Subject:
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Re: End of Year Thoughts
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Sat, 1 Dec 2001 02:32:26 GMT
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Viewed:
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627 times
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> In lugnet.general, Anders Isaksson writes:
> > "Allan Bedford" <apotomeREMOVE-THIS@altavista.net> skrev i meddelandet • news:GnLEz9.FG2@lugnet.com...
> > [...]
> > Allan Bedford, who still thinks Classic Space is perhaps the best 'series'
> > that LEGO ever released. Strong theme, consistent colors and incredible
> > design. Those aren't really complicated ideas are they? Why could this
> > company pull off that series 20+ years ago, but today can't come up with a
> > single set that maintains those common sense principles?
>
> Maybe because 20+ years ago, the Space Race was still Big News (OK, maybe
> 20+++ years ago), kids only had 2 TV channels to watch, no home computers, no
> internet, no MP3, everything moved on in a slower tempo, the Lego patents were
> still active so there wasn't any competition, and so on...
I guess I should clarify. If you look at the three things I mentioned:
1) Strong theme
2) Consistent colors
3) Incredible design
You'll note that they don't specifically relate to the Classic Space theme
itself. The question wasn't, "why can't LEGO sell the Classic Space stuff
today?" But rather the question was, "why can't LEGO go back to those three
central principles that lead them to success many years ago. Those
principles are timeless. They apply as much today as then.
As a follow-up point, it's interesting to note that in the year the first
LEGO space sets debuted, the American space program was at an all-time low.
The glory days of the Apollo moon landings were long over and the shuttle
was yet to fly. In fact, the very year we first saw 'Classic Space' was the
same year we were all watching the skys waiting for Skylab to fall. And
yet... in the face of all that... the space sets were wildy popular. This
speaks volumes about setting trends... not following them. Fad toys and
LEGO simply do not mix.
> Life changes, people changes, companies changes, _everything_ changes, all the
> time.
Yes. And in this case subject/themes change. The sophistication of
children changes (increasing as LEGO's toys continue to decrease in their
sophistication). And in all honesty I feel that the company simply isn't
seeing the real way in which things are changing. They are pursuing an
ideal of children's toys that was in vogue about the time Ford was President.
> My kids think that Lego makes cool products, I myself think Lego makes _some_
> cool products and a lot of rubbish...
Do your kids ever get a look at the catalogs that LEGO put out in the mid to
late 70's? I'm not trying to be argumentative, I'm sincerely curious. I
just wonder if they know how different things used to be.
> Anders Isaksson, Sweden
> BlockCAD: http://user.tninet.se/~hbh828t/proglego.htm
Ironically, it was the BlockCAD program that first got me thinking about
LEGO as an adult and quickly lead to the end of my dark ages. Then I got
the taste of real bricks in my blood again, and I don't use it very much
now. :)
Regards,
Allan B.
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: End of Year Thoughts
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| <snip> (...) for me, it was just over 2 years ago, I was doing good fighting urges to go back to collecting the lego, avoiding the toy stores, trying hard not to look in the toy advertizements. Then I made the mistake of going into a toy store, and (...) (23 years ago, 1-Dec-01, to lugnet.general)
| | | Re: End of Year Thoughts
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| "Allan Bedford" <apotomeREMOVE-THIS@...vista.net> skrev i meddelandet news:Gnn8E2.Cvq@lugnet.com... (...) I don't see any irony in that, BlockCAD is only a substitute for The Real Thing, and it _does_ have it's limitations. I'm using it to relax (...) (23 years ago, 1-Dec-01, to lugnet.general)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: End of Year Thoughts
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| "Allan Bedford" <apotomeREMOVE-THIS@...vista.net> skrev i meddelandet news:GnLEz9.FG2@lugnet.com... (...) Maybe because 20+ years ago, the Space Race was still Big News (OK, maybe 20+++ years ago), kids only had 2 TV channels to watch, no home (...) (23 years ago, 30-Nov-01, to lugnet.general)
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