Subject:
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Re: New Castle Sucks (so far...)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.castle
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Date:
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Tue, 28 Dec 1999 19:53:54 GMT
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Viewed:
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406 times
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On Tue, 28 Dec 1999, David Eaton (<FnGns0.IFH@lugnet.com>) wrote at
17:12:00
>
> > > Its not the chunky pieces that make a cool set, its the overall design,
> > > cleverness of that design, and bricks -- baby -- bricks!!!
> > This is a very AFOL oriented view. If you look at it as a toy for a
> > young person, it has to be playable when finished. And by and large, the
> > new Castle sets have lots of play opportunities.
>
> Actually, I'd disagree... Lego's niche is not in playability-- it's in
> creativity.
<snipped on the one hand, on the other hand discourse>
You're right, and later on as well. I was playing devil's advocate up to
a point, just to counter Richard's post. I think it's fair to say that
TLC is mostly doing quite well, for a big company, and different people
have wildly differing attitudes to the changes the company has to make.
Big pieces are bad, though. I think most people agree on that in one
degree or another.
>
> > > The best things about the new castle sets are the following: the new king
> > > minifigure (great face!),
> > Disagree. Bring back smileys, instead of these juniorised faces with
> > *pre formed* expressions.
>
> Agree and disagree-- I like having the standard smileys... but I also like
> having pre formed expressions... I find standard smileys helpful in vast
> quantities, but for greater detail and hints of character, I find that pre
> formed heads work really well... I just wish that smileys were still as widely
> available as the detailed heads.
I *was* poking fun here. But I do lament the passing of the smiley.
>
> > > the return of steep corner slopes, the black maiden hat,
> > Who cares what colour a hat is?
>
> I do! I don't want my knights running around in trans-orange helmets! But
> moreover, I think I'd prefer a brighter colored maiden hat (not that I'm
> complaining about the return of the piece!)... black just seems so wrong...
> Seems like a widow's color...
Yeah. I'm not a minifig person, really, so I'm not that bothered. A
purple one would have been nice, wouldn't it?
>
>
> > > And it must be stated VERY firmly, that the new castle wall is REALLY poorly
> > > designed.
<snip>
> > Agreed, it's an appalling piece.
>
> Well... I'm both for it and against it... I don't think I'd ever really WANT a
> 4x4 tower... even a 6x6 tower is a little skimpy for what I'd REALLY want... I
> think these might look nice as small outcroppings in an otherwise flat wall,
> but as for towers... ick! Too small and not capable of being symmetrical!
> Bleah!
Yes, my main objection to this piece is that it's too small. And I wish
you could fill the windows in. That goes for the wall pieces as well.
>
>
> > > Someone said this to me recently: "I think it must be made clear that lego
> > > has changed and is catering, just like before, to the child market. This does
> > > them credit and is to be respected." I said, "Yeah, but then what was their
> > > mission before? Why the change?" Does LEGO think children are even dumber
> > > now than in my own youth? I hardly think this is a credible assumption...
> >
> > No, they're not dumber, they just have different interests.
> >
> > Did you play with the same toys that your parents did?
> >
> > No. Because some of the things you played with hadn't been invented when
> > your parents were children.
> >
> > TLC has to change its products to be able to sell them to its market -
> > children. I think I read somewhere that children are the most fashion
> > conscious group in society, so you've got to be on the ball when selling
> > to them.
>
> Well... that's the beauty of Lego. There are some toys that fit just about
> every generation. Some toys don't die. Barbie, stuffed animals, the slinky, the
> yo-yo, toy guns, etc. There are certain toys that every generation plays with.
> Fads like Pokemon, Ninja Turtles, Transformers, even Star Wars come and go. The
> one thing that Lego has cornered the market on, though, is building blocks.
> There have been building blocks for YEARS... but Lego made a product that has
> been proving that it has potential as a multigenerational toy. My parents DID
> play with Lego (alright, only one of them) (and granted I'm only 23), and I
> hope my children will play with Lego.
Agreed. I'm 36. I played with it from a very early age, and if I had
children, they would too. But I think the pace of change has
accelerated, and LEGO won't be the same thing in another 20 years, if it
exists at all (other than as a legacy System. Geddit?).
>
> When you say kids have different interests, though, you're quite right. Kids
> seem to have a lower attention span, etc, thanks to TV, computers, etc.... but
> the great thing is that there are STILL kids that HAVE decent attention spans,
> that ARE bright and creative, and that DO want to have something like Lego to
> play with. In that respect, I think Lego has the potential to be close to
> timeless. And this makes the problem that the more that Lego caters to these
> OTHER low attentioned-kids, the more they'll lose the market that the toy was
> originally intended for.
I agree with your point, but from the accountant's point of view, the
bigger market will win :(
>
> > > Some chunkier parts are okay, some even fairly clever or interesting. But
> > > replacing elements with chunkier alternatives at the expense of the original
> > > elements is just not stepping in the right direction, in my view. It has to
> > > stop -- it simply must stop!
> > It won't stop.
> >
> > TLC didn't start out making plastic bricks, and it probably won't end up
> > making them either.
>
> Nope, it probably won't. Lego has chosen to follow a path that leads away from
> a creative toy towards a path that could lead to more money for them. I don't
> blame them. But I do hope that they return to the path they were once on. For
> my own sake, I hope that they don't make more money with the newer
> less-creative sets... perhaps that would encourage them back "our" way... and
> perhaps not...
It looks like these are tricky times for TLC. I hope they *do* see a way
to make good sets profitably (like the Star Wars stuff), but my view is
that the writing's on the wall.
--
Tony Priestman
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: New Castle Sucks (so far...)
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| (...) True enough... everyone's opinion differs (as obviated by the frequent posts on the issue :) ) (...) Actually, I'd disagree... Lego's niche is not in playability-- it's in creativity. There are PLENTY of toys that do cool things with trapdoors (...) (25 years ago, 28-Dec-99, to lugnet.castle)
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