Subject:
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Re: Some disturbing news
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Tue, 26 Oct 1999 19:32:30 GMT
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Viewed:
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1434 times
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Travis Yanke wrote:
> In lugnet.general, Todd Lehman writes:
> > In lugnet.general, "Tony Kilaras" <kilaras@speedus.com> writes:
> > > I would say Lego has been targeting primarily kids since the introduction of
> > > the mini-fig. I can't think of even one instance (and I've been here a long
> > > time) where Lego implemented something an AFOL wanted.
> >
> > Well, except Star Wars -- but kids probably wanted that too. Do you mean
> > things which adults wanted but which kids didn't necessarily want? Yeah,
> > hmmm, I can't think of any wishes-come-true either -- certainly not in
> > Castle or Town, to say the least.
> >
> > There may be shred of hope, however -- Eric Kingsley of NELUG noted in
> >
> > http://www.lugnet.com/org/us/?n=92
> >
> > that TLG reps stopped by the NELUG table during MindFest and asked them what
> > they would like to see as the next MindStorms Star Wars set. In the worst
> > case, maybe they were just asking just out of curiosity, but I'll bet they
> > were clearly able to see that they were talking to some very excited and
> > knowledgeable adult Star Wars and LEGO fanatics whose opinion was actually
> > worth something to them.
> >
> >
> > > What's changed is that
> > > Lego now thinks that kids are now simplistic, commercially driven, • attention-
> > > deficit afflicted morons. Hence, rampant juniorization and tie-ins with Star
> > > Wars and Disney and God knows what else.
> >
> > It sure seems that way. :-(
> >
> >
> > > We can't do anything about the current situtation. Nothing. We have to wait
> > > this nonsense out. I regret that Star Wars is such a success for Lego • because
> > > it merely postpones the day of reckoning.
> >
> > I'm holding out hope for a few things:
> >
> > * I know there are people within TLG who understand why the Star Wars line
> > is such a success -- and not just because of the name, but because of the
> > non-juniorization of it. If these people can convince Marketing or whomever
> > to return to non-juniorization and other traditional values, then there's
> > still hope. Even if some of the product lines, not necessarily all of them,
> > are course-corrected, it could be majorly helpful.
> >
> > * Through attrition and layoffs, gradually there will be newer and newer
> > employees in the design and marketing departments at LEGO. We know from
> > Jeroen Ottens's appearance and information tidbits earlier this year that
> > TLG does hire adult fanatic builders occasionally, and I cannot imagine that
> > not being an increasing trend as more and more adult fanatic builders become
> > more connected and visible. So, I try to think of it as us adults gradually
> > infiltrating LEGO over time and having a positive impact (assuming that all
> > the good ideas don't get shot down). By the year 2005, nearly every new
> > employee that LEGO hires for design probably will have been exposed to quite
> > a bit of excellent fan-stuff on the net and probably will be fairly
> > knowledgeable about what and how adult builders think.
> >
> > * As more and more people aggregate into clubs and user groups like PNLTC,
> > GMLTC, NELUG, and BAYLUG, more and more articles about adults will begin
> > appearing in the popular press. Just earlier this week in fact there was an
> > article[1] in the New York Times which mentioned adults. And of course
> > there was the mention in Entertainment Weekly last month, and the Forbes
> > articles about reverse engineering the RCX. The stage is really set now for
> > a nice steady ramp-up over the next 12 to 18 months. By 2001, it will be
> > impossible for TLG to ignore the quantity of "visible" adult builders. I
> > don't know what that number will be, but it will surely be in the tens of
> > thousands. Someday, maybe 2005, maybe it'll be a hundred thousand.
> >
> > Like you say, we've gotta just wait it out. Someday the sleeping giant will
> > awaken, and let's just hope that it's friendly to us.
> >
> > --Todd
> >
> > [1] http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/10/biztech/articles/23lego.html
>
> I have just stumbled upon all of this(lugnet, nelug, etc.) in the past couple
> days after I started researching Lego on the net. After buying the Classic
> Star Wars sets this summer I have decided to get back into Lego after 10 years
> of them being stored away in a closet at my parents' house. But it seems that
> there has been so much going on with TLG that I am a little disheartened at
> expanding my huge childhood collection to encompass my needs as and adult
> builder. I too have unfortunately watched Lego and the sets it markets go
> "downhill" these past 10 years as I would "checkup" on what was new in the toy
> department of local stores if I had some free time.
Travis,
WELCOME!!
Don't let our ranting get you down. We do this every couple of months (a
collective tantrum, so to speak). It's LEGO therapy on a mass scale!
Yes we have our differences with the LEGO company (TLG for short), but it's "the
love of the brick" that keeps us going.
There are a lot of dedicated people out there that have the LEGO bug. And there
are a lot of auctions, sales, trading and LEGOfests going on to get more of what
you want. I think you will see LEGO conventions in the near future as well.
Collectively I think that we are going to have the best LEGO years ahead of us.
It's just that we are going to have to drag TLG into the 21st century (kicking and
screaming to be sure).
Just stay the course.....
Gary Istok
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Some disturbing news
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| (...) couple (...) years (...) that (...) toy (...) "the (...) there (...) what (...) us. (...) and (...) Thanks Gary, I guess the next step for me is to dig out those buckets and tubs of little plastic bricks next time I visit my parents. But then (...) (25 years ago, 26-Oct-99, to lugnet.general)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Some disturbing news
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| (...) attention- (...) because (...) days after I started researching Lego on the net. After buying the Classic Star Wars sets this summer I have decided to get back into Lego after 10 years of them being stored away in a closet at my parents' (...) (25 years ago, 26-Oct-99, to lugnet.general)
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