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In lugnet.general, Jeff Thompson writes:
> In lugnet.general, Andy Lynch writes:
> > Has anyone done a study to determine what is so appealing to the buyers
> > of Bionicle? And I don't mean the AFOLs as much as the rest of the
> > buyers...
> >
> > Is it:
> > - Because they are robotic/action figures?
I like the actions and articulation, so that may be part of it. But I never
play with them as if they were non-LEGO action figures. Playing with Bionicle
is taking all of the sets apart and building new creatures.
> > - Because they have a full online story behind them, with characters and
> > a specific storyline?
I collect Bionicle, and I've never visited bionicle.com. I try to pay little
attention to the story and create my own characters. I do enjoy the free comic
books, though.
> > - The online game, which is different from just a storyline, I guess.
> > - Because they are "combat" based? ( The idea of "knocking masks off" to
> > "cure" infected or evil enemies)
> >
> > any other ideas?
>
> I think the very fact that we have Bionicle today is due
> to the past success of the Throwbot/Slizers and Roboriders
> sets.
>
> Whenever LEGO has a runaway best-seller (e.g. the Aquanaut
> sets), they run the idea into the ground trying to replicate
> that success (e.g. all the subsequent underwater sets).
>
> Throwbots must have sold very well for LEGO to continue
> tweaking and reintroducing the idea of the collectable
> little robot action figures.
>
> So, what makes them popular? Here's my guess.
>
> 1. They're cheap.
>
> Since they're only a handful of parts, LEGO can sell them
> for $5-$7. This puts them perfectly in the range of
> impulse buy, and since they come in a fairly substantial
> package, the casual buyer can feel good that they're getting
> a fair amount of toy for their money.
More importantly, they're often not availible- could LEGO be doing that on
purpose? If I can't plan my Bionicle purchases because stores rarely have them,
they become much more of an impule buy when I do find some. This is especially
true of mask boxes!
> 3. They're robotic, and vaguely combat-oriented.
Bionicle isn't robotic, it's "robot-oriented". Mindstorms is robotic.
> Once someone has all six (or all 12, or all 18) bionicles, they're
> not likely to want to buy multiples of the toys. There's a
> limit to how many of the toys a kid will want (one of each).
I strongly diasgree. A Toa isn't just a character, it's a can of LEGO building
pieces. Collect more pieces, and you can build a bigger, better creature.
Look here:
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Station/3260/bionicle2/bionicle2.htm#top
I own two copies each for 7 of the 12 Throwbots, and one set I own three of.
If I find some half-price Toa in the future, I'll do the same.
> You can see LEGO trying to do this with Bionicle - with the larger
> "bad guy" sets. My expectation is that those sets will sell modestly
> in comparision to the cheaper ones - the "collecting hook" isn't
> as sharp with the larger sets. You really don't need to buy the big
> spider or whatever to feel like you have a complete set of toa.
> The discontinuity of form factor will work against the larger sets.
> Just a guess.
I agree. I own one Rahi set (Nui-Rama) and I don't feel that I need any more.
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