Subject:
|
Traumatic Events in the Life of a Lego Fan
|
Newsgroups:
|
lugnet.general
|
Date:
|
Thu, 20 Nov 2003 00:40:25 GMT
|
Highlighted:
|
!!
(details)
|
Viewed:
|
8889 times
|
| |
|
|
The “it’s grey, folks, but not as we know it” change has certainly provoked
comments ranging from thoughtful through irate, and ultimately to the ludicrous
and downright bizarre.
Lego’s apparent disregard for its fans is nothing new, and many complaints have
been made on LUGNET over the years. The following, apparently copies of
correspondence with Lego, by one LegofanX, recently came to my notice, and I
submit it as evidence of Lego’s ongoing disregard for its core fans.
Or not ;-)
1949
Dear Lego
Bricks! You’ve gone and totally changed your product focus, and rendered my
collection of wooden and plastic non-brick toys obsolete. The LEGO Company has
alienated its most vocal evangelists...I have friends who are very angry about
it and, I feel their pain. I don’t know what to do, but I’ll certainly be buying
less of your product in future.
1955
Dear Lego
Trees? One piece trees? I’ve been making perfectly satisfactory trees for years
from basic bricks, and now you go and render my collection of tree building
bricks obsolete. I don’t know what to do, but I’ll certainly be buying less of
your product in future.
1958
Dear Lego
Now you’ve done it! Your consumer research into these new brick designs, with
the stud and tube, might have found that consumers prefer these sort of bricks,
but you didn’t ask me, or any of the vast number of Lego fans who are perfectly
happy with the existing bricks. Last time, it was just my tree building bricks,
but now it is my entire collection of perfectly functioning Lego bricks that
you’ve rendered obsolete. I’ve come out in a cold sweat worrying about this. Woe
is me. I don’t know what to do, but I’ll certainly be buying less of your
product in future.
1961
Dear Lego
Are traditional Lego fans no longer enough for you? What’s wrong with the houses
we’ve been building for years? You’ve now rendered our windows, doors, and even
trees redundant by introducing the wheel. The wheel defeats the purpose of Lego
itself. Mark my words, this is a really bad move. the company won’t last ‘till
1965, let alone the end of the decade!! I don’t know what to do, but I’ll
certainly be buying less of your product in future.
1962
Dear Lego
The plate! You go and introduce the plate! Are kids today so unskilled that they
can’t build with bricks? You make it too easy for them. The introduction of the
1/3 brick (“plate”) marks an historic decline in the worth of the Lego system. I
am shaking with rage. I don’t know what to do, but I’ll certainly be buying less
of your product in future.
1963
Dear Lego
I am distraught! Nothing I have bought from your company in the past now has any
worth at all. CA was good enough for thousands of fans, but you go and replace
it with ABS. Why? Was it on the basis of some market research that “decided”
that CA wasn’t good enough, and that a handful of consumers (who are probably
only kids, or their parents) would prefer the so-called “superior” properties of
ABS. I haven’t slept for days, worrying about this. I regularly open my window
and shout obscenities in the general direction of Denmark. You should
immediately revert to CA on all sets. I don’t know what to do, but I’ll
certainly be buying less of your product in future.
1969
Dear Lego
This is too much. It took me years to get over the ABS vs CA thing, but now
you’ve made me take the LEGO bricks from my sister’s 3 year old. I gave them to
him last birthday, but now I find that they’re obsolete for that age group
because you’ve thoughtlessly introduced this Duplo stuff. I don’t know what to
do, but I’ll certainly be buying less of your product in future.
1970
Dear Lego
Why small wheels? What’s wrong with the ones we’ve been using happily for years,
but which you’ve now rendered obsolete? It’s just getting too stupid. My health
is suffering again, and my doctor has been forced to prescribe a mild sedative.
I don’t know what to do, but I’ll certainly be buying less of your product in
future.
1973
Dear Lego
Right. I’ve almost had enough of this. Over the last several years, I’ve built
several ships out of bricks (including those I had to take from my sister’s then
3 year old when you introduced Duplo). I have been entirely satisfied with those
ships. But now, I find that Lego, probably because of some ill-qualified
marketing buffoon, is introducing ship’s hull pieces. All my hull bricks are now
obsolete. I don’t know what to do, but I’ll certainly be buying less of your
product in future.
1974
Dear Lego
Arrrggghhhh! I never thought you’d change the scale, but you introduced the Lego
family. All my doors, windows, trees and most of my wheels are obsolete in one
fell swoop. A serious company doesn’t treat its consumers this way. Shame on
you. I don’t know what to do, but I’ll certainly be buying less of your product
in future.
1975
Dear Lego
Just when I’d got back from taking all my doors, windows, trees and most of my
wheels to the rubbish dump, I find that you’ve changed the scale again - this
time with the introduction of a new, small fig. These figs are terrible - they
can’t move their arms (like the Lego family can) , and they don’t even have
faces! This destroys backward compatibility. I’ve developed a nervous tic. I
don’t know what to do, but I’ll certainly be buying less of your product in
future.
1977
Dear Lego
Technic! Technic? What was wrong with my old gear-wheel sets. You’ve rendered
all my old cogs, axles and 4x2 bricks with seven holes completely useless. I’m
tearing my hair out! What next? I feel betrayed... and now i see my 300,000
brick collection jeopardized by this unexpected insanity.I don’t know what to
do, but I’ll certainly be buying less of your product in future.
1978
Dear Lego
When will you get the message? Yet more new figures! What was wrong with the old
ones. Who needs moveable arms or smiley faces - the old ones were completely
adequate. Most of the people don’t even fit into their cars. This is a terrible
move for Lego, and one which will mark its decline as a successful toy company.
I don’t know what to do, but I’ll certainly be buying less of your product in
future.
1979
Dear Lego
Not only have you rendered my prized Moon Landing set obsolete, but you’ve
introduced specialised parts too. I’m disgusted with this new space line - it’s
just a fad, it won’t last until 1980, let alone the space age in 2000. I don’t
know what to do, but I’ll certainly be buying less of your product in future.
1980
Dear Lego
Grey Track? Lego train track is blue. Or at least was, until you rendered it
obsolete with this stupid marketing led move. What next, a change to some
bizarre voltage system (9V?). I don’t know what to do, but I’ll certainly be
buying less of your product in future.
1984
Dear Lego
You’ve really done badly with this. Why a grey castle? Lego castles have been
yellow for years - why do you need to go and use a colour which has only been
widely available for a couple of years. You’ve rendered my 375 Castle totally
obsolete - I may as well just toss it out now. I don’t know what to do, but I’ll
certainly be buying less of your product in future.
1991
Dear Lego
Look, my letter of 1980 was a complaint, not a request! Why new train track? Why
9V? (Why? Why? Why?) Everyone knows that battering trains are 4.5V, and that
transformer-controller trains are 12V. Why change to some bizarre system? All my
train stuff (except that which I threw away following its obsolesence in 1980)
is now obsolete. I don’t know what to do, but I’ll certainly be buying less of
your product in future.
1992
Dear Lego
You must think kids today are a singularly untalented lot. I’ve been happily
seperating bricks with my fingers (and sometimes my teeth), for years, but some
marketing whiz-kid at Lego reckons he’s come up with something better! Really, a
“brick seperator”. Who needs it? You must really look down on your consumers. I
don’t know what to do, but I’ll certainly be buying less of your product in
future.
1996
Dear Lego
Well there goes my much loved Texas Rangers set (although the Texas Rangers
themselves went in 1978, and their brick built horses in 1984). Western indeed!
What next, replacement non-red native americans for my 215 Red Indians (which I
seem to have neglected throwing away when it became mostly obsolete)?. The man
at the rubbish tip is now on first name terms with me, and smiles as he sees me
approach. I don’t know what to do, but I’ll certainly be buying less of your
product in future.
1998
Dear Lego
Why do we need a Robotics Invention System with a hyped up marketing name like
“Mindstorms”? What’s wrong with my Technic Control Centre? Well I guess it’s
obsolete now. Off to the tip I go again. The man at the tip recognises me at a
distance (because of my general shakiness, bald head, strange skin condition,
nervous tic, and broken teeth) I don’t know what to do, but I’ll certainly be
buying less of your product in future.
1999
Dear Lego
You commercial sellouts! Now I find all my Space Lego is obsolete, and I have to
replace it all with marketing driving Star Wars stuff. I’m literally crying
here, guys - have you no respect for us long-suffering fans. I despair at what
will happen next - will you replace my beloved castle line with second rate sets
based on a book about the adventures of some kid wizard! I don’t know what to
do, but I’ll certainly be buying less of your product in future.
2003
to be continued
|
|
Message has 20 Replies:
 | | Re: Traumatic Events in the Life of a Lego Fan
|
| (...) <snip> Well this is funny, and it did make me laugh, but most of these changes that you mention are improvements to the product line. Very few of these represent a step backwards in the consistency of the product. I know that you are mocking (...) (21 years ago, 20-Nov-03, to lugnet.general)
| | | Re: Traumatic Events in the Life of a Lego Fan
|
| Looking at your post, I suppose that you yourself hate Galidor as well.... :-D And perhaps Bionicle too? What about the juniorization of sets? LOL. Personally Im not fussing about the colors, its the Castlidor invasion Im worried about. (21 years ago, 20-Nov-03, to lugnet.general, FTX)
| | | Re: Traumatic Events in the Life of a Lego Fan
|
| In lugnet.general, Richie Dulin wrote: <Lots of hysterical stuff I snipped> (...) Hey, I had that as a kid...I marveled at the tons of blue slopes ("how dare you desert me, Lego? Bricks are rectangular, not sloped!") And I also remember the front of (...) (21 years ago, 20-Nov-03, to lugnet.general, FTX)
| | | Re: Traumatic Events in the Life of a Lego Fan
|
| (...) Awesome thinking and writing there! :-) And a welcome distraction from, say other way of looking at the ongoing disregard of TLG. Of course, the ongoing changes *are* quite serious, but in time I'm sure most fans of LEGO® will get over it. (...) (21 years ago, 20-Nov-03, to lugnet.general, FTX)
| | | Re: Traumatic Events in the Life of a Lego Fan
|
| Hehe. I sense a wicked, devious mind at work here. How refreshing, Richard. Unfortunately totally beside the point. Galidork and those new Knights doesn't affect anyone posting here. Simply put, it's not really LEGO and therefore noone has to buy (...) (21 years ago, 20-Nov-03, to lugnet.general, FTX)
| | | Re: Traumatic Events in the Life of a Lego Fan
|
| Richie; thank you for succinctly, sarcastically, and eloquently (with chronologically referenced examples to boot!) saying what I'd been trying to say. Which is, in a nutshell: complain all you want about the replacement colours; if they're better, (...) (21 years ago, 20-Nov-03, to lugnet.general, FTX)
| | | Re: Traumatic Events in the Life of a Lego Fan
|
| (...) I could pick this apart piece by piece. For instance Duplo & regular bricks are 100% compatible. See: (URL) you need convincing. Technic control center to Mindstorms is growth not change for the sake of change. Lego has had a policy of being a (...) (21 years ago, 20-Nov-03, to lugnet.general, FTX)
| | | Re: Traumatic Events in the Life of a Lego Fan
|
| Very Funny! I think everyone needs to chill out a bit, yes it is annoying but there's nowt we can do. I noticed your other posts on this in the other threads with amusement too. On a more serious note, no I'm not happy about it either and in my (...) (21 years ago, 20-Nov-03, to lugnet.general, FTX)
| | | Re: Traumatic Events in the Life of a Lego Fan
|
| (...) R O F L M A O ! I for one won't stop buying LEGO's untill one of the following happens: -my wife forbids it (yeah...right) -I have to choose between paying for food and paying for Lego -LEGO returns to wooden toys (URL) goto-lab> (21 years ago, 21-Nov-03, to lugnet.general, FTX)
| | | Re: Traumatic Events in the Life of a Lego Fan
|
| Even if your story was meant to be sarcastic or humoristic, about one thing I totally agree with you. I was very disappointed with the introduction of 9V trains in 1991. The models look great, but what happened with the remote-controlled level (...) (21 years ago, 24-Nov-03, to lugnet.general)
| | | Re: Traumatic Events in the Life of a Lego Fan
|
| (...) cut cut cut cut* (...) HAHAHAHAHA! I love it, too funny... I found it a little late, but still, amusing... okies, that is the negative side that is running through this site as quick as larva from a volcano... so now do the positive side (even (...) (21 years ago, 24-Nov-03, to lugnet.general, FTX)
|
46 Messages in This Thread:
 
 
 
- Entire Thread on One Page:
- Nested:
All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:
All | Brief | Compact
|
|
|
|
