Subject:
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Re: RCX & RIS, a fading glory?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Thu, 21 Aug 2003 02:21:51 GMT
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Viewed:
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1323 times
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-snip-.
>
> I know LEGO can't afford to cater to only the AFOL, but I believe
> that there are many (I don't know how many) kids who also are
> turned off by these limitations. Maybe not all kids, I'm sure there
> are some (maybe even a majority) of kids out there who don't have
> the patience, imagination or inclination to put the time in to design
> really cool robots with this stuff even if the RIS weren't as limited
> as it is.
>
> However I also believe that there is another type of kid out there.
> One who is willing to put in the time, has the ideas, wants to build,
> but only ends up coming to the realization that the RCX isn't easily
> used for things you'd really want to make a robot do.
-snip-
>
> I think many of these kids like the RIS/RCX but also see the
> uselessness of the expansion packs (extreme sports? that'd be
> interesting for all of 5 minutes!) These kids I think get turned
> to Mindstorms through frustration of not being able to build what
> they imagine are the same kids that are destined to grow up to
> be AFOL's. They are US in training.
>
> WHen I was a kid there were many kids who had LEGO at home. But
> only a few were the kids that could play with it for hours on
> end. Who wouldn't stop trying to build something until it became
> obvious that they just didn't have enough parts.
-snip-
>
> These kids still exist today. They are probably just as turned
> on by mindstormas as we were originally, and they're probably
> just as frustrated with it's limitations as we are today. (This
> type of kid is probably also just as frustrated with the large
> single use parts in all the new sets too.)
>
> The question is, how much business is LEGO losing by allowing
> this segment of the kid market to slip away. When I think of
> the 20 kids in my neighborhoods growing up, only me and 2 others
> had a significant LEGO collection. Only the 3 of us put it
> on our christmas lists. Others had some, but I doubt even put
> together they made up a significant part of the LEGO consumption.
>
> As I said above these are the kids that *might* turn into AFOL's.
> Instead of trying to target LEGO towards younger and younger
> crowds, I think that LEGO should also be trying to keep this
> segment of the true 'LEGO kid' hooked all the way through high school
> and college, and *make sure* they turn into an AFOL. To do this
> they really need to make a product that not only challenges
> this mechanical and engineering oriented type of kid but also
> something that doesn't frustrate them by limiting the possibilities.
-snip-
>
> > It's like you wanted to create a gorgeous Lego sculpture - but there were
> > arbitary rules like "No matter how many bricks you have, you can't stack
> > them more than three high - oh and by the way, yellow bricks won't stick
> > to blue ones". A Lego system that wouldn't let you build any structure
> > more than three bricks high wouldn't be anything like as interesting.
>
> Yes, that's a great analogy, and even kids can see those
> limitations for what they are.
>
>
> -Kyle
I'm an AFOL in training :-). Seriously, I've been angry at what Lego's been
pumping out since I was in 5th grade (I'm going into 10th now, but still the
same matter), and I really think they need to get the act together. It's just
not right :-(. I bought Black Falcon's fortress two days ago, and I had more fun
putting it together than I've had in years. It was like a drug I had been
missing.
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: RCX & RIS, a fading glory?
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| (...) I agree with this wholeheartedly. And I think that LEGO is missing out on great opportunities in this market because of these limitations. I know LEGO can't afford to cater to only the AFOL, but I believe that there are many (I don't know how (...) (22 years ago, 30-Jan-03, to lugnet.robotics)
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