imposter Posted April 3 Posted April 3 This is a very good question. I feel we need more themes like: Ultra Agents, Alien Conquest, Hidden Side, Monster Hunters, Pharaoh's Quest, Galaxy Squad, Space Police 3, even TLM1 and TLM2. DreamZzz... is ending so what happens next!?
TheLegoDr Posted April 3 Posted April 3 LEGO goes with what sells. While a lot of people would love more in house themes, but Licensing is what draws in the audience. The goal is to then have the in house stuff keep people interested. But with non-stop movie/tv tie-ins, I think it is probably hard to compete for shelf space. BUT with that said, clearly I don't know the market or how successful any of these in house stuff is doing, so I don't know the answer to that. But I would say there is a ridiculous amount of licensed themes.
imposter Posted April 3 Author Posted April 3 Ninjago, Friends, Speed Champions, Technic, CITY, and list goes on and on. I would change Star Wars, Harry Potter and Jurassic World LEGO in-house themes: sci-fi, fantasy and dino 2050.
MAB Posted April 4 Posted April 4 No. 9 hours ago, imposter said: Ninjago, Friends, Speed Champions, Technic, CITY, and list goes on and on. I would change Star Wars, Harry Potter and Jurassic World LEGO in-house themes: sci-fi, fantasy and dino 2050. So you would cancel some of the best selling themes and let other manufacturers pick them up, while LEGO tries to produce similar style sets that won't compete. And dumping an important Disney property is likely to make Disney to shift all their properties to another brick building company. Losing big sellers would make buyers shift brands, market share would drop and you'll get less variety of unlicensed sets available. 9 hours ago, imposter said: Ninjago, Friends, Speed Champions, Technic, CITY, and list goes on and on. So you are happy with licenses in Speed Champions?
SpacePolice89 Posted April 4 Posted April 4 What made Lego popular back in the day were the original classic themes like Town, Castle, Space, Trains and later Pirates. Sadly only Town remains as City. If all those themes were available today and well made and designed no licensed themes would be necessary. Maybe a couple of the most popular licensed themes could remain like Star Wars and Harry Potter but no more than two licensed themes should be available in any given year. Besides the original classic themes Lego has also released some newer themes that have become very popular like Bionicle and Ninjago and that proves that modern kids doesn't need licensed sets. A good mix of old and new in house themes should be at least 80% of the sets available and Technic should go back to being in house only.
Mylenium Posted April 4 Posted April 4 9 hours ago, imposter said: I would change Star Wars, Harry Potter and Jurassic World LEGO in-house themes: sci-fi, fantasy and dino 2050. And how would you pay for the development cost? That's the one important question you are not asking. I've said it many times and I'm gonna say it again: Even developing e.g. a sci-fi property with a consistent lore and coherent design philosophy that runs across multiple years could cost hundreds of millions. This stuff doesn't fall out of the sky and to make it even more complicated, this isn't the 1980s or 1990s where you can just color some pieces Trans Neon Green and call it "space". People have completely different expectations these days, not just because 50+ years of Star Wars and Star Trek as well as modern games have conditioned them in a certain way. Rinse repeat for other sub-genres. I'm as fed up with the flood of uninspired licensed stuff just like the next guy and the same could be argued for LEGO's own legacy themes running stale, but I understand why things are the way they are. And we basically have had the proof in front of us several times over the last years with Hidden Side, VIDIYO and DreamZzz not being the hits they should have been. Point in case: It's just infinitely hard to establish a new theme/ series if you don't get it right and the market already is over-saturated with other stuff. Mylenium
MAB Posted April 4 Posted April 4 1 hour ago, Mylenium said: Point in case: It's just infinitely hard to establish a new theme/ series if you don't get it right and the market already is over-saturated with other stuff. Especially when the "other stuff" includes the license that you have just dropped to concentrate on your own designs, but they are being done by another manufacturer whose sales are rapidly increasing as they managed to get hold of the license to produce brick building toys for the largest entertainment company in the world. Not only would the rival's sales of Disney licensed sets be huge, but as people get used to buying their products when shopping for brick sets then sales of the rest of their in-house products would also take off. It would be a huge marketing fail if customers saw that LEGO lost the rights to Star Wars and other Disney brands, Warner Bros, etc and other companies started to produce them.
Mylenium Posted April 4 Posted April 4 56 minutes ago, MAB said: It would be a huge marketing fail if customers saw that LEGO lost the rights to Star Wars and other Disney brands, Warner Bros, etc and other companies started to produce them. Yepp, exactly - for all the reasons you mentioned. Outside our own little AFOL bubble people just don't care whether it's brand X, Y or Z and LEGO losing even one of their long-standing licensed IPs would have a negative impact on them and cause shockwaves... Mylenium
Karalora Posted April 4 Posted April 4 I don't know if "too many" licensed themes is the problem, but certainly some of the specific IPs they license is a little puzzling to me. Like...Wednesday and Wicked? Were they that hard up for "girl" franchises to partner with?
imposter Posted April 4 Author Posted April 4 (edited) 10 hours ago, SpacePolice89 said: What made Lego popular back in the day were the original classic themes like Town, Castle, Space, Trains and later Pirates. Sadly only Town remains as City. If all those themes were available today and well made and designed no licensed themes would be necessary. Maybe a couple of the most popular licensed themes could remain like Star Wars and Harry Potter but no more than two licensed themes should be available in any given year. Besides the original classic themes Lego has also released some newer themes that have become very popular like Bionicle and Ninjago and that proves that modern kids doesn't need licensed sets. A good mix of old and new in house themes should be at least 80% of the sets available and Technic should go back to being in house only. Yes, I 100 % agree. I would add that if it is a in-house theme - there could be animation show or movie / movies. Perhaps LEGO will make adult theme. Alien for example. 18+ THEME FOR ADULTS. Edited April 4 by imposter
JesseNight Posted April 4 Posted April 4 I am not against licensed themes, but I agree there's a bit many. And more, I feel like they keep dragging on waaaaaaaay too long. It's fine to have a Jurassic World theme for 2-3 years when a movie releases.But then move on. Same with Star Wars or any other, although the TV industry is part to blame here for keeping the franchise endlessly going with more series (and lots of disappointments). Just my opinion. I see it too that it works for the big audience, so can't blame Lego for making the best commercial decision. "Back in the day" creative themes were most certainly a much bigger thing.
MAB Posted April 4 Posted April 4 26 minutes ago, JesseNight said: I am not against licensed themes, but I agree there's a bit many. So which licenses and the associated fans would you want to get rid of? If LEGO cut out a small licensed theme, chances are there would be zero extra unlicensed sets made as if there was a market for those unlicensed themes, they'd be filling it. For a few years now, it has been about 50/50 licensed to unlicensed in terms of sets. More licensed themes, but much smaller number of sets per theme than in unlicensed themes.
icm Posted April 4 Posted April 4 You know what a big deal it is that Lego is getting the Pokemon license when Mega used to have it? It would be an even bigger deal if Lego were to give up the Super Heroes, Star Wars, or Jurassic licenses to another company. Personally, I'm fine with the Jurassic license being an umbrella label for all sorts of dinosaur sets with minimal connection to the movies.
imposter Posted April 4 Author Posted April 4 We have to wait those 4 LIVE-ACTION movies. Maybe then we get some creativity. Now it is license after license.
Paul B Technic Posted April 4 Posted April 4 The themes need to be limited to a year or two, let's "move on" from Star Wars.
icm Posted April 4 Posted April 4 I think what most people who want more unlicensed themes actually want isn't more open-ended zany/wacky themes without real-world source material, but more of the old standards like Castle, Trains, Pirates, and Wild West. However, Lego has had little room to maneuver in those old standard spaces lately because of stiff competition from Pantasy, Funwhole, Bluebrixx, and other brands that have aggressively moved into those empty niches in the market. The backfilling of the bottom of the market with low-cost Castle, Trains, Pirates, and Wild West from those other brands may soon change, leaving room for Lego to come back with regular play themes. However, that would be a best-case outcome of a situation that's most likely to leave everyone a lot poorer and a lot less friendly to each other.
Karalora Posted April 5 Posted April 5 3 hours ago, icm said: I think what most people who want more unlicensed themes actually want isn't more open-ended zany/wacky themes without real-world source material, but more of the old standards like Castle, Trains, Pirates, and Wild West. Very much this. Some people seem to want LEGO to be perpetually frozen in the state it was in the 80s and early to mid 90s. I question how much more creative utility could be gotten out of those very well-explored themes and aesthetics. And after the original designers retired, their replacements would want to contribute their own ideas, not be shackled to the creativity of their predecessors.
MAB Posted April 5 Posted April 5 5 hours ago, Paul B Technic said: The themes need to be limited to a year or two, let's "move on" from Star Wars. And what about City, Ninjago, Friends, Technic, Creator,... should they be time limited too? LEGO will produce what people buy and for new themes what they think people will buy. They keep producing Star Wars and City because they sell very well. Killing a top selling theme would be bad for all themes, as LEGO would lose market share and revenue.
imposter Posted April 5 Author Posted April 5 CREATIVITY As a LEGO fanatic, I want creativity and surprises. For example Ninjago seems to be a boring Mech theme. Friends doesn't take much risks either. Technic is vehicle theme. TLG has possibility to make something very wild. Dreamzzz BEST sets are quite close: wild, grazy, new ideas, surprises and so on... (Dreamzzz is ending 2026). ... For example The LEGO Movie 1 and 2 are very CREATIVE themes full of amazing builds. That is why I'm waiting those movies to change the game.
Mylenium Posted April 5 Posted April 5 10 minutes ago, imposter said: CREATIVITY What's that nonsense talk about "creativity" even supposed to mean? I'm afraid none of you are actually making a proper point and are not selling it well. You are just falling back on generic, hollow phrases without explaining what you actually want or would consider "creative". This makes the whole debate utterly useless. Falling back on "the good old times" is just as un-creative as some stuff that goes on with the licensed IPs. I'm the first to criticize LEGO for their laziness, but you have to differentiate between the "creativity" of the designers and the framework they are working in. And let's be real: You can be "creative" all day, but you still need to pay the bills. Every creative person makes compromises along those lines even under ideal conditions. No point being artsy for art's sake, if you get my meaning. 7 hours ago, icm said: I think what most people who want more unlicensed themes actually want isn't more open-ended zany/wacky themes without real-world source material, but more of the old standards like Castle, Trains, Pirates, and Wild West. Amen. And that ship has sailed a long time ago. Not only can LEGO no longer compete with alternate brands in that department due to price considerations, but those genres are not anywhere near as popular as they once were. It's just wishful thinking and an overdose of nostalgia on the part of some people. Mylenium
imposter Posted April 5 Author Posted April 5 CREATIVITY <3 Dreamzzz... Hidden Side Ultra Agents ... Boring Themes Star Wars Ninjago Harry Potter ... LEGO can make amazing In-House-Themes like for example (in 2011) Alien Conquest, Atlantis, Pharaoh's Quest... all in same year. At the moment Dreamzzz... is this "NEW in-house theme". BUT no Game Island Tower and probably ending Q1 2026. I just hope we get more creativity. Now CITY makes quite interesting things: Exploration: Arctic, Deep Sea, Jungle... Police: LEGO CSI Space: NASA, Moon, Mars, Sci-fi... and list goes on...
Renny The Spaceman Posted April 5 Posted April 5 7 hours ago, Karalora said: Very much this. Some people seem to want LEGO to be perpetually frozen in the state it was in the 80s and early to mid 90s. I question how much more creative utility could be gotten out of those very well-explored themes and aesthetics. And after the original designers retired, their replacements would want to contribute their own ideas, not be shackled to the creativity of their predecessors. Little confused by this, like of all the valid criticisms you're saying that the issue is the broad concepts of "Space", "pirates" and so on are too limiting? This isn't like specifically asking for more Bionicle where there's a set aesthetic, set characters and set lore they need to work in these are the broadest concepts possible, if LEGO designers couldn't think of anything interesting for these then that'd be embarrassing. There's no interesting answer here, LEGO's original stuff is more interesting, yes, and I'm sure done well but the funko pop model they have now appeals to a much wider audience of people who wouldn't buy it otherwise. Also, not that they don't do it with original themes, they can really take the piss with pricing when there's a brand involved. Still not getting over how here have been like half a dozen Marvel and Star Wars set in the 50-120 range that are just shitty grey plates with a bunch of half assed minifigures with only couple even being ones people care about. Though I should say while what I said above is true I don't get people who say this stuff as a defence. Like if someone doesn't like the direction LEGO's taken going "it makes sense for the shareholders though" isn't actually a rebuttal. Like yeah it makes sense for Disney to keep doing live action remake a financially, I don't care about if it makes financial sense though because I have no attachment to a corporation so I don't care if they make marginally less money. I think obviously those worried about "creativity" should just take the themes they like and make MOCs for them, it's fun and more creatively stimulating that just buying sets.
imposter Posted April 5 Author Posted April 5 40 minutes ago, Renny The Spaceman said: I think obviously those worried about "creativity" should just take the themes they like and make MOCs for them, it's fun and more creatively stimulating that just buying sets. I just bought this: 70423 Paranormal Intercept Bus 3000 and then I MOC it. Point was that we need more CREATIVE in-house themes like Hidden Side. App is also a BIG part of the theme.
Lion King Posted April 5 Posted April 5 On 4/3/2025 at 4:58 PM, imposter said: Ninjago, Friends, Speed Champions, Technic, CITY, and list goes on and on. I would change Star Wars, Harry Potter and Jurassic World LEGO in-house themes: sci-fi, fantasy and dino 2050. Aren’t Speed Champion and Technic licensed?
Lion King Posted April 5 Posted April 5 Anyways, i agree - there are too much licensed theems this year. I feel like there is no 50;50 balance for both licensed and in-house themes.
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