MandyNeko

Super Mario 2020 - Rumors & Discussion

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I'm keeping my fingers crossed for good figures and new molds for Bowser and other non-minifig scale characters. And for good number of sets and not cmfs. Also just a thought that big Mario figure from the teaser can just be a bigger version of Mario or something (after he eats a mushroom) :)

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5 minutes ago, BigGuy4U said:

I'm honestly surprised by how many people are discounting this as a "pointless" theme and clumping it together with other recent themes like Trolls and Minions. Mario is the mascot of Nintendo and one of the most recognizable gaming characters in history, still appearing in multiple games a year almost 40 years since the release of Donkey Kong. The franchise itself is the best-selling video game series in history, yes, even beating Pokemon. Every single console released by Nintendo has had at least 3 Mario games in its top 10 best sellers. Super Mario Odyssey alone has sold over 16 million copies in 2 years. In contrast, Trolls and Minions are one and done waves for sequels to kid's movies that don't appeal to anywhere near as many AFOLs. To say that the theme is "pointless", "missed the train", "won't sell well", should've been Zelda/Pokemon/etc. instead, or throwing it in the bin with Trolls and MinionsĀ as a terrible decision by Lego is horribly ignorant in my opinion. Lego's definitely made a lot of questionable licensing decisions, but it's ridiculous to say a theme based on the best-selling video game franchise of all time featuring gaming's most recognizable character is one of them. Sorry for the rant, I've wanted this theme for a long time and it baffles me to see it receiving so much of this negative treatment. Just needed to get that off my chest.

100% agree here, having experienced many of the games of old, Mario been such widely used character in so many games.

Not even just modern Nintendo consoles, but even early on it's been widely spread across machines like Commodore 64, Atari, Game Boy, NES, and even earlier via Arcade machines.

Donkey Kong had a competitor called Jumpman Junior as far back as 1983 on Commodore 64, Mario Bros had competition from Giana Sisters in 1987 , Mario Kart had non-Nintendo competitors like Wacky Wheels and Crash Bandicoot racing etc.

Despite the competitors, Mario still remains a very strong name today.

Even without the competition, there's been so many different iterations of Mario, from RPG, to Platformer, to Mario Party, to 3d like Galaxy and N64.

Putting it next to Trolls or Minions as just another license is totally unfair.

Edited by TeriXeri

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Okay, this is so exciting. Most important thing for me to do right now is pick up the lego dimensions sonic somewhere, if it's still out there... I could've sworn I had bought it already, but I can't find it anywhereĀ :look:

Now I can see an AR aspect being included with this theme. Nintendo usually wanna try new stuff. This could potentially be both a cool theme and cool game at the same time. This could revive the toys-to-life genre and revolutionise it in the process.

I hope we'll get some good figures with this. I think both molded heads or minifigure heads could work. But only if they do it like j2g and ashnflash did. I liked the lego underminer for example, but not the toy story figures nor the males in the flintstones sets. It really depends on the character, and characters like Mario, or especially Waluigi, just don't work without a nose. If they go noseless or use this weird gap in the mustache it would just look off. But Peach would greatly benefit from a minifigure head over one with a nose or a molded one.

As for sets I would like to see, I hope they tackle a wide variety of games. Peach Castle from 64, Yoshi's Island, return of the board games for a potential mario party AR set, mario kart (although not too much of that, 2 sets at most), world 1-1 ofcourse, luigi's mansion, odyssey's ship, bowser's castle and air ship. Mario and Luigi rpg games could also give us a wide variety of locations, I would love to get a fawful, F.L.U.D.D. in a sunshine like level (airplane maybe?). Paper Mario would probably be tricky to do, but an easter egg on a printed book piece would be nice. And lastly ofcourse the original Donkey Kong level, or maybe mario vs donkey kong, a tiny minis mario would look very cute.

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53 minutes ago, TeriXeri said:

There are plenty of "Fans" that don't care aboutĀ Zelda or Pokemon, but love Mario.

I never said there weren't. However, many fall in the opposite camp, as well.

42 minutes ago, DentedFrood said:

My nephews (7 & 8)Ā were all about Mario last year for Christmas. It's still a very strong property. They also like getting the Pokemon Mega sets. Unless their tastes have changed, I think they'll be really excited about this theme, and they are right in the middle of TLG target demographic. As someone who's first love game console was the NES (wasn't my first, but the first I really got into), I'm excited to see what they do with this line.

Anecdotal evidence (on my part too) doesn't mean much. I'm happy there are folks getting what they want, but when this theme inevitably falls short of expectations, and sales lack, and Lego deems it a failure, then we'll see. Of course, that may never happen, and Mario might be our new Minecraft. Either is possible, but don't ignore the possibility of failure.

50 minutes ago, TheNerdyOne_ said:

You make a good point, LEGO doesn't care about what the fans want.Ā  Why?Ā  Because fans aren't what drive sales for the vast majority of their product line.Ā  What the fans wan't doesn't really matter, because it's the kids that decide what sells and what doesn't.Ā  And kids love Mario, in addition to its many fans.Ā  Mario is the #1 selling video franchise ever, I don't think that can be underestimated.

As far as Overwatch though, while technically not confirmed, we have every reason to believe that 6 more sets are on their way in 2020.

Poor argument. Kids don't have the buying power to decide what sells and what doesn't. We do. Parents do. Kids do not. If this theme does well, it'll be the hardcore Nintendo community/AFOLs, and not Kids. Will kids want this theme? Sure, why not. But don't act like they're the be all end all. Any theme is a gamble, and I'm just not going to feed the hype. Lego's disappointed me enough for me to remain hopeful at anything they announce. It's not that I want this theme to fail, to be clear, I hope it is successful, but I'm not going to be singing Lego's praises just yet. Wait until pictures drop at least. Then we'll have a better idea.

As for Overwatch, what reasons do we have? Any rumors? Any leaks? Or just some unused set numbers? I would love for a second year, but I'm not holding out much hope. Overwatch merch has died down considerably, and I don't think Lego is any different. And as was mentioned, the timing was poor, sadly.

26 minutes ago, BigGuy4U said:

I'm honestly surprised by how many people are discounting this as a "pointless" theme and clumping it together with other recent themes like Trolls and Minions. Mario is the mascot of Nintendo and one of the most recognizable gaming characters in history, still appearing in multiple games a year almost 40 years since the release of Donkey Kong. The franchise itself is the best-selling video game series in history, yes, even beating Pokemon. Every single console released by Nintendo has had at least 3 Mario games in its top 10 best sellers. Super Mario Odyssey alone has sold over 16 million copies in 2 years. In contrast, Trolls and Minions are one and done waves for sequels to kid's movies that don't appeal to anywhere near as many AFOLs. To say that the theme is "pointless", "missed the train", "won't sell well", should've been Zelda/Pokemon/etc. instead, or throwing it in the bin with Trolls and MinionsĀ as a terrible decision by Lego is horribly ignorant in my opinion. Lego's definitely made a lot of questionable licensing decisions, but it's ridiculous to say a theme based on the best-selling video game franchise of all time featuring gaming's most recognizable character is one of them. Sorry for the rant, I've wanted this theme for a long time and it baffles me to see it receiving so much of this negative treatment. Just needed to get that off my chest.

Answer me this: Couldn't Lego have just made Mario? Why is it the third announced license this year? I for one would be far more positive if Mario was the only new license, and not another in the mass of new licensed themes. Yes, Mario is leagues above Trolls and Minions as a franchise, but for this year, in the Lego-sphere, they are peers.Ā Also, this isn't about popularity, it's about "Will it sell?" and if it does, "Will we get more sets?" ifĀ  both answers are "Yes", then good. But until we see the sets, the sets get released, and we see if 2021 brings us more Mario, I'm reserving my hype.

Guys, don't set yourselves up for disappointment. I've been down this road before with Scooby-Doo. I'm not letting it happen to me with Mario.

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Just now, ARC2149Nova said:

Anecdotal evidence (on my part too) doesn't mean much. I'm happy there are folks getting what they want, but when this theme inevitably falls short of expectations, and sales lack, and Lego deems it a failure, then we'll see. Of course, that may never happen, and Mario might be our new Minecraft. Either is possible, but don't ignore the possibility of failure.

I never claimed anything other than anecdotal, easily clued into with the specified sample size of 2 nephews, thoughĀ I probably should have counted the 3rd. He likes Mario too, it just wasn't on his christmas list. However I didn't approach it with much of a bias other than curiosity.Ā You seem to be coming at it with a negative bias against not just the Super Mario theme, but any theme that is not one of "your" themes. If it wasn't Mario, Trolls, and Minions it proably still wouldn't be additionalĀ Star Wars, Space, and Castle. TLG tries to keep their offerings diverse and what's popular, which is why there are always movie tie-ins.

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13 minutes ago, Blondie-Wan said:

So... did LEGO just use the announcement timing to make a joke? Mar 10 = Mario?Ā :laugh:

Nintendo's officially celebrated Mario Day on March 10th for the past few years because of that, it was definitely intentional.

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Just now, DentedFrood said:

I never claimed anything other than anecdotal, easily clued into with the specified sample size of 2 nephews, thoughĀ I probably should have counted the 3rd. He likes Mario too, it just wasn't on his christmas list. However I didn't approach it with much of a bias other than curiosity.Ā You seem to be coming at it with a negative bias against not just the Super Mario theme, but any theme that is not one of "your" themes. If it wasn't Mario, Trolls, and Minions it proably still wouldn't be additionalĀ Star Wars, Space, and Castle. TLG tries to keep their offerings diverse and what's popular, which is why there are always movie tie-ins.

I'm not being biased, I'mĀ choosing to not get hyped.Ā I understand that there will be themes outside of my interests, that isn't the issue. The issue I have is that I've seen way too many one-off themes to have much hope for Mario being any different. I'm not a TMNT fan, but the theme was good. I'm not even a Minecraft fan, but I appreciate the sets (even if I don't own them). Many themes have so much potential, but end before it's realized. (LotR, Scooby-Doo, etc.)

Again, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I hope the theme does well, and that fans of Super Mario get what they want out of it, but I'm not going to feel the hype just because "it's popular" or "kids like it". Bias, positive or negative can be harmful. And if IĀ seem anti-Mario or whatever, that's not the case. I just don't trust Lego to handle the license well. They've screwed up past and current licenses, to the point where it's miraculous certainĀ themes still exist. But, every now and then, they get it right. (Harry Potter reboot, for example)

At the end of the day, the fate of this theme rests on Lego's ability to knock it out of the park in one shot. A weak, mediocre, of even midway first wave would be disastrous. A strong first offering will ensure the theme lasts. Star Wars is also really popular, doesn't help Lego if they mishandle the sets. Again, all I'm saying is temper the hype, and wait for more info to surface. Hell, today or tomorrow pictures drop, I might join the hype train alongside you all.

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29 minutes ago, ARC2149Nova said:

Answer me this: Couldn't Lego have just made Mario? Why is it the third announced license this year? I for one would be far more positive if Mario was the only new license, and not another in the mass of new licensed themes. Yes, Mario is leagues above Trolls and Minions as a franchise, but for this year, in the Lego-sphere, they are peers.Ā Also, this isn't about popularity, it's about "Will it sell?" and if it does, "Will we get more sets?" ifĀ  both answers are "Yes", then good. But until we see the sets, the sets get released, and we see if 2021 brings us more Mario, I'm reserving my hype.

Guys, don't set yourselves up for disappointment. I've been down this road before with Scooby-Doo. I'm not letting it happen to me with Mario.

Of course they could've just made Mario, but they didn't. And it's not like Lego was approached by one company who said "hey, want to make themes for three of our properties?", these are three different properties made by three different companies. And to be completely blunt, so what? Who cares if Mario came out the same year as Trolls and Minions? If the theme is for a good franchise and the sets are good quality, why should it matter what else was released that year? The themes have nothing to do with each other besides the common denominator of licensed. I really don't get the "license bad" mentality that a lot of AFOLs seem to have and can only assume it either comes from a. fans who think it's a "wasted slot" that could've been used for a Classic Space reboot or something instead, but frankly it's not "we either get this licensed theme or the Classic Space reboot", they weren't going to do the reboot anyway, or b. fans with the "back in my day we didn't have these licensed themes and used our imagination" mentality, which is a stupid reason to deprive fans of sets based on properties they like. Lego isn't going to suddenly flip some switch and get rid of licensed themes when they just celebrated 20 years of Lego Star Wars and those themes are a big part of what's been keeping them relevant.

I don't see a point in not being excited about it either. I'm not expecting 5 years of Mario sets or every side character from the sports games to appear, I'm just happy they're making sets at all and I'll take whatever they give me. If it sells well, they'll do more, if not, they won't, and I'll be disappointed but at least we got them at all.

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I think the strength of this theme really comes down to two points: it's minifigures, and it's ability to get across locations in the series well enough. I'm calling it now: the big set of this wave is going to be Bowser's Castle. Black, dark grey, dark green, red, and orange in colour scheme. Collapsing bridges, fire ball shooters, the fire bars, a cage to put Princess Peach in: I can visualize it pretty clearly. I'm also going to predict that one of the sets will be a ghost house, another iconic locale from the series. I think ultimately if Lego can pin down what's associated with Super Mario into a set, they'll do great.

But still, that potential minifigure series has me salivating at the lips. :drool: Here's hoping it's not confined simply to Super Mario and we some other Nintendo characters in minifigure form.

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1 minute ago, BigGuy4U said:

Of course they could've just made Mario, but they didn't. And it's not like Lego was approached by one company who said "hey, want to make themes for three of our properties?", these are three different properties made by three different companies. And to be completely blunt, so what? Who cares if Mario came out the same year as Trolls and Minions? If the theme is for a good franchise and the sets are good quality, why should it matter what else was released that year? The themes have nothing to do with each other besides the common denominator of licensed. I really don't get the "license bad" mentality that a lot of AFOLs seem to have and can only assume it either comes from a. fans who think it's a "wasted slot" that could've been used for a Classic Space reboot or something instead, but frankly it's not "we either get this licensed theme or the Classic Space reboot", they weren't going to do the reboot anyway, or b. fans with the "back in my day we didn't have these licensed themes and used our imagination" mentality, which is a stupid reason to deprive fans of sets based on properties they like. Lego isn't going to suddenly flip some switch and get rid of licensed themes when they just celebrated 20 years of Lego Star Wars and those themes are a big part of what's been keeping them relevant.

I don't see a point in not being excited about it either. I'm not expecting 5 years of Mario sets or every side character from the sports games to appear, I'm just happy they're making sets at all and I'll take whatever they give me. If it sells well, they'll do more, if not, they won't, and I'll be disappointed but at least we got them at all.

I don't hate licenses, but, sometimes pointless tie-ins are pointless, and Trolls and Minions will inevitably lower the excitement for Mario. Some will see it as yet another pointless tie-in, whether that's true or not. Not saying Mario is a pointless tie-in, but Trolls and Minions help feed the "license overload" that some people believe in. In an off year, Mario is an exciting announcement, it still is to some, but some of us sit and wonder why another theme (licensed or otherwise) over more love being given to other themes.

Both sides are equally valid. I'm tempering expectations to ensure that I'm not disappointed. That's never a bad thing. You can be excited, but understand that some of us aren't going to be as hyped.

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14 minutes ago, Kintobor said:

I think the strength of this theme really comes down to two points: it's minifigures, and it's ability to get across locations in the series well enough. I'm calling it now: the big set of this wave is going to be Bowser's Castle. Black, dark grey, dark green, red, and orange in colour scheme. Collapsing bridges, fire ball shooters, the fire bars, a cage to put Princess Peach in: I can visualize it pretty clearly. I'm also going to predict that one of the sets will be a ghost house, another iconic locale from the series. I think ultimately if Lego can pin down what's associated with Super Mario into a set, they'll do great.

But still, that potential minifigure series has me salivating at the lips. :drool: Here's hoping it's not confined simply to Super Mario and we some other Nintendo characters in minifigure form.

I was in the middle of writing that it has a 50/50 shot to be Peach's Castle instead of Bowser's, then I realized that it'd more likely be Bowser's because it has more potential for play features and a good excuse to make Bowser exclusive to the most expensive set. Hopefully we do get Bowser's Castle, that would be such a cool set.

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1 hour ago, ARC2149Nova said:

Answer me this: Couldn't Lego have just made Mario? Why is it the third announced license this year?

Trolls and Minions hype will beĀ one after the year, butĀ this theme seems to launch very big and not being tied to a specific 1-time game, this could be a multi-year stayer.

Star Wars appeared in 1977, Mario appeared in 1981 (Donkey Kong), but still very much known by nameĀ since 1985.

So it's certainly targeting a wider generation of people compared to minions and trolls , not justĀ the time frame, but the massive range of games, cartoons, merchandise etc around it, at a much larger scale then Trolls and Minions.

I don't see this as a one-wave thing as the Mario Universe is huge and the cartoonynessĀ of it all could easily be translated to LEGO.

Could they have skipped Minions and Trolls, yes (in my eyes for sure), but I'm sure even that opens more doors to other Dreamworks/Universal themes.

Edited by TeriXeri

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Just now, TeriXeri said:

Trolls and Minions hype will be far one after the year, this theme seems to launch very big and not being tied to a specific 1-time game, this could be a multi-year stayer.

Star Wars appeared in 1977, Mario appeared in 1981 (Donkey Kong), but still very much known by nameĀ since 1985.

So it's certainly targeting a wider generation of people compared to minions and trolls , not justĀ the time frame, but the massive range of games, cartoons, merchandise etc around it, at a much larger scale then Trolls and Minions.

I don't see this as a one-wave thing as the Mario Universe is huge and the cartoonynessĀ of it all could easily be translated to LEGO.

Good points. Hopefully you're right. As long as the sets are good and well-made, and the figures are decent, this has a lot of potential.

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1 hour ago, Nerd-with-a-Pencil said:

Personally I'd prefer Luigi's Mansion to a generic ghost house.

YES

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Just give me Waluigi, some Koopas, and the Kongs,and I'm happy.

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I'd applaud this news given that a partnership with Nintendo has betterĀ long-term potential compared toĀ other recent licensing deals,Ā butĀ given the way 2020 has been so far, my initial reactionĀ to this announcement was unfortunately one of annoyance similar toĀ @ARC2149Nova's and @Lego David's...Ā :sceptic:Ā 

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I think that the sets are gonna have a tie in to a legoĀ dimensions like LEGO Mario game. Hence the multiple ā‚¬10 sets, which could be like the fun packs in the original game. The larger sets are just gonna be sets, and the ones in the mid price range will be like level packs. And the weird dock looking thing will have some game play mechanics.

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5 minutes ago, SuperGrover said:

I think that the sets are gonna have a tie in to a legoĀ dimensions like LEGO Mario game. Hence the multiple ā‚¬10 sets, which could be like the fun packs in the original game. The larger sets are just gonna be sets, and the ones in the mid price range will be like level packs. And the weird dock looking thing will have some game play mechanics.

Interesting theory. Iā€™d love to see some kind of console game relating to that, though itā€™d probably be mobile . . Although I donā€™t see what a dock could do.

I think we can expect to see a few Toads for sure - the easiest way to do the standard, ubiquitous Mushrooms and One-Up Mushrooms is to have a tan-coloured minifigure head with printed eyes on it and a new ā€˜wigā€™ piece to represent a mushroom cap, probably printed with white spots. Then theyā€™d just have to recolour that to green for a 1-Up, and to white with red spots to use on the head of a Toad minifigure. Maybe even a different pattern in orange for a Power Acorn? (In which case a FlyingĀ Squirrel variant of Mario would be inevitable, and I hope Iā€™m right because that would be great.)

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Is this the first time in recent years that Lego has kept a new theme so secret until theyā€™ve revealed it themselves, with no figure leaks on Insta etc?

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Trolls was also revealed by LEGO, right? And that was a few months ago with the pic of one of the minifigures torso

Also, I think they also revealed Minions before anything leaked

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4 hours ago, Blondie-Wan said:

So... did LEGO just use the announcement timing to make a joke? Mar 10 = Mario?Ā :laugh:

Hahaha, I wish i picked up on that earlier.Ā :head_back:

2 hours ago, KotZ said:

Just give me Waluigi, some Koopas, and the Kongs,and I'm happy.

Same here. I need a waluigi figure, just for the sheer irony. He may not have been a smash fighter, but at least he'll hopefully get a lego figure.Ā 
I also recommend checking out the "waluonicle" i forgot who made itĀ  but searching the term gets you images of it.

Ā 

I'm sure someone's picked up on the fact that mario has electronic elements and what appears to be some sort of charging port on the bottom. If the yellow buttons are 2x2s round tiles or just molds instead of 1x1s, this could be some weird tie-in and (hopefully) not the real mario figure. Because I'll be very happy with normal minifigures and fine with licensed heads, but not that monstrosity.

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1 hour ago, Robert8 said:

Trolls was also revealed by LEGO, right? And that was a few months ago with the pic of one of the minifigures torso

Also, I think they also revealed Minions before anything leaked

Actually, that specific torso was never used in any of the sets. I remember because the torso was shown to have dual-moulded arms and not a single figure in the Trolls sets had dual-moulded arms (a bunch had dual-moulded short legs though). Which kinda sucked.Ā 

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5 hours ago, Robert8 said:

Trolls was also revealed by LEGO, right? And that was a few months ago with the pic of one of the minifigures torso

Also, I think they also revealed Minions before anything leaked

True, bothĀ of these were revealed by LEGO themselves, with a major difference though: the announcement was made last Spring:Ā 

https://brickset.com/article/43682/trolls-world-tour-sets-possibly-coming-in-2020!

New licenses are almost always publicly announced the year before the theme hits shelves: POTC was revealed at SDCC 2010, DC and Marvel at SDCC 2011, LOTR was announced in late 2011 and so on. The Mario theme trulyĀ is an anomaly in that regardĀ :grin:

Edited by Lego-Freak

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