The secret of LEGO: connecting the virtual & real world

[jrineakter]

It is an obvious truth: analogue and digital reinforce each other. Now I am going too far and the critical Frankwatching reader will now start with the sentence 'Yes, but...' and give examples that this is not the case. Let me qualify it; in many cases the combination of analogue and digital is a very valuable one. One of those sectors where you can clearly see this is in the gaming industry where games with a tangible component and a digital component have generated billions in turnover within a few years.


This is not an article about games, but about searching and finding (in the form of the LEGO Dimensions case) the reinforcement that analogue and digital can provide.

How does it work?
The concept is simple. There is a game that is played on console or tablet (Skylanders) and that is combined with a real tangible figure that is placed on a portal or toypad. As you can see below. The figures have a chip built into the base that allows the toypad to see which figure is placed and then switch to that figure in the game with its associated powers.

Physical figures
The genius of all these concepts is that you can only play with another figure if you physically buy it and put it on the toypad. The figures are relatively cheap (between 10 and greece telegram number list 25 euros, depending on the game and how many you buy) and this creates an attractive game for children. With their pocket money they can then buy additional figures, which they can get in their hands not only online, but also physically. The chips that are used for many of these types of games are often also of Dutch manufacture and come from the Eindhoven region.

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The LEGO Dimensions starter pack with the portal for the figures on the right

A very innovative idea in an industry that is dependent on sequels, annual releases (Game XYZ 201X) and sticking to what sells best.

A new market
The market was actually developed by Activision who came on the market with Skylanders a few years ago. It was an unexpected move, the combination of virtual (the game) and the figures that you can hold. But that worked out well for Activision. In 2013 Skylanders was good for 1 billion dollars in turnover, in 2014 that was 2 billion dollars and this year 250 million Skylander figures have been sold and the turnover has increased to more than 3 billion (cumulative).

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Disney Infinity, Skylanders and LEGO Dimensions

No wonder other game developers are also seeing this trend and coming up with their own products. As you can see in the picture above: entire shelves in toy stores are dedicated to it.

Activision was the first on the market with Skylanders, Disney followed with infinity and LEGO introduced LEGO Dimensions at the end of 2015. The advantage of Disney and LEGO/Warner Bros (who publish the LEGO games): a stable full of well-known figures. Donald Duck, but also Mr. Incredible for Disney and Marvel Superhero's, Scooby Doo and the Simpsons for LEGO. Skylanders lacks that, but makes up for it with a more inventive gameplay: by means of Swapables you can make new combinations with the top and bottom of figures.

LEGO Dimensions
As mentioned, LEGO Dimensions was, or is, the last one to hit the market. The concept is largely the same as the others, but with the familiar LEGO game approach. Large worlds full of puzzles that need to be solved. The advantage is that the figures are made of LEGO and that you can play and build on and with the figures.

It is this combination of real and virtual that has an extra dimension. In this way, the toypad can become part of a larger LEGO construction and associated children's fantasy. Just like with Disney, you see worlds come together such as Simpsons and Batman, Ninjago and Portal's GLaDOS.

Whether it is a success is hard to prove. According to Warner Bros., LEGO Dimensions is now the best-selling line in the Toys-to-Life segment at toy stores.


Threats
On the other hand, there is the development discussed in the New York Times this week: fewer and fewer games are being sold through traditional retail , that is, on DVD.

More and more games are distributed digitally (downloaded) and are therefore connected to you as a buyer. For the Skylanders and such less of course, because here there is a real physical component that you need to play.

It depends on the license
Is that a threat? That depends on who you are. For toy stores like Bart Smit, Bol.com and the like, this is still an important segment. Selling these is almost impossible at the moment, unless you sell them with console and gamertag (under which the games were purchased).

As a consumer, you don't get any wiser from it: you can't sell the games. In fact, you don't even own them, but I think you have a license to play them. This is a subject you could write an entire extra article about, by the way. I'm not a specialist, so I'll stay away from this.

No second hand market
The game industry is happy with it. Firstly because there is no second-hand market in digital games and secondly because there may still be an illegal market in games (although I think this has decreased in recent years) but which is also impossible due to the physical component of the games, without physically copying the figures (including chip).

Innovation
The beauty of LEGO Dimensions is the combination of two worlds that previously had been mutually exclusive. Physical and virtual were each other's enemies. Now we know that there can be a strengthening factor. Provided you do this in the right way and use each other's strengths and the combinations you can make together. Just look at Jumbo who has released a number of games such as Stratego online, or Snakes and Ladders on the iPad.

Connecting the channels
Of course, some things are shifting to a digital component. Banking will, for the most part, become a digital affair for the consumer. For the average consumer, an app or site is much more convenient and faster to transfer money. But even there, the trick is to see where the reinforcement lies in linking two channels. Just like with LEGO Dimensions, a very successful innovation in the field of gaming.