LEGO Universe to close in 2012

 

  • LEGO Universe to close in 2012

    Posted by Huw, 04 Nov 2011 12:56. Filed under Software/Games.

    I'm quite shocked by this news, hot off the LEGO press:

    Online game will close on January 31, 2012. The LEGO Group’s digital offerings will continue to develop over the coming years.

    November 4, 2011 – The LEGO Group today announced that it will close LEGO® Universe, an MMOG (massively-multiplayer online game) that has been in operation since the autumn of 2010 In spite of very positive player feedback and a large number of players in the free play zone, it has not been possible to convert a satisfactory number of players to paying subscribers. It has therefore been decided to close the game as of January 31, 2012.

    “The LEGO Universe team can take pride in having developed and launched a great LEGO experience that many players will miss,” said Jesper Vilstrup, Vice President, LEGO Universe. “Right now, we have almost 2 million players in LEGO Universe, and we get extremely positive feedback from players. Unfortunately, we have not been able to build a satisfactory revenue model in our target group, and therefore, have decided to close the game.”

    Despite the change, the ambition to develop and run a digital business remains. In future, it is the intention to further pursue cooperation with partners. The LEGO Group has a strong and continuing partnership with TT Games & Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to create digital LEGO experiences within video games. A further expansion in the digital area will mainly be based on similar partnerships  

    “The development of our digital offerings continues to be a very important element in our strategy,” said Mads Nipper, Executive Vice President, LEGO Group. “We have more than 20 million visitors on www.LEGO.com every month, and LEGO video games are among the bestselling children’s video games with sales of more than 60 million units in the last five years. Through our experience developing and running LEGO Universe, we have gained a lot of valuable insights, and we have a very strong foundation for future development in the digital area."  

    As a consequence of the closure, the LEGO Universe staff has today been informed that the ‘Play Well Studios’ in Louisville, Colorado and the game’s marketing function in Billund, Denmark will be closed. This will affect 115 employees. All affected employees will be offered assistance in finding new jobs inside or outside the LEGO Group  

    ---

    This is of course terrible news for the staff involved and I hope everything works out for them. It's not very good news for LEGO either given the amount of money that they've pumped into it. It's tempting to say 'I told you so', but I'll resist...

     


    72 comments, latest one posted 18 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)
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Comments

Posted by guildfordmatt in United Kingdom, 04 Nov 2011 13:14

Wow, bit of a shock but it was always a bit likely.

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 04 Nov 2011 13:20

It's officially official: LEGO Universe is a flop. After not even a YEAR, they are already closing. What a shock. I was open-mouthed when I saw this. I expected them to make LU free to EVERYONE, not closing down entirely! Oh boy, wait 'til I get the chance of reporting this at the LEGO MBs... :P

Posted by madforLEGO in United States, 04 Nov 2011 13:22

While a neat idea, lets face facts.. they tried to take a physical toy and electronic-fy it....
Having a 'one-shot' video game with a start and end is one thing, but having a whole play area that is 'free' play is another...
It just does not work well...
I guess if they ever stopped making the actual toy it would probably be used... But IMO the actual toy will always be more dynamic than an electronic representation, and I'm sure it also helps with motor skills better than a keyboard and mouse.

Posted by ncbarrett in United States, 04 Nov 2011 13:25

I commend TLG for trying something new with Universe, but I really didn't expect it to be that popular. I think most LEGO fans would rather spend money on physical pieces than virtual reality.

Posted by van_occupanther in United Kingdom, 04 Nov 2011 13:41

This is a real shame and I know my 8 year old son and his friends will be disappointed, having recently paid for membership for him.

LU is actually a great game, it's very complex, highly interactive, and has really expanded my son's real-life Lego building horizons, encouraging him to think about using bricks in new and inventive ways.

It may have been a better idea to make it more competitive with other MMOG's kids enjoy like Club Penguin by lowering the price, making it more attractive, and affordable for parents.

Posted by bluemoose in United Kingdom, 04 Nov 2011 13:52

It's a good game, really, but it was always going to be tough to get the target audience to pay a monthly subscription. A different way to monetise it could have been found - maybe a closer link to Factory/DesignByMe, allowing players to buy the models they created in-game, or a small gift every month linked to the subscription (minifigs based on the in-game characters & classes would have been cool) ... anyway, I'll be sad to see it go, even if I haven't played it for months; maybe I'll spend some time with it over the Christmas break, just before it vanishes.

Posted by bodybomb3 in United Kingdom, 04 Nov 2011 13:58

I knew it, I never got into it and I'm not surprised that its closing. I think its a wise business choice to end the programme, they weren't making a decent profit, do you remember when they gave out free membership!

Posted by fuseunderground in United Kingdom, 04 Nov 2011 14:02

That is amazingly short notice! It's a great game really, they should make it completely free-to-play with payment for stats boosts etc. like Lord of the Rings and Dungeons and Dragons etc..

Very dissapointing that you can still buy a years subscripton on the website......

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 04 Nov 2011 14:13

So, LEGO were planning an MMOG in 1999/1998, they didn't pursue it, but still left it in their "good ideas" bin. Then, in 2007, they re-booted the project. LEGO Universe itself will last 5 years, while the "idea" will last... 13/14 years. Effectively, 13/14 years of LEGO MMOG. Very sad that this whole "master-plan" project ended in a flop.

Posted by yys4u in United States, 04 Nov 2011 14:13

wow that really is a shock... kinda sad

Posted by DrDaveWatford in United Kingdom, 04 Nov 2011 14:18

Fully agree with Bluemoose - I could never understand how LEGO expected to bring in enough paying customers to make this viable, and it's not even a case of being wise in hindsight as I suspect most of us would have said the same before this ever started....

The subscription wasn't exactly cheap, and how they thought that parents could be convinced to keep shelling out that kind of money week after week for their kids I'll never know, particularly as more and more of these MMOs are moving to a free to play model.

An expensive lesson learned.....

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 04 Nov 2011 14:21

@DrDave: Thank goodness that LEGO have a lot of money, then... ;)

Posted by KillDeer in Canada, 04 Nov 2011 14:26

@madforlegos Seriously? "Free Play" doesnt work in video games? Ever seen Minecraft?

Posted by bluemoose in United Kingdom, 04 Nov 2011 14:26

They could have funded it out of a Marketing/Advertising budget, *if* there had been sets to go along with the various areas in the game ... late in the day, they realised that they could effectively advertise Ninjago though Universe, but too late to make an impact I suspect. There are lots of 'ifs' and 'buts' around the whole endeavour, and I'm sure Lego feel they've learnt a lot out of the process about on-line gaming ... but, yes, a very expensive lesson.

It isn't widely known, but a lot of AFOLs contributed to the look & feel of the game, designing some of the models & puzzles that ended up in the game, and worked on it over quite a few years. I feel especially sorry for them, their effort & enthusiasm eventually coming to nothing :-(

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 04 Nov 2011 14:31

Hang on a mo'. The 2012 Ninjago set boxes have LU advertising on them! WHAT'S GOING ON?!? :P

Posted by vamproe in United States, 04 Nov 2011 14:34

i still stand up...if they had made sets based on the lego universe world with codes to unlock more features, or even trail passes it would have gone over better.

you buy a tower set, use the code on-line unlock the tower in the game.
plus get a code to play the game for a month. It would have driven more people to it.

Posted by Krivorn in United States, 04 Nov 2011 15:00

I guess that was inevitable. It was crazy expensive and the controls were irritating.

Posted by mr.bob in United States, 04 Nov 2011 15:08

Although I knew that it was going to come sometime in the future, I expected the end of LU to be at least several years in the future...

I am known as bigtrainfan in LEGO Universe. I spend much of my free time playing LU. I was an early Beta tester, and have had a membership since the Founder's launch. I currently have a little over 6 months left on my subscription, which makes this all the more terrible... I truly have a great time playing LEGO Universe, mainly due to the great group of friends I have managed to find. I have absolutely no idea how I am EVER going to break the news to them...

This is the most devastating news I've heard in a LONG time... I have no idea how I'm going to deal with this... :'(

Posted by mabhatter in United States, 04 Nov 2011 15:42

I think there were two problems. First, much of the gameplay they were trying to emulate was out of the Lego Star Wars line. But the titles in that line were incredibly hit-and-miss in terms of sales. And the titles had enough "free play" in them to satisfy casual Lego fans.
Second, they missed the boat in terms of what more casual fans would want. In short, Minecraft is eating their lunch. Just like a box of Lego Bricks, Minecraft has grown in different directions than Notch wanted. The key is that the game is extendable, and simple enough to take big turns if needed.

The other factor is that Minecraft let's you play locally with whatever rules you want, and it's only $20. If Lego was smart, they'd keep the team onboard and retool the game.

First take a page from Minecraft. Make the base of the game finding and building. Open the game up to LAN play. Offer a moderated Internet forum like Battlenet to have limited child safe games in.

Second, follow the Sims model. Sell each game area, with unique bricks, as stand-alone games. Allow game areas to share components when you have more installed. That gives you something to sell every quarter, but not as "monthly fees". The other benefit would be physical product tie-ins. Buy a model at the store and unlock those parts in the game. How about buy mini figures and unlock outfits or tasks in the game!!!

The point another poster had is true. Lego should have always treated this as marketing. Make money selling bricks and showing off bricks in game. I liked the idea of tying it to the Designer series to get in game models shipped. But also to the NXT series to compete for program writing and robot design.

Posted by CapnRex101 in United Kingdom, 04 Nov 2011 15:44

What a surprise...

But it is sad that they are closing it, I have never tried it, but all I have heard is bad things about it, there was so much hype about it before hand it never stood a chance of living up to people's expectations, that is what killed it I think. I hope they will focus more on the sets, as it is always nicer to have Lego physically in your hands than seeing models on a computer and thinking, I wish I had that in reality! (the Flying Dutchman from Lego Pirates of the Caribbean video game falls into that category).

Posted by Skywalker1966 in United States, 04 Nov 2011 15:51

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is horrible! How in the heck can they do this?!?! C'mon, LEGO, give it at least one more chance! Why did you put the buy one get one free membership ad on the site if you just planned to close LU?!?! Please, don't do this! My guy, DarekSkychaser, has been through too much to get kicked now! I just can't believe this... how are all the guys on the MBs going to react? Well, please LEGO, at the very least, make LU a downloadable/play forever thing that is not Internet connected! I'll pay, like, another $40 for it!

*Sigh...* Okay, I'll calm down. It is just amazing how a game that had gotten so much going for it just got cut... just like that, no less. To everyone who just is hating on LU right now, please, just give us fans some time to mourn for the loss of what was becoming a great game. Given just a few more months, it could have been amazing. I guess it just couldn't keep enough fans... :'(

~ DS ~ DarekSkychaser ~ Skywalker1966 on LEGO.com ~ Blockman on Brickset.com ~

Posted by Nightshroud99 in Canada, 04 Nov 2011 16:02

I told you so. XD

It seems like alot of players were gypped. :/ That's what sucks though, I don't think this is a satisfactory amount of time left, I think 6 months would have been better, then at least people could know what was going on; then wouldn't buy memberships.

Posted by Thomson & Thompson in Canada, 04 Nov 2011 16:06

If they had released sets with it it would probably have succeeded, but it was a flop. Too bad for TLG, since this game is twelve years in the making. Still, I knew it wouldn't go very well. But we got a cool minifigure!

Posted by Pantboy in United Kingdom, 04 Nov 2011 16:07

it is all my fault, i've only been playing the game for a couple of months and was starting to really enjoy it, therefore it gets pulled :( i don't know what i'm going to do with my time, i may even have to resort to talking to my family again instead LOL

strange that the game is free to play all this weekend for all previous members, (whole game not just free play zones) why bother trying to get old members to re-subscribe if they knew they were going to scrap it?

Posted by Okay in United States, 04 Nov 2011 16:08

I really think this could have been prevented if they released actual sets based on LU, but oh well.

Posted by nodnarb162 in United States, 04 Nov 2011 16:38

@mr.bob yeah it totally stinks :( i can get why there shutting it down, but im going to miss all the friends ive made, i just moved to a new place and i dont know many ppl here, LU gave me the opportunity to be active in the lego community and have some friends, i am truly sad that its ending, my in game fig is michaelvortex :/

Posted by Nuckal42 in United States, 04 Nov 2011 16:39

I think it's just because the membership is to expensive. Sad though, very sad.

Posted by LegoC10 in United States, 04 Nov 2011 16:43

NO!!! I was just about to pay for a membership! Sure the membership is expensive, but if they would lower it to around half the price, I am sure tons of more people would do it!

Posted by MaverickDengo in United States, 04 Nov 2011 16:45

Aww man! The game is just barely a year old. :(

Posted by jonbuddy in United States, 04 Nov 2011 16:56

Should've just made it completely free. Or cheaper. I mean, for Pete's sake, who could keep with $120 a year?

I mean, that's what Cartoon Network did with "Fusionfall", and Lego is just as popular as Cartoon Network, IMHO. So how could Lego still NOT turn a profit? Oh well.

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 04 Nov 2011 17:07

@jonbuddy: Because LEGO put more emphasis on a safe world for kids to play with. I always consider Cartoon Network for teens, so they can afford a slightly more relaxed moderation. LEGO, on the other hand, appeals to small kids, so they have to make it as safe as possible. Safe world = EXPENSIVE.

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 04 Nov 2011 17:11

I always see people ask why LEGO haven't done something like Club Penguin: Non-members can access almost all areas, they only thing they can't do is buying clothes, buying igloos and furniture, and accessing members-only rooms. Not too restrictive. Members can do everything. Sounds perfect for LU, right? WRONG. LU is a 3D world (costs more to maintain), it's FAR BIGGER than Club Penguin, and has hundreds of models to moderate every day. In short, CP-style cost model: Not enough money.

Posted by DXninja9000 in United States, 04 Nov 2011 17:13

All I have to say is... #####!!!! Kidding, of course. I am depressed. Very depressed. RexFirebolt and Shinobi90 will cease to exist.

Posted by Nerd in United States, 04 Nov 2011 17:30

It was way to expensive. Plus, look at the pricing:
The Game DVD
1. $39.99
2. $29.99
3. $19.99
4. $9.99 or free

The Gameplay
$9.99 a month or free

I'm not sure if people wanted to pay that much for the gameplay (more like $29.99 per year would have made more sense), and the game should have been a free download from the start (they did end up doing that).

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 04 Nov 2011 18:57

Good grief, when LEGO announced the end of Bionicle, there were far more people commenting there... :P

Posted by TooMuchLEGO in United States, 04 Nov 2011 19:03

Please excuse me while I cry my face off. :-(

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 04 Nov 2011 19:08

@TooMuchLEGO: Eh, my friend... *Pats your back* I expected that reaction from you. :P

P.S. @Huw: TooMuchLEGO's my good friend at the LEGO Message Boards. :P He's a big LU fan, too. :P

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 04 Nov 2011 19:09

At least it's nice to know that LEGO will try to re-employ the 115 employees. It shows that they care about their staff.

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 04 Nov 2011 19:10

LEGO have posted a "kid-friendly" announcement at the LEGO Universe site: http://universe.lego.com/en-gb/community/newsnetwork/story.aspx?id=359539

EDIT: GOOD GRIEF, a whole sub-forum at the MBs has been opened for this: http://messageboards.lego.com/en-GB/showforum.aspx?ForumID=1600

EDIT 2: 305 LEGO.COM MEMBERS ONLINE! It's frightening!

Posted by TooMuchLEGO in United States, 04 Nov 2011 19:17

@Alemas: Yeah, I'll get over it probably. People are really bummed on the LEGO forum.
edit, @Alemas: Its insane. :P Anyway, on the plus side, more time for Legend of Zelda. But still... I used to play this game on PC everyday after school. This really blows.

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 04 Nov 2011 19:18

@TooMuchLEGO: FIFTY PEOPLE are viewing the "LEGO Universe Closing" sub-forum. It's MASSIVE.

EDIT: @TooMuchLEGO: It's not massive, nor insane... it's sending shockwaves thoughout the entire community. The Creation Lab. MyLEGONetwork Networkers. Alpha. Beta. Launch. All our ideas, all our creations... out of the window. Like that. People don't even want to buy LEGO anymore, it seems. I think this'll have consequences for LEGO too.

EDIT 2: "LEGO just lost ALL my trust". LEGO, make some good sets quick...

Posted by itsaturkey in United States, 04 Nov 2011 19:40

"WHA-!" Wow, epic fail. Normally I'd be more sad, but I feel this is entirely Lego's fault. It's not that Lego never should have done a online MMOG, it's the way they executed it. It's SO limited to just small kids. Adults don't have time for it and teens most likely play console games instead. They could have released it on console including teens, and made exclusive sets for AFOL's. Maybe you'd have to explore LU to find the hidden Lego set, and once found you can buy it! Or one month trials in sets. Or "Teens Section" Where you'd have to 13+ to enter, thus the chatting is less strict. As someone else said maybe an inclusion on LDD. Loyalty membership, pay 2 years get one free or something! ANYTHING! They just spent so long making this game then they just end it, "Kaput!" What about all those awards kids spent time on to show off to their friends, gone? It's like Microsoft announced that they were ending X-Box 360 and all your achievements will be lost. You can't even play offline? It just gets me so angry, to see Lego practically bully kids! They end Bionicle and the LU, two of which were either hated or loved and very addicting. Do they LIKE seeing kids sad, depressed and crying? Do they think that will 'Boost sales'?!?!? LU had SO much potential!
And what if some loving parent finally agreed to buy his kid a year sub. to LU at Christmas without knowing Lego's idiotic decision, they just get ripped off 120$?!?! And what about the 115 people out of jobs!? DOES LEGO EVEN UNDERSTAND THERE IS A FREAKING RECESSION GOING ON!?!?! I'm am very irritated, disappointed, and angry at Lego, they should have of just closed LU for a month or two, and edit it to become more what it's potential. LU wouldn't have of flopped if Lego had listened to some of their fans suggestions. And they might have not worked, but we'll never know...

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 04 Nov 2011 19:41

The story of a LEGO MMOG stretches far beyond LU...

1998/1999: LEGO think about an MMOG, but scrap the idea as technology isn't good enough yet
2007: Project re-booted with NetDevil and open the Creation Lab, a creation gallery
2008: Virtual MyLEGONetwork Networkers arrive
2009: Announce delay of LEGO Universe, fans get angry
2010: Bradford Rant, Pods and The Great Minifigure Mission launch the storyline of LU
2010: LU finally launches after 3 years of development and delays
2011: Updates keep LU fresh and alive
2011: NetDevil lays off most of its staff, transfers development to LEGO itself
2011: Ninjago area is released amid much fanfare
2011: Announce end of LU in 2012, fans threaten not to buy LEGO sets anymore, and get extremely furious.
31st January 2012: LEGO Universe ends, 13/14 years after the initial idea, after 3 years of development, and barely a year after launch.

The End.

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 04 Nov 2011 19:42

@itsaturkey: You said the key word. Recession. LEGO COULDN'T AFFORD LEGO UNIVERSE!!!

Posted by Nightshroud99 in Canada, 04 Nov 2011 20:36

After reading comments here and looking at the forum. I myself am quite peeved about this decision, LEGO only cares about the measly money they are not making.

They could also have made this a hit, they flopped it and now everything people have worked for will be lost.

Posted by jonbuddy in United States, 04 Nov 2011 21:23

@Alemas (concerning my post), Fusionfall is severely moderated in terms of free chat. They ban things like stupid and idiot, every number in # AND word form, and mostly every character and area's name in the MMO!

But I understand.

BTW, R.I.P. MusicalLazySandwich (US server, F2P) and PsychicCeilingCyclone (UK server, F2P)

Posted by LobsterWarrior in United States, 04 Nov 2011 22:31

Ugh, why is everyone here showing off how "I told you so."
Well, who'd you tell? Exactly WHO?
And those other smart kids trying to point out what they did wrong.
Well, LEGO has people to do that for them.
In short, all I'm trying to say is: Bug off.
LEGO did their best. Remember: The Articles of Confederation didn't work, but the Constitution did.

Quârånt1ne
-Legocastlebuilder

Posted by ambrose in Australia, 04 Nov 2011 23:17

WHAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTT???????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by jgrocks2 in United States, 05 Nov 2011 00:38

NNOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! peanut butter might change there minds

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 05 Nov 2011 07:49

@jonbuddy: Oh. If anything, it seems it's even stricter than LU... :P

Posted by jsutton in United Kingdom, 05 Nov 2011 09:06

@bluemoose: "maybe a closer link to Factory/DesignByMe, allowing players to buy the models they created in-game, or a small gift every month linked to the subscription (minifigs based on the in-game characters & classes would have been cool) ... " - this is precisely one of the options that was suggested over 18 months ago during the final stages of pre-production. It's a real shame it wasn't taken up. I know for a fact that this kind of monetization - viz. linking the digital game experiences to real-world sets for sale and ideas books, etc. - would have seen my own children playing the game. Monthly subscriptions are no-go area for parents who realise all too well the fickle nature of their children's attention span. We'll see this happen again in a different form one day, so I live in hope :-)

Posted by itsaturkey in United States, 05 Nov 2011 11:20

LobsterWarrior: Exactly Lego, that's who. And, in my opinion, Lego did not do their best. They spent years producing a game and now are just giving up, leaving thousands of kids crushed. And no, I will not "Bug off", this is free web site, I can state what my opinion is, regardless of what it is. I will continue to tell Lego directly my opinion. I'm no expert, but Lego doesn't even bother to release why they didn't or did do something.

Posted by madforLEGO in United States, 05 Nov 2011 11:37

@KillDeer: SERIOUSLY.. Re-read my original post.
I said that I think this is failing because they are trying to make a game when they make physical toys of the same thing .. Is Minecraft a physical TOY? Not to my knowledge... If you gave most kids a chance to play with a physical toy or play a video game it is a toss up, but I am wagering more small children will play with the TOY.. especially if, as others have been saying, the controls are not really that great. That and you probably have a lot more freedom, physically and creatively, with an actual LEGO set.
My whole comment was in the context of LEGO, not EVERY MMO out there.

While a lot of people probably play LEGO Universe it probably is not enough to justify them pumping dollars after dollars into it to try to make it better I think LEGO learned that lesson in the late 90's....

Posted by platinum405 in United States, 05 Nov 2011 11:57

well this sucks, i am i suposed to play now? minecraft?

Posted by sadlegomom in United States, 05 Nov 2011 19:02

My son, who is 9, absolutely LOVED this game. It was one of the few ways I could get him to do his homework!! Please, Lego, reconsider dropping LU! My son loves Lego toys and loves LU, if you gave him a chance to BUY the characters he makes on LU, you would absolutely have a moneymaker on your hands. BTW my 11 year old daughter loved to sit next to him on the other computer in our office and play with him on the same server. If she could have bought the characters she built in actual Lego bricks, again, you would make money on this idea.

My kids don't have Xbox or Wii or any TV based games, just the computers, Nintendo, and iPod. I thought LU was a great way to SAVE money instead of having to buy boatloads of expense game cartridges that the kids would ignore after 2 weeks.

Think about this, Lego people.

Posted by Jay Kenobi ZX in United States, 05 Nov 2011 22:32

Ah, I remember the days I'd beta test LU. It was quite predictable that LU would keep falling, but I never thought it'd hit so low so soon. Let me say this:
First, LU disk was $40, and cost extra to play
Then, disk price reduced to $20, then $10, (Somewhere around here, LEGO drops their agreement with NetDevil, the other company who helped make LU, so now over half the staff was gone) then the game was available for free download.
After all that fails, LU opens the free-to-play zone that didn't really let you get far at all, and although it attracted some new members, not enought o keep it going. I suspected that LU would eventually become all-free, LU would no longer invest anything into it and it would just be there as a self-operating MMOG (if that's even possible). But now it's ending. LU started as a good thing, but they just over did it and added too many new features since late beta. It's sad to see it go, but it was just too much.

Posted by vwong19 in United States, 06 Nov 2011 01:19

I tried to install the game on my Mac last month to test out the free DVD that arrived a couple of months ago. It gave me an error after I attempted to start the game for the first time.... That was the extent of my experience with LU.

Posted by darthsutius in Australia, 06 Nov 2011 01:49

My son and I tried to play this a while ago when the free trial started. But it just wouldn't work. The game would freeze and then crash regularly (every 10 - 15 minutes). There was NO support from the developers whatsoever and we weren't the only ones suffering from the same error. My son was pretty upset because he'd been wanting to give this thing a go for ages.

You want a game to succeed? Well I always think it's a good first step to make sure the game actually works. Subscription uptake is likely to be low on something that's unplayable. You got what you deserved on this one, TLG.

Now go get back to doing what you do best.

Posted by jonrossi in United Kingdom, 06 Nov 2011 04:10

no contenet killed it, i completed the game in 2 days, then waited 4 months for nothing. was always going to end this way.

Posted by Huffy1968 in United Kingdom, 06 Nov 2011 06:41

A real shame, as my 6-year-old son tried it recently and really liked it. However LEGO could and should have marketed it better with closer links to actual sets and minifigs. And as others have said a monthly subscription was not the way to go.

Posted by speed27 in Australia, 06 Nov 2011 17:31

the lego group could re-release some of the classic space sets of the 80's to make thier money back. i know i would buy a few 928's!!

Posted by romaya in Australia, 06 Nov 2011 19:07

I believe that the marketing model of LU was bound to fail - with global access how did they justify membership only to select countries?
My son has been hounding me to get him membership - and I would have, gladly, but it is not available to AUSTRALIA!!!!
darthsuitus - my 9yo loves it and has been playing over the last 8 months ....only frustration....the inability to access items etc because of non-membership....AND THIS WAS NOT OUR CHOICE-LU DID NOT WANT AUSTRALIA IN THEIR UNIVERSE!!!!
speed27 - how non specific can you be in regards to the topic of LU? Were you even aware that we Aussies we not allowed membership?
PULL UP YOUR SOCKS LEGO AND TRY TO REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE A GLOBALLY AVAILABLE COMMODITY AND SHOULD NOT EXCLUDE SOME COUNTRIES!!!!!!

Posted by jonbuddy in United States, 07 Nov 2011 08:02

@lobsterwarrior, I think you're just angry you didn't see the obvious. Did I think LU would end before a whole year went by? No. Did I know LEGO could never even get a spitting distance away from it's full potential and it's once-probable profit opportunities with LU? Heck yes.

Posted by Be-Burger in Israel, 07 Nov 2011 10:23

Too bad - my younger siblings just started playing LU when I told them that it was free, and have really enjoyed it. They will be very upset when I tell them that it is closing in two months.

:-(

Thanks a lot, LEGO.

Posted by rockbrick in Gibraltar, 07 Nov 2011 10:55

My son just got his first ever laptop for his birthday that was fast enough to run Lego Universe and he was so so excited (my pc is slow and didn't run it properly) he had been playing it for the last 2 weeks and loved it.

Heck I enjoyed helping him out in the missions in the free to play area and though I admit I was not considering membership, the rate of progress and enjoyment my son was getting from it would have made me change my mind.

Now I have to go home and tell my son it is closing down in a couple of months he is going to be so upset - seriously I'm sure he'll cry his little eyes out (he's under 10) how is he going to enjoy playing now knowing he can't progress in the game.

Thanks Lego - while I understand that economics is the reason - this will be the first time ever I would have been dissapointed by the Lego Group - thats the first time in 36 years...

With christmas coming up we should all consider a boycot of lego products, put on minifig masks and occupy Billund!

Posted by iabstract in United States, 07 Nov 2011 13:54

I think an opportunity that Lego missed on with Universe was the ability to import your physical collection into the universe. What if you could import all your purchased Lego models into the Universe and play with them in a virtual environment? Perhaps even clone them for multiple versions, should you want a massive space battle, for example? It would be a bit problematic to implement, though; the code would have to be unique to each physical set (not just the model), otherwise there'd be a webpage that pops up with every code for every set. Still, I'm sure the brilliant minds behind Lego could have figured out a way to do it.

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 07 Nov 2011 16:14

@rockbrick: Boycott => No money for LEGO => LEGO goes broke => No LEGO sets. :P A boycott will do more harm than good, here. :P

Posted by jonbuddy in United States, 07 Nov 2011 16:41

You know, no one said "Let's boycott Microsoft!!!!" when they stopped releasing support or legal copies of Windows XP!!!!!!!!!! No one should have a major heart attack over this!

My sympathy goes to the younger children who are/will be very upset about this, BUT it's not going to be lifelong sadness! Life goes on! Everyone should just take a chill pill and not blame LEGO for a failed game! Jeez!

Posted by rockbrick in Gibraltar, 08 Nov 2011 04:29

@Alemas: Boycott - just this christmas, it will make a dent in their profits and they won't go broke, and maybe they'll do something about it....

@Jonbuddy => good point and it reminds me of the "Modern world problems: you get annoyed when a virtual non-existent universe dissapears that wasn't there to begin with...." when others have not even running water in their houses etc...

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 08 Nov 2011 13:32

@rockbrick: Less money for LEGO => Less good sets. :P

Posted by Dominionbricker in United States, 09 Nov 2011 12:35

This really just sucks.

Posted by platinum405 in United States, 10 Nov 2011 18:35

when lego universe ends i will sell the disc or burn in a bawn fire

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