Loading... Competing with the License

[Ethec]

"Publisher" used to be almost a curse word among game developers, but have IP holders / licensees become more of an evil (albeit a very necessary one) in recent years? Loading... looks at the tricky relationship between brand promoters and MMO developers in light of yesterday's LEGO Universe delay announcement.

We've also completed our much-admired spell lists for three WoW classes and have a EVE Online race guide for your perusal, plus full-length video from the DC Universe panel at NY Comic-Con, a Seal Online preview, and two editorials. That, and our daily Epic Forum Thread and Real World News await you in Loading... Competing with the License.

[SirVile]

Lego had "issues" understanding communities of Lego enthusiasts they didn't control directly when Mindstorms became popular. Enthusiasts wrote their own OS for the product to enhance it's capabilities and had a Web presence for fellow enthusiasts to share code and info. Unfortunately the OS was called LegOS and Lego felt compelled to protect their brand. The legal dogs were "let slip" and it became a bit nasty for a while.

At the end of the day, Lego missed an opportunity to support the expansion of their products into a non-traditional market (Lego totally miscalculated the demographic, and popularity of Mindstorms). I suppose if all you think about is tiny plastic blocks, then that could affect your paradigm.

I expect there were similar surprised faces at Lego with the demographic and popularity of Lego Star Wars, both sets and video games. If they want to take the next step and get into the MMO market, they really need to sit down and work their strategy out a little more; including what risks/rewards are on the table.

They also need to understand that some of these products don't compete, but are complementary (especially since their concerned with impacting the sales of physical products and not video games). I'm more likely to buy a poster for a movie I've watched, or a figurine of a character from anime I enjoy.

They also have to understand the Nostalgia Effect where parents aren't buying the Lego for their 2yo, but for themselves. This especially apparent with the double nostalgia whammy from Lego and Star Wars.

To be fair, the "plastic block" market is big business and they have had several competitors essentially ripping off their ideas. They probably couldn't be blamed for being a little cautious.

[Ethec]

Excellent post, I hadn't heard of LegOS before and I'm sorry I never got to see it in action. Video games are a separate but complimentary market segment for LEGO and I hope they come to see that soon.