LEGO and Nintendo lift the lid on Super Mario

Unngghhhhj. This sounds like we’re being told there aren’t minifig sets coming at all...

^ Wasn't that pretty clear from the beginning? I wasn't expecting any minifig sets to be announced or planned.

I'm personally extremely excited, but I can see why many adults are not

Also look at the bottom of the last image, a 3x3 circular tile?

Another expansion pack can be seen in the gallery on LEGO.com’s listing of the starter set. :)

That bowser looks cool, but not for €100.
Still hoping for minifigs/big figs in the future.

These sets w ill surely appeal to a younger audience for play.
Less for adults and display.

My 2 cents....

Well, it looks like there will be plenty of cool, new pieces. So that's surely something.

I do live in hope of actual Mario minifigs. I want a little Yoshi, darn it.

Gee Lego, Pretty cost prohibitive to make this worthwhile at a reasonable scale.

It's pretty clear we won't be getting minifigures in this wave, but that doesn't mean we won't get minifigures in the future.

Look at Minecraft. We got the Ideas Micro World in June 2012 and then 3 more micro worlds in 2013/2014. It wasn't until November 2014 - over 2 years after the release of that first set - that we got a minifigure scale set.

LEGO knows the demand for Mario minifigures and I really doubt they'd skip on the opportunity to make them. Be patient: LEGO Mario is here for the long haul and we will get minifigures eventually.

I still don't see the appeal. All you have to do is hit certain spots with your Mario figurine, right? Where is the challenge in that? It doesn't matter how you build the level, because you can put the figurine everywhere you want.

Another product where you need an app to get the maximum out of your set, no doubt the app will only work on more expensive newer phones like the controller for the vehicles. I love Lego as it reduces screen time but more and more that isn't the case, but as a middle-aged man I'm not the target age group for this.

Why do people keep commenting on minifigs? They were never coming. I’m definitely interested to play it with my kids. Plus, I see multiple new pieces that hopefully will transition out of this set. Those 4x4 plates with rounded corners. The 2x4 tile with round ends!

The expansion set GWP is certainly going to inflate initial sales as people fear missing it...

How much licensed themes is too much?
When are we going to get something original?

Interesting experiment. I’m sure children will be very attracted to it - similarly to how Minecraft branding turned a basic product into something new.

The real value will be in making custom courses, so here’s hoping (for the family’s wallets sake) that components which typically repeat in the video games are eventually sold at a lower price.

I mean, we all know how many Koopas are in a typical level...

I think LEGO will start producing minifigures once they see the public demand for them.

Above all, though, we'll have to see how these sell. I'm not sure how popular these sets will be with actual kids.

There are most certainly elements used in all three sets that I absolutely want for my own purposes. Good thing the pieces I covet most are in the cheaper expansion set. Maybe I’ll grab 2.

As I saw someone else say, its easier for Lego to try something completely new, and them make standard minifig sets after, than it is to make standard minifig sets and then turn round and say 'lets try something new'

I really hope Target is one of the "select retailers", as these look like they will be pretty good buys at 70% off.

I don't find this particularly interesting mostly because of how specific the sets are, what am I supposed to do with them other than making Mario courses? with Hidden Side sets you lose out on the AR functionality if you build something else with them which is okay because the fun wears out after a while anyway but with these they're either basic parts or Mario themed parts, I hope they make actual Mario sets with minifigures later as I don't find this particularly appealing.

I know you lose out on the physical aspect of it but you're better off just getting Mario Maker 2 on Switch if you want to build courses, this physical translation is fun but it'll get boring after a while and then you're stuck with blocky Mario and some blocky Mario enemies to either toss in the "I don't know what to do with these" bin or at best display on a shelf doing nothing.

You're telling me this garbage is going to sell better than a classics line? Lego is making it so easy for me to save money.

I try and find the positive in most Lego themes, but I really don’t see the appeal in these sets. I don’t know if I’m in the minority but these just look boring. As mentioned above, with the hidden side sets at least they had relatively cool builds and minifigures.
Apart from the odd new piece, these just lack in a lot of ways. Very disappointing.
Would have been a lot more excited had they have just brought out a new original theme like a pirates or castle theme.

@Spike730 said:
"I still don't see the appeal. All you have to do is hit certain spots with your Mario figurine, right? Where is the challenge in that? It doesn't matter how you build the level, because you can put the figurine everywhere you want."

There is no challenge in any lego set, it's about imagination

I'm getting sick of people whining about "no minifigures". Cmon. LEGO NINTENDO? That brings up so many possibilities!

We wait decades for a Nintendo license and this is what they come up with? A pathetic gimmick that will keep kids occupied for all of thirty seconds? Collector’s, like myself, will pay huge amounts of cash for official Mario minifigures. Game mechanics in Lego don’t work, just look at the board game range they had that died instantly. More shelfwarmers right here. Just add this to the long list of epic fails in 2020. Perhaps 2021 will give us ACTUAL Lego sets.

I don't see the appeal in this line. Other than the fact that it's based on a popular brand, what's the appeal in this line? It's overly gimmicky and all the electric components will be completely useless as soon as the app used for then will retire.
Buying those sets will definitely not be a good purchase in long-term.

Why spend 70$ on a LEGO set that is supposed to emulate a game when you can buy the actual game it's based off for much cheaper?

I don't understand why they wouldn't use the model of minecraft, which is a huge hit for them, to make this theme?

The brick-built Bowser, Yoshi and Dry Bones look great. I'm not enamored with the blob Mario though. I see the appeal of these for kids but think it's overpriced thanks to the electronic components. I am definitely hoping for minifigures at some point.

Being a life-long Mario fan ( I still play Super Mario Bros. when I not adulting), I was super excited to hear this theme was coming down the line. I can see the appeal this will have with the children and young teens, but it's definitely not what I was expecting. I really think LEGO and Nintendo missed the mark on this theme. If they designed these sets in minifig scale, they would appeal to a much wider audience. I'm wondering if they considered the large population of now adults that grew up playing Mario games and the nostalgia a minifig scale set would have. I don't know. Maybe it's just me. I still might get the starter set, but not on pre-order.

I feel like gimmicks is something Lego should have left behind in the early 2000s. Would love to see a whole bunch of Nintendo properties in system form

I mean, I like the idea still, but seeing this is all we’re getting it’s too expensive for the gimmick. Just buy a copy of Mario Maker. You can play that with friends and get the experience of building stuff too. Sure it’s not a physical toy, but it seems to fill this niche.

I wish they threw some mini figures in the expansion sets so there was more to play with. They just seem... empty without Mario. Heck, why wasn’t Luigi a figure in one of the sets? That would be great for playing with others.

I appreciate the effort, but now I feel like this was a better idea on paper. Still, I’ll be holding out for traditional sets. With these builds though, it feels like everything here looks good! Kinda odd the worst looking part of it is Mario itself. I will admit the figure is... cute, but probably will be tricky to use in mocs.

After the initial shock of seeing that massive monstrosity of a creepy Mario figure, I actually kinda want to get my hands on it now to make a sinister stop-motion horror movie featuring it as a serial killer stalking regular minifigures...

This doesn't deserve the Nintendo Seal of Quality.

@LegoSonicBoy:
No, the early speculation was that about half the sets would be part of this game system, while the other half had low enough price/piece ratios that they would probably not involve the game. Of course, the best ratio was the $100 set, which we now can assume is Bowser's Castle. It's part of the game system, but it doesn't appear to involve any expensive electronic pieces, and a fairly low ratio of new elements (I can positively ID 23 of the new pads, one small turtle shell, one large turtle shell, a pair of 3x3 round tiles, and one sewer pipe, from a set that we believe will contain 1010pcs).

@Spike730:
It doesn't matter _if_ you build the level. There are tiles with some sort of code printed on them. All you have to do is tap Mario on each tile, and he registers a specific action. All you have to do is line those tiles up on a baseplate and tap away, and you can "beat" the game without any real challenge. If that's all you care about. I expect we'll see speed run videos using the sets in their proper configuration posted at some point. If you do it on video, nobody can claim you cheated by just lining up the code tiles.

@andyh1984:
Who said anything about an app? The "app" is coded into the Mario figure. Feed it batteries, and it should be functional for a long time.

@evrtstudio:
Because people really want minifigs? Seeing this doesn't make people want them less. It just reminds them that they're not getting them, like poking a fresh wound.

@Nesquik:
And somebody with deep pockets will almost certainly try to recreate an entire level using these components, which will be insanely expensive.

It's just ugly... Lego is again on the wrong track, sadly...

I may look at a few of the packs for the parts, but that Mario still horrifies me

That's a no from me. Never been a fan of Super Mario anyway, but no.

I like to have more bricks for my buck, and this looks a bit sparse. The tech seems a little basic too. I understand it has to appeal across the ages, but I'm not sure that it will.

Just had a lovely chat with Smantha at Lego. They sold out of PRE (as in before, prior to or preceding) orders. Not sure they have mastered the point of pre-orders let alone releases themselves.......... I live in NY and it is the little things that is getting us through these times and they just REALLY let my kids down. I'm sure Amazon will save the day as usual but I'm not gonna lie for the amount I spend at Lego I sure do feel unappreciated.

"Neither a video game nor a traditional LEGO brick-based set" is why no one wants this. It's not a LEGO Super Mario crossover video game with tie-in sets, nor is it a traditional LEGO line faithfully based on the Mario series. It's some weird, expensive inbreeding of both those concepts that doesn't understand what makes either enjoyable. Wake me up when they release traditional LEGO sets with real minifigs.

@MegaLucario said:
""Neither a video game nor a traditional LEGO brick-based set" is why no one wants this. It's not a LEGO Super Mario crossover video game with tie-in sets, nor is it a traditional LEGO line faithfully based on the Mario series. It's some weird, expensive inbreeding of both those concepts that doesn't understand what makes either enjoyable. Wake me up when they release traditional LEGO sets with real minifigs."

I want this. A lot of other people in this thread want this. And a lot of other people seem to want this—enough to sell out of the initial preorder stock set aside, from the looks of it.

Stop saying "nobody wants this" when what you really mean is "I don't want this".

Well I was wrong about it being sold out but right about LEGO continuing to fail at this whole e-commerce thing. What an absolutely frustrating absurd situation to not be able to accommodate preorders for something you’re trying to get your customers excited for.

So the point of being a VIP when you don't get a heads up for things like this is what? Seems they've stop giving notification. Then they double down on stupid with things like this. Never really had a chance to pre-order because it was down-ish. Just said coming soon and then "Oh so sorry, we're stupid, no more pre-orders".

The pre-order is sold out already? So I can't even get one day to decide if I want this? Looks like, once again, they don't want my money.