit from taking a break from LEGO SW though, and that is easy - just don't buy the sets.

[Digger of Bricks]

On 9/20/2019 at 8:50 AM, Tariq j said:

On 9/20/2019 at 8:09 AM, Lego David said:

Everyone loves Space Themes. And Star Wars is holding them back. That is why it needs a break.

Space Police 3, Galaxy Wars Squad, Mars Mission. Hasn’t there been a whole wave of a Space sets released this year? Granted they were part of the City line but still.

Ever since Disney relaunched the franchise cinematically, we haven't seen a fantastical in-house Space line like those three you mentioned since then. 

1 hour ago, Thomas_w said:

I echo what lots of other posters here think in that the cycle of X-wing, Snowspeeder, AT-ST and landspeeder has become quite uninspiring. I was hoping that the sequel trilogy would really diversify the type of sets we got, but it has been largely the same. That being said, I don't think this is a fault of the Lego designers, but more that the sequel films have been quite uninspired in their designs (a TIE fighter, but with white wings for example). 

I'm at least hoping the next cinematic trilogy that kicks off in 2022 offers a much fresher aesthetic that isn't another redux of the whole OT vibe they've been evoking. Preferably, I want to see spacecraft designs with a bit more color and a pulpier aesthetic more akin to the MCU's Milano or evocative of Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. 

[KevinYoung]

Star Blazers would be an awesome space theme.

Edited September 22, 2019 by KevinYoung

[Robianco]

No. It shouldn't. Each year new fans/buyers/consumers, whatever you want to call them, come along and there are key sets that sell for Lego. If you're bored of there being a Millennium Falcon on a shelf then prepare for a life of boredom. There will always be one.

Just because we AFOLs may be up to date with our collections and any new X-Wing may seem repetitive to us it means absolutely nothing to the main audience of Lego Star Wars.

There's also lots of new media and titles coming our way that could open up the doors to lots of new and very different sets. Alternatively updated parts and techniques can bring more accurate version of existing sets.

I'm at the stage of being relatively up-to-date with things I want from Lego. Do I want the theme to take a break because of this? No.

Lego is also in quite a big NASA release phase with two pretty big Ideas sets recently. I'd say they were a bigger obstacle to an in-house space theme. Don't we also have a relatively new wave of Lego Space based sets as a sub-theme of City? Or do people just want Classic Space to be back?

[lowlead]

2 hours ago, timemail said:

...I only got into Lego about 4 years ago (in my mid 30's) and about 30% of the sets I have bought are Star Wars sets. These would have all been re-releases or at least different sizes of previous releases....

timemail is a good example of why they'll never stop the SW line.  In a way, he's lucky!   timemail, and others like him, have a much different perspective coming into the SW line at a time when set designs are reaching a peak of accuracy and complexity.  Granted, from the point of view of a SW collector since 1999, it may seem like the constant re-hashes are lackluster and well-trodden; but if you study side-by-side comparisons of recent stuff long enough, it's clear that most of these vehicles improve every time.

Case in point:

The latest X-wing is a great looking version - I never bothered with them until 75218 came along.  They finally got the engine proportions right, gave the rear fuselage that hexagonal look, and designed a more innovative 's-foil' mechanism.

Same for the Slave I - I'm floored by this one!  In my opinion, it's the best looking version so far - even better than the UCS model if you ask me.  The rest of those 20th Anniversary sets I left on the shelf, but they knocked it out of the park with 75243!

The 75211 TIE Fighter is the best looking by far.  The bubble canopy on 9492 just didn't work, nor did the bulky, ugly wing panel attach points.

The Imperial Shuttle is obvious, having only two System scale versions - anything would be better than 7166.

And who thought the System Millennium Falcon would always have gaps?  Just when I thought this ship would always be a slight variation of the same mediocre design, the October set images proved me wrong.  I like the Falcon well enough, I own 10179, but I passed on 75192.  My 7190 didn't stay assembled for very long, but I might just pick up the new one next month - it's that much of an improvement.

So, while I initially agreed with the OP, I think I would miss SW stuff on shelves.

[Digger of Bricks]

7 minutes ago, Robianco said:

Lego is also in quite a big NASA release phase with two pretty big Ideas sets recently. I'd say they were a bigger obstacle to an in-house space theme. Don't we also have a relatively new wave of Lego Space based sets as a sub-theme of City? Or do people just want Classic Space to be back?

Unlike others, I myself don't want to necessarily see Classic Space & Company as it was to come back, just simply give us another in-house Space theme in the varied tradition of more recent forebearers such as Mars Mission, Space Police III, Alien Conquest, and Galaxy Squad. In other words, I just want to see another new, fresh, fantastical sci-fi Space theme that isn't Star Wars.

[Lego David]

4 hours ago, timemail said:

This constant breeding that keeps going on will often result in a new young market kids who would want (or whose older, Star Wars fan relatives will want to gift) a recognisable vehicle. These people would likely never buy from E-Bay, BrickLink or similar so constant re-releasing of the old sets will find a market there.

What bugs me about this though, is how easy LEGO goes into remaking licensed sets for a new generation, but they do almost nothing in that area for their original themes. I mean, we have more than enough remakes of the Millennium Falcon, but what about remakes of Iconic original-themed sets like The Black Seas Baracuda, for example? While remakes of original themed sets used to happen in the past, but they don't happen anymore. I personally believe a new generation has the right to have a new Pirate Ship in the same way the have the right at a new Millennium Falcon.

Edited September 22, 2019 by Lego David

[m4st3rt3ch]

The 2015 MF was one of the first ships i bought after getting back to LEGO. Yes, it's not nice we get such a limited range of sets, but some iconic sets like X-Wing, TIE and MF should always be available in some version and if it is the same version for a couple of years.

Edited September 22, 2019 by m4st3rt3ch

[Robianco]

I think if Lego thought they were missing out on serious sales from introducing a pirate ship or classic Space then they'd look at introducing them into their range. Eventually we'll get more pirate sets or have a new Space theme. But I don't think it will be at the expense of one of their evergreen themes. These are the themes that generate the sales that keeps Lego in the number one position in toys. It wouldn't surprise me if Lego's new campaign to 'Rebuild the World' was their way of saying 'Why not just build what you want?'. 

[Samppu]

6 hours ago, Lego David said:

What bugs me about this though, is how easy LEGO goes into remaking licensed sets for a new generation, but they do almost nothing in that area for their original themes. I mean, we have more than enough remakes of the Millennium Falcon, but what about remakes of Iconic original-themed sets like The Black Seas Baracuda, for example? While remakes of original themed sets used to happen in the past, but they don't happen anymore. I personally believe a new generation has the right to have a new Pirate Ship in the same way the have the right at a new Millennium Falcon.

I think the reason behind this is that they simply believe (probably for a good reason) that the remakes of yet another Falcon sell better than the remake of the Barracuda would. This is a more extensive phenomen, though. Think about the general appearance of any toy nowadays: they are mostly based on modernized themes such as Ninjago over actual ninjas, some sort of cyborg warriors over classic knight figures etc. I have actually worked quite a few years in one of the biggest toy shops in Finland, and frankly, the classic themes beside the city theme were never very popular in any class of toys. However, it is a self sustaining loop. The kids mostly get exited about the themes they discover in their morning television (or nowadays in Youtube and computer games such as Minecraft). The content producers making morning TV shows for kids very often do not wish to take big risks but rather do some research what is popular and go with that. Modernized themes are popular. Hence they make more such themes. Kids learn to like them, because they are the ones they confront everywhere. The producers make yet another research and conclude that such themes seem to be popular and hence make more similar content. And so on.

Another factor especially in the EU area is also that there are surprisingly strict rules what you can show for kids on the TV nowadays (ironically these rules do not govern the internet...). A solution many content producers have ended up using is to cover violence with fantasy and cartoonish representations. Our beloved Clone Wars TV show is probably the most curious example of this. When you think of it, it actually sounds pretty weird. Make a TV series for kids that is supposed to depict the cruelest and the bloodiest war in the Star Wars timeline and hide the death in cartoon action and make it look like a superhero story.

Summa summarum, in order to launch the Black Sea Barracuda or any other similar remake, the best bet would be to have a TV series etc. supporting its marketing but for the previous reasons it should apply to quite a few more new rules nowadays, I would guess. From this perspective Falcon is an easy and a good option. Personally I want to keep the Star Wars on the shelves anyway, though it is a pitty that these classic themes seem to have lost the fight for Ninjago etc.


- Samppu

[TeufelHund]

I came out of my dark ages fully in 2010 and even before then I had a couple of sets like the 2006 Star Destroyer. I'm happy for them to keep re-releasing old sets as I can always build up my storm/snow/scout trooper armies and if a new version of a set comes along with substantially better figs or build I just sell the old version and upgrade. Plus new versions of OT sets often come with unique figs not available beforehand. For example, the 2014 Cantina came with the Band but the 2018 version had the barkeeper but neither had both.

[Lego David]

5 hours ago, Samppu said:

Summa summarum, in order to launch the Black Sea Barracuda or any other similar remake, the best bet would be to have a TV series etc. supporting its marketing but for the previous reasons it should apply to quite a few more new rules nowadays, I would guess. From this perspective Falcon is an easy and a good option. Personally I want to keep the Star Wars on the shelves anyway, though it is a pitty that these classic themes seem to have lost the fight for Ninjago etc

The thing is, they aren't even trying. Say what you want about Pirates 2015 not selling well or whatever, you can't really blame it when the advertising for it was close to non-existent. I wouldn't be surprised if I found out that the kids at the time weren't even aware of it's existence.

As you said, classic themes this days need advertising in order to succeed. But where is that advertising? 

Edited September 23, 2019 by Lego David

[Samppu]

8 hours ago, Lego David said:

The thing is, they aren't even trying

As you said, classic themes this days need advertising in order to succeed. But where is that advertising? 

I guess the problem is that these days advertising is an animation series or a movie or similar, but at the moment due to the reasons above making such a series about pirates for kids is difficult: first, you have to take a great risk as the research surveys probably tell you that there is no existing market for the theme. Even if you decided to take the risk just for the sake of the pirate theme, you should somehow circumvent the associated violence of the theme in order to "downgrade" your media content to be suitable for the kids by making it to be space pirates or similar. This is the feel I have got from the industry. I have no doubts Lego would make pirate sets again, if there was a popular show about pirates.

And about the fact that they are not even trying, I totally agree especially when it comes to the toy industry in general. It is another reason to love Lego because they actually put a lot of effort and thought in their products which are made to last generations. Yeah, we can be frustrated not getting certain kinds of new figures, upgrades to designs or special themes we like, but generally Lego thinks these decisions through and is willing to invest a lot into quality. The toy industry in general is not. Most of the other brands we had on our shelves in the shop where I used to work during my studies had the philosophy that the kids do not care or see the difference in quality and the toys had no need to last for long, because they were supposed to be changed to something new in a short rotation. Sad, but it actually was not too far from the truth in many cases. The same often applied even to the media content.


- Samppu

Edited September 23, 2019 by Samppu

[JPN366]

No break, just focus on things that have not been rendered in LEGO form yet.  Or things that have not been done in a long time.  There are plenty of ships, scenes and so on that haven't been made into sets before.  I would love a yellow TIE Fighter or a B-Wing prototype from Rebels.  There are many more things from Rebels, Clone Wars, Rogue One, Solo, Resistance and the 9 movies that can be done.  Who wouldn't want a UCS Jango Slave I?  That's what the theme needs, new stuff, not remakes or rehashes.

[MAB]

10 hours ago, Lego David said:

The thing is, they aren't even trying. Say what you want about Pirates 2015 not selling well or whatever, you can't really blame it when the advertising for it was close to non-existent. I wouldn't be surprised if I found out that the kids at the time weren't even aware of it's existence.

As you said, classic themes this days need advertising in order to succeed. But where is that advertising? 

If LEGO pirates is as popular as some people think, they wouldn't need advertising. After all, City doesn't get much advertising, aside from being on the shelves at a store. Alien Conquest didn't, Galaxy Squad didn't, other themes like Monster Fighters and Pharaoh's Quest didn't.

22 hours ago, Lego David said:

What bugs me about this though, is how easy LEGO goes into remaking licensed sets for a new generation, but they do almost nothing in that area for their original themes. I mean, we have more than enough remakes of the Millennium Falcon, but what about remakes of Iconic original-themed sets like The Black Seas Baracuda, for example? While remakes of original themed sets used to happen in the past, but they don't happen anymore. I personally believe a new generation has the right to have a new Pirate Ship in the same way the have the right at a new Millennium Falcon.

The Millennium Falcon has relevance today, as people (including kids) watch Star Wars. The Black Seas Barracuda on the other hand has little cultural relevance these days. Pirates is somewhat out of fashion these days (and even the last PotC movie only got one big set, no smaller sets to go with it). And as the Black Seas Barracuda was an in-house product, that is part of its problem. There is little nostalgia for it, outside of anyone that used to have it or want it.

On 9/22/2019 at 4:45 PM, Digger of Bricks said:

Unlike others, I myself don't want to necessarily see Classic Space & Company as it was to come back, just simply give us another in-house Space theme in the varied tradition of more recent forebearers such as Mars Mission, Space Police III, Alien Conquest, and Galaxy Squad. In other words, I just want to see another new, fresh, fantastical sci-fi Space theme that isn't Star Wars.

I'd also love to see some similar (but new) themes similar to those, although not only space. The problem is that LEGO seems to have done away with the one year style unlicensed themes (think Atlantis, AC, PQ, MF, GS, etc of around 2010-14). If they come back, we may well get some small space themes, along with other subjects. I imagine they don't sell so well though, as LEGO have stopped doing them.

[Flieger]

On 9/22/2019 at 2:03 PM, Thomas_w said:

Civilian life in Star Wars perhaps?

Actually not a bad idea: stronger focus on architecture, a bit like Lego City. Mos Eisley spaceport, Theed Royal Palace, Geonosis arena, Jaba's palace, Mimban imperial camp... all could be done in a modular fashion with subsections sold seperately. And let's not forget that 50ies diner from AotC. The strength of Lego has always been building... well, buildings. There is no need to give up the vehicles, and I am a firm believer that there needs to be an X-Wing, TIE Fighter and MF available at all times. But more buildings would help increasing the immersion.

I never understood why we did not get a proper 400-500 piece turbolaser turret. I loved those when I was a kid, I still love them. We are getting (mostly smaller) gun builds all the time, why not a big one?

[icm]

Just chiming in to say that one thing that makes Millennium Falcon and X-wing remakes more viable than pirate ship remakes is their relative lack of specialized parts.  For a Star Wars ship, you need a bunch of basic bricks, slopes, and wedges that can be and are used for a wide variety of builds across every theme, along with canopy glass that is also easily reusable.  The only really specialized parts you need are minifigure headgear and accessories, and every theme seems to get plenty of those nowadays.  By contrast, a pirate ship needs large prefab hulls, masts, and sails, plus sharks and rowboats to go with it.  That makes pirate ships more expensive to produce and requires their basic structure to be reused more often to recoup costs.  Plus, without a clear reference point the improvements between subsequent releases aren't as immediately apparent for pirate ships.  Even kids can be drawn in as repeat buyers of Star Wars ships if they remain interested in Lego for the length of one refresh cycle, because any kid who follows Star Wars media can (for example) tell the difference between the 3-wide engines and old-style canopy on the 2012 X-wing and the 4-wide engines and new-style canopy on the 2018 X-wing.  I also wish we got more sailing ships, but from a production and design standpoint the Star Wars refresh cycle is clearly more practical than the pirate ship refresh cycle.

[RetroInferno]

There's plenty of rooms for interesting sets or due remakes, the problem is new content banking on the old designs or Lego being lazy.

My last purchases were two of smaller 20th anniversary sets, I don't own a modern version of the snowspeeder believe it or not hahaha, and the battlepack.

The new trilogy does not have me hooked enough to justify spending money on it and I feel that's a big issue for a lot of us.

 

 

 

[MAB]

37 minutes ago, Flieger said:

Actually not a bad idea: stronger focus on architecture, a bit like Lego City. Mos Eisley spaceport, Theed Royal Palace, Geonosis arena, Jaba's palace, Mimban imperial camp... all could be done in a modular fashion with subsections sold seperately.

They have already done that for Jabba's Palace and the Rancor Pit. I doubt they would ever do sets for buildings much bigger than that, as it isn't really buildings that sell SW.

[MAB]

On 9/20/2019 at 11:17 AM, Lego David said:

At this point, Star Wars got so repetitive, that at this point, it feels like every set released is just a updated version of the same space ships. There is almost nothing new. Just the same Millenium Falcon which we have gotten 10 times already. I think that after the Episode 9 sets release, it should take a break. Not be canceled for good, just take a break of 2-3 years. I don't think that would do any harm. Plus, it might allow the designers to come up with new design ideas, so they don't just keep spamming the same sets over and over again. 

What do you think? Should LEGO Star Wars take a break after the Episode 9 wave? Or just keep going without ever stopping?

I said pretty much the same thing on your other thread earlier in the year about putting Star Wars on a 2-3 year hiatus, but I'll say it again here.

If LEGO tell Disney that they don't want to do Star Wars for 2-3 years and instead concentrate on their own Space themed sets, what message does that send to them? Disney and LEGO have a very close relationship at the moment. One partner telling the other they want a break to concentrate on doing some other themes without them will not end well. And asking for a break is like saying that they want to continue the license, but just not for now - we do like you, but just not enough to have faith in your theme right now. If LEGO end their interest in SW then I imagine Disney would turn to another brick company in the meantime, and the cost to get the license back again in future might well have increased, if Disney ever want to come back. Why partner with LEGO again in future if it wants breaks to concentrate on its own Space themes? Better to have a long term relationship with another company that is committed rather than one that wants breaks to produce something different. They'd partner with a more stable company that is wanting to continually produce SW sets instead. Plus if LEGO pulls out of SW, then Disney may well pull its other brands from LEGO and take them elsewhere too.

Plus SW does not appear to stop LEGO producing Space sets. Galaxy Squad was 2013, Alien Conquest was 2011, Space Police III was 2009-10, Mars Mission 2007-08. Star Wars sets were also issued in those years. So at least under those agreements, there was nothing stopping LEGO doing their own space sets at the time. LEGO has also had a lot of real world type space sets, via City and Ideas. Clearly they are not ruled out in the agreements about Star Wars with Disney. If LEGO wants to do other space themes, they should do them. I imagine what is stopping them is public interest in them and sales. AFOLs complain about a lot of in-house space themes that LEGO has done, because it is not Classic Space. And killing LEGO SW for X years doesn't make the alternatives any better. You may say that there is no SW to compete with them, so they will sell better but in reality LEGO just lose the SW license and MegaConstrux SW sets will be on the shelves instead. If LEGO decide to stop SW, which is always a top seller, for any amount of time then they need to be really sure that what they produce in its place is going to be a fan favourite to replace its revenue. I cannot see an in-house Space theme doing that. Especially when another brand will be producing Star Wars sets and attention of SW fans will shift to that brand instead.

[Samppu]

5 hours ago, JPN366 said:

No break, just focus on things that have not been rendered in LEGO form yet.  Or things that have not been done in a long time.  There are plenty of ships, scenes and so on that haven't been made into sets before.  I would love a yellow TIE Fighter or a B-Wing prototype from Rebels.  There are many more things from Rebels, Clone Wars, Rogue One, Solo, Resistance and the 9 movies that can be done.  Who wouldn't want a UCS Jango Slave I?  That's what the theme needs, new stuff, not remakes or rehashes.

Yeah, this would be great.

- Samppu

[Chromide]

I don't think it should take a break either. It sells well. I am tired of all the remakes as well though. I'd have liked to see how Lego Star Wars went if Disney had not bought Star Wars and ruined it. Perhaps we would have had more Old Republic-era things, as well as sets based off of the prequels more often and the continuation of the Clone Wars, of course.