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One issue that has consistently been brought up in yearly LEGO Star Wars set release discussions is the perceived imbalance in the distribution of sets by subtheme. Since the start of the LEGO Star Wars license in 1999, all the sets have always been based on the OT and PT movies - until came the Clone Wars animated series in 2008 which has significantly changed the landscape of set distribution by subtheme. As expected, the onset of the new show has paved the way for a strong presence of TCW sets from that point forward, much to the dismay of some OT/PT fans. Most of the SW movie-based FOLs feel that "there aren't enough OT/PT sets" being released and "there's always too much CW sets" in the yearly line-up. While their sentiments can be understandably rooted to their passion towards the SW movies (most especially the most-beloved classic OT), are these sentiments fairly justified based on the actual numbers of the LSW sets released? To answer this question, I tried to conduct a simple (and hopefully useful) statistical investigation on the distribution of the LSW sets throughout the years - from the start of the license up to the present, and with a closer look in the so-called "Clone Wars Era" (2008-present). NOTES: The sets included in the statistical data are regular sets and does not include promotional polybags and minifigs, advent calendars, superpacks, conference exclusives, accessories (key chains, magnet sets, clocks, etc.) Brickset was used as basis of the set list by year, but I used my personal judgment in classifying in which subtheme the sets righfully belong to. The statistical data encompass all sets released from 1999 up to the confirmed 2013 sets (first half). I do not, in any way, claim to be a statistical expert but I did my best to make the statistical graphical analysis to be as accurate as possible. If you find any inaccuracy feel free to point it out and I'm very much open to corrections. KEY FINDINGS Overall (1999-2013*) Movie-based (OT/PT) sets account for almost 80% of all sets released, with OT sets making up almost half of all LSW sets. Both OT and PT have separately higher percentage of sets vs. CW overall (46% OT, 32% PT vs. 19% CW). CW Era (2008-2013*) Even during the CW Era, the combined OT- and PT-based sets outnumber the CW sets (54% vs. 41%); though the two trilogies have lower individual percentages against the CW sets at this particular period. In terms of average sets per year, the movies has generated a combined ~11 sets/year during the CW era, as opposed to the ~8.5 sets/year by the CW series. During the 5.5 years (including the first half of 2013) of the CW era, CW sets have only outnumbered the movie-based sets during the first two years (2008, 2009), and in the succeeding 3.5 years CW sets have been signficantly reduced in favor of OT- and PT-based sets. Despite the presence of CW sets in the CW era, OT sets had maintained a respectable average of ~7 sets/year, which is only a slight drop-off from ~8 sets/year during the Pre-CW years. CONCLUSION So what is our key takeaway from this statistical study? It is clear by the numbers that the perceived disappointment of some SW movie-based FOLs of having "not much OT/PT sets" is a bit 'unfounded' and presumably based on miscalculated personal judgement. The statistical results support the notion that TLG has been making a conscious effort during the past couple of years to please all LSW fanbases by giving a good balance of sets based on the OT & PT movies, CW series, and even SW video games like TFU and TOR. If there's one thing that I could suggest to TLG, if it is possible, is to give an equal number of sets for the movie and CW based sets, more like a 50-50 split (or close to it) - that way all the FOLs from the different SW genres will be satisfied with their "fair share" of LSW sets. But what's most important is at the end of the day we all realize that we are all fans of LEGO and Star Wars, and as such we should be a bit more understanding and trust TLG's decision-making with regards to which sets will be released every year.
