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SCANDINAVIAN NEWS SERVICE – (BILLUND, DK, 1-APR-2004) The LEGO Group will
reportedly announce next week that it is making minor changes to its flagship
toy building blocks as part of a “last ditch effort to keep the company
independent and return it to profitability by the end of 2005”. Sources within
the company told SNS that extensive market research led them to “seek what its
customers really want”. A draft announcement states “At The LEGO Company,
children always come first and must be heard. Recently, we changed the colors of
some of our core product because children told us they like the brighter colors
better. The overwhelming world-wide reaction convinced us that now is the proper
time to update our entire product line. Children today live and play in more
crowded spaces than their parents did just a generation ago and lead highly
mobile lives. To better serve them, we will re-launch our product line based on
a new 6.0 mm wide brick. This small change will enable us to provide 237% more
bricks in the same space. Children can then easily carry their collections in
backpacks to visit friends or attend daycare. At The LEGO Company, we also
believe in building a better world for children, so our these changes will
reduce our annual consumption of petroleum based ABS plastic by 58% and further
reduce our consumption of timber and petrochemicals for packaging.” Industry
observers applauded the company’s initiative and expect it to generate new life
for an increasingly aging product line while at the same time providing valuable
new intellectual property to combat vulnerability to clone brands and
alleviating shelf space pressures at the retail level. The announcement
concludes “We recognize that some traditionalists may have concerns about these
changes. To encourage them to embrace the new products, we are offering coupons
worth up to 10% on their first purchase of the New Generation LEGO (not to
exceed 50 USD).” Calls to the US based LEGO Users Group Network (LUGNET) were
not returned, but one long time LEGO train builder, when told that the only
exception to the changes will be retention of the existing niche-market LEGO
train track system, told SNS “It’s about time. Now I can build 8-wide trains on
6-wide track.”
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Where would this leave the future of Technic and MindStorms? Or, am I confused
about the new size effects on the existing bricks?
Christopher
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In lugnet.fun, Christopher Richard Smith wrote:
> Where would this leave the future of Technic and MindStorms? Or, am I confused
> about the new size effects on the existing bricks?
>
> Christopher
I read this to mean that everything gets down sized 25% except train track,
which won't get updated at all (maybe it's like the Monorail thing: not worth
the effort to retool).
I'm still hoping that Mindstorms will adopt the 1-Wire Micronet standard so that
we can have essentially a sensor bus using the exising wiring but only requiring
1 sensor port on the brick. Micronet is a cheap and elegant solution and it's
here today.
I note that the announcement doesn't characterize the "overwhelming world wide
reaction" as good or bad. Don't ya love corporate speak?
Well, at least one good thing will come of it: John Neal will get his wish and
all trains will be 8-wide (or more!).
-Ted
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In lugnet.fun, Christopher Richard Smith wrote:
> Where would this leave the future of Technic and MindStorms? Or, am I confused
> about the new size effects on the existing bricks?
>
> Christopher
Everything is being miniaturized. To avoid confusion, they're changing the names
of some product lines to reflect the smaller sizes.
Technic will become Tinyc.
MindStorms will become SmallMind BadWeather.
(The new RCX will be a wristwatch. Finally!)
Duplo will become Haplo.
Jack Stone will become Jackie Pebble.
And LEGO will become FOOT-O.
- Dan Efool
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Acutally, LEGO will be renamed MegaBlox...
:-(
-jeremy
> Everything is being miniaturized. To avoid confusion, they're changing the names
> of some product lines to reflect the smaller sizes.
(snip)
> And LEGO will become FOOT-O.
>
> - Dan Efool
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In lugnet.fun, Christopher Richard Smith wrote:
> Where would this leave the future of Technic and MindStorms? Or, am I confused
> about the new size effects on the existing bricks?
>
> Christopher
I think I have fallen for my last April Fool's joke for the day. I really don't
know that this is a joke or not. But, I do feel my leg being pulled.
I'm going to turn off the PC and sit in the closet until tomorrow.
Christopher
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And being the 1st of April is not a dead give-away here?
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Ted Michon wrote:
> SCANDINAVIAN NEWS SERVICE – (BILLUND, DK, 1-APR-2004)
Unfortunately, there is no such service. You should have used AP or TT or
something like that, and I would have believed it a bit further down the
post.
BTW, doesn't LEGO already have the Modulex line of smaller bricks?
--
Anders Isaksson, Sweden
BlockCAD: http://w1.161.telia.com/~u16122508/proglego.htm
Gallery: http://w1.161.telia.com/~u16122508/gallery/index.htm
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In lugnet.fun, Anders Isaksson wrote:
> Ted Michon wrote:
>
> > SCANDINAVIAN NEWS SERVICE – (BILLUND, DK, 1-APR-2004)
>
> Unfortunately, there is no such service. You should have used AP or TT or
> something like that, and I would have believed it a bit further down the
> post.
Unfortunately?
-Ted
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april fools!!????
aARON
"Ted Michon" <ted@michon.com> wrote in message news:HvI2Fw.v3@lugnet.com...
> SCANDINAVIAN NEWS SERVICE - (BILLUND, DK, 1-APR-2004) The LEGO Group will
> reportedly announce next week that it is making minor changes to its • flagship
> toy building blocks as part of a "last ditch effort to keep the company
> independent and return it to profitability by the end of 2005". Sources • within
> the company told SNS that extensive market research led them to "seek what • its
> customers really want". A draft announcement states "At The LEGO Company,
> children always come first and must be heard. Recently, we changed the • colors of
> some of our core product because children told us they like the brighter • colors
> better. The overwhelming world-wide reaction convinced us that now is the • proper
> time to update our entire product line. Children today live and play in • more
> crowded spaces than their parents did just a generation ago and lead • highly
> mobile lives. To better serve them, we will re-launch our product line • based on
> a new 6.0 mm wide brick. This small change will enable us to provide 237% • more
> bricks in the same space. Children can then easily carry their collections • in
> backpacks to visit friends or attend daycare. At The LEGO Company, we also
> believe in building a better world for children, so our these changes will
> reduce our annual consumption of petroleum based ABS plastic by 58% and • further
> reduce our consumption of timber and petrochemicals for packaging." • Industry
> observers applauded the company's initiative and expect it to generate new • life
> for an increasingly aging product line while at the same time providing • valuable
> new intellectual property to combat vulnerability to clone brands and
> alleviating shelf space pressures at the retail level. The announcement
> concludes "We recognize that some traditionalists may have concerns about • these
> changes. To encourage them to embrace the new products, we are offering • coupons
> worth up to 10% on their first purchase of the New Generation LEGO (not to
> exceed 50 USD)." Calls to the US based LEGO Users Group Network (LUGNET) • were
> not returned, but one long time LEGO train builder, when told that the • only
> exception to the changes will be retention of the existing niche-market • LEGO
> train track system, told SNS "It's about time. Now I can build 8-wide • trains on
> 6-wide track."
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