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Title: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Jayko on November 04, 2011, 02:01:52 pm Shocking news has come to us today.
Quote 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 not a place to rant, rave, or say "I told you so", nor should it be a place to debate why the game was good or bad. Please use this as an opportunity to discuss what you are going to do in the wake of it, and how the game has affected you. share your memories and adventures! ANSWER THE CALL! SAVE IMAGINATION! Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: The Truth on November 04, 2011, 03:07:18 pm ...... :'(
If only there was something we could do. Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Jayko on November 04, 2011, 03:28:20 pm ...... :'( Crushinator, over on Lunibook, who was a Programmer for the game, has informed us that the team has already been released. What has happened has happened. I wish we could do something, but theres not much to do. I know for my sake, I'm going to take loads of pictures and videos of my favorite properties.If only there was something we could do. Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: MsRowdyRedhead on November 04, 2011, 03:57:13 pm Talk to Dolnor.. there is a way to record it!
Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Jayko on November 04, 2011, 04:22:00 pm Talk to Dolnor.. there is a way to record it! Hmm? You mean video? I know how to do that. I also plan on grouping my models into one huge one, (haha, lets see how that goes) And then it will save onto my computer. This way, I can open them up on digital designer, and have a 3d model forever!Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: MsRowdyRedhead on November 04, 2011, 04:24:15 pm OH.. save to LDD.. how does that work??
Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Flipz on November 04, 2011, 04:39:34 pm Sim, SamiraiMaster, and acouple other folks have a tool that will let you save your properties to LDD as-is. They're workking out the bugs now.
Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Jayko on November 04, 2011, 04:45:04 pm OH.. save to LDD.. how does that work?? All of the custom models you load in LU are saved onto your hard drive deep in the program folder. If you can fish them out, they are there. Kind of hard to tell whats what, because the file names are crypic... But if what Flipz says is true, this might prove to be a simpler solution!I feel for all the new LUPs, who were recently accepted, but now have no chance of adding anything... Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: MsRowdyRedhead on November 04, 2011, 04:51:16 pm I wonder if there is the opportunity to have sponsors save the game somehow?
Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Canama on November 04, 2011, 04:53:47 pm And I stand by my suggestion in CtaM. It's not like TF2 was the first game to go with that business, either, it's just the only one I know of that originally cost money and then changed.
Plus I had read the article recently so it was easy to find statistics. -Canama Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: The Truth on November 04, 2011, 05:57:05 pm Sim, SamiraiMaster, and acouple other folks have a tool that will let you save your properties to LDD as-is. They're workking out the bugs now. Post a link to it? Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Jayko on November 04, 2011, 06:10:04 pm What I really find hard.. Is that they had an interview with the Developers a week ago! And they said it was going great! So either the Marketing team was keeping this from them, or they just realized it now...
Edit: The later is sort of true, Quote Hi guys, Yes, it's true, yes the news is terrible. I'm truly very sorry, and my heart goes out to all of you guys. As Crushinator says, this decision was made by people much higher up the chain than the Developers. We all found out this morning and were just as shocked as you all. We had so many exciting things in store in 2012... as well as really good news for Australians/New Zealand that I couldn't wait to announce soon. LEGO Universe has been an amazing ride. You guys are awesome - keep building, and keep gaming. Figgy Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: mtmerrick on November 04, 2011, 06:38:25 pm regardless of the profit margins, i think this was a bad move for lego. no one will be in a rush to try whatever they come up with next (as far as big online games go), because they killed of their first attempt so early.
if i had the time and money i'd buy LU, (free to play just wasn't enough for me to bother) and i'd be really PO'd if i found out they're shutting it down. they're going to alienate customers. pity, seemed like a good game. Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Jayko on November 04, 2011, 07:11:12 pm regardless of the profit margins, i think this was a bad move for lego. no one will be in a rush to try whatever they come up with next (as far as big online games go), because they killed of their first attempt so early. Good point. It would be very hard to trust in their "next big project"... I really want to know what it was that caused this... I really hope LEGO doesn't take this as a clue to stay out of online games, I thought the Building had a ton of potential, but no very many people used it due to the bugs and time it took. Now if they released a free, or even very minor subscription based thing, where you could load your LDD models online, and play in them with a minifigure, and share, I would so buy that.if i had the time and money i'd buy LU, (free to play just wasn't enough for me to bother) and i'd be really PO'd if i found out they're shutting it down. they're going to alienate customers. pity, seemed like a good game. Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Flipz on November 04, 2011, 08:02:14 pm I wonder if there is the opportunity to have sponsors save the game somehow? Too late. Most of the 115 people working for LU have cleared out their desks already. mederation is being run by a skeleton crew. :/ :'( :'( regardless of the profit margins, i think this was a bad move for lego. no one will be in a rush to try whatever they come up with next (as far as big online games go), because they killed of their first attempt so early. Good point. It would be very hard to trust in their "next big project"... I really want to know what it was that caused this... I really hope LEGO doesn't take this as a clue to stay out of online games, I thought the Building had a ton of potential, but no very many people used it due to the bugs and time it took. Now if they released a free, or even very minor subscription based thing, where you could load your LDD models online, and play in them with a minifigure, and share, I would so buy that.if i had the time and money i'd buy LU, (free to play just wasn't enough for me to bother) and i'd be really PO'd if i found out they're shutting it down. they're going to alienate customers. pity, seemed like a good game. I'd rather Lego just released LU open-source. It would make SO much more sense than a mere shutdown; if the fans really want to play LU, let them run it themselves. They certainly wouldn't lose any more money that way than they would by shutting it down entirely. And, as much as I like your idea, I've lost most of my respect for Lego. I really thought Lego would pull through in the end, that it'd be a lifetime hobby that would serve as a unifying theme throughout my life. But now...I went to play with my MBA stuff, just to clear my head and try to enjoy something. Instead, I was totally uninspired, and I got a sick feeling in my stomach as I...stuck a bunch of plastic lumps together. Honestly, that's what it felt like I was doing; not "building." I had the urge to pull out my Bradford Rant Pod and look at it, and that actually sent me to the restroom for the better part of an hour. Maybe I'm still dealing with the shock and pain of the announcement, but Lego has become something totally foreign to me. Maybe I'll get that part of me back. Maybe not. But today I've lost the single most integral part of my existence since moving back to California from Japan. A part that, once again, formed my sole means of continual social interaction when I had to move again several months ago. A part of my identity--no, a HUGE part--has been stripped away, and I'm left feeling lifeless and purposeless. No matter all the opinions I express, and the ideas I put forth to try and change things, there is no escaping the awful truth. LU is gone, maybe not right this second, but it's no longer a part of the future, and without it, I have no clue where mine will lead. I have nothing. I am nothing. I am now faced with a choice: reinvent myself, tearing away all that I once was and beginning anew in an uncertain new world, or cling to the old, and fade into oblivion and mediocrity with the swift passage of time. And at this moment, I'm not sure which choice I'll take. Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: mtmerrick on November 04, 2011, 08:09:29 pm i assume this is something that's been building up for a long time, and this was the final straw?
Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: JediGuineaPig on November 04, 2011, 08:12:21 pm this is very sad news, especially because it was finally going to be released here soon...
i think they should let the lups take over. Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Flipz on November 04, 2011, 08:14:54 pm Yeah...ever since the move, I haven't been able to enjoy anything; whenever I get even a taste of happiness, I get punched in the gut. LU was my lifeline, and now... *snip*
Maybe there's something...somewhere out there for me. But right now I can't see it, and maybe I don't want to. Maybe I need time to heal. But time marches on, and there's no rest for the weary. This is my world. This is my life. Such as is is, and so it shall be. I search for words, but there are none, so I seek the solace of song... Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: mtmerrick on November 04, 2011, 08:17:07 pm poor guy :/
ihave some advice for you, let's take this to PM, ok? Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: MsRowdyRedhead on November 04, 2011, 08:25:59 pm This kind of trauma is not easy on kids. Or adults. We are like a huge drove of suddenly displaced workers. But worse, because of the social aspects of LU.
Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Flipz on November 04, 2011, 08:38:09 pm The Jason Donovan version has more power, but meh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVWpgmiIbas Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Jayko on November 04, 2011, 08:49:17 pm We are all saddened by this... Some more so than others... However, how we deal with it makes us stronger. We need to somehow move on. If you get punched in the gut, but stay nursing over your sore stomach, you never move. Dropping LU was a major punch for me, and honestly I thought I would have shown more emotion... I guess it will be real for me the day its officially over. However, I can't let this stop me. I have a life, and I need to live it.
Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Canama on November 04, 2011, 09:10:59 pm This kind of trauma is not easy on kids. Or adults. We are like a huge drove of suddenly displaced workers. But worse, because of the social aspects of LU. I... uh...Trauma? Methinks you are taking the game a bit seriously. Of course, I can't talk. If Steam announced a shutdown tomorrow I would NOT be very happy. -Canama Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: MsRowdyRedhead on November 04, 2011, 10:39:03 pm LU is more than a RPG. Kids have gotten together and built some quite remarkable MOCs.. not just single structures, but entire stage sets where drama can be played out... and massive projects of other kinds as well.
I know of at least two properties that have almost a years worth of building put in to them. Programming those structures to do things.. to respond to the actions of the minifigs that visit...imagine the dedication that went into all that. IN the very least LEGO owes it to those kids to leave LU open on a view only basis so their work can be seen. And that doesn't even touch the social aspects of the game... Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Yhnmko1 on November 05, 2011, 01:29:39 am I really hope they'll either give us the server software or at least let us make a server...
Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Dolnor on November 05, 2011, 03:23:12 am My ears are buring, someone must be talking about me! -)
I used Fraps to video the game. It works well. Yes, the models are saved on your hard drive in the following location: C:\Program Files\LEGO Software\LEGO Universe\client\res\BrickModels\UserMade In UserMade, there are a bunch of individual numbered folders. In each folder are 3 files of different formats. The file with the ".lxfml" format will open in Digital Designer. So...get in the game and start saving all of the pre-made designs as your own! Castle, farm, city, animals, trophies, models-you-won, etc. can all be saved as your own model: 1) Place the models on your property. 2) Go into Model Edit Mode. 3) Move one block from the model and replace it back in the same place. 4) When you save the model...since you "edited it by moving a block"...it is now yours and will save to a created numbered folder under the UserMade folder. 5) Enjoy! -) I just re-subbed for another year. So I suspect that it will be honoured for 3 months and I'll let them keep the remaining months' cost. I will sorely miss LU. I am strictly a casual player over there...more of an explorer and still a tester of the game. I don't understand why LEGO Group can't just keep a Dev or two to keep the game going as it stands...with small updates over time. This is how Disney has prolonged Pirates of the Caribbean Online all this time...very small updates and very little content additions. Perhaps someone will reverse-engineer the game and present something like SWGemulator. I am sorry to hear the Team has been sacked already. In these times, jobs are harder to come by. I hope they will be able to transition on to new employments....remember, many have families to support! -*( TQQdles™, Dolnor Numbwit Eternally Bummed -*( Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: MsRowdyRedhead on November 05, 2011, 04:11:00 am Thank you so much for this Dolnor!!
As soon as I have a few minutes of sleep I will check it out. Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Darth Rexus on November 05, 2011, 05:29:47 am Of course I will be sad when it is gone, but I will alway have fallback MMOs (Wizard101, Freerealms, LOTRO, Roblox, POTCO ect...). For me this is like making a great painting, spending month after month on it, then having it smashed...
Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Blade on November 05, 2011, 08:44:59 am I really hope they'll either give us the server software or at least let us make a server... Here's something to thinks about, just to mention... Haven't other, more console-based MMOs had their servers closed, but other, unofficial, servers created? It'd likely be little more than a fan site, or so, but... If that happens... Then hopefully they'd just let it happen like most companies.(Though there it's mostly a kinda 'we don't care because we closed it already' situation, so...)But really, what happened? 0_o And another thing, what is going on this year? I mean seriously, what's up with companies? MML3 canceled before even the playable demo's released... LU canceled not even two years in... I'm honestly speechless at the moves that companies are making this year. Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Kritzelei on November 05, 2011, 11:31:38 am I must apologise for not being here that often - no excuses apart from 'The Dark Ages', and the fact that only Technic LEGO interests me these days. My apologies.
However, as soon as I read this on another site, I knew I had to post it here - seems I was beaten to it. It is very saddening, but personally, I do not think the Free-to-Play LU gave users an accurate enough representation of what would be available for them in the subscription zones. I think I played it for about one weekend (on and off, not for 48 hours straight), and then I could not continue with the story. As I am now 15 years old, I don't think my parents would have approved of me buying a subscription for a game like this, considering I may lose interest after a week or two. I cannot say how much I am saddened for LEGO though - they put so much effort into this, yet it seems it has not done so well after all. Pricing issues? Potentially. But I can see that they knew they would have to gain some profit from LU to keep it running - unfortunately not enough. I wish those who are to lose their jobs have the greatest ease in finding new jobs, potentially still inside LEGO, as they clearly have a lot of imagination. Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Hunthe on November 05, 2011, 03:04:41 pm This really is saddening, on many levels for me.
Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Ace on November 05, 2011, 05:00:06 pm Well, this is a surprising twist from Lego. I bought the one-month subscription earlier this year, and while I didn't find LU to be phenomenal, it was certainly full of potential and gave me a few hours of chuckles each weekend.
I hope Lego's future decisions come out to be beneficial for the company and its fans. Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: MsRowdyRedhead on November 05, 2011, 05:30:19 pm Someone asked me "what can we do..."
It seems there should be something.. "Answer the call.. save imagination!!" rallied us all in game.. I believe a well thought out and respectfully written letter campaign would be a good start. Fans save TV shows all the time.. why not LU?? It might not work, but it couldn't hurt, and cost little more than time. While one grasshopper on the railroad tracks wouldn't slow a train very much, a billion of them would. I refuse to sit by helplessly and accept without a whimper the demise of something we have all spent so much time in building and enjoying. I have almost two years into this, counting the Alpha.. and that is worth something to me. Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Blade on November 05, 2011, 06:54:21 pm Fans save TV shows, yes, but when it comes to interactive media, unfortunately, companies just don't pay as much attention... I mean, (And I hate to be a broken record here), look at Megaman Legends 3. One part of the campaign to get it uncanceled, was to send in letters.
Those letters were received alright, and we had proof(Even if that picture showed the letters were suspiciously close to a microwave); but nothing arrived from that. No game, just a tease that we might have something Megaman related in time for the 25th anniversary. And honestly; I'm seeing a very similar reaction to this as the Megaman Legends 3 cancellation... And really, the only difference between the two, is one was released for a year, and one didn't get released in any form. I'm not saying give up; as that'd be silly... However, I must remind everyone, that the odds are stacked way against us. The team's been dismantled already(I think only Capcom with shifting the MML3 team to different departments is in the way of that being a world record), the final day is in under three months, and, well, everything LU-related is slowly being killed off, like the contests.(And I doubt we'll be seeing Frostburgh again, even as a consolation gift) But even so, we can't give up. Even if it has to live on as a fan-continued game, we have to do something. Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: MsRowdyRedhead on November 05, 2011, 08:05:01 pm It can't be a fan continued game... give that thought up. TLG owns all the content and we all signed a users agreement. The NDA for employees being up will only allow them to talk about ideas, not implementation.
Unless someone purchases the rights to LU, NONE of its content may be used. not one iota. Quote Most game studios retain the game assets and code, so technically it will be preserved within the LEGO company, however with MMOs the only way players can still play it after it's released is if the source code is leaked/stolen or reverse engineered. As far as I know no company has ever released the source to their MMO, most likely because of millions of dollars invested in making the technology, which they wouldn't want competition to get a hold of for free. It would not be legal, unless you purchased those rights from LEGO. However, enough attention might cause a revival by TLG or purchase of rights by another entity. Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Blade on November 05, 2011, 08:32:10 pm Then it dies. Simple as that. If no-one fights for something like what happens to other MMOs, which might I add, the original creators of that never complain, then it dies.
At this point, LEGO would need a very good reason to revive it... And unfortunately, this is another way that LU differs from MML3's cancellation... The cancellation for MML3 was uncalled for, as they had no effective data to show that people wanted it... And even after all that attention and massive uproar; MML3 is showing no signs of being released unless things rapidly change... Even after another few developers have expressed interest in finishing it. However, here, we have a year of data on how many players are playing, and such. We know that people really like it; and really want to play it... heck; I want to play it, and at this rate, I literally never will(Thanks a lot, LEGO. >_>); but well... It's a fact on BZP, and it's a fact on here... The people who are outspoken on forums, are in the majority typically... And if you look on BZP, a lot of the members who are replying, are mostly saying 'I told you so', or saying other things that are negative to LU... And I doubt that's helping anything. =/ While a campaign might work, and I wouldn't be opposed to it... The chances of it working for LEGO to revive the game, without relying on unofficial servers, or even LEGO giving up the rights(Which IMO is even more unlikely than them reviving it themselves), are just about 0. I'm not going to lie; it's not a good outlook for the game, but I don't really think I should kid myself... If three or more months of trying to get a game back has failed already this year; the only thing we have going that would be different, is the fact that LEGO's a more fan-orientated company than Capcom from the getgo... But I don't even think that'll help if there's no possibility of the game living on past the deadline without LEGO's say-so. I know; you'll say something like "Don't be so pessimistic, we can do this, if we gather attention we can show LEGO they were wrong!"... But; again; I already went through that once this year. That didn't work out a bit; even though at one point the movement reached I believe every inch of the Capcom site. Nothing happened. Everything canceled this year is still canceled. I stand by the thought that half these are fail cancellations, but in the end, the company has the last say, and I would request one time when a cancellation has been undone by fan effort alone, without that being an unofficial server being put up for an MMO, as it doesn't count in this situation anymore given what you said. Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: MsRowdyRedhead on November 05, 2011, 09:05:47 pm Blade, this is not MML3, whatever that is. this is about LU. Maybe we need a topic for the other as well.
Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Blade on November 05, 2011, 09:14:57 pm There was one. And it died because everyone ignored it when it needed help most. And if you want to know what MML3 is, look at my purpose, or think back to what I was ranting about months ago when Capcom canceled it.
And this is about LU; but that doesn't mean that comparisons between situations can't be made... I was making a comparison. Both games got canceled. Both companies in charge have no intentions on bringing it back or letting others try and bring it back themselves.(Fact... Because LEGO stated that they were canceling the game, they let go of a lot of the dev team, and they've been saying they won't release the server software.) Both games are/did have a campaign to get the game in question brought back. There are multiple differences, but this situation has many similarities to the one back in July. I'm hoping myself that the situation changes for the better unlike when Megaman Legends 3 got cancelled... However; if this works, I'd recommend no-one participate in luck-based games or contests after this, because I bet all the luck would've been used. =P Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: MsRowdyRedhead on November 05, 2011, 09:31:31 pm LU had over 100K subscribers...That is enough income to stay open if they made some changes.
We just have to convince them that it is worth the try. Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Blade on November 05, 2011, 09:36:23 pm Okay, another difference... I wish MML3 had 100k supporters, then we might have had the game back by now... =/
But yeah, I guess you're right... But, one thing is, how would all 100k subscribers find out about this plan, and help out? Or are you only trying to a smaller amount? Just curious there... Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: MsRowdyRedhead on November 05, 2011, 10:39:39 pm With the 100K plus subscribers they had, they could certainly keep the game open if they made a few changes.
But if no one makes the call, or answers the call, they will feel no pressure to attempt to do so. I grew up in an era where we fought for what we believed in, and stood up for what we wanted to change (remember the Vietnam protests) and I believe LU is worth trying to save. We may not be successful, that is true. Everyone who runs a marathon does not win. But without question, everyone who runs a marathon, and especially those who finish, gain something of immeasurable worth. LU is more than just a game. It is the expression of the creative mind of multiple generations of LEGO builders and fans, as well as the work of developers and players together and I will NOT walk away from that without a fight! I am not ready to give up on LU. WE may not succeed, but I will only be disappointed if no one TRIES.. and if that happens, I will be heart broken. EDIT!! I NOW have the email addy of a Senior VP at TLG. Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Walter313 on November 10, 2011, 10:55:24 am If there's anything I could do help, let me know! Even though I don't do much with legos anymore, I still enjoyed playing Lego Universe daily during my free time. And my little bro is always looking forward to the next time he'll get to play. So I'm all for saving LU!
Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: DonutCrazy on November 13, 2011, 06:14:43 pm From Brick Universe, by SentinelKnightW... :
Quote Offline Joined: 11/10/2011 Send PM Dear members of Brick Universe Hello all !!! here is a copy of letter sent to LEGO Corporate on 11-12-2011 by us parents. Thank you for your attention Please pass the word. ----------------------------------------------------------- Dear Mr. Kjeld Kirk Kristansen, Owner Jorgen Vig Knudstorp, CEO Sten Daugaard, CFO All Lego Group And other partners We respectfully are writing today us parents to share and express our discontent towards the way Lego Universe is being handle by the Lego Group since the announcement of the closing of the game. We know Lego Group as a company has been doing wonderful reaching their targets, zero recalls in 2010, top tent on employee safety, energy Efficiency Company, recycling your own waste, and supporting the learning of aprox. 55 million children in 2010; but what do you think as a company those children that you try to support are learning from this bad experience; you can just take a look at the Lego Universe message boards comments, or go into the game and hear comments of disappointed kids and a lot of frustration; some of these kids even are expressing frustration when they go to school, or at home when they cry because they can’t understand how something like this can happen. As parents we believe that this was the wrong way to closed this game. The approach that you have decided to take towards children players of Lego Universe is ruining the Lego Experience that for years you have built to achieve a success and is leaving a big negative impact in society and it will be passed from one generation to the next and for sure it won’t inspire those builders of tomorrow. Do you think you’re sending the right message?, We don’t think so. You’re actually affecting the growth of Lego Group and leaving a bad impression in the hearts of a lot kids. This is not a responsible way to do things. You created a Great product with Lego Universe but you’re ruining the experience the way things are getting handled during the closing of the game; what type of “well-balanced business model” is this. Company’s make mistakes or have products not reach their expectations but as a successful company that you’re with great products, strong values and efficient operations you need to correct immediately what’s going on with Lego Universe and respect those children that made you grow as a company “Us” now parents and grand-parents, and “Respect Our Children” that are the future builders that will keep Lego Group growing as a successful business. Now after saying all this; if it is still in the best interest of the company to close Lego Universe go ahead and close the game, we don’t disagree; like you said it needs to be done because you didn’t attract the numbers of members needed. As parents and also business owners we wouldn’t like for a company to lose money, but before you do that, helps us save the reputation of the game and the education that it has been giving in-game on multiple ways to our kids. They have learned to be creative, socialized with other kids and learned to help each other and respect one another as one big family. Keep your promises and do it the right way, finish giving the results for all the contests that had already finished, even the ones from championship contest up to 11-10-2011 and give the prizes to those kids that are waiting to get rewarded for their big effort. Give them back their joy and pride; and try to make if possible, a special final day in-game for those kids that supported you and believed in you during all this time, and let them leave the game remembering the best experience of their lives in a massive multiplayer online game. As we all know this game is not just a regular game it promotes education and inspires children in positive ways. We believe we can count on you Lego Group, as you stated: “ is important to keep doing the right thing in the right way” you can fix this, it is not too late and don’t forget your mission to “Inspire and develop the builders of Tomorrow”. As you stated: “Only the best is good enough”, that’s the spirit!!!!!! Thank you very much for your time and we hope you pay close attention to resolve these issues. Sincerely Parents, children and members of Lego Universe. 11-12-2011 CC: Lego Owner Kjeld Kirk Kristansen Media@Lego.com CEO Jorgen Vig Knudstorp Media@Lego.com CFO Sten Daugaard Media@Lego.com EVP, Global Supply Chain (GSC) Bali Padda Media@Lego.com EVP, Community, Education & Direct (CED) , Lisbeth Valther Pallesen Media@Lego.com EVP, Corporate Center (CC), Christian Iversen Media@Lego.com EVP, Markets & Products (M&P), Mads Nipper Media@Lego.com Charlotte Simonsen Head of corporate communications Media@Lego.com Helle Sofie Kaspersen Vice President, Corporate Governance & sustainability sustainability@Lego.com Andrew Arnold PR and Communications Manager Andrew.Arnold@Lego.com Roar Rude Tranqback Communications Manager Roar@Lego.com Stephan Turnipseed President of Lego Education North America kbrown@LEGOeducation.us Michael McNally Brand Relations Director LEGO Systems, Inc. press@america.LEGO.com Caroline Squire Director of Marketing – ANZ LEGO Australia PTY Limited Caroline.Squire@LEGO.com LEGO GmbH Katharina Sutch Technopark II Katharina.Sutch@LEGO.com Denmark Johnny Skovlund Marketing Manager Johnny.Skovlund@LEGO.com Norway Anders Aanestad Marketing Manager Anders.Aanestad@LEGO.com Sweden John Andersson Marketing Manager John.Andersson@LEGO.com Flemming Binderup Gammelgaard The LEGO Group Flemming.Binderup.Gammelgaard@lego.com Helle Winding, The LEGO Group helle.winding@lego.com LEGO Group Kristin Greene kristin.greene@lego.com Michael McNally, The LEGO Group michael.mcnally@LEGO.com Kenneth Johnson kjohnson@LEGOeducation.us Dustin Rhodes drhodes@LEGOeducation.us Fiona Chan for The LEGO Group chan@flashpointpr.com Eddiemae Jukes TriplePoint eddiemae@triplepointpr.com Karen Lynch Nolan, Flashpoint PR nolan@flashpointpr.com Wendy Rutherford, Cartoon Network wendy.rutherford@turner.com Chris Argyropoulos, Lucasfilm Ltd. chris.argyropoulos@lucasfilm.com Warner Bros. Consumer Products Janice Aguilar-Herrero janice.aguilar-herrero@wbconsultant.com For Marvel Entertainment Jeffrey Klein, Callie Burrows Jeff_klein@dkcnews.com Callie_burrows@dkcnews.com Dr. Charles Fombrun Founder and Chairman info@reputationinstitute.com Nicolas G. Trad Executive Partner GlobalAdvice@reputationinstitute.com Confidentiality Notice: The information transmitted in this e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s), person(s) or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any unauthorized review, retransmission, dissemination, other use of, disclosure, distribution or taking of any action in reliance upon this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, or you receive this in error, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and delete and destroy all copies of the original message including any other material attached to the message from any computer. Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: MsRowdyRedhead on December 14, 2011, 03:17:16 pm From Brick U by the Great Yak:
A danish interview with Vilstrup regarding the closure. Paste the latter URL into google translate, it's mostly readable. http://translate.google.com/ http://www.comon.dk/art/204629?a=rss&i=0 The comments section does not translate. (note the Dilbert comic in Danish at the bottom...) Anyways, sounds like the "digital" strategy is now, "anything developed and hosted in-house should concern itself only with current product lines," otherwise it will be along the Traveller's Tales/WB Games licensing to a partner company, where Lego gets it's licensing fees and retains control of the IP, and the partner companies are in charge of distribution and marketing for that property. Sadly, he doesn't mention if they even explored selling it off to another company (one with MMOG management experience). The only real IP in it that was not developed strictly for LU was the Ninjago content, which could certainly have been excised if they were developing/licensing other IP (computer games with an exclusive license for the licensee) with that theme. Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Legodac on December 14, 2011, 05:02:20 pm Interesting eh, however I didn't see any mention as to why they thought there wasn't enough players.
BTW, if you have Google chrome, the option to translate is asked right away Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: JediGuineaPig on December 15, 2011, 01:38:35 am This is an interesting comment i found on Kotaku Australia
"The REAL reason they’re closing, is because LEGO is doing everything they can to get out of virtual building, and focus entirely on real brick sales. The old dudes in Denmark have finally realized that the worst thing they can do to their bottom line is encourage people to build stuff with virtual bricks. I bet we’re about to see LEGO completely abandon all of their online building experiments, and focus entirely on sales of real bricks. If it was just about not wanting to prop up another failing venture, then they would have closed the theme parks a long time ago. Except the parks still promote real sales, whereas LU did not. It actually does the opposite. Since LU came out I barely touch my real bricks anymore, and I certainly am not going to buy anymore now that I can have unlimited building for a measely ten dollars a month. They know exactly what a popular building game will do to there company,..it’ll sink it. Theyd have to charge at least $300 to $400 for a year sub to even begin to recoup the lost sales revenue, from real sets that players arent buying anymore. Mind you, if they had come out with LU sets at the start then I would have bought them, but I also think they messed up on the intelectual property rights of the LU story. I cant think of another reason why they havent merchandised LU yet." Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: MsRowdyRedhead on December 15, 2011, 01:45:12 am THAT hits the nail right on the head!
Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Ace on December 15, 2011, 02:59:52 pm Quote Since LU came out I barely touch my real bricks anymore, and I certainly am not going to buy anymore now that I can have unlimited building for a measely ten dollars a month. This was actually one of the reasons I bought LU. Not that I want to see the company sink -- I'm just a college student with no place to put any actual LEGO sets where I live anymore. :/ I can't wait to see what new sets will come out of this, though. Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Flipz on December 15, 2011, 10:57:59 pm I still don't get why they refuse to continue marketing the IP, just as physical sets. Heck, if they'd started a line of LU sets before closing LU, it would have softened the blow (i.e. "We're sad that Lego Universe is closing, but you can continue the fight to save Imagination with a new wave of Lego Universe sets, coming this January!"). Has anyone else figured out a valid reason that Lego HASN'T turned LU into sets this whole time, despite both popular request AND company policy demanding it??
Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: MsRowdyRedhead on December 15, 2011, 11:13:46 pm Because they knew before they opened they were closing in a year??
Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: mtmerrick on December 16, 2011, 12:20:46 am This is an interesting comment i found on Kotaku Australia "The REAL reason they’re closing, is because LEGO is doing everything they can to get out of virtual building, and focus entirely on real brick sales. The old dudes in Denmark have finally realized that the worst thing they can do to their bottom line is encourage people to build stuff with virtual bricks. I bet we’re about to see LEGO completely abandon all of their online building experiments, and focus entirely on sales of real bricks. If it was just about not wanting to prop up another failing venture, then they would have closed the theme parks a long time ago. Except the parks still promote real sales, whereas LU did not. It actually does the opposite. Since LU came out I barely touch my real bricks anymore, and I certainly am not going to buy anymore now that I can have unlimited building for a measely ten dollars a month. They know exactly what a popular building game will do to there company,..it’ll sink it. Theyd have to charge at least $300 to $400 for a year sub to even begin to recoup the lost sales revenue, from real sets that players arent buying anymore. Mind you, if they had come out with LU sets at the start then I would have bought them, but I also think they messed up on the intelectual property rights of the LU story. I cant think of another reason why they havent merchandised LU yet." this also explains what they're doing to LDD as well. Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Mahri828 on December 16, 2011, 11:10:57 am This is an interesting comment i found on Kotaku Australia "The REAL reason they’re closing, is because LEGO is doing everything they can to get out of virtual building, and focus entirely on real brick sales. The old dudes in Denmark have finally realized that the worst thing they can do to their bottom line is encourage people to build stuff with virtual bricks. I bet we’re about to see LEGO completely abandon all of their online building experiments, and focus entirely on sales of real bricks. If it was just about not wanting to prop up another failing venture, then they would have closed the theme parks a long time ago. Except the parks still promote real sales, whereas LU did not. It actually does the opposite. Since LU came out I barely touch my real bricks anymore, and I certainly am not going to buy anymore now that I can have unlimited building for a measely ten dollars a month. They know exactly what a popular building game will do to there company,..it’ll sink it. Theyd have to charge at least $300 to $400 for a year sub to even begin to recoup the lost sales revenue, from real sets that players arent buying anymore. Mind you, if they had come out with LU sets at the start then I would have bought them, but I also think they messed up on the intelectual property rights of the LU story. I cant think of another reason why they havent merchandised LU yet." I think that you have a very valid point there, but I know that what you say isn't true for everyone. Think of it as similar to Kindle's. You can read books on them, and lots of people do, but, for example, I would still rather pay $20 for a hardcover book than $5 to read something off a screen. Same idea with thet legos here. Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: mtmerrick on December 16, 2011, 02:23:20 pm apparently you've never used a kindle - it looks just like paper. :P
Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Legodac on December 16, 2011, 02:53:53 pm You all make valid points, some I agree with and some I don't. LU is closing because Lego wants their customers buying Lego and not playing with it in a virtual world. Mt's point on this being similar to the LDD crisis is only partly correct. But still, both reasons stem from the almighty dollar.
Perhaps Lego speaks the truth when they say LU's turnout was disappointing. Perhaps Design By Me is the opposite, turnout to buy a model you designed may have been overwhelming for them, can you imagine the cost of each set, trust me, the high price of DBM still didn't make them a dime. But hey, we are all die-hard here and from the looks of it, we will be until you-know-what freezes over, remember, when Lego closes a door, they always open a window or three... Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: MsRowdyRedhead on December 16, 2011, 07:09:45 pm From a Developer friend..
Quote Developers who poured their hearts into the game were pushing for LU lego sets from day one, but were ignored by the execs in Denmark. Just saying... I witnessed it all first-hand at the meetings. Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Legodac on December 16, 2011, 07:14:17 pm Welcome to reality, Lego is just another giant trying to be bigger
Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: Teddy3333 on December 16, 2011, 07:32:30 pm You all make valid points, some I agree with and some I don't. LU is closing because Lego wants their customers buying Lego and not playing with it in a virtual world. Mt's point on this being similar to the LDD crisis is only partly correct. But still, both reasons stem from the almighty dollar. Perhaps Lego speaks the truth when they say LU's turnout was disappointing. Perhaps Design By Me is the opposite, turnout to buy a model you designed may have been overwhelming for them, can you imagine the cost of each set, trust me, the high price of DBM still didn't make them a dime. But hey, we are all die-hard here and from the looks of it, we will be until you-know-what freezes over, remember, when Lego closes a door, they always open a window or three... A companies policy is basically to make as much money as morally (and sometimes immorally) possible. Thus, if LU was making money, they would keep it. Title: Re: LEGO® Universe to close in 2012 Post by: MsRowdyRedhead on January 26, 2012, 04:57:08 pm Four more full days, and then...
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