A surprise among the robots
With the entire Numerika team, here we are again. Robots, robots, and more robots…. it’s as if the whole world was waiting for nothing else. Little robots that do all your tasks.
But then, we stumbled upon a section. A new one. Not so new, actually, since everyone knows it well.
Lego is therefore taking advantage of this CES to announce a new brick that will revolutionize (as soon as we hear the word « revolution, » we want to put earplugs in, but since we like Lego, we still decided to listen to what they had to say) the way of playing with their small plastic bricks.
So, it’s called, not very originally, it must be said: Smart Bricks. Small bricks with a computer inside. A computer? Well, yes, a chip, really! But it has at least the power of 1000 computers from back in the day (you know, the old days, when things were good and the future was wonderful and full of beautiful promises). In short, we won’t dwell on it for hours: a chip in certain bricks that allows them to transform into, in a way, magical bricks, since they will be able to interact with each other, via the magic of Bluetooth and other technological wizardry.
Chips in normal bricks, but also in the characters, who will therefore also be able to interact with the other bricks.
The first range to benefit will be the Star Wars collection, which seems quite logical, with 3 sets that will contain more or fewer chips depending on the price you want to pay:
| Set | Price / Pieces | « Smart » Elements (Bricks / Tags / Minifigures) |
| Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter | $70 / 473 pcs. | 1 brick, 1 tag, 1 minifigure (Vader) |
| Luke’s Red Five X-Wing | $100 / 584 pcs. | 1 brick, 5 tags, 2 minifigures (Luke, Leia) |
| Throne Room Duel & A-Wing | $160 / 962 pcs. | 2 bricks, 5 tags, 3 minifigures (Luke, Palpatine, Vader) |
No, this is not entry-level pricing, but who said Lego was still a popular brand?
An attempt to resurrect the late Mindstorms
In an interesting interview with Jessica Benson, Lego’s spokesperson, we learn that all this is very nice, but at Lego, well, they’re not entirely sure about it yet. In other words, they are testing. They want to see. For now, their product is limited to a few boxes, but they hope to develop the collections based on the success they encounter or not. The goal is to achieve a new digital system, a kind of intelligent overlay, which would allow for new interactions between the bricks… A kind of digitalization of Legos.
The announcement did not fail to stir waves of enthusiasm or indignation, depending on the brand’s followers’ perspective.
A rather positive reception from brand enthusiasts
Many obviously see it as a gadget that would distort the very spirit of Lego and curb children’s imagination with special effects, noises, and lights that would reduce their ability to express themselves and create worlds on their own. They are not wrong. In the first kit, for example, the famous Star Wars refrain (Ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta!) can be triggered by certain actions, whereas children, I know well, certainly make much nicer « Ta ta ta, ta ta ta, ta ta ta! » than an electronic chip.
« Wasn’t the goal of LEGO, at one time, to stimulate children’s imagination so they could create their own toys? Part of the fun is running around with your creation, making the sound effects yourself, inventing dialogues and the story as you go. Why put computers in the bricks so that LEGO ends up « playing by itself » for you? If we replace the lasers and engine noises that children already do very well with their mouths, we mutilate a large part of what makes LEGO so precious. » Comment on The Verge
The most cynical primarily see it as a way to sell even more Star Wars licenses, a real cash cow for Lego for years.
And finally, some worry about a shift of the brand towards a collector’s market, which would be surprising, because even if the success of adult Lego is undeniable, it can only rely on childhood nostalgia, and therefore, to love adult Legos, one must have played with them as a child. It is therefore an endless cycle that Lego’s marketing has very cleverly established, and it would be surprising if they were to separate from it given the power of this circle.
Conversely, many are enthusiastic about this resurrection and this new attempt to introduce electronics into plastic bricks. The most knowledgeable among you, dear readers, will undoubtedly remember the Master Mind collection which paved the way without ultimately succeeding.
They see this as a new way to play with bricks by adding a new playful layer, but not only that: for them, these chips will allow children to develop new skills, because, let’s not be mistaken, and as … said in his interview with The Verge: there is no doubt that eventually, these bricks will be programmable.
And to conclude this brief overview of reactions, a positive point on which everyone agrees (and which I endorse, as a UX expert): the absence of a screen. We don’t need additional screens. The future belongs to invisible interfaces. In this, Lego will have at least scored a point. It remains to be seen if this new attempt to integrate digital technology into plastic will bear fruit in the coming months.
« The fact that LEGO competes with screens is precisely why they will remain relevant. Many young parents today talk about tablet use the way people once talked about cigarettes: they know how addictive and harmful it is for children’s attention spans. They are desperately trying to avoid this through « analog » play. This brick, even if technological, remains a way to bring children back to the physical world. », comment on The Verge
« The fact that LEGO competes with screens is precisely why they will remain relevant. Many young parents today talk about tablet use the way people once talked about cigarettes: they know how addictive and harmful it is for children’s attention spans. They are desperately trying to avoid this through « analog » play. This brick, even if technological, remains a way to bring children back to the physical world. », comment on The Verge
Laisser un commentaire