Super Mario 2024 - Rumors & Discussion

[Clone OPatra]

Welcome to the 2024 Super Mario discussion thread! 

This thread is dedicated to all Lego related Super Mario discussion throughout 2024--sets, rumors, thoughts, and general Lego Super Mario discussion. 

Enjoy! 

[Lion King]

I really really hope they give us minifigures…

[BrickBob Studpants]

4 minutes ago, Lion King said:

I really really hope they give us minifigures…

2020: "I hope they give us minifigs!"

2021: "I hope they give us minifigs this year!"

2022: "I hope they give us minifigs this year!"

2023: "I hope they give us minifigs this year!"

2024: "I hope they give us minifigs this year!"

...Don't get your hopes up

[Lion King]

16 minutes ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

2020: "I hope they give us minifigs!"

2021: "I hope they give us minifigs this year!"

2022: "I hope they give us minifigs this year!"

2023: "I hope they give us minifigs this year!"

2024: "I hope they give us minifigs this year!"

...Don't get your hopes up

Are you mocking me, sir? :P

[BrickBob Studpants]

3 hours ago, Lion King said:

Are you mocking me, sir? :P

Not you specifically, I'm just poking a bit of fun at the people who keep hoping for it every year in vain 

[Kaijumeister]

On 1/5/2024 at 8:36 PM, BrickBob Studpants said:

Not you specifically, I'm just poking a bit of fun at the people who keep hoping for it every year in vain 

Funnily enough Lego Minecraft Goat posted a poll on IG several weeks ago asking people if they thought we’d get more digifig stuff, minifigs, or something else entirely this year. Could be nothing but that leaker in particular usually doesn’t talk or tease unless they have something to say.

But yeah I agree more or less, 4 years into this theme (I feel old) and Lego clearly aren’t deviating with the way they handle it. I do think it’s valid to be frustrated as going the minifigure route would doubtless bring in so many more fans, especially as Animal Crossing and Sonic are doing just that, but it is what it is. I still ruminate over how awesome a Mighty Micros-esque line adapted for Mario Kart would be though!

Edited January 7 by Kaijumeister

[sjbricks]

I've wanted Mario figures for as long as I can remember, but honestly I'm really hoping that the theme doesn't switch over to them fully. The brick-built character system has allowed for such a huge variety of characters to be made that just wouldn't be possible with figures. Who would have expected that we would have a Lego Toady? We only need Roy to complete the Koopalings, but there's no way Lego would have been able to make as many of them in minifig form by now. Each of them would need at least a new head mould with dual moulding and lots of print to achieve their look, but depending on how Lego would approach it, Roy and Morton might also need different body moulds to reflect their size.

The brick-built approach not only helps Lego, but also fans. I'm not holding my breath for Lego to make Mario Wonder content, and there's not really any chance of them making Mario RPG content either, but I've been able to design Prince Florian and Mallow for my collection. Filling gaps like that as a collector would simply not be possible in a minifigure orientated theme where pretty much every character needs new moulds.

In my opinion, the best way forward would be to keep the digital theme alive as the main focus, and then release a set like the original Green Hill Zone (21331) that'd include a few figures every once in a while. I'm pretty surprised that Lego haven't already included any in the 18+ display models on a little stand like in the UCS Star Wars sets, but I guess the designers haven't been able to decide whether a Mario figure should have a nose or not yet.

[Renny The Spaceman]

3 hours ago, sjbricks said:

I've wanted Mario figures for as long as I can remember, but honestly I'm really hoping that the theme doesn't switch over to them fully. The brick-built character system has allowed for such a huge variety of characters to be made that just wouldn't be possible with figures. Who would have expected that we would have a Lego Toady? We only need Roy to complete the Koopalings, but there's no way Lego would have been able to make as many of them in minifig form by now. Each of them would need at least a new head mould with dual moulding and lots of print to achieve their look, but depending on how Lego would approach it, Roy and Morton might also need different body moulds to reflect their size.

The brick-built approach not only helps Lego, but also fans. I'm not holding my breath for Lego to make Mario Wonder content, and there's not really any chance of them making Mario RPG content either, but I've been able to design Prince Florian and Mallow for my collection. Filling gaps like that as a collector would simply not be possible in a minifigure orientated theme where pretty much every character needs new moulds.

In my opinion, the best way forward would be to keep the digital theme alive as the main focus, and then release a set like the original Green Hill Zone (21331) that'd include a few figures every once in a while. I'm pretty surprised that Lego haven't already included any in the 18+ display models on a little stand like in the UCS Star Wars sets, but I guess the designers haven't been able to decide whether a Mario figure should have a nose or not yet.

I feel like even in a minifig them good portion of the characters would be brick built. Honestly I don't mind the way the theme does it's characters bar the humans., they feel out of scale with everything else and the digital element makes them pretty undisplayable

[BrickBob Studpants]

That‘s what I‘ve been saying from the beginning: minifigs would only work for the main characters and some of the more humanoid enemies, everyone else would need specialised pieces  It’s not like Animal Crossing where all you need are new head pieces!

Sure, they could try to make them brickbuilt, but a lot of the enemies are the same size or smaller than a minifig, making it very hard to create them in a convincing manner

As much as would like to see minifigs, it ain‘t happening anytime soon I‘m afraid.

[SlimyGhoul]

On 1/7/2024 at 6:21 AM, sjbricks said:

I've wanted Mario figures for as long as I can remember, but honestly I'm really hoping that the theme doesn't switch over to them fully. The brick-built character system has allowed for such a huge variety of characters to be made that just wouldn't be possible with figures. Who would have expected that we would have a Lego Toady? We only need Roy to complete the Koopalings, but there's no way Lego would have been able to make as many of them in minifig form by now. Each of them would need at least a new head mould with dual moulding and lots of print to achieve their look, but depending on how Lego would approach it, Roy and Morton might also need different body moulds to reflect their size.

The brick-built approach not only helps Lego, but also fans. I'm not holding my breath for Lego to make Mario Wonder content, and there's not really any chance of them making Mario RPG content either, but I've been able to design Prince Florian and Mallow for my collection. Filling gaps like that as a collector would simply not be possible in a minifigure orientated theme where pretty much every character needs new moulds.

In my opinion, the best way forward would be to keep the digital theme alive as the main focus, and then release a set like the original Green Hill Zone (21331) that'd include a few figures every once in a while. I'm pretty surprised that Lego haven't already included any in the 18+ display models on a little stand like in the UCS Star Wars sets, but I guess the designers haven't been able to decide whether a Mario figure should have a nose or not yet.

I totally respect your opinion, but I'd say that it's only allowed a large variety of *enemy* characters. We've not gotten even a hint of any other of the main characters like Daisy, Wario, Rosalina, etc. Those are the characters I wanted from LEGO Mario. People keep saying they want LEGO to do Mario Kart with the course building system...what kind of fun would Mario Kart be with only 3 characters to choose from? Mind you, the course builder system (partly by design) falls apart at the slightest disturbance. How are they going to do karts with that?

It's my opinion that the digital course building theme has...run its course. It's boring at this point and is a parody of itself. Almost every new set they put out has been just a rehash of a previous one (Mario's house, indiscriminate ice area, yet another tree with yellow and pink Yoshi, Toad house AGAIN...etc.). The new Yoshi set has an egg piece...none of the digital characters can even hold it. Not even the Yoshi figures can hold it. LEGO Mario is truly the monkey's paw phenomenon. I'd been waiting for it for like 20 years, only to be extremely disappointed when they made it into a crummy baby toy. It's almost patronizing. I wanted much cooler sets from this line, even the 18+ ones are kind of lame. I still don't know why they haven't included minifigures in even one of them. As for molds/printing with Mario characters, I think that a hybrid brick-built and minifig system would work really well, a-la Sonic. There are some brick builts even now that I feel would work if they do minifigs.

Another big problem is that LEGO Mario doesn't feel like a LEGO product. It feels like some random silly toy. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing! Out of context, I'd think it was kinda cute for a little quick thing. Unfortunately, this kind of thing isn't why I like LEGO. It's not fun, it's unimaginative, and it's sacrificing quality/excellence for a gimmick that was DOA. I still cannot for the life of me understand why any LEGO fan would prefer this weird thing over actual cool builds and minifigures. Part of the magic of LEGO is that everything is compatible and you can bring all your favorite characters together. It seems bonkers to me that LEGO would make minifigures of Animal Crossing, Zelda, Sonic, Minecraft, etc. and Mario is burdened with this ugly, blocky, gimmicky, non-displayable theme that you can't really play with or merge with anything else besides itself. It's limiting and, IMO, goes against what LEGO is about.

 

I really hope the digital aspect is over soon. It's a sanitized, generic, boring version of Mario that's limited by its own "features." It feels like someone who isn't really a fan of Mario came up with it. It's been a disappointment since its arrival and continues to be one.

Edited January 9 by SlimyGhoul
forgot a line

[TeriXeri]

7 minutes ago, SlimyGhoul said:

It seems bonkers to me that LEGO would make minifigures of Animal Crossing, Zelda, Sonic, Minecraft, etc. and Mario is burdened with this ugly, blocky, gimmicky, non-displayable theme that you can't really play with or merge with anything else besides itself. It's limiting and, IMO, goes against what LEGO is about.

I still think this is Nintendo's decistion and not LEGO's, as they are pretty protective of their property, and things like Amiibo are still around.

[SlimyGhoul]

12 minutes ago, TeriXeri said:

I still think this is Nintendo's decistion and not LEGO's, as they are pretty protective of their property, and things like Amiibo are still around.

I was thinking about this the other day and went to find some interviews, that's actually not the case!

In a couple of places, the lead designer Jonathan Bennink (I will never forgive him LOL) says that LEGO had like two groups and they all came up with ideas, and presented the digital thing to Nintendo:

https://discussingfilm.net/2020/04/23/lego-super-mario-lead-designer-jonathan-bennink-on-evolving-the-lego-experience-exclusive-interview/

Quote

We did a big concept round of all sorts of ideas. We had roughly 25 product ideas and distilled it down into eight directions. One of those directions was to have an interactive LEGO Mario or LEGO Nintendo figures. Then one actually got the most votes and won the voting rounds. Pretty early on, we made a prototype of Mario in LEGO brick form, but he had a screen for a display and a speaker and that was it – none of the fancy technology we have now. We all kind of fell in love with this cute little Mario in brick form. We decided that whatever we did in the future, the product would be built around that.

https://www.brickfanatics.com/exclusive-the-inside-story-of-lego-super-mario-level-2

Quote

You mentioned the different options that you presented to management. Was minifigure scale ever a consideration for this theme?

Jonathan: Yeah of course, it is such an iconic LEGO product or expression but of course the problem is the size of the technology, he had to have batteries, and a display, and a speaker. We tried different combinations of technology and to put it all in a minifigure was just physically impossible, as you can imagine.

https://www.newelementary.com/2020/08/lego-super-mario-interview-jonathan.html

Quote

Did that drive come from Nintendo or from LEGO?

Jonathan:
It came from the managements meeting up; they realised that they had a lot of similarities like the safety, the quality and the originality of products. And so they said that when these brands come together, we should do something that people don't expect, and that only LEGO and Nintendo can do together. Yeah, that was my brief back then.

Christian:
This is the result of a long co-creation process between us and the partner, so we have the lead on it but our partner is really leaning in and helping us with the gameplay with the models, and how we ensure that it's a fun experience for the kids, and have the right quality and so on. So it is a special partnership.

 

So, it seems like LEGO just couldn't find a way to do this convoluted idea and made the line to fit it, which I think was also a mistake. It should be the other way around.

[sjbricks]

17 minutes ago, SlimyGhoul said:

I totally respect your opinion, but I'd say that it's only allowed a large variety of *enemy* characters. We've not gotten even a hint of any other of the main characters like Daisy, Wario, Rosalina, etc. Those are the characters I wanted from LEGO Mario. People keep saying they want LEGO to do Mario Kart with the course building system...what kind of fun would Mario Kart be with only 3 characters to choose from? Mind you, the course builder system (partly by design) falls apart at the slightest disturbance. How are they going to do karts with that?

It's my opinion that the digital course building theme has...run its course. It's boring at this point and is a parody of itself. Almost every new set they put out has been just a rehash of a previous one (Mario's house, indiscriminate ice area, yet another tree with yellow and pink Yoshi, Toad house AGAIN...etc.). The new Yoshi set has an egg piece...none of the digital characters can even hold it. Not even the Yoshi figures can hold it. LEGO Mario is truly the monkey's paw phenomenon. I'd been waiting for it for like 20 years, only to be extremely disappointed when they made it into a crummy baby toy. It's almost patronizing. I wanted much cooler sets from this line, even the 18+ ones are kind of lame. I still don't know why they haven't included minifigures in even one of them. As for molds/printing with Mario characters, I think that a hybrid brick-built and minifig system would work really well, a-la Sonic. There are some brick builts even now that I feel would work if they do minifigs.

Another big problem is that LEGO Mario doesn't feel like a LEGO product. It feels like some random silly toy. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing! Out of context, I'd think it was kinda cute for a little quick thing. Unfortunately, this kind of thing isn't why I like LEGO. It's not fun, it's unimaginative, and it's sacrificing quality/excellence for a gimmick that was DOA. I still cannot for the life of me understand why any LEGO fan would prefer this weird thing over actual cool builds and minifigures. Part of the magic of LEGO is that everything is compatible and you can bring all your favorite characters together. It seems bonkers to me that LEGO would make minifigures of Animal Crossing, Zelda, Sonic, Minecraft, etc. and Mario is burdened with this ugly, blocky, gimmicky, non-displayable theme that you can't really play with or merge with anything else besides itself. It's limiting and, IMO, goes against what LEGO is about.

 

I really hope the digital aspect is over soon. It's a sanitized, generic, boring version of Mario that's limited by its own "features." It feels like someone who isn't really a fan of Mario came up with it. It's been a disappointment since its arrival and continues to be one.

I'd say the new bowser car set is a perfect example of how course builder Mario Karts sets would work. It's incredibly well designed, and the scan code putting a steering wheel on Mario's chest and allowing him to honk the horn by the pull of a lever, while launching bombs behind the car is genius. I wouldn't be surprised if we got more sets like it. The code in bowser's car has no indication on it of being exclusively for him, so it can be reused.

I don't that this line deserves to die and be replaced fully just because AFOLS are disappointed by it. The fact it's been going this long proves it must be very popular with it's intended audience. I'd say it's quite harsh to say that it's unimaginative and sacrificing quality and excellence, because that's just not true. Deciding to not make figures like every other theme was a bold choice, and understandably some don't like it. The technology that makes the characters work is very impressive, to me it's one if the most interesting developments that LEGO have made in a long time, and one of the only examples of them tying a digital feature to sets being very successful. The designers have listened to feedback on the design of the sets too. I agree that quite a lot of them don't display well, it's kind of the idea that you take the sections apart and rearrange them, but recently, the builds have been a lot more solid. I think that the 3 airship sets and Dry Bowser's castle are good examples.

As a platforming game, Mario unfortunately is not easy to adapt to playsets. Scanning codes with electronic Mario to interact with blocks, enemies, and other hazards was a great way to achieve it. Figure sets trying to emulate the platforming aspect just wouldn't work as well. I think they actually would be unimaginative and not as fun for kids to play with. Mario Kart would work as minifigure sets because you can play with the cars and move them around, but the sets would then need to be designed around cars driving through them, presumably with track pieces and other gimmicks, so they wouldn't display well either.

At the end of the day, there is no way LEGO didn't explore minifigures when they obtained the license but there's obviously a reason why they didn't go that route, so we got the course builder system instead. I think the 18+ sets are the perfect place for LEGO to give us minifigures and great display models, like Peach's castle, while keeping the aspect of the theme that you can actually play with that's true to the series' nature alive.

[Lyichir]

I may be alone here but I personally think the digi-fig sets are generally very good, and that minifig-based sets might have trouble meeting those high standards. Don't get me wrong, if there were minifigures of Mario characters I think they could be fun to have from a collector's standpoint, but the sheer playability the digi-figs have, combined with the physical playability that the increased scale allows for, is genuinely impressive—moreso than any of my attempts to build "minifig-scale" diorama-type builds over the years resulted in. One of my frustrations at those early attempts was that a typical "Mario level" built out of Lego generally felt boring and abstract without the physicality the games included. At best you could maybe make a dollhouse-type build of some of the rare iconic locations like Peach's Castle, but everything else tended to feel flat and uninspiring. When the actual sets were first revealed and made physical play the primary factor in the designs (instead of a secondary feature I struggled to integrate into a typical minifig-scale playset), it felt like the solution to the problem I'd been struggling to solve independently for all those years.

I think for Lego and Nintendo, the feeling was similar. Their goal with Mario sets was probably not being able to have Lego Mario interact with Star Wars or Super Heroes characters, so compatibility with other minifig-based themes wasn't really a priority. Instead they focused on what made Mario as a franchise feel distinct and unique and how that could be translated into Lego play, and I think they did really well with that.

The fact that they took a different approach with Animal Crossing doesn't surprise me or strike me as inconsistent with that sort of approach in my opinion. Animal Crossing is a game you interact with very differently from Mario games, and much better suits the sort of diorama/dollhouse play that works well with traditional minifigures. It's a game that's much more about physical decoration and slice-of-life interactions than Mario's emphasis on physicality and movement.

I do agree that now that Animal Crossing sets exist with minifigures (and possibly a Zelda set in the future), the compatibility between related sets makes a stronger case for Mario minifigs. But I also think that Mario minifigs would work better as something like a minifigures series or isolated sets like an expert-level Peach's Castle build than they would as the entirety of the theme. Frankly, the course-builder system still feels better suited to capturing the overall breadth of the Mario franchise than minifigure-based sets would, and I don't really want that to go away.

[SlimyGhoul]

2 hours ago, sjbricks said:

I'd say the new bowser car set is a perfect example of how course builder Mario Karts sets would work. It's incredibly well designed, and the scan code putting a steering wheel on Mario's chest and allowing him to honk the horn by the pull of a lever, while launching bombs behind the car is genius. I wouldn't be surprised if we got more sets like it. The code in bowser's car has no indication on it of being exclusively for him, so it can be reused.

I don't that this line deserves to die and be replaced fully just because AFOLS are disappointed by it. The fact it's been going this long proves it must be very popular with it's intended audience. I'd say it's quite harsh to say that it's unimaginative and sacrificing quality and excellence, because that's just not true. Deciding to not make figures like every other theme was a bold choice, and understandably some don't like it. The technology that makes the characters work is very impressive, to me it's one if the most interesting developments that LEGO have made in a long time, and one of the only examples of them tying a digital feature to sets being very successful. The designers have listened to feedback on the design of the sets too. I agree that quite a lot of them don't display well, it's kind of the idea that you take the sections apart and rearrange them, but recently, the builds have been a lot more solid. I think that the 3 airship sets and Dry Bowser's castle are good examples.

As a platforming game, Mario unfortunately is not easy to adapt to playsets. Scanning codes with electronic Mario to interact with blocks, enemies, and other hazards was a great way to achieve it. Figure sets trying to emulate the platforming aspect just wouldn't work as well. I think they actually would be unimaginative and not as fun for kids to play with. Mario Kart would work as minifigure sets because you can play with the cars and move them around, but the sets would then need to be designed around cars driving through them, presumably with track pieces and other gimmicks, so they wouldn't display well either.

At the end of the day, there is no way LEGO didn't explore minifigures when they obtained the license but there's obviously a reason why they didn't go that route, so we got the course builder system instead. I think the 18+ sets are the perfect place for LEGO to give us minifigures and great display models, like Peach's castle, while keeping the aspect of the theme that you can actually play with that's true to the series' nature alive.

I respectfully disagree with your opinion. I think that there is SO much more to Mario than just the platforming 1-1 world kind of sets. To me, those kinds of environments just scratch the surface of how fun and cool Mario can be.There are tons of fun, imaginative locations from the 3D titles, RPGs, etc. that will never be done justice with this theme. It's not *just* that they didn't do minifigs, it's that they sacrificed a tried and true formula for something that just doesn't work that well to justify it, in my opinion. 

I don't even think it's just an AFOL thing either, I was a HUUUUGE Mario fan as a kid (still am, clearly :P) and I know for a fact I would have been mega let down by this. 

 

I also wouldn't be opposed to 18+ sets with minifigs and continuing the digital line! If they'd even initially ran them concurrently I'd be so stoked. It just sucks that we got...this in lieu of something that could have been really great.

 

ETA: I also want to say I hope I'm not coming off as condescending or mean to those who enjoy the digital figure line!! I value and enjoy other perspectives and having discussions about them, esp about two of my biggest interests :)

Edited January 9 by SlimyGhoul

[Fenghuang0296]

1 hour ago, Lyichir said:

But I also think that Mario minifigs would work better as something like a minifigures series or isolated sets like an expert-level Peach's Castle build than they would as the entirety of the theme. Frankly, the course-builder system still feels better suited to capturing the overall breadth of the Mario franchise than minifigure-based sets would, and I don't really want that to go away.

Yeah, I agree. The coursebuilder sets are a lot of fun. A CMF is probably the best way to give us the figures everyone’s been demanding (including characters that would be really weird to get in the course system like Rosalina and Daisy), without losing what makes this theme uniquely fun.

[noodlesoup]

On 1/9/2024 at 10:52 AM, Lyichir said:

I may be alone here but I personally think the digi-fig sets are generally very good, and that minifig-based sets might have trouble meeting those high standards. Don't get me wrong, if there were minifigures of Mario characters I think they could be fun to have from a collector's standpoint, but the sheer playability the digi-figs have, combined with the physical playability that the increased scale allows for, is genuinely impressive—moreso than any of my attempts to build "minifig-scale" diorama-type builds over the years resulted in. One of my frustrations at those early attempts was that a typical "Mario level" built out of Lego generally felt boring and abstract without the physicality the games included. At best you could maybe make a dollhouse-type build of some of the rare iconic locations like Peach's Castle, but everything else tended to feel flat and uninspiring. When the actual sets were first revealed and made physical play the primary factor in the designs (instead of a secondary feature I struggled to integrate into a typical minifig-scale playset), it felt like the solution to the problem I'd been struggling to solve independently for all those years.

I think for Lego and Nintendo, the feeling was similar. Their goal with Mario sets was probably not being able to have Lego Mario interact with Star Wars or Super Heroes characters, so compatibility with other minifig-based themes wasn't really a priority. Instead they focused on what made Mario as a franchise feel distinct and unique and how that could be translated into Lego play, and I think they did really well with that.

The fact that they took a different approach with Animal Crossing doesn't surprise me or strike me as inconsistent with that sort of approach in my opinion. Animal Crossing is a game you interact with very differently from Mario games, and much better suits the sort of diorama/dollhouse play that works well with traditional minifigures. It's a game that's much more about physical decoration and slice-of-life interactions than Mario's emphasis on physicality and movement.

I do agree that now that Animal Crossing sets exist with minifigures (and possibly a Zelda set in the future), the compatibility between related sets makes a stronger case for Mario minifigs. But I also think that Mario minifigs would work better as something like a minifigures series or isolated sets like an expert-level Peach's Castle build than they would as the entirety of the theme. Frankly, the course-builder system still feels better suited to capturing the overall breadth of the Mario franchise than minifigure-based sets would, and I don't really want that to go away.

I agree with just about everything you've said here

I love the brick-built figures and like the digi-figs, even though I personally do not care at all about the play features

The only issue I see is that we have yet to get that core spinoff cast, like Wario, Rosalina, etc. and I really fear if they have to be made digi-figs as well we may never get them

[Lion King]

I’m not really into builtable or dig-figure charaters. So I guess I will be done here but i stilll have my hope (at a low level). 

[SlimyGhoul]

On 1/12/2024 at 11:57 AM, Lion King said:

I’m not really into builtable or dig-figure charaters. So I guess I will be done here but i stilll have my hope (at a low level). 

I'll never get my hopes up for it again. Just have to accept that it's a botched line. *shrug* They're like "we hope lego and mario fans of all ages will play with this" and then made it a baby toy...oof.

[Izzynufc-2]

 The starter packs are retiring this year 

[The_Fiery_Rooster]

Set listing leaks for 2HY, and we have 3 $50 sets with suspiciously low part counts...

Sorry to everyone expecting things to change with the retiring sets, but it looks like Lego is sticking with the digi-figs. Given that they are retiring everything, I wonder if this is a 2.0 kind of thing. Very torn if it is, since I'm curious to see what else they could add, but I also don't like the idea of having to re-buy the starter courses for the newest sets to be compatible.

[Lyichir]

On 1/16/2024 at 2:00 PM, SlimyGhoul said:

I'll never get my hopes up for it again. Just have to accept that it's a botched line. *shrug* They're like "we hope lego and mario fans of all ages will play with this" and then made it a baby toy...oof.

It's... not a baby toy? The actual level of building skill for your average set is comparable to other Lego themes (and as with other themes, the bigger sets tend to be more complex and interesting). I'm sorry you wanted it to be something it's not, but that's not the sets' fault, nor does it mean the people who do enjoy it are lesser builders.

[sjbricks]

1 hour ago, The_Fiery_Rooster said:

I wonder if this is a 2.0 kind of thing. Very torn if it is, since I'm curious to see what else they could add, but I also don't like the idea of having to re-buy the starter courses for the newest sets to be compatible.

I don't think they would do that as it'd make the older ones obsolete, and they are pretty expensive. They'd be shooting themselves in the foot by doing that. The best outcome would be three new digital characters, but it's not very likely. I think Lego and Nintendo would want Mario to always be available, so maybe the other two sets could have new characters? Maybe Wario and Daisy. Let's be honest though, it's probably just new starter course builds with the same three digital characters that we've already gotten. If that is the case then I hope they give us something new at least, like the set with Luigi giving him his fire outfit using his unique overalls and hat mould. Not sure what they could do for peach, but I'm sure they'd think of something.

50 minutes ago, Lyichir said:

It's... not a baby toy? The actual level of building skill for your average set is comparable to other Lego themes (and as with other themes, the bigger sets tend to be more complex and interesting). I'm sorry you wanted it to be something it's not, but that's not the sets' fault, nor does it mean the people who do enjoy it are lesser builders.

I agree. It's sad to see so many people brushing the whole theme off just because it's not figure-based, as there are a lot of solid builds, especially recently. I keep bringing it up, but the bowser car really is a good example. There are very cool techniques used to achieve the eyes and also the lavender parts along the side of the vehicle.

 

 

About the new set information in general, I'm curious what the 1392 piece set could be. It will be the biggest course builder system set yet. We've already gotten Peach's castle, Bowser's castle and even Dry Bowser's castle. I can't think of another super iconic location that it could be, so maybe it is something invented by Lego like a larger fortress containing Roy? I can't see how they can make a set containing so many parts out of that idea though. Not sure. I'm excited to see what these new sets will bring.

[nicknack116]

I agree with the sentiment here that the sets are just as great of a building experience as other sets. For me it's the displaying of the sets that has a huge hit. Mario/Luigi/Peach are amazing when they're being played with. But the black eyes and mouth...ugh. It's why I haven't bought a single set for myself out of the course builder line. If they had made a brick-built Mario who fit in with the brick-built Boswer/Toad/etc. then I would've been satisfied not getting minifigures. Instead, I've only bought the ? block/NES/Piranha Plant and my kids have gotten a handful of sets to go with Mario and Peach.

I always wondered why we never got Brickheadz of Mario and Luigi, but that's actually where I could see the line heading if the three $50 sets are new starter packs. What if they pivot the line to a Mario Kart line that works with the course sets from the past four years?

Maybe the kart base could have a scanner on the bottom like the digi-figures and scan items? Or it could have a motor function like the City stunt bikes? The new starter sets would have customizable brick-built karts, and each set could come with a brick-built Mario, Luigi, or Peach that matches the style of the course set characters. BUT, LEGO could give you the option to fit the digi-figures in the karts for some extra functionality? 

And then eventually we'd get new kart sets to build Karts for characters other than Mario/Luigi/Peach, but you wouldn't need a digi-figure of them to enjoy the kart scanner interactivity.

Just spit-balling, but it feels like Mario Kart is the next way to broaden the Mario line without introducing minifigures and making people re-buy all of the same characters again/make LEGO have to create so many custom minifigure molds.

Edited January 20 by nicknack116

[Izzynufc-2]

Mario Day is coming soon, I wonder what Lego will reveal on the day? 
Last year dry bowsers castle was revealed