JesseNight

Aside from stating what we do or do not enjoy, there's honestly not much point in endlessly discussing it or defending our personal taste. Taste is very subjective in the end. The final solution is simple. Buy what you like, ignore what you don't like. I admit being in the camp not liking licensed sets and longing for more in-house creative themes like in my youth. I am in fact very happy that we did get a few remakes of old sets in the past few years. And most were very good ones at that (like the Galaxy Explorer). That's more than many businesses would do for their nostalgic fans. Nothing wrong with that, just don't overdo it. There's no right and wrong here, only different taste and opinions. And if you want new themes that don't exist... there's always the option to try making one and submit it to Ideas.

Not so sure about that. For example, a hardcore Star Wars collector might not be a LEGO fan but still buy LEGO Star Wars... because it is Star Wars. They definitely attract a broader audience with licensed sets.

Obviously this isn't a problem at all, just an observation. And you're right about LEGO targeting a much broader audience than in the old days, and that is great. How many LEGO stores were there in the old days? I wouldn't know tbh, bc I've never seen one. Have to admit I've always lived in a low population area where there's never been a lot of specialized stores of anything at all. Even today there's only 2 LEGO stores in my country. Ok it's a small country, still have to drive 100+ km to get to the nearest. There's 2 sides to that. For example, I'm a Space fan. Recently we had a City Space sub theme that was quite good. I found out about it very late because I'm not following City releases closely. Had I heard about a new Space theme, I would have been on top of it. And let's not forget that LEGO Space was a long-lasting branding once. Still remembered by many, and pretty self-explanatory to everyone else. LEGO is a business and will make what is in demand. If today's youth wants more licensed stuff, we can hardly blame LEGO for supplying that demand. Most AFOL probably have strong nostalgic feelings towards what we grew up with. Didn't our parents have that too towards what they knew from their childhood? Or our grandparents even? I remember them not liking my "modern stuff" in the 80s-90s I think licensed is often the "safe bet" when going for a franchise that already has a name and popularity for itself. Higher cost (licenses) but guaranteed profit. In-house themes are a much higher risk. There's development cost and no guarantees it will be a hit. That's probably why it's often a smaller percentage.

I wouldn't say the ratio really matters all that much. But I have to admit when I walk into a LEGO store nowadays, there's only a tiny bit of the store that interests me. Where in the older days, it would be a lot more. Are we lacking set releases? Definitely not. There's so many more sets releasing per year than in the old days, that even the small percentage of unlicensed sets hardly feels like "less" in absolute numbers compared to the old days. The amount of licensed sets is just overwhelming large nowadays. I just happily ignore it all.

Didn't mean it that harshly, more like everyone should at least think and make their own conclusion that it MAY not be a great deal if you want a good amount of LEGO for your money. And true, Light & Sound went for a premium price too but at least that system is durable and still works 40 years later. Personally I would call any system with an irreplaceable battery and special bricks and chargers not sold separately a bad deal. Pure e-waste in the long run.

In an ideal world, everybody would indeed think and consider and conclude this isn't a great deal. But reality tends to be different. Kids want the newest and the coolest. If the smart brick is appealing to kids, it will work. And then the parents will just have to consider whether they really wanna watch their purse and risk their kid being less cool among their friends. I agree that Light & Sound was better in many ways. Not just the application, but also that it still works today and will work as long as we have access to replacement 9V batteries. Once the smart brick's internal battery has lived out its life and its recharge cycles, it's over. That's typical 21st century attitude I'm afraid. We're all aware we gotta reduce our waste, and yet manufacturers keep feeding us more to throw away.

Channel monetization, so they need to have something to show because people want to see actual products and not just a talking head for 10-20 minutes. The answer there is again "money talks". And all those content creators and influencers (especially the bigger ones) are the main and cheap way for manufacturers to advertise their goods nowadays. Even if a review is negative, it still works to some extend.

Sweet irony, right? Money talks, and if people who publicly state not liking it already buy 3 of each... that's how nowadays many product failures still turn out to be financial successes.

@aFrInaTi0n I think the link you've used is a private one that only works for you as the owner. We are seeing this: (kinda funny in a way... ) I've been sticking to imgbb myself. Very easy and no account required.

Think that has more to do with the fact that these specific franchises have been milked dry (especially Star Wars and Harry Potter). A few improved versions of older sets is okay, but you can't keep people forever entertained re-releasing the same stuff over and over without new movies/series introducing new content to the franchise.

These are not scams, just regular marketing trickery that every business in the world does and that's perfectly legit. And that you are perfectly fine to refuse to buy from them. I don't like it either, but it's how business works nowadays with the amount of competition there is when trading on a worldwide scale. Use the tools you have. Blacklist stores that you don't agree with prices or practices, and move on to the best deals for your wishlists. And if all offers disappoint, be patient and wait for better. If you want something really rare, you may have to accept paying premium or not getting it at all.

Maybe not the best place but didn't wanna start a whole new topic for this. What's the deal with Bricklink listed parts like this 4x4 triangular tile, that don't seem to actually exist in any set?

A lot has changed in society too. Decades ago, parents would still join their children in play or help them build stuff, but wouldn't talk about it in any other context than a parent-child moment, while I am sure parents had fun doing that too. But even then, on expositions we'd see massive scale high detailed buildings in Lego which I'm sure weren't built by little kids. Nowadays it's okay to publicly show it and talk about it and Lego would have been a fool if they hadn't played into that market because adult stuff is obviously aimed at much higher budgets.

...and there's more cat colors to go Looking at the pics more closely, I have a feeling the mouth might actually be hinged this time instead of switching parts for 2 static states.

I'm no fan of portmanteaus in general, but I'm not offended by it either. We live in a time that adults who openly show having Lego collections are generally accepted, so I'll just wear the title with pride Nothing wrong with short board games. I love long ones but sometimes there just isn't time for it. And don't worry about the age indication, we'll remain 14+ for life!