How low can it go?

Posted by Jonny 2 Scarves in United Kingdom, 25 Mar 2011 10:38

I did not receive a free disc either. My Shop at Home catalogue came yesterday with a leaflet advertising Lego Universe, saying it was now only £7.50 (or was it £7.49?!) including free postage.

Posted by jarom_moroni in United States, 25 Mar 2011 10:41

Honestly, free is the price it should have been from the beginning...

Posted by yellowcastle in United States, 25 Mar 2011 10:46

TLG actually sent me a check for £100 if I would just try it. J/K :o)

Posted by Jarod98 in United Kingdom, 25 Mar 2011 10:48

Hopefully VIPs in the US get this, too!

@jarom_moroni - You are so right, and they should've had add-ons people can buy in the game (like suits and other stuff just like LittleBigPlanet).

@yellowcastle - Me too! :D

Posted by hssky97 in United States, 25 Mar 2011 11:04

Haven't received my catalogue yet. I'll inform ya' if I get one :D

Posted by mrdennings in United States, 25 Mar 2011 11:12

I think It would be wise of TLG to give one month coupons in select Lego sets priced $25 (ish?) and up. While they may not make any money off of the game it would be a great Marketing strategy. Uh Oh my subscription is almost up looks like I’ve got to go buy another set.

Posted by cjg in United States, 25 Mar 2011 11:24

^That would be a good idea! I would like it too! :D

Posted by cjg in United States, 25 Mar 2011 11:25

@Huw: Why are all the new LSWIII games on the homepage, except for the 3ds version?

Posted by TooMuchLEGO in United States, 25 Mar 2011 11:38

@CJG It hasn't been put on LEGO.com, so...

Posted by TooMuchLEGO in United States, 25 Mar 2011 11:42

That's just plain stupid IMO. They're practically giving out the game for free now. I joined on 13 March, so it looks like I may not see Frostbrough...=P And why isn't LEGO listening to the fans- MAKE LEGO UNIVERSE SETS! Seriously, I'm ready to bet that at least 75% of the members here would buy the game if they made sets. Heck, if there were sets, the game could be free for crying out loud.

Posted by Renegade007cjh in United Kingdom, 25 Mar 2011 11:55

Just received my catalogue and I got one of those! The letter with it starts...

"Dear LEGO VIP Member,

As a special thank you for being a LEGO VIP Member, we're sending you this complimentary LEGO Universe DVD, including one month of membership - FREE!"

It looks like the full retail version you'd buy (not just a loose disc, but the actual same packaging).

Whilst I'm grateful for the gift from TLG, it doesn't bode well if they have to GIVE it away!!

Posted by iso3200 in United Kingdom, 25 Mar 2011 12:02

I've just arrived home to find Universe with my catalogue as well. The A4 piece of paper with the catalogue starts with:

"As a special thank you for being a LEGO VIP Member, we're sending you this complimentary LEGO Universe DVD, including one month of membership - FREE"

I'll have to witness the dissapoinment on my childrens faces when they find out they can't play this on their Xbox ;-)

Posted by serviceburo in United States, 25 Mar 2011 12:03

Giving the game away in the very first place would have been a better business model. Games like that tend to recoup from subscription income - you make it free to try and then people get hooked and HAVE to keep paying to play. Works like a charm for WoW. I think this was just a case of TLG operating in a market they didn't completely understand.

Posted by figsmigs in United Kingdom, 25 Mar 2011 12:09

I am a VIP member, and was surprised to get a disc in the post today too. My kids have been bugging me for months for the game, and I've refused because of the subscription.

Maybe I'll let them play for the one free month...

Posted by legoguy2805 in United Kingdom, 25 Mar 2011 12:11

Now to sit beside my postbox and wait. :P Thank goodness I'm in the UK and am a VIP member!

Posted by nickel19 in United Kingdom, 25 Mar 2011 12:12

I was at the recent opening of the Lego shop in Westfield, London and the universe game was being given out free to everyone waiting in the queue and also anyone in the shop.

Posted by mission_zed in United Kingdom, 25 Mar 2011 12:17

@figsmig - but what will happen after your free month ? My six year old gets a countdown on the normal Lego website games: You can play for 1 hour. You're halfway through your time. You have 10 minutes left. You have to turn of the computer at the end of this game.

Even that is a battle. I won't let me play Lego U (if I get it free) because he's probably too young and I don't think I could face the battle of "taking it away" from him ...

Posted by figsmigs in United Kingdom, 25 Mar 2011 12:25

@mission_zed - your 'child + computer' experiences are identical to mine. You could be talking about my six year old! The other option is not even tell them I have the disc.

Posted by thesinisterpenguin in United Kingdom, 25 Mar 2011 12:29

VIP member in the UK here too, but didn't get a disc. I was tempted to try it when it was £15! What a shame..

Posted by Matthew in United Kingdom, 25 Mar 2011 13:06

I didn't get one either, maybe you have to have had a certain number of points or something?

Posted by C-Fish in United States, 25 Mar 2011 13:12

It's probably just a random thing... maybe.

Posted by Pepper in United States, 25 Mar 2011 13:13

I'm not a VIP member, so I shall never get this offer. But, a friend of mine was at the Lego store in the Mall of America, and they were giving a free LU rocket away if you bought LU. So effectively a free month of LU with the purchace of a rocket.

Posted by JCC1OO4 in United States, 25 Mar 2011 13:21

The most recent catalog I have is the January one. I guess the Spring one is coming soon. I am a VIP member and hopefully I'll get one. Not sure with what I'll go with it since my computer won't be able to take that advanced software.

I just thought of this, what if we are being deducted VIP points for this? I have 70 dollars on there right now.

Posted by The Green Brick Giant in United States, 25 Mar 2011 13:23

The problem isn't the price of the game disc, it's the insane price of the monthly fees.

Most LEGO fans saw this disaster coming years ago. The game should be $40, but instead of a free month it should come with a free 6 months or a year.

Posted by Sky-guardian in United States, 25 Mar 2011 13:31

Wow he's lucky... i would be all in for the game if it was free...

Posted by Rubber Mongoose in United Kingdom, 25 Mar 2011 13:47

I got one too!

Posted by knuclear200x in United States, 25 Mar 2011 13:55

Id like to point out the only part of Lego universe id ever pay for: the toys.

Posted by Zuma in United Kingdom, 25 Mar 2011 13:57

I was suprised to get it, and will not be using mine, (not my thing and monthly sub costs) so if anyone would like it, still sealed, please contact me by my profile, will only ask for postage costs.
It give away might be linked to any number of factors, or completely random. However, surely it must have very low popularity and usage to be given away...

Posted by Be-Burger in Israel, 25 Mar 2011 14:03

Lucky ducks, I want a free copy!

Posted by Firox 5000 in United Kingdom, 25 Mar 2011 14:11

I found a free copy in my shop at home mag, Will test it soon to see if it's any good.

Posted by voyanui8768 in United Kingdom, 25 Mar 2011 14:18

If I recieve it I'll give it to my brother, he likes those kind of things :)

Posted by Camusdarrach in United Kingdom, 25 Mar 2011 14:19

Got my new shop at home catalogue today, which included the Universe game and 1 months subscription, as a thanks for being a VIP member :-)

Well, at least I've saved some money with this, and it does state in the flyer that came with the catalogue that I can pay for the subscription's using VIP bonus points........

Posted by cjg in United States, 25 Mar 2011 15:08

@TooMuchLEGO: The other ones are on the "New additions to database", not on "New at LEGOShop.com".

Posted by jrach190 in United States, 25 Mar 2011 15:09

Has it been confirmed that anyone in the United States have been getting them?

Posted by andrew pym in United Kingdom, 25 Mar 2011 15:14

I'm VIP and got my disc too :-)

Posted by vynsane in United Kingdom, 25 Mar 2011 15:22

Hrm... seems to be a UK-only thing. I would totally play this game if you could buy minutes of play or something. I can't justify a monthly charge, I don't have enough time to make it worth my while.

Posted by Darth Yorec in Canada, 25 Mar 2011 15:30

i am in canada and i also recieved 2 free copies for my son and i as well with our catalogues. they came on tuesday of this week

Posted by vynsane in United Kingdom, 25 Mar 2011 15:39

@Darth Yorec - WOOT! That's great news that it's not just UK, thanks for sharing!

Posted by PaulTR in United States, 25 Mar 2011 15:53

Wow, what a shame. While I'm happy for the people who got a free disc and 1 month subscription, this is not cool for LEGO. As a person who follows video game devolopment, I could tell Universe would fail from the get-go. If they had made some sets to go along with it, then I'd be interested. As it stands now, though, it apears to be a money pit, which is a pity:(

Posted by Darth Yorec in Canada, 25 Mar 2011 16:00

@vynsane - i was kinda surprised at it too because i heard it was closing down due to lack of players. when i got the copies i just though everyone got one until i saw this posting.

Posted by TBOC in United States, 25 Mar 2011 16:15

Can't you sign up for VIP via phone? I should, but I never buy Lego sets online, I'd be worth it to get LU for free, though, and when I order online around Christmas...

Posted by Jiraiya in Germany, 25 Mar 2011 16:17

Got my Catalogue in Germany today. Game for 9,99€ with free shipping.

Posted by Orange Lemons in United States, 25 Mar 2011 16:17

No surprise they're giving this away for free. I haven't actually played the game itself, but a rule of thumb for MMO- type games is make them free, get the audience hooked, and roll out the subscription costs for 'extra' gameplay. You could easily throw more hours into a game that has good multiplayer or a good community. In the end, what keeps games alive is a community willing to support it, and LEGO just doesn't have that support to allow for their games to stay.

Posted by mr.bob in United States, 25 Mar 2011 16:21

@Darth Yorec - Where did you hear that it was closing down?? I sure hope it doesn't, because it's one of my favorite games!

Although I do agree that they MUST make sets (especially the faction minifigures, I would buy HUNDREDS, literally), I still will be a member of LU through to the end. Hope I can get a free copy so I can give it to my best friend, who I have been trying to convince to try the game ever since beta.

Oh yeah we found in the game files a picture you will see in the game after your FREE TRIAL expires. Although there isn't one YET, this means that there will be one soon.

Posted by LEGO_Lord in United States, 25 Mar 2011 16:56

This is ridiculous, this has to be the worst LEGO product ever released.

Posted by (-)-Crushmaster-(-) in United States, 25 Mar 2011 17:01

That's interesting...

Posted by voyanui8768 in United Kingdom, 25 Mar 2011 18:05

@LEGO_Lord: You're forgetting Galidor :)

Posted by cjg in United States, 25 Mar 2011 18:06

Anyone in the US get a free copy?

Posted by lukehankenobi in United Kingdom, 25 Mar 2011 18:44

Stuck mine on ebay. Catalogue was a bit thin

Posted by DrDaveWatford in United Kingdom, 25 Mar 2011 18:57

Yep - I got one with my catalogue today. So I might give it a try.....

Posted by mokey2345 in United Kingdom, 25 Mar 2011 19:38

i get two magazine one for me and one for my nephew...but for some reason i only recive one for my nephew and i never get mine!!!!

Posted by nadnerb112 in United States, 25 Mar 2011 20:54

They should just make it a free download and NO subscription. I still have it downloaded from beta. Just in case.

Posted by jrach190 in United States, 25 Mar 2011 21:49

@nadnerb112: I was a beta tester too, and no matter what you try, you can't get back on, even if you buy the subscription.

Posted by nadnerb112 in United States, 25 Mar 2011 21:56

jrach190: even game card?

Posted by legofanatic2414 in United States, 25 Mar 2011 21:59

Me neither. :(

Posted by voypro in United States, 25 Mar 2011 22:20

I was at the Lego Store in Cincinnati this weekend and the employees were pitching the Universe game to every single customer. They must have had a contest from HQ or something.

If Lego wants to make this thing a success they would allow you to discover/ win retail products by playing the game.

Posted by Pepper in United States, 25 Mar 2011 23:08

@voypro- You can win products by playing the game. There are contests every month.

Posted by legoDad42 in United States, 25 Mar 2011 23:17

Love to try this. My son's been buggin' me too(like others above) but I just didn't want to pay a monthly. We'd rather put our money on kits. We tried the Fusion Fall mmo for free then plopped down $20bucks for 6 months of expanded game, codes and a t-shirt, then a monthly fee of just $5.00. Kid got into other things after about 3-4 months or so. So basically we played for $20 for a few months. No more, no less. It worked for us.
Now he's on it again, and it's all free from what I understand.

Wish this was a straight up game for like Wii or even the DSi...and have actual parts, figs. and kits made from the game. I think that's the way to go IMHO.

Posted by TheKingOfBuilding in United Kingdom, 26 Mar 2011 04:38

I have now got two Lego Universe discs! Oh well, theres allways ebay...

Posted by lugtonex in United States, 26 Mar 2011 06:01

I haven't played it but from what I see I think it going to need to switch from a Subscription based to what they call a Microtransaction based where the game is free but you buy things via an online store with real cash to improve or unlock things in the game.

Posted by Pantboy in United Kingdom, 26 Mar 2011 07:37

i got my copy yesterday with the spring catalogue, as others have mentioned, letter said it was a complimentary gift for being a vip member, don't think i'll be bothering to install it on my pc though.

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 26 Mar 2011 10:13

^^ feel free to send me one :-)

Posted by Juno in United States, 26 Mar 2011 10:33

Does anyone know if people in the U.S. are going to get these? Because right now it sounds like people only in the UK are getting it.

Posted by Hob in United Kingdom, 26 Mar 2011 10:36

I'm a VIP member but not recieved it, not been a member long though. No post for 2 days either so may be the issue, will wait and see. Would love to give it a go but don't want to pay every month as i wouldn't get to play it much.

Posted by Brickmack in United States, 26 Mar 2011 14:40

I still have not received my catalog yet, but hopefully it will be included. LEGO never should have charged for it in the first place though, at least not a subscription charge.

Posted by dabrames in United States, 26 Mar 2011 16:03

I am in the US, and I received the catalog and DVD today.

As for the game itself, I think it's worth the $9.95 they are charging for it now online, and the monthly fee could be lower, but the subscription fee is what they use to pay for developing new content. If it was a free game, as some have suggested above, then it wouldn't be worth playing. The world of the game is small, but I keep on playing, as we have been promised new stuff every month or so. So far, I have not been too disappointed. It's probably not the best MMOG ever written, but it's LEGO, and it's not bad.

Posted by Isabella and Lego Liker in United States, 26 Mar 2011 17:03

Total failure and a huge loss. Hope Cars 2 sets do beter than this game!

Posted by coolpix in United States, 26 Mar 2011 17:35

This game would have been a success if they had released minifigures and sets based on it. The idea of monthly subscription cards within sets is great too. Sometimes I just don't understand who makes these kind of decisions at TLG...

Swaying away from the topic just a little bit, you can take for instance the "Clutch Powers" movie they released some time ago. It's a great movie for kids. My 5-year old twins watch that all the time and they keep asking me for a Clutch Powers minifigure since they watched that for the first time, and I have a hard time explaining them that such minifigure does not exist! The movie itself is well made, but is mostly a City/Miners/Castle/Space Police "live" catalog than anything else, which is fine by me. That's one of the reasons I enjoy watching it with the kids. It has plenty of lego-humor in there to keep the kids entertained.

The point is, if they have released some "Clutch Powers" sets, probably a lot more people would've been aware and would have liked the movie enough to ensue a sequel, therefore making more money and creating a new IP for Lego. TLG could then be making more money from their own IPs (Clutch Powers, Universe) than Disney or George Lucas IPs, just by releasing sets that relate to it.

Nothing against those IPs, personally Star Wars represents 50% of my yearly Lego-Budget, but it would be cool to see some of those original Lego Characters "come to life" in sets that AFOLs and Kids could enjoy. I think TLG is missing an incredible opportunity there.

Posted by PaulC in United Kingdom, 26 Mar 2011 17:52

@Huw - I've been sent a copy and Universe doesn't really appeal to me much. It's on it's way to you now ;)

Posted by bricklord in United States, 26 Mar 2011 18:38

I'm VIP and I got one in the mail with my catalog too.

Posted by LEGO_Lord in United States, 26 Mar 2011 21:34

voyanui8768, forgot about that. I wonder why they made that theme...

Posted by bluemoose in United Kingdom, 27 Mar 2011 05:40

I'm in the UK, have been a member of VIP since the start ... received my catalogue on Friday morning, but no Universe DVD :-(

Having said that, I did pre-order Universe, through LEGO shop online & received VIP points for it, so they know I've already got it, which might be a factor :-)

I agree that not producing Universe themed sets (and a Universe themed Collectable Minifig wave or two) was a big mistake; that sort of cross-media tie-in is a sure thing. For anyone that hasn't played Universe, many of the figs in the game are very cool & could easily translate into excellent 'real world' figs in the collectable minifig concept.

Posted by shrinks99 in Canada, 27 Mar 2011 08:17

I would be all over the game if it was either free or a one time payment

Posted by MisterFubar in United States, 27 Mar 2011 09:46

LEGO should give the game away and pay us to pay it every month. They should also start robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. It's not fair that they want to try to make money and stay in business.

Posted by krysto2002 in United States, 27 Mar 2011 11:08

I chatted with a friend in LU who file dives (searches for hidden files in the program, which consists largely of unreleased, unfinished and unconfirmed data) and according to him there is a large sum of data that hints at a future transition of LU to a free game.

Here's the catch:

While LU would be free, according to these files, people who do not own a subscription would lose access to a rather considerable portion of the game's content. Now this is entirely unconfirmed, but it is suggested that free play would only allow access to the original worlds, would NOT allow you to join Nexus Force (factions) and would NOT allow access to future worlds such as Crux Prime (currently released) and Nexus Tower (awaiting release).

Again, unconfirmed, but a distinct possibility.

Posted by atkinsar in United Kingdom, 27 Mar 2011 11:55

I'm a VIP member and have been a little while. Got my magazine yesterday, no free disc :-( I wonder if they based it on the person's age and only sent them out to age groups they thought were more likely to play the game? I would think it will only be a short while now until the game disc is free to all anyway, I can't imagine many people buying it now once they hear that some people have been given it for free.

Posted by Isabella and Lego Liker in United States, 27 Mar 2011 22:15

It is $9.99 is the US with free shipping.

Posted by brickmatt in United States, 28 Mar 2011 19:14

I just got the catalog today, but no free game, even though I'm a VIP member.

Posted by JP3804 in United States, 28 Mar 2011 22:02

I received my catalog today with the free disc. I have been a VIP member from the begining and have several thousand points, maybe it's based on that.

Posted by xarquar in United States, 28 Mar 2011 23:08

I also received my catalog and free disc. As a VIP member I haven't gone through thousands of points, but I have earned and redeemed some. Fun to get something free, I just wish I could use it with my bricks . . .

Posted by MattDawson in United Kingdom, 29 Mar 2011 06:26

I too am a VIP member and I didn't recieve a free copy. Maybe it depends on how much you order (becuase I rarely buy lego) or VIP points?

Posted by Captain Aardvark in United States, 29 Mar 2011 17:59

I'm a VIP member, and I did get the disk. It's been downloading for the past hour-and-a-half, but it's only about 35% installed!! >:(

Posted by legomoe74 in United States, 30 Mar 2011 11:34

Got mine yesterday.

Posted by vamproe in United States, 30 Mar 2011 12:51

got mine....and wont use it either. I wish they had made it for xbox360 or PS3, I have xbox live and playstation network...would have loved to play the game on that format. can't afford another pay to play game

Posted by ceroknight in Canada, 30 Mar 2011 15:20

i just got an email about getting it for 10..

Posted by hssky97 in United States, 30 Mar 2011 16:55

Got mine today, probably won't use it though. I was a beta tester and the game was alright but, now that I have to fork over $10 a month to play, it's not really worth it. With all the time they spent developing this "thing" you would think they would research how the product would sell the best. It really is a waste, this could've been a good/great product. Shouldn't they make the game with a premium membership(certain price per month), a basic membership(for free) and sell the game at a fixed price(like 39.99)?

Posted by -starwarsninja- in United States, 30 Mar 2011 18:06

That is a very good idea. i also just got an email about the price... total waste. 10 A month! i was thinking about getting it... im not now

Posted by Unknown User2596 in United States, 30 Mar 2011 19:04

Emailed LEGO about it, they said that only VIP members (that are NOT active LU members) get the disk no matter how many points they have.

10,000 copies were sent out(according to them), so if you did not get one (and is a VIP member) it won't hurt to ask :)

Posted by drklacey114 in United States, 31 Mar 2011 09:46

I came home from work last night and discovered that I had received a free LEGO Universe DVD in the mail with my Spring 2011 Catalog. There was a letter enclosed stating that "As a special thank you for being a LEGO VIP Member, we're sending you this complimentary LEGO Universe DVD...". As I already bought the game for my kids (luckily I waited until it was at the current discounted rate- so I didn't pay the initial full retail price) I can now use this as a birthday present for a family friend. My kids love playing LEGO Universe, but they have slowed down on the gameplay recently as they are focused more on the new LEGO Star Wars III for Wii.

Posted by Timothywking in United States, 31 Mar 2011 20:15

LEGO universe doesent even work on my computer :-(

Posted by ScarVader in United Kingdom, 02 Apr 2011 05:57

I recieved one. I'm not opening it though.

Commenting has ended on this article.

Home

Browse

Sets released in...

New for 2013

Buy at LEGO.com

Buy LEGO books

Brickset merchandise

Amazon Bargain Watch lists

Compare EU Amazons

Log in to use the My Sets features

Get more out of Brickset

Cool stuff...

Site related

Get in touch