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LEGO has been on the ropes before. Generic blocks became a race to the bottom. LEGO pulled a Hail Mary and saved itself mostly by associating with popular kids'

LEGO has been on the ropes before. Generic blocks became a race to the bottom. LEGO pulled a Hail Mary and saved itself mostly by associating with popular kids' brands (and leveraging that association to create their own popular brands, like Lego Friends, Legends of Chima, and The LEGO Movie). The irony of that is that most LEGO brick sets are now pre-cut and specially made so that they're hard to use beyond their specific design. Kids don't really buy giant sets of generic, inter-compatible LEGO anymore. They buy licensed LEGO that allow them to rebuild a single figure (potentially with minor customizations), and it seems completely powered by imitating the characters and properties they enjoy, and not the joy of construction. First row of results on Offical LEGO Google Shopping page is 6 pre-cuts: Mercedes AMG GT3, "Expert Assembly Square", Cinderella Castle, VW Bug, Ferrari SF16-H, and "Winter Toy Shop". Screenshot at https://i.imgur.com/c0tP7b4.jpg https://i.imgur.com/c0tP7b4.jpg . Notice all of these are pre-cuts, and only two are non-licensed (Toy Shop/Assembly Square). Minecraft is different in that to this point, licensing has made only minimal excursions (the Mario packs probably being the most prominent example).

thesuitonym 9y ago
I see this complaint a lot when it comes to legos, but it couldn't be more wrong. I can't say for sure on the Disney castle, but those other ones are all using fairly standard parts. Plus, any new pieces are still compatible with the legos you had years ago. fwiw as a kid my parents bought me mostly sets with things like pirate ships and castles and stuff, a specific goal. They were no less fun than the big boxes--in fact, sometimes they were more fun because I had all the pieces I needed to make whatever it was, rather than trying to make something out of the generic boxes and running out of a certain unit. I'm not really sure where this complaint comes from, Legos today interlock exactly as they did 30 years ago, so what if they come with a cute guidebook that shows you how to make an X-wing?
- Waterluvian 9y ago
  I grew up absolutely proud of my complete Ice Planet Lego set. I built it all once and then through years of imagination the ships and vehicles all slowly mutated into things that don't resemble the original designs at all. I would say that the original designs primed my imagination.

thesuitonym 9y ago

I see this complaint a lot when it comes to legos, but it couldn't be more wrong. I can't say for sure on the Disney castle, but those other ones are all using fairly standard parts. Plus, any new pieces are still compatible with the legos you had years ago. fwiw as a kid my parents bought me mostly sets with things like pirate ships and castles and stuff, a specific goal. They were no less fun than the big boxes--in fact, sometimes they were more fun because I had all the pieces I needed to make whatever it was, rather than trying to make something out of the generic boxes and running out of a certain unit. I'm not really sure where this complaint comes from, Legos today interlock exactly as they did 30 years ago, so what if they come with a cute guidebook that shows you how to make an X-wing?

Waterluvian 9y ago
I grew up absolutely proud of my complete Ice Planet Lego set. I built it all once and then through years of imagination the ships and vehicles all slowly mutated into things that don't resemble the original designs at all. I would say that the original designs primed my imagination.