More Photos and Video of 2010 Sets

[Mister Ed]

I think logos are handled differently than text. Logos are seldom translated, as far as I've seen.

I also noticed, if you look closely at the box in the picture, it SEEMS like it is ALL in English. It says "minifigures", not "minifiguren", and appears to say "16 to collect". So the packaging design may be primarily in English, but this bit of advertising is targeted to a German-speaking audience.

[bluemoose]

There is nothing - ABSOLUTELY NOTHING - to support the random parts rumor.

Wow. Such vehemence. I was passing on the info we, the staff, were sent over at Brickset, from a usually reliable source. Don't worry, I won't bother in future.

[infallible]

Love these. Can't wait for them to come stateside. When I see these, I may audibly squeak.

[RocketClone]

Myth: confirmed?

Myth Busted!

[Draykov]

New image over at Brickset. According to Brothers Brick, they may be as cheap as $2 per fig (not really cheap, but cheaper than I was expecting) and they'll be randomly/secretly packed. Scheduled for June 2010 release.

Ginormous photo on Filckr.

[Solo]

I'm going to buy so many of these it's not even funny.

[UOldPirate]

I like not so subtle use of question marks on the packaging. The question will not be "what is inside?", but more like "how much money will we be able to squeeze out of you suckers?" The answer: A lot! The classic sci-fi robot, space guy, clown, wrestler and crash test dummy are tops on my list. I wonder how many bags I'd have to buy to get them all?

[Draykov]

Even though it's an evil genius marketing plan, we are getting some pretty cool/unique figs out of the deal. If they do end up being around the $2 mark, I'd call that win/win.

[banthafodder]

Anyone know where these would be sold? Doesn't really matter, I for one will have not part of....pmmmfphf LOL I almost kept a straight face while typing that.

[bigospedros]

this may sound strange, but I am equally as excited by the prospect of the minifig stands as the minifigs themselves!!

[Jargon]

Not strange at all, bigospedros. I can definitely see several uses for said stands.

- Aaron

[Robzula]

That was my favourite part of the Toy Story army men set. I was like "Helmets.. guns.. STANDS?! Awesome!"

[GIR3691]

The robot only has one claw arm... lame.

I'd be okay getting any of these except maybe the diver and the ninja. The rest have some really unique new parts.

[RocketClone]

Heres to hopeing that there arent some randomly inserted minifigure parts in the bags.

[Clyne]

There is nothing - ABSOLUTELY NOTHING - to support the random parts rumor. Lego may be evil (as in selling these as blind boxes) but they're not stupid.

This topic hadn't caught my attn until today, but clicked in and was pleasantly surprised at what I saw.

Whether or not the bags will contain random pieces I can't really say...but I think it's extremely narrow-minded of you to say that Lego would be stupid to do it. It seems Don and a lot of people here are only looking at this from an AFOL point of view. If you instead take this from the point of view of LEGO's primary market...children 5+...the random pieces theory makes a TON of sense.

These bags will be in direct competition with things like Pokemon cards. Parents will buy their kids a few bags, kids will open them up, figure out what they have and what they want (which is why each package contains a map/breakdown of each character)...and then take to their fellow LEGO fan friends at school to trade for what they need. At least in theory.

I'm not saying they won't just be random, complete figures, but c'mon! Unless you're childless or your kids have no friends, you'd have to realize how ingenious an idea this could be and how TLG could gain a foothold in a marketshare they've not previously been a part of. A pack of Pokemon cards is like $4; by making the bags random pieces, they encourage the trading, and can also get away with a relatively cheaper price point than they're used to ($3 or under say). They can benefit by adding revenue in a lucrative area that they've previously gotten 0. AND even more importantly, they use this as an inexpensive gateway to hook their target audience on their primary product as they grow older.

To take it even further, TLG would be wise to encourage their retail stores to hold "Trading Events" at least once a month so kids have a great way to get together and find the pieces they need to complete their minifigs...and while they're in the store, mom or dad might be more likely to buy them that new SW/SP/PM/Atlantis set they saw in the latest magazine/online.

I actually wonder if TLG has people SMART enough to do the random pieces, not stupid.

[onions]

There is nothing - ABSOLUTELY NOTHING - to support the random parts rumor.

Wow. Such vehemence. I was passing on the info we, the staff, were sent over at Brickset, from a usually reliable source. Don't worry, I won't bother in future.

don't take what don said personally.

i'd be sad if you participated less. more below:

There is nothing - ABSOLUTELY NOTHING - to support the random parts rumor. Lego may be evil (as in selling these as blind boxes) but they're not stupid.

This topic hadn't caught my attn until today, but clicked in and was pleasantly surprised at what I saw.

Whether or not the bags will contain random pieces I can't really say...but I think it's extremely narrow-minded of you to say that Lego would be stupid to do it. It seems Don and a lot of people here are only looking at this from an AFOL point of view. If you instead take this from the point of view of LEGO's primary market...children 5+...the random pieces theory makes a TON of sense.

These bags will be in direct competition with things like Pokemon cards. Parents will buy their kids a few bags, kids will open them up, figure out what they have and what they want (which is why each package contains a map/breakdown of each character)...and then take to their fellow LEGO fan friends at school to trade for what they need. At least in theory.

I'm not saying they won't just be random, complete figures, but c'mon! Unless you're childless or your kids have no friends, you'd have to realize how ingenious an idea this could be and how TLG could gain a foothold in a marketshare they've not previously been a part of. A pack of Pokemon cards is like $4; by making the bags random pieces, they encourage the trading, and can also get away with a relatively cheaper price point than they're used to ($3 or under say). They can benefit by adding revenue in a lucrative area that they've previously gotten 0. AND even more importantly, they use this as an inexpensive gateway to hook their target audience on their primary product as they grow older.

To take it even further, TLG would be wise to encourage their retail stores to hold "Trading Events" at least once a month so kids have a great way to get together and find the pieces they need to complete their minifigs...and while they're in the store, mom or dad might be more likely to buy them that new SW/SP/PM/Atlantis set they saw in the latest magazine/online.

I actually wonder if TLG has people SMART enough to do the random pieces, not stupid.

you can theorize, make arguments, use pokemon as a business model, and invest in such rumors all you want, but like don said, there's no information or proof to support this. i myself will believe that you get a complete figure in blind box packaging, much like how japanese trading figures are done.

and to be just as "narrow minded" as don, i sincerely doubt that these will be in direct competition with pokemon cards. if lego wanted to a foothold in tcg marketshare, they would be making a tcg, not randomized figure packs. do you also believe LEGO is producing $50 dollar sets to compete against video games?

[Solo]

There is nothing - ABSOLUTELY NOTHING - to support the random parts rumor.

Wow. Such vehemence. I was passing on the info we, the staff, were sent over at Brickset, from a usually reliable source. Don't worry, I won't bother in future.

don't take what don said personally.

I didn't catch your post until I saw Ace quote it, but I absolutely wasn't trying to be rude or insinuate anything about Brickset or the staff over there. I was just trying to point out that people were getting rather worked up about a rumor - nothing more. Is there still a chance that these will be parts packs and not minifigs? Sure. But it's ridiculous and unfounded based on the images found so far. Please don't let my blunt reality check dissuade you from reporting tips.

I actually wonder if TLG has people SMART enough to do the random pieces, not stupid.

I just can't fathom anyone thinking this would be a good idea for Lego to try. You're making a pretty big leap comparing these to Pokeman. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you get a complete character on each card, and a handful of playable characters in each pack. You don't get the legs off Pikachu on one card and Charizard's wings on another and then have build a creature to start playing... That would just be absurd. So why would Lego be smart for splitting up the minifig elements? You'd end up with parents buying one or two for their kid, who would open it to find a magicians hat, ninja torso, clown face, and some legs with flippers, and then they'd start crying because they didn't get any of the figures on the box - just a bunch of thematically incomparable parts. Then the parent will look at the crying child, with the hideous mismatched minifig, and think "Well I just wasted my money, I won't be doing that again!" The beauty of existing impulse sets is the completeness of them - for a couple bucks you have a figure and a prop to play with. Take away the prop and you still have a fun new minifig. Make it a random part pack, and you're looking at a lot of unsold items that Nannan will buy cases full on clearance to garnish his Bricklink store.

Blind boxed complete figures fit your dreamy trade scenario a lot better than random parts. Kids can still get together with their friends trying to collect them all, and even if they're stuck with less desirable figures at least they're complete ones. In either case, that's not going to take off without an addictive game or cartoon to make them think they need them all. Bionicle had an ongoing story at least, and that came the closest Lego will ever get to a Pokeman level merchandise blitz.

[Jargon]

In either case, that's not going to take off without an addictive game or cartoon to make them think they need them all. Bionicle had an ongoing story at least, and that came the closest Lego will ever get to a Pokeman level merchandise blitz.

I'm guessing that these will be tied in with LEGO Universe. The cowboy/debonair adventurer made an appearance in the trailer.

- Aaron

[Solo]

If it were a tie in there would be piles of cross-marketing on the package.

[The Brain]

You'd end up with parents buying one or two for their kid, who would open it to find a magicians hat, ninja torso, clown face, and some legs with flippers, and then they'd start crying because they didn't get any of the figures on the box - just a bunch of thematically incomparable parts.

I don't know so much about this. I would think a magician/ninja/clown/diver would be a pretty sweet career to have. Who wouldn't want their LEGO city full of these folks?

All joking aside, it is more feasible to include a complete figure, but one the customer has no way of knowing what they're getting until they open the packaging. Personally, I would not mind random parts--it would be kinda fun to have weird looking figs that you could later complete as you purchase more fig packs. I do hope real information about these is released soon.