The Results of the June 4th Cuusoo Review will be revealed this Thursday

 

  • The Results of the June 4th Cuusoo Review will be revealed this Thursday

    Posted by glenbricker, 18 Dec 2012 10:33. Filed under Cuusoo.

    Not much more to say than the title. This image is found on the official Cuusoo blog.

    Here is my wild and wholly unsubstantiated speculations:

    My gut is telling me that the whole reason this took so long was because of BTTF.   It seems the most complex negotiation to me while having the highest potential for a novel, viable market.  With all the parties involved though, I image they were are pushing a "now or never" agenda on it. 

    If Zelda is not rejected, I assume it will be postponed to synchronize with a 2014 Wii U Zelda release.

    On the face of it I think Eve Online is a great fit for LEGO. However I am not 100% familiar with the IP, so I don't know if it has any skeletons in the closet that would prevent a brand fit.

    As for the Western Town, there is no reason to ever reject it. The clear question for them is, do they want to line up with The Lone Ranger or not? Do they think people will buy all The Lone Ranger stuff AND a Western Modular OR do they think it wiser to pace out Western content?

    Update: With all the speculation I am a little surprised that nobody has thrown out the idea that they could have finished the second review even.  If they did start the September review in, well September there is a possibility it could be done.  It is not explicitly clear at this time if they complete one entire review before starting the next one or if they have parallel offset review going on.   Regardless, of any outcome, we will learn a lot about the process when this first quarterly review is revealed.  


    63 comments, latest one posted 6 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)
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Comments

Posted by CapnRex101 in United Kingdom, 18 Dec 2012 10:46

Excellent, I am very excited in particular to see how successful the Modular Western Town and DeLorean sets have been in review.

Posted by monkey_roo in United Kingdom, 18 Dec 2012 10:46

Anyone care to place a hypothetical wager on the result :) I am guessing BTTF, with the current range and the 2013 line up, Lego have Western, Space and Fantasy well covered, or maybe they all fail, BTTF Would mean a new licence deal with Universal, unless there is one already?

Posted by CDC in Slovenia, 18 Dec 2012 10:52

they will probably reject western town which means i wont be paying any attention to cuusoo in the future

Posted by zeldafanatic15 in United States, 18 Dec 2012 10:57

Finally! I've been waiting for this one. I think at least one of them is going to pass, I doubt they would make a video just to announce all were rejected. My money would be on BTTF, which would be great. I can't see the Western Town passing with the Lone Ranger next year, and as much as I want it, I doubt Nintendo would go for the Legend of Zelda Legos. Eve Online is a possibility, I think, but if I had to guess I would say no.

Posted by glenbricker in United States, 18 Dec 2012 10:57

@CDC,

Don't give up hope, There are actually 3 possible outcomes for each project. Production, Rejection, or "Pushed forward to the Next Review."

Posted by piratemania7 in United States, 18 Dec 2012 10:57

I bet the approve the western modulars but with some caveat; like, oh we will produce in 2 years! haha. I think it would be too much with the current modular "theme" doing so well; of course, another thing they could do is say OK we are going to create mini creations or modulars that are not quite as glamorous as what we have seen on CUUSOO. But who knows!

Posted by dougts in United States, 18 Dec 2012 10:58

about time...

Zelda will be rejected
BTTF will pass
Western Town will be rejected
Rifter will pass

Rifter will be produced, with BTTF on the "backlog" approved list for a future release.

Posted by dougts in United States, 18 Dec 2012 11:00

actually glenbricker, aren't the statuses:

approved and using this release slot, approved and using a future undefined release slot, rejected.

it isn't like anything gets pushed into the next review pool. it gets approved, it just doesn't get the single allocated production slot.

Posted by PocasNuckie in Portugal, 18 Dec 2012 11:01

My guesses are:

- MWT yes, but released later on after Lone Ranger;
- BTTF yes, but probably without minifigs;
- Zelda, sadly I think it's a no;
- Rifter, I guess it passed, but I honestly don't care;

Posted by itsaturkey in United States, 18 Dec 2012 11:03

Piratemania7 makes a point. I bet they'll turn the set into a mini.

Posted by Nexus Force Blacksmith in United Kingdom, 18 Dec 2012 11:04

Finally. Only interested in the Zelda project though.

Posted by The_Mack in United States, 18 Dec 2012 11:06

The EVE Rifter is a given. It fits all the criteria that LEGO is looking for. As well as CCP fulling supporting the project the licensing was easy. Western town most likely because no addition licensing is required, but I think it will be toned down. I would really love to see the Legend of Zelda happen, it seems like a home run for LEGO. It fits all their criteria but licensing may be an issue with Nintendo, but maybe not. BTTF is a hard call, licensing is sometimes hard to do with old intellectual properties, but there has been some new toys made, (Mattel Hoverboard Replica).

1. EVE Rifter -Yes
2. Western Town -Yes
3. Legend of Zelda - Maybe
4. Back to the Future. - Maybe

Those are my calls.

Posted by Legonizer in United States, 18 Dec 2012 11:08

Portal not in review yet? *yawn* nothing interesting here.

Posted by Joefish in United Kingdom, 18 Dec 2012 11:09

My guess is 'Western Town' will result in a single set, something like a detailed saloon, released to co-incide with the Lone Ranger sets. Which LEGO were probably working on anyway.

'Back to the Future' will be rejected because the cost of securing a new license isn't worth it for something not current.

'Zelda', as presented, will be rejected because it would require lots of new moulds to do it justice with minifigs, which Cuusoo doesn't have the budget for. If it were to get through, t would be in a different form.

'Eve Online' probably won't get anywhere as presented because the fanbase just isn't as big as some (e.g. Minecraft), though it might just make it, or at least survive immediate rejection. Or maybe get turned into a fleet of micro-scale ships.

Posted by snoboarder31 in United States, 18 Dec 2012 11:10

To all the people saying that Nintendo would oppose a Lego toy line - they licensed Mario Kart to K'nex, so...

Posted by Brickcreator in United States, 18 Dec 2012 11:14

Well it's about time...

My predictions are:

Zelda: No, backlog
EVE: No, backlog
BTTF: Yes
Western Town: No, backlog, if it wasn't for Lone Ranger, this one would have been a no brainer, but Lone Ranger complicates things.

Most likely, none will be rejected. If they didn't fit the 'brand standards' they most likely would have already been rejected, so at least some thinks they have hope.

Posted by The_Mack in United States, 18 Dec 2012 11:14

The Mario Kart K'nex might be something that could/would prevent Zelda from being done. Existing licensing with a competing brand.

Posted by glenbricker in United States, 18 Dec 2012 11:23

@ The_Mack

It is a good point but there are also examples of it not being an issue, even with specific IP. The best current example being Batman. Currently you can buy Batman Trio or Batman Lego.

It really just depends on the wording on the license agreement.

Posted by SilentMode in United Kingdom, 18 Dec 2012 11:24

My money from the beginning has been on EVE (Rifter). I seriously doubt Zelda will make the cut; the others could go either way.

Posted by rosney in United States, 18 Dec 2012 11:29

An announcement of an announcement?

Posted by Demarco Murray in United Kingdom, 18 Dec 2012 11:34

I bet The Lone Ranger has put the kibosh on the modular western theme. Very annoying because a modular set would be a hundred times better.

Posted by behemothjosh in United States, 18 Dec 2012 11:38

I'm excited for whichever gets made. Cuusoo needs some attention and this should start a more regular stream of releases. But, as everyone is doing their guessing, here is mine:

1. Western Town - YES. Why? no licensing needed. When? They could release it in conjunction with the Lone Rangers sets which could draw attention or they may wait for the following year so as not to conflict.

2. BttF - maybe. Why? licensing could be touchy. So many hands in the pot. When? If the licensing has been worked out, this could be made right now.

3. Zelda - no. Why? 1. Knex is already working with Nintendo. 2. Nintendo would probably push for a line of Zelda sets, not just the one. 3. Too many specialized parts. 4. If Nintendo wants toys, they'll make toys. (Don't get me wrong, I would absolutely LOVE to have Zelda LEGO sets)

4. EVE Rifter - yes. Why? CCP has been on board the entire time. Built with standard parts. When? Candidate for this review.

So, I honestly don't know. Probably a toss up between the Western Town and the EVE Rifter. I'm guessing that the licensing for BttF and Zelda will hold them back for now.

Posted by The Green Brick Giant in United States, 18 Dec 2012 11:41

My guesses will be...

Don't care.
Don't care.
Don't care.
Don't care.

I might have cared on June 5th, 7 months later I don't care one bit. We get an announcement for an announcement that should have happened half a year ago? Lego is really dropping the ball on these. Let's have a quarterly review several quarters later? Then it will be several more months before they are released?

Epic fail.

Posted by Ypres in Canada, 18 Dec 2012 11:50

I'd personally cheer for Zelda... but if I had to guess which model Lego would choose I would say either BTTF or the Western one. To be honest, I know nothing about Eve (or whatever it's called...). Lego has already gone with the model based on an online game in the past, and if sales of this kind of item are projected to be higher than the other three I don't see why Lego wouldn't take that route again. If Minecraft didn't sell well enough, or Eve just isn't a brand fit, Lego at least has one idea that's easy to pass over. The Western town is the exact kind of innovation and feedback Lego is looking for from its adult builder community. I personally don't see why BTTF or Zelda would have to correspond to something. Both are classic, and if somebody sees a model on the shelf they're either going to buy it or not... I just don't see how the absence of an anniversary or game can effect the sales of one model. Maybe we've got to get out of the 'mineCraft' mindset and stop thinking Lego is pitching Cuusoo models to non-lego buyers. Marketing to non-Lego buyers is just pointless since Lego isn't actually going to throw in the money in advertising to promote one model to an audience they may or may not win over. Nobody here is actually thinking they would buy the BTTF model only during the anniversary, yet not before or after. As usual, Lego should be concerned with who's here... not random people floating around the mall (in which case maybe Lego's marketing strategy for 2013 should be selling door-to-door) *Sigh*.

Posted by PocasNuckie in Portugal, 18 Dec 2012 12:06

Just to remind we have 2 different issues here:

- What is/is not approved;

- What goes into prod. in the next slot;

I think some people are mixing things. This is not a One Winner fight.

Posted by halcyon305 in United States, 18 Dec 2012 12:22

If BTTF was released in 1985, wouldn't the 25th anniversary have been in 2010? in any case, it seems more fitting to celebrate BTTF's 30th anniversary...

Posted by Legolover9531 in United States, 18 Dec 2012 12:24

I see it this way:

Eve- Rejected. Most kids probably don't know what Eve is.
BTTF- Maybe. I have a feeling this was the reason the review was taking so long, since they have to get licenses from both Universal and GMC.
Zelda- Approved. Zelda seems to be the most popular out of the bunch and I'm hoping it gets passed.
Modular Western Town- Pushed. Thanks to Lone Anger this will get pushed.

Posted by glenbricker in United States, 18 Dec 2012 12:33

@halcyon305,

Thanks for catching that. I was looking at my BTTF Hallmark ornament AND my 25th Anniversary Star Trek TNG Ornaments when I was speculating and the wires got crossed.

Posted by i_the_janitor in Poland, 18 Dec 2012 12:34

Supported BTTF and still eager to buy Marty McMinifig sets. MWT is a neat idea but I'm no modular collector. The rest, well, Zelda is an easily recognizable franchise among little kids, so it sound like a good business. Never played those sorts of games, not my style. Rifter is the same category but the target seems somewhat narrower, mainly in terms of age spectrum.

Posted by cheshirecat in United Kingdom, 18 Dec 2012 12:36

I wonder if the big announcement is because we are getting a whole new range rather than a single set. Would either Zelda or bttf be interested in licensing a single set. I doubt it's worth their bother and not worth TLGs to make the Zelda moulds. That might also explain the time it's taken, market assessment, multiple set ideas to consider and more far reaching negotiations. Of course that goescagainst cuusoos guidelines but I just dont see Nintendo or universal etc licencing a single set especially if it's taken seven months, there's a massive cost associated with that amount of time (especially lawyers) that a single set wouldn't recoup.

Posted by halfpenguinhalflego in United Kingdom, 18 Dec 2012 12:50

I think the main question for the Western town is price, I think LEGO's unlikely to produce a set as big. But quite likely to make a western saloon that's cheaper.

Posted by Yatkuu in United States, 18 Dec 2012 12:56

My guess:
They realized that turning down The Winchester & Firefly was a terrible idea and they decided to produce both...

More seriously, I have absolutely no idea. I just hope the project owners have been kept in the loop of their respective projects' statuses... finding out through a video blog that your project won't happen would be pretty hard to take.

Posted by behemothjosh in United States, 18 Dec 2012 13:20

@Yatkuu - I can confirm that I (as the creator of the EVE Rifter) have no idea if the EVE ship has been chosen or rejected.

Posted by glenbricker in United States, 18 Dec 2012 13:32

@behemothjosh,

Thank you for chiming in on that.

Posted by Joefish in United Kingdom, 18 Dec 2012 13:37

Green Brick Giant has a point about the protracted and delayed nature of this review. I wouldn't be at all surprised if LEGO shut down Cuusoo soon, or turn it into something else, simply because of the sheer lack of originality in the ideas coming through. Every entry that shows up more than a handful of supporters is either 'license this game/film' or 'bring back this theme'. And most of those who have presented original projects are no doubt put off as they don't stand a chance of getting anywhere near the support of a licensed IP with an existing fanbase.

Posted by Isabella and Lego Liker in United States, 18 Dec 2012 13:43

Western - Passed, but will be a 2014 set
Zelda - On the fence
BTTF - likely rejected, but if passed, delayed to 2015
EVE - On the fence

Posted by goldfish in United Kingdom, 18 Dec 2012 13:56

BTTF approved, Western rejected, as no way can I see Disney agreeing competition for the Lone Ranger. Zelda, possibly alongside another Zelda title. Eve rejected as again don't think they will want sets up against the big Star Wars sets.

Posted by Firox 5000 in United Kingdom, 18 Dec 2012 14:17

I think the bttf set may be the winning model while ego and self a may be possible too. Unless its being delayed for 2014, I can't see the Western town passing.

Posted by toon10001 in United Kingdom, 18 Dec 2012 14:30

westeren town-probably postponed ubtil the end of the lone ranger theme
zelda-posponed like the article says
Eve-to me, has the most probability but the liscence is unknown..
bttf- posponed mabye, for the 30th aniversary.

Its eve to me, but i think the western town wpuld have won if lone ranger wasnt here (which im not fond of anyway)

Posted by Balthazar Brannigan in United States, 18 Dec 2012 14:39

I personally can't think of anything better than the Lone Ranger theme to help the modular western town pass. It would provide an excellent backdrop to sets which are mostly based on figures and action rather than elaborate structures... a lot like the traditional modular buildings and the city themed sets. A version of the Delorean from Back to the Future III would be the icing on the cake...

Posted by Bumblepants in Cameroon, 18 Dec 2012 14:40

The Western Town could go the other way and be a flagship set for the Lone Ranger like the Haunted House is for Monster Fighters, either licensed or unlicensed. I feel it is unlikely they will twist it into a licensed set but if they did it might give them more leeway with making a saloon and not getting backlash for it than otherwise.

Posted by Dragon_Master_48 in United States, 18 Dec 2012 14:40

I think all these should get through. =P

Western: Obvious.

BTTF: Great model based on the series.

Zelda: Obvious

EVE: Also a great model.

Posted by Reekardoo in Portugal, 18 Dec 2012 16:16

http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/31711

Posted by 15810123am in United States, 18 Dec 2012 16:17

So is the bttf approved? I don't think you we're clear on that. I would love to see a whole theme of this.

Posted by DaveBey in United States, 18 Dec 2012 16:25

The Legend of Zelda project appears to be nothing more than custom Legend of Zelda swords, shields, and other items from the game. In the project creator's own words: "...I feel it is also necessary to include multiple swords, shields and items as they play such a large and important role in the series." This of course in response to LEGO's comment, "As your concept artwork mostly consists of new elements,... [w]e encourage you to come up with a concept for a single set that you feel best commemorates the game, and we can work from there."

The Western Town and EVE ship seem to have the best chances and translate well into themes LEGO supports. I think the licensing from Universal may be prohibitive for Back to the Future.

Posted by Starik20X7 in Australia, 18 Dec 2012 16:57

Praying that Zelda comes through, though seeing as LoTR and The Hobbit have become the new 'medieval fantasy' theme I'm worried that Zelda would be put aside in favour of those...

Posted by glenbricker in United States, 18 Dec 2012 17:02

@ 15810123am

This is an announcement that they WILL announce on the 20th. No firm data other than a date has been provided.

Posted by Dread-Pirate in United States, 18 Dec 2012 19:50

OK here is my take on what may be.

The Zelda Theme may be a tough one to get through and may not pass because of the difficulty of making playable sets. Link lives in a Tree (could be a cool set but would need to be kinda bigish) and most of all the rest of the action takes place in a Castle, which would be a large set and also interfere with the castle theme to be released in 2013.

BTTF. Great theme and could have alot of playablilty (3 versions of the Delorian and a Time Train.) plus sets that could "transform" from 1950's to 80's(or today) and then a future. The sets could have optional pieces to make them fit each time but be the same basic set. Lots of playability and set possibilities including a villan (Biff) and many sets/times that could be modeled. Great to release in 2014/2015 to celebrate the 30th anaversary.

Western Theme. Great sets that would easily fit into the next wave of sets comming out to fit in with the Lone Ranger theme. A Saloon may not fit with Lego's business model exactly but maybe it would as they in the past they have done Pirates which are notorious for being slop drunk.

EVE Online Rifter. This is my personal favorite as I play Eve as a Minmatar (the race that builds the Rifter) and the Rifter is one of my all time favorite ships (along with the T2 variants). Eve is a HUGE online sandbox type game that has everything from mining to warfare to industrialists and inventions. The model is built really close to actual scale with a minifig and with a little modification (and a custom piece) a pod could be built to fit in the ship and also hold a minifig so the model models the ships in the game even closer. Minifig or no it is a good model of a great entry level ship in a really fun game. I say go for this one

Posted by Perijove in United States, 18 Dec 2012 20:19

@behemothjosh

Please feel free to provide updates on any kind of communication you do eventually have with LEGO CUUSOO, unless they say you can't. Good luck on the review. I'd say your chances are pretty good. I'm familiar with all the speculation for all the projects, and l find myself hoping they all get approved, despite whatever complications may arise from such a prospect. I'm mostly envious that your wait will be over soon, while I will continue being patient with my Curiosity rover project.

Posted by Dragon_Master_48 in United States, 19 Dec 2012 00:27

@Dread-Pirate
Also, not all the actions takes place in "a Castle." There are multiple dungeons (across many, many different games) and other locations, that would work well with boss and enemy figures, etc.

Posted by spokeydokeyjenner-jones in United Kingdom, 19 Dec 2012 03:17

I think the Western town and the Lone Ranger should both come out at the same time.

Posted by Andhe in United Kingdom, 19 Dec 2012 03:20

Wow they're really dragging this out aren't they. Which makes me think that they must be announcing SOMETHING.

I reckon we'll see one production out of the 4, I'd love for. It to be the Deloreon (If it happens, most probably without minifigs?) Or Zelda, but most likely to be the EVE.

Posted by Mickitat in Germany, 19 Dec 2012 03:35

Only interested in the Western town. If it is rejected, I have the feeling Cuusoo needs a serious overhaul of its concept. Lone Ranger or not - this is one of the best sets I have ever seen and would fit perfectly into "one big set for adults" scheme for every theme.

Posted by richselby in United Kingdom, 19 Dec 2012 04:02

Video message at Christmas. Cuusoo are taking PR tips from The Queen!

Posted by Pumpkin Jack in United Kingdom, 19 Dec 2012 04:20

I do feel people are overlooking the power of a universal brand like Lego, its attention to detail and creativeity. Nintendo and Universal will be happy for exposure of their brands, without loss to them. While Zelda might be had to produce in sets i would love to see it. Im really excited about BTTF and would love to see multpile sets. EVE, im not bothered about. But the western modulars would fit Lego's Lone Ranger brand nicely. The main audience for the lone range could not afford the bigger modular sets, while the AFOL's would buy them by the bucket load. Anyway, only my thoughts

Posted by RaulRain in El Salvador, 19 Dec 2012 05:45

I would like to buy western modulars, and I don´t see a problem with them, it has the potential to evolve in a western line,

I don´t know about the EVE set, I hope for the best.

The ones I´m more interested in are BTTF and Zelda sets:

In the case of BTTF, like minecraft, at least we can expect one set , if we go along with how cuusoo handles potencial projects, it would be cool if we get a line, but the problem would be with the license I think.

The same goes for zelda, at least one set if it gets approved, but . . . . I don´t know . . . . when I think about the colaborations between nintendo and lego through warner´s telltale games, the Lego City Undercover game exclusively for the Wii U, the fisical minifig of chase MacCain, the one from the preorder and the 2013 set (yeah right, 2013 jejeje) and the video of Satoru Iwata, current CEO of Nintendo, speaking about the game in Lego minifig form, weeeeeeell, it would be nice to have a zelda set with a official Link minifig, with lego´s minifig face (I like more the classic face, the in-game art face of the project it´s nice but it doesn´s looks like a lego minifig, I like more the alternate version)

For all the projects, I wish them good luck and for now, we wait.

Posted by ChicoCheco in Czech Republic, 19 Dec 2012 06:29

One optimistic opinion - all the projects will pass! Yes!

Posted by Outer Rim Emperor in United States, 19 Dec 2012 11:06

More than anything I really want to see BTTF and the Western Modular pass! :)

Posted by el_rey95 in United States, 19 Dec 2012 13:35

Lego zelda game!?

Posted by ep2323 in United Kingdom, 19 Dec 2012 14:44

What happened to the Thinking with Portals set?

Posted by The_Mack in United States, 19 Dec 2012 19:02

@ep2323 Thinking with Portals is part on the next review. So maybe 3 months from now, we will hear something about those sets?

Posted by alexfig8 in United States, 19 Dec 2012 21:36

I'm guessing
BTTF=On the likely side of maybe
EVE= If it requires a licensing, probably not, otherwise, pretty likely
Western Town=I want it to, but honestly I think it could go either way
Zelda=I think it would be yes, but if Nintendo said no, that's probably why it didn't get passed. The other reason is because it seems like the idea was a theme, and Lego wants single sets, not 50 set themes.

Posted by PocasNuckie in Portugal, 20 Dec 2012 07:18

Is it me or the fact there's a video may mean we'll see a prototype (or final) of what's to be released on the next slot?

Commenting has ended on this article.