Has LEGO Universe flopped?

 

  • Has LEGO Universe flopped?

    Posted by Huw, 24 Feb 2011 13:06. Filed under Miscellaneous.

    2856027: LEGO Universe: Prima Official Game Guide
    Gear/Books/Game guides, 2010
    More details...
    ©2010 LEGO Group

    More evidence surfaced today that suggests that LEGO Universe has flopped big time. First we had the halving of the cost of the software, then it was halved again. Now, today, news has emerged that NetDevil, its developers, has laid off most of its staff (in a not particularly pleasant way), which can only mean one thing as far as I am concerned: Universe is a flop.

    I suspect the main reason is, as others have commented here before, that the subscription costs are too expensive. But it may also be because LEGO fans would rather be spending their time playing and building with real bricks rather than virtual ones. I'm sure most of you fall into this camp.

    Universe was only launched in October following something like 4 years of development, so its failure after just 5 months won't be good news from a financial perspective. It was a huge risk for LEGO to create a MMOG and it looks like it hasn't paid off.

    I guess the company had better stick to what they do best, what they do better than anyone else and what we all love them for...

    Update: I've re-worded the headline because it seems that development of Universe is being transferred to LEGO and many of the development team are now working for LEGO (source article) so maybe it isn't the flop the initial facts suggested. (thanks jamesster for posting this link in the comments)

    (read first on A Modular Life)


    79 comments, latest one posted 26 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)
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Comments

Posted by Carl in New Zealand, 24 Feb 2011 13:27

i didn't even play it

Posted by stoneboys in United States, 24 Feb 2011 13:28

wow.....I had no idea they had laid off people. But when I tested the game it was fun I dont know why it would have failed.

Posted by Markey in Belgium, 24 Feb 2011 13:39

I spotted the article on eurogamer earlier today. Sad news, but tbh, it was to be expected, as I didn't read many praising reviews and the subscription fees were high. I never played it myself. I feel sorry for the people who lost their jobs! I'm a games developer myself, and have been through redundancies twice, it's not nice! I hope they find another job soon.

Posted by MCNwakeboard in United Kingdom, 24 Feb 2011 13:39

I never played it either, but I am guessing most parents weren't interested in shelling out the monthly fee and most kids old enough to be getting into MMOG are often heading into their dark ages and want to play world of warcraft or something more adult oriented.

On the other hand, the Lego Video games have been very successful, so there are people interested in playing with digital legos.

Posted by vamproe in United States, 24 Feb 2011 13:40

they should relaunch as a xbox 360 game or PS3. a game that stands on it's own or you can go on-line thru xbox live and PS3 connection (or whatever it is called) and play online that wayI would have got it. (was a tester too), but I didn't like the pay to play idea.

Posted by Sly Raskal in United States, 24 Feb 2011 13:47

I didn't play it and wasn't planning on it. But if there ever was a Sim City game with a LEGO theme, I'd buy it in a heart beat. So long as EA doesn't butcher the franchise anymore than they already did with the last release. It's unfortunate that a new Sim City hasn't been developed yet. Maxis should never have let EA buy them out.

Posted by martiger in United States, 24 Feb 2011 13:51

I bought the game. I bought the book. I did not pay subscription. I will not miss that game. Graphic was terrible. Game was very hard to play and BORING

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 24 Feb 2011 13:53

> On the other hand, the Lego Video games have been very successful

They have, but they've attracted teens and adults who are primarily video game fans rather than LEGO fans.

Universe doesn't really aim for that market.

Posted by MinifigureMan in United Kingdom, 24 Feb 2011 13:54

I thought it might not go very well, I was kinda interested until I saw the subscription rates and it just completely put me off.

Posted by CapnRex101 in United Kingdom, 24 Feb 2011 13:55

Poor idea, poor execution and worst of all, poor NetDevil employees! I think it would be best to stick to Lego which you can hold in your hands (but don't stop the Lego Star Wars games!)

Posted by freeze992 in United States, 24 Feb 2011 13:59

I think it is too combat-oriented. Younger kids don't usually care for games that are about fighting all the time, and if they do their parents don't approve of it (after all, it is rated E10+) or aren't willing to pay the fee. Older kids like teens and pre-teens would probably [1] choose a "better" (i.e. more violent and less "childish") MMOG or [2] simply not play MMOG's at all.

Hopefully they'll switch to in-game micro-transactions and remove the monthly fee. Also, it might help if they add more adventure- and creativity-centric elements to the game. Of course, I haven't actually played it myself, but these things don't seem to be as common as fighting enemies.

Posted by beefygrefe in United States, 24 Feb 2011 14:02

I don't think that Lego Universe was a bad game but I think trying to make a game geared toward younger kids, for the personal computer, wasn't the best plan. There are plenty of games, on other systems, geared toward kids that don't require a subscription to play. If I had kids and I either had to get them a Mario game (for a 1 time cost of $50) or a game that I have to pay a subscription for, I'll go for Mario. Yes, Lego Universe has a changing world to offer up variety and reason to keep playing (versus the 12-20 hours it'll take to get through a Mario game) but I don't know if kids have the attention span to stay with a game longer than a couple of weeks.

I think if you're hoping to hook a specific demographic that is willing to pay a subscription cost, you need to aim for the 14-26 crowd. And I don't think Lego Universe isn't going to have the staying power with that group, outside of us AFOL/TFOL...and its not like we're a big part of the gaming population...most of my friends that game aren't really interested in bricks.

Posted by copperwonder96 in United States, 24 Feb 2011 14:12

I knew when they first announced it that I would never have time to build and play games. I used to split my time between Star Craft and Lego. When the Cafe Corner hit the shelves Star Craft took a back seat and that was the death of my online gaming life. I tried to get back into online gaming when World of Warcraft got big but I had to give up building MOCs. I definately think the online game imagination competes against real life imagination. The two cannot coexist (there is a great thesis paper in this somewhere)!

Posted by legobagel in United Kingdom, 24 Feb 2011 14:17

thats a shame its a flop :( oh well at least we got the got the games made by TT!

Posted by freeze992 in United States, 24 Feb 2011 14:21

@Beefygrefe: Good point about the PC being a poor choice. If LU was released for the Wii without a subscription, I would definitely buy it. Especially if it had local multiplayer.

Posted by legobagel in United Kingdom, 24 Feb 2011 14:26

@Beefygrefe and freeze992: what you dont understand is that MMORPGs ( which is the kind of game LEGO universe) is that they only released on the PC and/or iMAC. but i do agree with you that i should have been released on consoles aswell.

Posted by Murdoch17 in United States, 24 Feb 2011 14:27

Darn... I really like the game, and hope it continues, (After all, I payed $40 for a minifig I could buy off Bricklink for $13 USD) but after seeing this, I think I wasted my money. Oh well. You win some, you lose some. ==Murdoch17==

Posted by camlad in United Kingdom, 24 Feb 2011 14:31

i think they should do a game like minecraft or even better they should make minedraft LEGO that would be awsome and it would make them loads of money...who agrees?

Posted by Darren Coppinger in Ireland, 24 Feb 2011 14:41

Let the beta testers play for free

Posted by Don Cristo in Belgium, 24 Feb 2011 14:46

I am certain the game has qualities. Many. Unfortunately, it was released more than a year later than previously announced. This was the first blow to its popularity. Then came the second: the monthly subscription fee. It is was put me off, and I would bet I was not the only one in this case. Paying for the game is very normal, but having to pay 3 times its price just to be able to keep playing it for a year is unthinkable for me. Too bad, but I'll survive this and buy real bricks instead.

Posted by pop3465 in United States, 24 Feb 2011 14:54

I wanted the game until I read the comments so I decided was not going to get it.The monthly fee was too high for something.

Posted by yys4u in United States, 24 Feb 2011 14:58

I was a beta tester and I was really split on the game. I liked it in that it was different and fun at times and creative and had a lot of good ideas, but there were times I just wanted to break my comp cause it was so frustrating, which i assumed was because they were still working out the bugs. Here are a couple main things I thought lead to its flop.

1. The subscription fee. Pretty obvious. I thought it was relatively cheap as far as MMORPGs, the problem was in they month or so that I beta tested it, I was 90% done with the game, and 100% done with the beta (not all areas had been opened to beta)

2. No PVP, It wasn't worth the sub fee if I could beat the game in a month. THe only thing that would have kept me playing is bettering my character but theres no reason too because you can't fight other players. And theres only 3 tiers of armor and weapons to get.

3. The chat. I understand lego's attempt to make the game safe for kids, but the chat was unbearable. It was SO restricted in what you could say, that it made trading items with other players almost impossible. You couldn't even type numbers. we had use "too, tree, fore," etc.

4. The private build spots. This was an awesome idea. Buy a little property on the game, collected modular build sets and bricks throughout, and build them on your property. Only problem was it was HORRIBLY done. NOthing "clicked" together so no modular wall sets, for example, were never flush and you were left with a jagged wall. The Individualized brick building was even worse, it had to do with the view in which you were building IMO. I build a castle type thing but it had to be "approved" before any other player could see it and in the month that I played it never got approved. These private properties would have also served as an awesome staging ground for PVP.

THats what I gathered from the beta. It had a lot of good ideas, but horribly executed and not completely thought out.

And I agree with everyone else, if it were re-released for the xbox/ps3/wii, I'd probably give it another go. Hopefully it'd only be 10 bucks too lol

Posted by lemaskdemasque in United Kingdom, 24 Feb 2011 15:08

They should make sets!! it would be hugely popular then! Think about the pieces...

Posted by izziebitt in United States, 24 Feb 2011 15:10

i work in a LEGO store and the first question about Universe is, do you have this for Wii? I agree that if Universe were released as a video game on popular platforms, sales of the game would be doing much better. many people are turned off when they see its a computer game.

Posted by Matthew in United Kingdom, 24 Feb 2011 15:15

@ Huw: They should stick to what they do best.

This is exactly what happened a few years ago when they nearly went bust, lost sight of their true values. I'm sure there's an article on lego.com about it. I haven't tried the game yet and by the sound of the comments on here I won't!

Posted by Doctor Leg O'Brick in United Kingdom, 24 Feb 2011 15:27

Sad to see that they got laid off, but I was sure it would flop, and what a big flop it was!! Even the sumo wrestler from series three would be proud of what a big flop it was. If it was a video game, at a good price, and good graphics, I would have bought it but £30 was just a ripoff. What a waste of money TLG wasted that could have been spent on new minifigures, printed pieces etc....

Posted by DrDaveWatford in United Kingdom, 24 Feb 2011 15:30

As soon as I herd that LEGO were launching this I feared the worst. Honestly, haven't they learned their lessons about moving away from their core business ? I just felt it was always destined to fail, with most kids unlikely to be able to afford monthly subscriptions, and adult MMORPG fans more likely to go for something a bit more hardcore. Just about the most predictable flop you could hope to find.

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 24 Feb 2011 15:37

Thank you all for your insightful comments. It sounds as if keeping it kid-friendly is another reason it's flopping, by making it too restrictive and frustrating to play that adults can't be bothered.

I agree with your comments about platform: PCs are great but they are not the gaming platform of choice any more for kids and families, only hardcore gamers. A console version would surely be more successful, but let's not forget the new platform of choice for millions, including me: the iPad. I'd be all over it like a rash if it was a free game from the AppStore, even if it did need in-app purchases to progress.

The gaming landscape has changed beyond recognition in the 4 years since Universe was started and maybe that is part of the problem: back in 2006 we didn't have Wiis, mobile gaming was dominated by the weedy unconnected DS and the iPhone/iPad was but a glimmer in Steve Jobs' eye...

Posted by LegoCity578 in United States, 24 Feb 2011 15:43

I don't even like Universe, never played it. Its not a good idea to turn little kids into computer addicts! :( Before you know it they'll be playing World Of Warcraft! I saw at TRU that a 1 month membership was $9.99

Posted by Cam'n'Stu in United Kingdom, 24 Feb 2011 15:50

@yys4u Thanks for the insight. The only reason I was interested was the private build options but it sounds like they got that badly wrong and it sounds like the guys at NetDevil forgot that as with most of these things the devil is in the detail! It is also worth saying that I am another that would consider it if it were available on the Wii but not on my PC or Mac as I just don't game on them.

Still as someone lots of friends in the games industry I wish them well in their search for new employment.

Posted by Brickmatic in United States, 24 Feb 2011 16:08

@Huw I think you're spot on with regard to the landscape changing.

Video games are a big competitor for LEGO, so it doesn't surprise me they wanted to get in on it. And an open universe where you can unleash your creativity does sounds like a good fit. But as it is clearly seen, video games are not what LEGO does best.

Posted by legoDad42 in United States, 24 Feb 2011 16:16

Definitely a great idea but as a parent I went full in for Fusion Fall (bought the software and then paid the monthly) and then my kid moved on and suddenly the whole thing is for free.

We enjoyed more Lego Harry Potter, Indiana Jones and Batman. If there's a way then can do Lego Universe as a console, DS, etc game...I'd be down for that.
The monthly fee definitely puts parents off....with console games obviously...one fee, play anytime, all the time.
You want to spend the money with your kid on the actual bricks and kits...plus kids move on fast to other games.

If they make it into a Wii game with better graphics and gameplay...we're there.

EDIT...oh, yeah, like others above...make those parts from the game into actual bricks that can be bundled with the game.

Posted by TooMuchLEGO in United States, 24 Feb 2011 16:46

Oh, this is a bummer. LU is a very good game, but I can understand why this is.

You know what NetDevil should have done? Instead of an MMOG, a single player LEGO adventure game. It would be $50 bucks, then that's it. And on systems, not Windows.

I posted a suggestion in the LEGO Universe Message Boards saying, "Import to systems." Obviously NetDevil didn't listen, or else the game would actually be selling.

Posted by Takeshi in Canada, 24 Feb 2011 16:46

I was a beta tester for the game. I didn't buy it because of the subscription price. Even now at $13.75 Canadian, it's not worth it. It was fun for a while, but by the time you reached rank 3, the game had kind of lost it's luster.

I agree with some of the other people. It would be better on an actual gaming console, or even the iPad.

What would make it the best would be if it actually had sets you could buy, like actually being able to buy the faction equipment to put on your real minifigs. Maybe some sets based on parts of the storyline that had codes you could use to access content in-game.

After all the effort the Lego Company put into the game, it's too bad it hasn't really lived up to most people's expectations.

Posted by TooMuchLEGO in United States, 24 Feb 2011 16:55

@Takeshi - I agree one hundred percent. Had LEGO released sets, a kid would have seen them, gone "Dang, these are so cool!" and not only would his money help fund LU, BUT kids would think "Wow, I can play as myself in this awesome game!" then LU would start flying. Or maybe LU team should randomly insert free LU game time cards into packages.

Posted by xycury in United States, 24 Feb 2011 17:02

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/02/24/lego-group-purchases-lego-universe-and-dev-team-from-gazillion/
sounds like TLG bought almost everyone out of gazillion (net devil team)... but it still sounds like some were cut.
I think if the content was more, and the controls better, it would have been fine. Subscription should have been cheaper but the 4 years to make it, would have been hard. I was done in 30 days, everything besides a few silly title trophies. I would think if this was a single player game and they released expansions it would have done fine. Or if they made it for the wii with all the content there.

Posted by Sky-guardian in United States, 24 Feb 2011 17:09

Why am i not surprised?

Posted by mar10jonzz in Germany, 24 Feb 2011 18:02

I was beta tester and I liked the game but the subscription prices were to high especially for people who just want to play from time to time...

Posted by Orange Lemons in United States, 24 Feb 2011 18:03

Like I've said before, FPS games rule the market for the most part, even those that flop still turn a profit and make sequels. I personally find the PC to have a better online gaming community in general than consoles (think of like 5 kids yelling at each other on Xbox/Wii if this were a MMOG for consoles). Plus if I would rather buy real LEGO bricks rather than a LEGO game and if I wanted a video game, I'd probably go for FPS-style games since those are much faster paced, have more to do, and can usually hold people's interest for long periods of time.

Posted by freeze992 in United States, 24 Feb 2011 18:11

Another thought just occurred to me: Before the release of LU, the Creation Lab (on the Lego Universe website) was bursting with activity. Users (myself included) used their imaginations to create their own Universe with other users. They could do anything they wanted in this imaginary Universe, as shown by the innumerable stories that many users created. In my mind, the Creation Lab united legos everywhere. I built minifigs to represent other users, and vice versa. It was a real community based off of an imaginary Universe.

However, when LU actually launched, the Universe turned out to be much more limited than users expected. Now the Creation Lab is almost completely desolate and silent. We can't imagine the Universe anymore because it's already been defined by NetDevil.

Posted by Berrybrick in United States, 24 Feb 2011 18:20

I wonder if it will continue. I heard about plans for a Ninjago world in the game.

Posted by aragorn_10 in United States, 24 Feb 2011 19:12

As far as games go, I think it is a pretty good game. There are many things you can do in the game, and enless creative possibilities, but I totally agree, people will always like building with real legos, and spending their money on them, rather than paying for a game where you can build with virtual legos, and have to keep on paying monthly to keep that up.

Posted by J. B. in United States, 24 Feb 2011 19:44

They should've added galidor...

Quick question: Isn't this normal? The "development" stage of LU is over. It's a finished game. Now it just needs to be maintained--which of course requires fewer people.

Posted by MCLegoboy in United States, 24 Feb 2011 20:26

I never got the game and at first thought it was going to be free online, but then they made it sound overly complicated and added monthly fee and made it a no go for me. Also, I play a game called Dr. Lunatic Supreme with Cheese, my dad bought it, beat the levels included in the game, and then you can create your own levels in the game, get it approved by Hamumu, and let other players download and complete your levels and you download and complete theirs. It's tons of fun when they are made to beat(Some people are evil and make levels impossible.) and if Lego Universe was like that, I think it would be great. And the best part if it being like Dr. Lunatic, is that there would be no fees, and you could even do more fun activities online like at Hamumu.com. I knew Lego Universe was a flop from the minute I saw what it was going to really be like.

Posted by Ypres in Canada, 24 Feb 2011 20:50

This is both funny and sad at the same time... Funny because the game looked bad from the start, sad because it wasted both money and jobs.

Posted by (-)-Crushmaster-(-) in United States, 24 Feb 2011 21:07

Well, they tried it, and apparently it just didn't work out.

Posted by K-nut in United States, 24 Feb 2011 21:13

If all versions of the game were like how I played it the I'm not surprised that it flopped. There were WAY too many errors.

Posted by LobsterWarrior in United States, 24 Feb 2011 21:32

LOL. Not gonna say I hate the game, (Beta tested it and I play currently) but I expected it to flop later (Like, five or six months) If they lowered subscription to five bucks, more people would play.

Posted by legomaniac in United States, 24 Feb 2011 21:38

Not to hate, but I knew it wouldn't last. Kind of quick though. I was expecting at least 2 years.

I hope LEGO recoups their loss in investing a lot of money in that game, I wish they made a Creator/City game, that you can build your own city and drive, do role playing etc.

Posted by luvendraw in United States, 24 Feb 2011 22:54

^ I agree, It would be awesome to have a city creator grand-theft auto kind of game, (without all the bad stuff)

And sad day, I was thinking about buying it when there was more to do, but oh well. And I to send my condolences to the laid-off workers.

Posted by rainstorm26 in United States, 24 Feb 2011 23:20

They'll probably make up for the loss of Lego Universe with sales of Ninjago.

I thought they went all in too quickly with so many Ninjago sets as it was a new theme and seemed to copy several other types of spinning battle games.

It appears based on feedback from a lot of 7-8 year old kids that I know that they can't get enough of these sets.

Me and my son Beta tested lego universe. My son liked it, but I didn't want to pay 10 bucks a month for him to stare at the computer screen. It did have a lot of potential. I think they should have started adding to the story line sooner. It seemed like they waited too long to change it and people probably got bored and didn't want to pay. I thought the individual build areas were pretty cool because you could set up traps and have bad guys pop out when you came close to an object. But it took a lot of time to get it right and was pretty complex for my 8 year old son.

I guess I have a tinge of sadness in its demise, but with all of the awesome sets coming out this year, Lego will have more than $10/month from my pocket. Probably more like $100/month.

Posted by AZFIREWOLF in United States, 25 Feb 2011 00:11

Called It! Oh well. Sorry to hear about the layoffs. No one likes to hear about those, but the game was A. too expensive. B. too expensive. C. Lego is a building toy not a computer game. Perhaps someone should have thought about that. Little games are okay on the main Lego site, but a whole internet world. Give me a fracking break. I would have more fun playing Battlestar Galactica on the syfy site.

Either way I think that Lego learn a very powerful lesson. Don't do something that you don't know. If you don't know how to skydive are you going to strap on a chute and jump out of the plane without a guy helping you? Um I think not.

Posted by jamesster in United States, 25 Feb 2011 00:32

Maybe this will clear things up.
http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/24/gazillion-press-release-clarifies-netdevil-layoff-rumors/
LEGO has purchased the rights to the game from Gazillion/NetDevil and hired most of the devs, so LU will continue, but it will be developed by LEGO directly instead of NetDevil (though it's pretty much the same team doing it, so not much will change).

Posted by brix in United Kingdom, 25 Feb 2011 05:45

I reckon if LEGO had charged a one off fee for the whole game (say £30) they would have done so much better as they did this for their other video games and did well by it.
Looks like squeezing the most money out of their customers as possible doesn't always make them do well, they'd better not take out the losses of their recent failure on us by raising their set prices.

Posted by nachoswolf in Norway, 25 Feb 2011 08:37

I think it would be better if it were a mix between runescape and minecraft with legos, that would be awesome!
but it were kinda too limited

Posted by bluemoose in United Kingdom, 25 Feb 2011 09:41

Some info that's come to us via the Ambassador programme; from Andrew Arnold, PR and Communications Manager for LEGO Community, Education and Direct (CED) -
"Firstly, just to reiterate, LU hasn't been the success that was hoped for, that's no secret. As some of you have picked up on, starting out on a subscription MMOG is certainly not the easiest option that the LEGO Group could have picked. But we are in it for the long haul.

We are still growing and adding new players every day. The challenge is to keep as many as possible and keep those who have already signed up.

The plan is obviously to make money, but in the meantime we are on a very steep learning curve and amassing huge amounts of information about online gaming.

The complication of LEGO Universe from a purely technical angle shouldn't be underestimated, but we've been even harder on ourselves by insisting on 24/7 moderation and safety features that most MMOGs wouldn't bother with. But we take our responsibility for other people's kids very seriously. That obviously comes at a cost, but it was one that we wouldn't contemplate not paying.

LEGO Universe has still been in a development stage up to this point and changes are on the way to move it further into a operational stage. Changing the price was a decision not taken lightly. It was taken as a result of feedback from parents - who aren't used to the subscription model - to try and encourage them in and see how good the game is.

Other changes have been made on the community side - including more prizes and activities. There are new games and areas being added nearly every month so there is no sign of a slowdown on that front.

More changes could come, but only with the goal of getting it right.

The fact that we've not hit budgets will have no effect on set prices; we just don't calculate things that way. LEGO Universe sits within the business area called Community, Education and Direct, which is where Jan, Jim, Tormod and I all sit. We've seen our budgets shaved a bit, but you all should be OK :-)

LEGO Universe is important because it represents the combining of physical LEGO with virtual LEGO, while still maintaing the systematic elements, the creativity, the storytelling - and the fun. There's lots of exciting digital things going on at the moment - from the Digital Box you know from brand stores, LEGO Digital Designer and Design By Me, and fun projects like the Intel/LEGO collaboration where kids can interact with physical LEGO and projected digital images."

Posted by bluemoose in United Kingdom, 25 Feb 2011 09:43

More from Andrew Arnold, from the official press release -
"Gazillion Entertainment and LEGO System A/S jointly announced today that Gazillion agreed to sell its rights in the development of the LEGO® Universe massively-multiplayer online game to the LEGO Group, the publisher of the game. The majority of LEGO Universe development team members, formerly part of Gazillion’s NetDevil subsidiary, have been offered employment by the LEGO Group, who will continue game development and operations from the current Louisville, Colorado studio.

"We’re excited about the launch of LEGO Universe, and are happy to have the developers officially join the LEGO team,” said Jesper Vilstrup, Vice President at the LEGO Group. “This acquisition demonstrates our commitment both to the ongoing success of LEGO Universe and to an overall strategy to expand our brand online.”

"Gazillion’s focus is developing, operating, and publishing the next generation of browser-delivered games,” said David Brevik, Gazillion Entertainment President and COO. “We’re proud of the game our team built, and are certain that it has a bright future.The transition of members of our team to the LEGO Group enables us to focus completely on internally-published, free-to-play game businesses.”

LEGO System A/S entered into a work-for-hire relationship with NetDevil to build LEGO Universe in 2006. In 2008, Gazillion Entertainment acquired NetDevil. The acquisition of the rights to the game and the ability to transition members of the team to continue work on the game follows the fulfillment of the LEGO Universe development contract. Gazillion will move its other NetDevil projects to a new location.

It basically means as LEGO Universe has moved out of the development phase, we prefer to have full control over the operation of the game, and will continue to integrate it even more closely with the core brand and business."

Posted by bluemoose in United Kingdom, 25 Feb 2011 09:45

In response to the way some of the NetDevil staff found out they lost their jobs -

"It wasn't handled well, no question.

36 employees will receive their notices from Gazillion, but the redundant employees will receive packages which conform with LEGO standards. The task of introducing 76 new employees to the company will be handled by LEGO Universe management in conjunction with a HR-team from Enfield.

The takeover doesn't chage the situation - except for the better. A quote from Jacob Vilstrup the head of LEGO Universe :“Once we have direct control over the department we can expect a higher rate of development productivity, introducing new functions and areas.”

And:

“We are acquiring the rights to develop the game and taking on those NetDevil employees who have been involved in development of LEGO Universe. It will enable us to move even closer to development of LEGO Universe, and at the same time give us a strong and co-ordinated link between development, operation and marketing of the game,” says Jesper Vilstrup."

Posted by Worker Joe in United States, 25 Feb 2011 11:57

LU is so not a flop. All those little 7 year olds buying a year and trying to rip me off in-game for some really rare items :(

Posted by metalgearsolid_MGS in Singapore, 25 Feb 2011 12:05

Good to hear that LU will continue. Who knows, perhaps in 5 years we could all gather in LU to visit the 'Brickset Guild House'? (^_^)

Thanks for reading my blog Huw and thanks to Bluemoose for the clarifications. I'm off to update my blog!

cheers,
amodularlife

Posted by knuclear200x in United States, 25 Feb 2011 13:02

I think Lego should just stick to "one price only" console games and then throw in many of universe's features. I never liked the idea of buying a game just to pay a subscription. What if i want to play some Bayonetta for a while then in a few months play this one, knowing i have to pay again? But i didn't expect it to fail, it had so much going for it. I just hope we still get more Universe toys

Posted by wallybreit in United States, 25 Feb 2011 14:35

Thanks for the updates, bluemoose! I knew there had to be more to the story. I am amazed at how many people have such strong opinions about LEGO Universe and they haven't even played it!

I have been playing LU since the beginning (including some beta testing) and have only experienced a great game with incredible potential! Yes, it had a lot of bugs at the beginning, but those who only played the beta version and haven't played since would be surprised. They have been fixing bugs, making good changes and adding new content like crazy. In fact, it has been hard to keep up with everything they have been adding!

They make player interaction with the development team very easy, and like the rest of LEGO, they really listen to players concerns and suggestions. They have been having fun contests every week, with incredible prizes (including actual LEGO sets, massive amounts of them, that they will ship to you if you win).

The new content has really expanded the possibilites in the game. They have added new worlds, like Crux Prime (including its NinjaGo area), new mini-games (the one where you go back in time is really fun), and new features (I am really enjoying the team-up feature) and have so much more planned. According to the file divers, there are some really fun things in store, including some PVP action (it sounds like a LEGO version of steal-the-flag, where you can build defenses and other things to help your team).

So, for all the critics (most of whom sound pretty uninformed), don't give up on it yet! If LU is such a different (and much better) game than it was just three months ago, I am excited to see what it will be like in six more months, or a year! For those concerned about the building areas (your own properties where you can build whatever you want), most of the bugs have been fixed already, and they are still continuing to improve those areas all the time. (By the way, I am building a huge imperial fort on one of my properties, a huge castle surrounding a giant tree in another one, a LEGO farm in another one, and a beautiful oriental garden in another one. And I have many other ideas for the future!)

I've always loved building with actual LEGOs, and LU cannot replace that. However, LU adds the dimension of building, and then interacting with what you built as a LEGO minifig, and having your friends do so as well. Using the fairly complex behaviors feature, you can do a lot! (Players have created their own games, fighting scenarios, a sky dive station, museums, so much more!)

Anyway, this post is too long already...sorry. I just think that LU is a much better game than people who haven't played might think. Go check out the official LU website if you want to get an idea of how cool it is already (and getting bigger and cooler all the time)!

Posted by ncbarrett in United States, 25 Feb 2011 16:16

I beta tested, but then got rid of internet shortly before LU was released.

I would have bought and paid for LU if I still had internet at home.

Posted by deadtree103 in Canada, 25 Feb 2011 18:41

*begins to look like a sad puppy*

*Sees Bluemoose's posts*

*Cries with joy*

I had an immense feeling of dread when I first read this article(Especially since I'd very much miss LU if it flopped and the servers shut down)but after reading what Bluemoose posted, I am happy again.

Also, I don't mind the prices.

Posted by C-Fish in United States, 25 Feb 2011 19:09

LU as its place, but it needs some more work before it can fill that place as expected.

Posted by Mr. Football in United States, 26 Feb 2011 00:01

My kid's absolutely love this game. I'd like to see more affordable pricing though.

Posted by Berrybrick in United States, 26 Feb 2011 09:23

Couldn't they get rid of the subscription fee with some sort of advertisment to websites owned by LEGO, their partners, and those that they have liscense agreements with (like Disney and Nickelodeon).

Posted by TooMuchLEGO in United States, 26 Feb 2011 10:03

@BerryBrick I personally wouldn't mind that, if they did it in a cool way. Like before I start racing it says "Brought to you by Ford: drive one." Or at Keelhaul raceway it would say "Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides, in theaters May 20th." And I'm sure I'm not the only one who would want to wear a Spongebob outfit. Anyone else agree?

Posted by Toa Of Justice in United States, 26 Feb 2011 11:28

@TooMuchLEGO: I play TrackMania Forever, which has in-game advertising from real companies, especially in its Stadium environment. In fact, I have tried to include additional billboard elements in my tracks to give the developers some extra cash. Unfortunately, I haven't seen many real ads in the game lately--just placeholders with TrackMania logos. The ads probably explain why there aren't mandatory ongoing subscription fees for the game (provided that one buys the unlimited version).

In short: The concept has been done before, and if it eliminated subscription fees in LU, that would be fantastic.

Posted by TooMuchLEGO in United States, 26 Feb 2011 13:38

@Toa of Justice - Hear that LEGO? This guy knows it'll work. =) And like I said, I wouldn't mind some ads.

Posted by Orange Lemons in United States, 26 Feb 2011 13:52

^I know it works. Take a look at Blacklight: Tango Down, billboards with real-world advertising that changes (weekly I think) and it was a one-time $15 USD that could've been twice as much, but in-game adverising keeps the price down. They're even coming out with a sequel this year, at the same price point I assume.

Posted by deadtree103 in Canada, 26 Feb 2011 14:27

Advertising in LU? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NO, just NO.
I wouldn't mind ads for other Lego products, and I might even be able to bear a few licensee ads, but ads of Ford and other companies? Never, never ever. EVER. I might even seriously consider quitting LU if that happened.

Posted by ACRpro in United States, 27 Feb 2011 14:08

I own the game and I think it is very fun. Better than WoW

Posted by TooMuchLEGO in United States, 27 Feb 2011 15:43

@Orange Lemons - But I don't think we'll be getting LU 2 anytime soon...
@deadtree - Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking with ford. I guess everyone has their own opinion.

Posted by Orange Lemons in United States, 27 Feb 2011 16:40

^My point there was that advertising in-game keeps the game free (after purchase of the game itself) and keeps the price down.

Posted by jgrahl in United States, 27 Feb 2011 19:30

the building on your property aspect is slow and awkward

Posted by itsaturkey in United States, 27 Feb 2011 20:27

I remember when the Lego Universe creation lab came out, thousands of thousands of amazing creations made by Lego fans. All of the Lego clubs, like LEA (A drawing club) and so many of those funny fan made comics. everything was bright and happy, then Lego introduced the dark Maelstrom. suddenly there was a dark creation lab filled with ghostly skeletons. that's when i lost interest in LU. It seems to me that LU was doing better as just an idea of a Lego world that every person (or mini fig) could walk around and solve puzzles. It is very difficult to create that idea on a screen. And every person has an idea of how LU would be, by making an actual LU game it seems to me that the imaginativness of a Lego world vanished. I feel bad for Lego, even if they did kind of spell their own doom by the price, they spent alot of time and effort and money into this project. I hope it does better in the future, maybe Lego could put it on X-Box? (Hint Hint)

Posted by Erinlyn80 in United States, 01 Mar 2011 20:09

I liked the game when I tried it. I bought the pre-order and was disappointed the minifigure was so plain. During my free period for buying the game I actually never had time to. I paid for a one month subscription but found I couldnt play enough for it to be worth while. I was annoyed I couldnt get my game controller to work instead of the keyboard. I found playing a couple times for extended periods it made me nauseous the way the graphics jump around. It's definitely too expensive for me only having time to play a couple times a month.

Posted by Brickmatic in United States, 02 Mar 2011 20:47

Thanks for the clarification bluemoose. I really hope Lego Universe becomes a first class gaming experience and then gets recognized as such. I think there is a lot of potential for success. I can also see how constraints such as 24/7 moderation can make running such a game much more difficult. I wish LEGO the best of luck.

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