LEGO VIDIYO officially announced!
Posted by CapnRex101,
LEGO announced an intriguing partnership with Universal Music Group during April, 2020 and the result, VIDIYO, has now been revealed:
Designed to help children unleash their creativity, LEGO VIDIYO lets you direct, produce, star in and share unique music videos in a safe social environment
The LEGO Group and Universal Music Group (UMG) have today announced LEGO VIDIYO, a playful and innovative music video maker experience designed to celebrate and expand children’s creativity and passion for music. LEGO VIDIYO is a brand-new way to play that helps children dream big by directing, producing, starring in, and sharing their own music videos, using tracks from across the globe, led by chart hits from UMG’s unrivalled artists.
LEGO VIDIYO is aimed at children aged 7-10, providing a safe universe where they can traverse the worlds of physical and digital play. The platform lets children experiment with play and music, a powerful combination that’s fundamental to their development, extending their ability to connect with other people emotionally and creatively.
Combining new technology with the LEGO System in Play, and music from many of the world’s leading artists covering multiple genres, LEGO VIDIYO provides a refreshing opportunity for children to express themselves creatively. By putting them in charge of their own music video productions, children can both discover music and harness their passion for it through an immersive, positive and safe social experience. As LEGO VIDIYO requires verified parental consent – along with anonymity – and external moderation of all content uploaded to the App feed, parents can be reassured their child is unleashing their creativity while staying safe online.
Accessed through a unique mashup of LEGO elements, minifigures, music, augmented reality and a vibrant new App, LEGO VIDIYO will be filled with endless combinations of editing options unlocked through new special effect ‘BeatBits’. Young creators can enjoy and experiment with their own individual styles and ways of bringing music videos to life. Here’s how it works:
- Choose one of the many songs in the App from a broad variety of established artists – both contemporary chart toppers and instantly recognisable classics.
- Create your band from a vibrant collection of new, physical minifigures, which can be customised and brought to life in different scales through AR technology in the VIDIYO App.
- Line up special effects in the form of ‘BeatBits’ and place them on the scanning stage. BeatBits are decorated 2x2 square LEGO elements, which once scanned unlock digital effects that let you control everything from video and music styles to scene effects. Creators can see their vision realised by choosing anything from black and white bling effects, to confetti showers and even X-ray vision. They can also add audio effects such as DJ scratching, mouse voice or sax solo, as well as fun signature character moves and gimmicks, from breakdancing to surfing on a shark…
- Set the stage. From parks to bedrooms and backyards to brick-built models, LEGO VIDIYO music videos can live anywhere. In just three seconds, your location is scanned and production countdown starts.
- Hitting the selected BeatBits in the App, children then take creative control of their own music video production, triggering dance moves and audio/video effects in an amazing 60-second performance, which can be trimmed down to 5, 10, 15 or 20 second shareable clips.
- Clips can then be uploaded to the App feed, but only once the content has passed moderation. Any content featuring personally-identifiable information, such as children starring in the video, will not be approved for App feed upload, but can be stored locally in-App, to be enjoyed in-person with friends or family members.
In blending these elements, children can experience LEGO play in a way never seen before. Using new AR technology, this will be the first-time children can play with minifigures in real-life scale and at a super-sized scale, in addition to the iconic minifigure scale. The App lets children style all of their band members, select names for their band, design album covers and much more!
New music, challenges, and inspirational content will be added regularly to the App to keep gameplay fresh and encourage children to continue developing their creative skills. The challenges are designed to help young creators transform their videos from simple performances to exciting and dynamic productions, while ensuring they take full advantage of the wide range of features LEGO VIDIYO has to offer through new unique BeatBits.
“We want to feed the imagination of the next generation of creatives, providing a new canvas for kids to creatively express themselves,” said Julia Goldin, Chief Marketing Officer, the LEGO Group. “Research shows over three quarters (79%*) of parents globally wish their children had more creative confidence, so we’re launching LEGO VIDIYO to help make that happen. We know children are always chasing new ways to experiment creatively, and LEGO VIDIYO is here to help all kids with a passion for music unleash their creativity through LEGO building and music video production. We can’t wait to see what they come up with!”
Music and creative play are incredibly important in the lives of children, as revealed by research from both the LEGO Group and UMG:
- 89% of parents say music helps build creative skills, while 83% say it helps build confidence.*
- 94% of parents believe playing with LEGO bricks helps develop creativity, 91% say it improves problem-solving, and 89% say it builds confidence.*
- 74% of children aged 5-12 say music helps them connect with friends* with over half of children aged 6-10 confirming they listen to music every day.**
- 76% of both parents & children aged 5-12 believe music helps them express who they are.*
- 81% of parents say music brings families together and helps them bond with their kids.*
- 92% of parents and 95% of children aged 5-12 say LEGO play is fun for the whole family.*
By bringing LEGO play and the power of music together in a safe and social environment, LEGO VIDIYO pays respect to these trends, allowing children to flourish in their creative expression.
LEGO VIDIYO is the first collaboration between the LEGO Group and Universal Music Group, after the two companies announced their partnership in April 2020. As the global industry leader, UMG shapes culture around the world through the power of music. UMG brings both local and global superstars, along with an unrivalled catalogue of recorded music, covering all genres and languages, to LEGO VIDIYO. The LEGO Group itself has worked to inspire and develop children through play since 1932. It brings to the partnership boundless experience in innovating and developing play for children and their families around the world, generation after generation.
Olivier Robert-Murphy, Executive Vice President, Universal Music Group and Brands added: “Through this innovative global partnership – with the power of music and play harnessed to support early development of creativity – children around the globe will be able to express themselves as they stage, direct, perform, and share their music videos. LEGO VIDIYO is a great way for millions of kids to discover new music and get closer to their favourite artists while learning and connecting through play.”
LEGO VIDIYO introduces a completely new and vibrant visual identity that sets it apart from all other LEGO franchises. It is a colourful lifestyle brand including an App experience, LEGO sets, and lifestyle products, which are being brought to life in partnership with Bravado, Universal Music Group’s industry-leading merchandise and brand management company.
The first LEGO VIDIYO products will be available in most countries around the world from March 1st.
* LEGO Play Well Study 2020: Survey conducted across 18 markets between May and June 2020, asked to a total of 18,117 parents with children aged 1.5-12 years old and 12,591 children?aged 5-12.
** UMG Music 2019 consumption study across 6-10 and 11-13 years olds in the UK, DE, USA, 1500 children and 1200 parents.
Information concerning how these minifigures relate to individual sets, as well as their pricing, has yet to be confirmed.
What is your reaction to VIDIYO and what were you expecting from LEGO's partnership with Universal Music Group? Let us know in the comments.
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151 comments on this article
And I thought 2020 was cursed.....
All I see are PRINTED TILES AND COOL MINIFIGS
Do zoomers really....?
^Above comment of mine is a joke obvs; Vidiyo looks like this will give us some interesting pieces - but beyond that, it is simply not for me. Ice cream head man would make for an excellent CMF.
@lordofdragonss said:
"All I see are PRINTED TILES AND COOL MINIFIGS"
Yup, wanting a load of those tiles for general decorative purposes, and the figs are funky.
It's a nice little blurb, and I think it's going to be fun for the target audience, but I was really hoping we'd get a couple set reveals or something. There are going to be full sets, right...?
Either way, I'm excited for the minifigs and parts.
Well, the concept is cool, and the AR stuff is intriguing. Also nice unique minifigs, printed tiles and new parts!
But the app seems to be an alternative to Tiktok to be honest. And I'm not sure if kids will prefer Vidyo or tiktok (I really don't know, since I'm 20 and use only youtube)
Oh well, I'll try it out eventually.
This theme was never meant for me and that's OK. Let's hope the target audience can do something useful with it. My kids may want to try it...and I'll keep the cool Lama and the tiles :)
Detailed minifigures but obviously a hard pass for me.
@lordofdragonss said:
"All I see are PRINTED TILES AND COOL MINIFIGS"
Those tiles will make great record covers, is all I'm thinking.
@scottd said:
" @lordofdragonss said:
"All I see are PRINTED TILES AND COOL MINIFIGS"
Those tiles will make great record covers, is all I'm thinking."
People who make MOC record stores will go crazy over them.
I’m surprised they didn’t reveal official set photos of the sets along with press release. I don’t think it’s clear to consumers what they’re buying yet. :P
I have a sudden urge to build a records store for my city. So many printed tiles...
"...LEGO VIDIYO lets you [...] star in and share..."
"...along with anonymity..."
How does that work?
Omg, so many great designs on the tiles! <3 Very useful!!
Instant NO THANKS
Are those BeatBits plates printed or just stickers like Super Mario ones?
Is Lego trying to get rid of Minidolls? Cause this looks like its for the same target audience as friends and Disney princesses, but its minifigures...
@yuffie said:
"I think before the slew of predictable posts the most relevant line in the article is:
LEGO VIDIYO is aimed at children aged 7-10"
Very well said. Also the figs (some of which have leaked previously) look amazing, and if those tiles are ‘printed stickers’ like Mario, then that’s great.
I have zero interest in the app, but some of the stuff for the sets and the minifigures could be useful. I'll reserve final judgment once info on the sets becomes available, but I could see myself buying a couple of these if the alleged price of 10 Euro really is the real deal...
This theme'll flop, too.
I'm like the concept of the theme something new and different for them to try out. From the first leaked set we have seen it seems very much foccused on the app more than actual set builds...
The sets look like cool parts packs, but the app seems like a perfect place for TikTok pedophiles. I wouldn't like my child to use it.
Gonna predict this'll go the same way as every other Lego product thats had some kind of digital app. People will buy it for the figures, while the app aspect will be rarely used and forgotten about by the majority of people. Again, mostly because the app will only work on the newest of phones and kids don't want to have to hold up a device while trying to play with their toys.
It's whatever but some of the people on here are gonna be so mad
@Iwanex said:
"The sets look like cool parts packs, but the app seems like a perfect place for TikTok pedophiles. I wouldn't like my child to use it."
It is certainly not going to be that. It's fully moderated -- which will no doubt require a lot of manpower -- to prevent that, just like LEGO's social media app for kids, LEGO Life.
@Iwanex said:
"The sets look like cool parts packs, but the app seems like a perfect place for TikTok pedophiles. I wouldn't like my child to use it."
From the article: "Clips can then be uploaded to the App feed, but only once the content has passed moderation. Any content featuring personally-identifiable information, such as children starring in the video, will not be approved for App feed upload, but can be stored locally in-App, to be enjoyed in-person with friends or family members."
So all content will be checked before they are published, and kids cannot feature in the videos.
So more TikTok for minifigs.
Sorry but are young 7 to 10 yr old children so addicted to their mobile devices that the only way to get them to engage with physical bricks is through yet another phone app? Why not produce an awesome app that allows virtual Lego building (with ability to add music/whatever) and do away with moulding ABS all together? :)
I know Im not in the target audience regardless, but the idea of having to buy a load of physical toys to access small amounts of digital content has always rubbed me the wrong way, and this gives me the feeling that vidiyo is gonna end up like Lego Dimensions but *even worse* value for money....
Groovy minifigs
I'm gonna give it at most two years before this experimental line ends up in failure. The reason most parents are buying their children toys nowdays is in order to keep them away from phones, tablets, and other mobile devices like that. But much to those parent's dismay, it seems like this line is gonna be the exact opposite of that.
Should've called it BrikTok.
So AR is required again, TLG?
>>82% of parents that considered Hidden Side sets did not buy or had to disappointed kids since they have low- or midrange phones and tablets*
*Number I just pulled out of my proverbial behind.
Printed tiles seem nice tho.
what...on...EARTH...IS THAT???!!
@yuffie said:
"I think before the slew of predictable posts the most relevant line in the article is:
LEGO VIDIYO is aimed at children aged 7-10"
I’d have probably bought some when I was 12, maybe even 13. Now I’m in my 30s I’m definitely going to buy some!
Those palm trees!
Honestly - this looks really cool. Great parts, yes, but the concept is really clever if I understand correctly what they're doing - tiktok-style dance/music videos for kids with Universal music samples? Okay yeah I'm not the target audience, but as a product it's polished and cleverly designed!
Also nice to see them using the AR experience from Hidden Side and actually integrate it as part of the theme (rather than a side gimmick that you could ignore). Curious to see whether they're going to do bigger sets than the couple dozen parts ones they've teased!
I love the characters, and all those tiles! Record store potential! I can see my kid really getting into this. He really wants to be a YouTuber but he's not ready for something like that. This could be a fun and safe compromise.
So many tiles, so many build possibilities!!!
I was expecting LEGO tiktok and nothing else so I'm not disappointed, only tiles are interesting.
Honestly, I think this looks fantastic for the target market, kids. This is not targeted at AFOL's and many of us will not be interested in our personal collection, but for the kids.... looks fun.
Is that an ice cream mermaid and... Nyan cat?
This seems another one of those cases where LEGO completely misreads research, statistics and surveys - everything mentioned about creativity and music and such has been taken out of context and forcefully combined with other LEGO-related results and thus most probably will not affect the success or failure of this theme. For example all the music-related UMG% stuff relates only to actually actively making music (learning an instrument/singing, performing, composing etc) but in no way to passive listening or in this case fingering one's smartphone. IMHO 7-10 year olds needn't even use smartphones, let alone should LEGO incourage it further - I hope most parents are responsible enough not to approve this for their kids (I myself won't)
PS according to this theme, tile-printing actually costs practically nothing...
The minifigs and prints are fun, but the whole music aspect seems a little gimicky
What is the small bar part the minifigures are holding, in a variety of colours? At first I thought it was a Friends lipstick, but it doesn't have a pointy end and looks hollow. Is that new?
Who cares about the app? I gotta have those wacky minifigures!
I could care less about the concept (which seems like an AR take on LEGO Rock Band), but there are tons of great tiles and minifigs with this theme. I'm probably gonna wait because I picked up Life of George for parts for $7 in the clearance aisle at my Walmart years ago.
TLDR So, it's like HS meets TikTok?
I’m waiting for product announcements. Those minifigs look cool!
1. The tiles are amazing, even if I probably won't have a build use for them.
2. Based on the official photos and a few leaks I've seen the figures look hit or miss.
3. @holdre007 "PS according to this theme, tile-printing actually costs practically nothing..." Weird assumption seeing as we haven't even seen the price or the piece count.
Overall I have to wait to see more but I don't anticipate buying any of these.
Only one word for this: garbage¹°
Please tell me that pink striped guitar is going to be an actual print!
I love the focus on keeping them safe online.
This honestly looks pretty cute! I was hoping it would be an alternative to apps like Tik Tok, so this being on the market is nice to see.
Also...’come on guys, lighten up. It’s for the kids.
@CDM said:
"
3. @holdre007 "PS according to this theme, tile-printing actually costs practically nothing..." Weird assumption seeing as we haven't even seen the price or the piece count.
Overall I have to wait to see more but I don't anticipate buying any of these."
If the rumors I've heard are correct, those sets are all gonna be around 20$. A little too much for just a minifigure and a few printed tiles, if you ask me.
They look fine, but I would like to see the Marvel series looney tunes series and Dc comics series 2 Cmf's please and the some summer sets plz lego!!
"LEGO VIDIYO is aimed at children aged 7-10" in case any negative AFOLs miss that part. One more time, "LEGO VIDIYO is aimed at children aged 7-10". Knowing the few kids in this age group I do I think it'll be more successful than previous AR attempts because it brings something new to the mix. Kids being able to see themselves in a world they built and make music seems like an excellent idea. I do think however the price of LEGO adjusted for music licenses and moderated social networks may make it a harder purchase. As an AFOL, I'm certainly excited for new printed tiles and some interesting mini figures but again, the overhead for this theme added on to the price may push my money towards other themes once the full line is revealed.
Total waste of plastic.
I love how a whole line has been developed with one of its main components being new PRINTED tiles yet I’m sat here looking at the myriad stickers to apply on a £370 set.....I’m half way through 75978.
@LegoDavid said:
"If the rumors I've heard are correct, those sets are all gonna be around 20$. A little to much for just a minifigure and a few printed tiles, if you ask me."
If that's true then it seems as if several multi-color prints do, in fact, cost quite a bit.
If they can print tiles like these for something like this why do I have to put fifty stickers on every speed champions car?
I want all of the recolors & prints. I don't understand the tie-in with the physical stuff though. It looks to me like almost everything this does could be accomplished with an app alone, no physical product. The "BeatBits" are just physical tokens that you scan for digital unlocks and to form your digital sound/fx/canned-animation board. Minifig dances & such are all digital. Am I missing something?
Did anyone else think the marketing blurb was a bit over the top and long-winded? I gave up half way through.
Those tiles will be very expensive if they’re printed. Shame
Sure, the target audience is children from 7-10 and I'm just a 20 year old prick who likes to criticize things. I don't want to come at this from that angle tho, at least not entirely.
A question I'd have is, if Lego isn't doing itself a disfavor by helping in making physical toys "obsolete". I'm not sure if it's really the best idea to produce a set (this is also aimed at all the app controlled Technic sets), that requires a phone to be enjoyed, because as a parent, you are giving your 7-10 year old a phone, where there are a lot of other things on there, that are way more interesting for the kid.
Can't wait to give this a try, which means I'm going to have to invest a portion of my budget once again...
I'm surprised these tiles are going to be printed. I would've guessed based on LEGO Super Mario that these tiles would be factory-stickered to facilitate scanning since they're well aware that print quality hasn't exactly been the best lately. Then again, performance isn't nearly as critical here as in Mario being a real-time, timed game.
@theJANG said:
"I want all of the recolors & prints. I don't understand the tie-in with the physical stuff though. It looks to me like almost everything this does could be accomplished with an app alone, no physical product. The "BeatBits" are just physical tokens that you scan for digital unlocks and to form your digital sound/fx/canned-animation board. Minifig dances & such are all digital. Am I missing something?"
The prose says the idea is to be able to play with the physical stuff within the AR stage alongside the digital stuff, much like shooting a brickfilm except there's probably not gonna be any stop motion involved. The video makes zero attempt at demonstrating this.
@CDM said:
" @LegoDavid said:
"If the rumors I've heard are correct, those sets are all gonna be around 20$. A little to much for just a minifigure and a few printed tiles, if you ask me."
If that's true then it seems as if several multi-color prints do, in fact, cost quite a bit.
"
Well obviously I was hinting that if printing was expensive, there would be stickers here as well. The cost of tiles is irrelevant either way as most of the cost probably comes from the app R&D, licensing fees and new MF moulds. Profit margins might be higher as well. Perhaps the larger sets from the summer wave will be a pleasant surprise?
looks like a fun thing for kids, but why Lego?
The app would work just as well without the physical tiles and minifigures.
It looks like an attempt at opportunistic jumping-on-the-digital-bandwagon moneymaking.
@gabri_ves said:
"Well, the concept is cool, and the AR stuff is intriguing. Also nice unique minifigs, printed tiles and new parts!
But the app seems to be an alternative to Tiktok to be honest. And I'm not sure if kids will prefer Vidyo or tiktok (I really don't know, since I'm 20 and use only youtube)
Oh well, I'll try it out eventually."
I Know what you mean. I am 15 and have a younger brother who watches tiktok sometimes and to tell the truth it just seems like a place where people put out 10 second videos of them trying to dance. If this is just a glorified Lego version then they probably won't catch me buying this stuff.
@lordofdragonss said:
"All I see are PRINTED TILES AND COOL MINIFIGS"
That is true, both the figures and the printed tiles can serve to enhance the flavors of our LEGO Worlds, why in a Sci Fy setting the characters don't look out of place at all and those tiles are wonderful.
The hard part will be to make parens the product UNDERSTAND, as its most likely to pay for it ("So it's $20 and it does... what???")
@holdre007 said:
"Well obviously I was hinting that if printing was expensive, there would be stickers here as well. The cost of tiles is irrelevant either way as most of the cost probably comes from the app R&D, licensing fees and new MF moulds. Profit margins might be higher as well. Perhaps the larger sets from the summer wave will be a pleasant surprise?"
Printing *is* expensive. Printing a sheet of stickers is more cost effective. We've been told this by the designers for years. In some cases, even if more expensive, it makes practical sense to print the tiles. That practicality may be playability out of the box / bag or print quality or longevity or maybe all of the above. They've apparently determined the prints are important here and they will come at a cost.
I think it’s a cool idea. Not sure if the app will succeed or flop, but it’s still an idea that makes sense given the current interests of the targeted age range, and is worth a shot. I am an adult, but I think I’ll pick up at least one set to try it out, and depending on the cool minifigs, maybe more!
It’s not really my thing, but hopefully it’ll work out for them and appeal to the demographic market.
I've been looking at these to get in, still unsure about them, hopefully I'll see a few more images before I have to decide. However they're all retailing for £17.99 so might try one out to see how they go.
I will wait to see these sets reviewed. So far it looks more idiotic than +18 theme.
But will the app work by the time the sets hit store shelves, and will it work reliably on a wide range of devices, and will it receive regular security and debugging updates, and will it continue to be supported for more than a year? From what I've read (no personal experience) the recent track record with Nexo Knights, Hidden Side, and especially Powered Up/Control+ apps isn't great.
All I want are the tiles.
@lordofdragonss said:
"All I see are PRINTED TILES AND COOL MINIFIGS"
I could not agree more. With all those printed tiles, my lego comic book store might come true! And those cool minifigs are more than welcome to my collection.
Wait.
If kids can’t be in the video then how they heck are they supposed to share the videos?
Interested in seeing what the actual products are like as my daughter might be quite into this, since she loves dancing, colourful Lego and playing on my phone
The tiles look cool, and am curious about the sets... but this feels to soon after Hidden Side. The thing is HS had great sets but Lego was so determined to advertise the AR functions I feel a lot of consumers were never aware of what was in the physical toy.
They could put the tiles on bricks and pieces...
Would make it a lot easier just to get the specific prints than having to buy sets some people might not get much use out of.
Why, Lego? And you hardly even build anything.
The minifigs aren't bad and I love the printed tiles, but I don't like that so many Lego products are tied in with apps.
There's an article on Vox this morning about how TikTok is such a toxic environment. Thus it makes sense that there may be a market for a "safe" TikTok lite for kids, like Vidiyo. So, the headline on The Verge is that this is Lego TikTok for kids. But TikTok is free, and this looks like it's going to be pretty expensive because you're actually paying for the music licensed in the app, not the small number of Lego parts.
Where's the clause that says Universal owns everything made using Vidiyo?
I guess this is Lego's response to TikTok? I actually think it might have potential, even though I'm not in the target range.
Oh no! Too many awesome tiles and minifigs or parts to decorate and live in my (non existant, boxed up) Modular street!
Not for me, and that’s ok! My kids might like it though.
@max_villano said:
"This "LEGO VIDIYO is aimed at children aged 7-10" phrase that some of you guys keep parading is rather laughable.So just because it's aimed at children we shouldn't comment on it?Or rather we shouldn't comment on it negatively?Because I don't see you waving your finger at positive comments.
If we go by your way of thinking then we might as well disband every AFOL community since most of Lego products are for ages under 18."
Pretty apparent the intent is to remind people before piling on the regular "Lego is garbage, this is garbage because it doesn't apply to me, Lego is going to die because it should only make things that I grew up with, etc." that this product is aimed at children. I don't think negative criticism in itself is bad but people seem to be incapable of separating objective constructive criticism from their subjective wants and if the subjective wants don't pertain to the product it is likely Lego has heard it a million times over already and still hasn't obliged (which should tell you something) so it adds nothing to the conversation BUT negativity.
@monty_bricks said:
"What is the small bar part the minifigures are holding, in a variety of colours? At first I thought it was a Friends lipstick, but it doesn't have a pointy end and looks hollow. Is that new?"
Looks like what a pneumatic hose splice would look like. Like the tee they use for lots of things outside actual pneumatic tubes, without the perpendicular barb.
The characters are using it as glow sticks.
But more importantly from the graphics -
It doesn’t exist.
any more than any other made up cheater piece they might show in a Lego video game. It’s only generated in AR computer graphics. There are no real hand accessories provided with the minifigures, the tiles load in virtual accessories for computer animations.
Edit: no hand accessories May be wrong. Looks like in the last second of the trailer, one of the real minifigs has Pom Poms. But those glow sticks/hose splices are not real accessories.
Not quite as bad as I thought. I willing to wait and see what the sets will be.
@joedapoboy said:
"Looks like what a pneumatic hose splice would look like. Like the tee they use for lots of things outside actual pneumatic tubes, without the perpendicular barb."
I thought the exact same thing but the "glowstick" piece seems to lack a chamfered edge to ease the hose-to-fitting connection, such as: https://brickset.com/parts/4648927/bush-w-connecting-piece
Good figs & tiles but I’m giving this a year if it’s lucky
Is it wrong of me to kinda hope the theme tanks so the minifigures will be readily and cheaply available on clearance?
Don't get me wrong I'm sure kids will love/enjoy this but I think those figures look downright awesome and I'd love to have a few of them without costing an arm and a leg.
Given that CMFs are already in the $5 range I wouldn't be shocked if these ran $10+ :c
@willworkfortoys said:
" @max_villano said:
"This "LEGO VIDIYO is aimed at children aged 7-10" phrase that some of you guys keep parading is rather laughable.So just because it's aimed at children we shouldn't comment on it?Or rather we shouldn't comment on it negatively?Because I don't see you waving your finger at positive comments.
If we go by your way of thinking then we might as well disband every AFOL community since most of Lego products are for ages under 18."
Pretty apparent the intent is to remind people before piling on the regular "Lego is garbage, this is garbage because it doesn't apply to me, Lego is going to die because it should only make things that I grew up with, etc." that this product is aimed at children. I don't think negative criticism in itself is bad but people seem to be incapable of separating objective constructive criticism from their subjective wants and if the subjective wants don't pertain to the product it is likely Lego has heard it a million times over already and still hasn't obliged (which should tell you something) so it adds nothing to the conversation BUT negativity. "
Everyone should read this again
My kids would like this but only if the app works with their Amazon Fire HD tablets. Lack of app support for their tablets kept us from investing into Hidden Side.
@Kynareth said:
"Those palm trees!"
Don’t exist in the physical world. all this theme seems provide as actual parts are the minifigs (which are super detailed and unique), tiles, the triple fold stand the minifigs and tiles attach to, and going on a leaky picture, kind of a stage light looking can, that the stand folds back into for carrying (a unibody shell, a lens, a handle that uses 2 of this piece that’s on either side of the new friends helicopter + a watch band looking strap)
Hopefully kids (and others) that have phones, and enjoy using apps find this fun, meanwhile I will enjoy the printed tiles and some minifigs while it lasts, like Dimensions, NK & HS.
@Skippyj said:
"If they can print tiles like these for something like this why do I have to put fifty stickers on every speed champions car? "
I think because it’s cheaper. And in the future if you wanna build a very old retired speed champions car it’s easier to collect simple parts and print stickers for yourself than pay a tons of money for special parts.
Well, guess I'm making a record store sometime in the future...
@fakespacesquid said:
" @willworkfortoys said:
" @max_villano said:
"This "LEGO VIDIYO is aimed at children aged 7-10" phrase that some of you guys keep parading is rather laughable.So just because it's aimed at children we shouldn't comment on it?Or rather we shouldn't comment on it negatively?Because I don't see you waving your finger at positive comments.
If we go by your way of thinking then we might as well disband every AFOL community since most of Lego products are for ages under 18."
Pretty apparent the intent is to remind people before piling on the regular "Lego is garbage, this is garbage because it doesn't apply to me, Lego is going to die because it should only make things that I grew up with, etc." that this product is aimed at children. I don't think negative criticism in itself is bad but people seem to be incapable of separating objective constructive criticism from their subjective wants and if the subjective wants don't pertain to the product it is likely Lego has heard it a million times over already and still hasn't obliged (which should tell you something) so it adds nothing to the conversation BUT negativity. "
Everyone should read this again"
I think AFOL criticism has a valid point though, often its the adults (the parents) who decide if a kid gets to interact with these Lego sets or not. It wouldn't surprise me if for some the "another thing that puts my kid on a cellphone?!" is seen as a turnoff that would make them avoid these sets, at least their primary AR function.
Then again there are plenty of themes that lived long lives with AFOL's misunderstanding what their appeal was to children; I know from my own childhood to the present day the struggle to explain to people "yes I really really REALLY enjoy Bionicle" is real, in part because while the theme appealed to kids of the era a lot of adults misunderstood and dismissed it... and it took 20+ years for the kids then to grow up to adults and finally defend the theme on equal footing (hehe wait until we see that 90th Anniversary vote results). So not saying VIDIYO won't have any success, it very well could find an audience with kids and last for a decade with us just miffed at how it managed to pull it off. But this theme (unless it has some neat minifigures that catch my eye) for the most part is not for me.
I mentioned Hidden Side earlier because I absolutely adored those sets, but feel it was a case where the AR focus overshadowed what the sets have done right. Other than a lot of tiles I have yet to see VIDIYO prove it has the same set quality of Hidden Side, only showing it has the same AR nonsense. Again, maybe VIDIYO is what is hip among kids and if Lego finds success in it its more money in the coffers for them to take risks on releasing critically acclaimed "Bonsai Tree like sets" for adults.
@xboxtravis7992 said:
" @fakespacesquid said:
" @willworkfortoys said:
" @max_villano said:
"This "LEGO VIDIYO is aimed at children aged 7-10" phrase that some of you guys keep parading is rather laughable.So just because it's aimed at children we shouldn't comment on it?Or rather we shouldn't comment on it negatively?Because I don't see you waving your finger at positive comments.
If we go by your way of thinking then we might as well disband every AFOL community since most of Lego products are for ages under 18."
Pretty apparent the intent is to remind people before piling on the regular "Lego is garbage, this is garbage because it doesn't apply to me, Lego is going to die because it should only make things that I grew up with, etc." that this product is aimed at children. I don't think negative criticism in itself is bad but people seem to be incapable of separating objective constructive criticism from their subjective wants and if the subjective wants don't pertain to the product it is likely Lego has heard it a million times over already and still hasn't obliged (which should tell you something) so it adds nothing to the conversation BUT negativity. "
Everyone should read this again"
I think AFOL criticism has a valid point though, often its the adults (the parents) who decide if a kid gets to interact with these Lego sets or not. It wouldn't surprise me if for some the "another thing that puts my kid on a cellphone?!" is seen as a turnoff that would make them avoid these sets, at least their primary AR function.
Then again there are plenty of themes that lived long lives with AFOL's misunderstanding what their appeal was to children; I know from my own childhood to the present day the struggle to explain to people "yes I really really REALLY enjoy Bionicle" is real, in part because while the theme appealed to kids of the era a lot of adults misunderstood and dismissed it... and it took 20+ years for the kids then to grow up to adults and finally defend the theme on equal footing (hehe wait until we see that 90th Anniversary vote results). So not saying VIDIYO won't have any success, it very well could find an audience with kids and last for a decade with us just miffed at how it managed to pull it off. But this theme (unless it has some neat minifigures that catch my eye) for the most part is not for me.
I mentioned Hidden Side earlier because I absolutely adored those sets, but feel it was a case where the AR focus overshadowed what the sets have done right. Other than a lot of tiles I have yet to see VIDIYO prove it has the same set quality of Hidden Side, only showing it has the same AR nonsense. Again, maybe VIDIYO is what is hip among kids and if Lego finds success in it its more money in the coffers for them to take risks on releasing critically acclaimed "Bonsai Tree like sets" for adults. "
I think hidden side’s problem was the box art. People didn’t have a good idea of what they were buying unless shopping online
Music is a universal language. LEGO is a universal language. It was only a matter of time before a partnership like this showed up.
From what I hear most of these sets are tributes to past themes, so if they ever do a BIONICLE one it has to come with Cryoshell tracks. Just in general I'd love to see Rebecca Sugar too.
The minifigures in this line are gorgeous! From what I hear the sets are only around $10-20 and I've been working on making a dance studio display anyway so these may be a godsend. I'll probably pick up the sci-fi themed ones like the robot but doubt this'll be a collect-them-all kind of theme.
I know a lot of Brickset's users are massive technophobes who throw a hissy fit if a theme so much as comes with an online flash game, but you gotta admit those scannable tiles are awesome! Any of them would make excellent album covers and I can't wait to see what music store mocists end up doing with them.
The one real flaw I see with this theme is it's trying too-hard to be "hip." Random splashes of colors and .jpegs photoshoped over a scene aren't considered cool anymore. Much like Hidden Side, I fear the marketing may overshadow what are otherwise excellent products.
The printed tiles would be good as record covers in a Modular Music Shop MOC.
I predict this will be a GREAT SUCCESS!
I have kids (age 6 and 9) and can so imagine them finding this really fun.
Figures looks nice, product itself is of course not for me but aimed to kids. Not sure what the reaction would be, as Hidden Side was also AR but failed.
One thing that was weird was reading about the market research they did with the "89% of parents say music helps build creative skills, while 83% say it helps build confidence" etc etc.
I know that this is how toys are being developed and researched, and it's all about maximizing profit, but it was weird to see it written down like we're reading a corporate presentation. It just made the product launch feels fake and calculated.
I still don't get it.
...which means the kids are gonna love it!
Pretty sure those are Super Mario-style pre-applied stickers, not printed tiles
I wonder how expressive the minifigs will be in the app, and how interactive the app is. Since sharing videos seems to be a big part of it, the videos need to be reasonably varied to be interesting, which can be tricky with virtual minifigs and a limited number of animations. I suspect this will play a part in whether it’s a hit or not
@theJANG said:
"It looks to me like almost everything this does could be accomplished with an app alone, no physical product. The "BeatBits" are just physical tokens that you scan for digital unlocks and to form your digital sound/fx/canned-animation board. Minifig dances & such are all digital. Am I missing something?"
No, I don't think you're missing anything there bud.
It seems to me (on the basis of the limited info we have), that this takes a page or two from the "freemium" or DLC (downloadable content) video games business model. A developer creates a video game, then lots of the content is removed and/or hidden behind a pay wall. In this case the user won't pay real money directly to unlock the content, but will pay real money for the printed tiles which will then be used to unlock the content.
I suppose the sales success of this will depend on how good the retail sets are perceived to be when taken as people/parts packs, with the app as an optional bonus.
My seven year old and I have lots of Hidden Side sets, and I'm very glad they're such good sets in their own right because the app, while well-made and initially fun, is pretty shallow and repetitive. Moreover it's quite annoying that we can't play half of the levels on it because we 'only' have half of the sets in the range, and this might also be true of the VIDIYO experience.
I expect we'll get a VIDIYO set to try it out since we've already shelled out for a posh iPad...
Seems like a neat idea for kids, but how long is the partnership w/ LEGO and Universal for? What happens in 5 years when LEGO loses the license for all the music in the app, it just goes poof? Music licensing already makes a mess of TV and video games shortly down the road...
maybe it's just me and im getting old, but the last few years are starting to feel like the early 2000s all over again - lots of collaboration, non-core products, and other weird one-offs that are taking lego further and further from their base. most of these ventures fail and are abandoned quickly.
i do have an 8 year old who loves LEGO. no way i see him doing this. seems more likely something girls will do (kind of like TikTok )
@dougts said:
"maybe it's just me and im getting old, but the last few years are starting to feel like the early 2000s all over again - lots of collaboration, non-core products, and other weird one-offs that are taking lego further and further from their base."
You might be right there, but they're still making fantastic 'proper' Lego sets for all interests and budgets, so I don't see this as detrimental. I wasn't buying much Lego in the early 2000s, did they take their eye off the ball?
I'm really interested in seeing the sets. Will probably buy some for the interesting minifigs and printed tiles so I hope the price point is reasonable.
So.....Lego AR tiktok?
At least the minifigs and printed tiles are cool.
Another LEGO software that will close in a couple of years and their sets in the clearance stuff basket of toy shops
Then I will probably study to buy some of them for the tiles
We start school again in NSW today after a seven week holiday. I didn’t need to see this when I woke up.
The tiles don’t look that bad though. I might be able to use them sometime in the future.
From what I can tell, this is kind of like collectible minifigures that come with a customisable backdrop and an app that lets you interact with the figure with music. Have I got that right? You don't get a lot of LEGO with this product because almost all of the play happens in the app?
I like the look of the figures and tiles but maybe it'll be a very expensive way to buy them if you don't have any interest in the app (though if it's not super expensive I might try it anyway because why not).
I have no interest in the AR stuff or the app but if the sets have parts I can use and become available at a price I can justify I might be interested. (although with the cost of building and running the app, the cost of all those new parts AND the cost of the UMG license presumably built into the price of the sets, I doubt they will be particularly good value)
A moderated child-friendly version of TikTok is a great idea, because that app is just horrible. I highly doubt this will take off, though. Kids want to use TikTok because it's TikTok, it's the cool place to be (apparently, Millenial who doesn't use it checking in here). Everyone is on TikTok, influencers are on TikTok, stars are on TikTok. Kids are not going to migrate to a Lego app that only 1 of their friends are on unless it really offers them something special, and they aren't going to stay there unless there's a critical mass of cool content.
If this had come out at the same time as TikTok, I could maybe see it having a chance, but they're too late on this train.
@dougts said:
"maybe it's just me and im getting old, but the last few years are starting to feel like the early 2000s all over again - lots of collaboration, non-core products, and other weird one-offs that are taking lego further and further from their base. most of these ventures fail and are abandoned quickly.
i do have an 8 year old who loves LEGO. no way i see him doing this. seems more likely something girls will do (kind of like TikTok )"
Collaboration was never the issue in the late 90s or early 00s. The problematic aspect of the non-core products was that Lego was doing them in-house. Gear was made by them, even though they weren't equipped for it, instead of outsourcing to someone like Ikea or Adidas or Levi. Similarly, the issue with the one-offs wasn't that they were one-offs. It's that they were one and done, with no plans to feasibly blend them with the rest of the System. Znap and Galidor have almost no connections to regular bricks, whereas Vidiyo is covered in studs and antistuds and the minifigs will be right at home in some of the zanier layouts.
And as someone else said, they aren't straying from their base. Some of the best sets of all time have come out in the last couple of years, and I might just point to this again https://brickset.com/article/53640 like I always do to show that people are overwhelmingly in agreement that Lego is making *too many* good regular brick sets. One or two or, heck, seven themes that are "out there" and experimental absolutely will. not. end up harming Lego long term. It probably won't even make a dent compared to how successful every other theme is.
A lot of people have said that this won't last long, but don't most themes go for about two years? Barring massive successes, the vast majority of themes have planned life spans that they don't really exceed.
After having read about VIDIYO, all I see in my mind’s eye is a remake of the video for Robert Palmer’s Addicted to Love featuring LEGO Tony Stark with a band of Iron Legion behind him. A camera pans to find screaming Marvel and DC girls wearing ‘I Heart Iron Man’ shirts - with the arc reactor in place of the heart - and Bruce Wayne sulking in the background mumbling “Iron Man sucks!”
Yes, exactly. Ninjago was planned to be two years and gone, it was only because of how successful it was that it stayed.
They will be planning for the lifespan of the app as well as the physical products.
We don't know what goes on behind the scenes but I seriously doubt that they're going to make the mistakes they made with poorly costed specialised part development (fibre optics, for example) again.
We never hear from the LEGO accountants but they will be there in the background. We do know they have tight budgets for new part development and recoloured elements in sets, which doesn't suggest a reckless attitude to product costing.
@Kerre said:
"So AR is required again, TLG?
>>82% of parents that considered Hidden Side sets did not buy or had to disappointed kids since they have low- or midrange phones and tablets*
*Number I just pulled out of my proverbial behind.
Printed tiles seem nice tho. "
Hope they learnt from that fiasco. It wasn't that the all but the top of the line phones couldn't do AR, they couldn't work without a particular advanced AR code library.
No one stopped to think and ask the techies about whether or not this will work on the hand-me-down 3 year old phone that the kids can use to muck around with photos and such.
Dialogue in the announcement video states "that lets kids be the directors, producers and stars of their own crazy cool music video" while also portraying children participating on screen in the music videos they are making.
That all seems to contradict the following disclaimer: "Any content featuring personally-identifiable information, such as children starring in the video, will not be approved for App feed upload". Why are they so blatantly misrepresenting what the app is allowed to do in their own video?
@jalc_45 said:
"Soon we're going to be able to tell time via lego original themes that fail.
"How long have you known her?"
"About one Chima. When did you meet your wife?"
"A full Nexo Knights ago!"
*turns to someone else*
"What about you?"
"Oh, we've been together for only a hidden side.""
I laughed at that more than I should have!
@lordofdragonss said: "All I see are PRINTED TILES AND COOL MINIFIGS"
Absolutely. I don't really get the theme, but I don't care, because those printed tiles look amazing!
Basically a Lego Tiktok / Musically....also despite it giving us good prints, that don’t make it right. We get new bricks and prints slowly and steadily anyway.
I don't know about you, but where you're from how many "children aged 7-10" go around full of money to buy lots of VYDIO and a phone good enough to support the app (considering past LEGO app experiences)?
So, even though "LEGO VIDIYO is aimed at children aged 7-10", it seems to me that they won't be the ones doing the buying. Adults will. And if adults don't see the logic/fun/whatever behind it, they probably won't buy it either.
As many others, all I see are interesting minifigs (some more than others) and printed tiles, that may or may not be of use. Will I be buying it? No. I prefer to spend the same (or less) money on DOTS, which I'm sure my 5 and 9 year old girls like, and also because I think they are too young to spend too much time looking at a screen.
Hey so remember a few years ago when it was making the news that kids were being bullied at school for having default fortnite skins? Wouldnt this cause the same problem if it were, by some miracle, actually successful?
If you want some fun reading that makes this comment thread look pretty silly, go check out the comments on the first announcement of Ninjago on Brickset: https://brickset.com/article/922/ninjago-is-coming!
That Lego has teamed up with Universal means we have a chance at some really good music.
That and the figures are suitably crazy.
I actually have hope this will be pretty cool.
Unless there is a tile with a Blacktron 2 logo, I'm not interested.
@tspike said:
"If you want some fun reading that makes this comment thread look pretty silly, go check out the comments on the first announcement of Ninjago on Brickset: https://brickset.com/article/922/ninjago-is-coming!"
This is my new favourite thing, thank you. Turns out man children will always be man children.
So which of the tiles makes the seagulls drop 'ice cream'?
I would like to try it out, but I don't think my phone meets the requirements.
I think the figures will go well with the party figures from the Lego Movie 2.
I thought I was destined to hate it, but actually it’s not that bad.
Definitely wouldn’t use the app but the tiles and some of the figures aren’t that bad.
That being said it depends on how they sell it and how outrageous the prices are.
I probably won’t get any but not that bad.
So far, I'm pleasantly surprised! Looks like some amazing new parts, including the azure palm leaves that I've been waiting for. I like some of the minifigures too, especially the ice cream mermaid. The AR minifig base looks like it'll be fantastic for displaying minifigures, even ones with large back accessories (such as wings). I'm very curious about what the sets will look like.
I didn't expect to care about this theme, but I'm excited!
@curtydc said:
"Dialogue in the announcement video states "that lets kids be the directors, producers and stars of their own crazy cool music video" while also portraying children participating on screen in the music videos they are making.
That all seems to contradict the following disclaimer: "Any content featuring personally-identifiable information, such as children starring in the video, will not be approved for App feed upload". Why are they so blatantly misrepresenting what the app is allowed to do in their own video?"
One of the bullet points in the article explains this:
"Clips can then be uploaded to the App feed, but only once the content has passed moderation. Any content featuring personally-identifiable information, such as children starring in the video, will not be approved for App feed upload, but can be stored locally in-App, to be enjoyed in-person with friends or family members."
So people can be in the videos made with the app, just not in the videos that are posted publicly.
this is very cool and all, nice parts and minifigs, nice idea, but generally, I am aming to get my kids of phone and tablets, not inspire them to spend more time on them. In any case, maybe there are parents who actually strive to that, and that is ok. Personally, I would rather my kids build mocs with real bricks then look at the screen, and I am going to push that agenda for as long as I can manage with them
@tspike said:
"If you want some fun reading that makes this comment thread look pretty silly, go check out the comments on the first announcement of Ninjago on Brickset: https://brickset.com/article/922/ninjago-is-coming!"
This is absolutely brilliant. Thanks for keeping us all in check!
@tspike said:
"If you want some fun reading that makes this comment thread look pretty silly, go check out the comments on the first announcement of Ninjago on Brickset: https://brickset.com/article/922/ninjago-is-coming!"
That's hilarious. "This is the weirdest theme since Galidor."
A nice reminder that many AFOLs have been jumping to conclusions about anything that is different from the sets of their youth since forever. Rose-tinted nostalgia glasses etc.
Will I like this new theme? I don't know.
will I buy any sets from this theme? I don't know.
Will this new theme be a success or a flop? I don't know.
There's simply not enough information yet. But it's always important to recognize we have unconscious biases, including about plastic bricks...
I'd *love* a load of those tiles, but I guess they might be considered licensed (due to the Universal tie-up), so not on Bricks And Pieces? Will possibly buy a few of the sets otherwise and probably sell off the figures. That ice cream minifig could make for a good bit of store signage in a city layout.
Those tiles would work great as posters or tv/gaming screens - love the Godzilla one.
Here's my problem. The sets are likely not that big; and will probably have somewhat hefty pricetags attached to them, due to the costs in developing the mobile app. I presume there will be a $20-30 starter set, and then minifig/album packs that are even more than CMFs are these days; $7-10 I'd say. Then, there's the phone issue. LEGO apps have tended to require the newest, most up-to-date phones, and models that are high performance, and expensive. Parents will see these, and then probably remark "Why spend this much on this; when a regular LEGO set has more pieces?". I'm gonna presume these will sell quite well, largely to AFOLs for the minifigs. But, I am really curious how they'd do with the target audience.
I was going through the apps I'd downloaded/purchased over the 5-6 years I've had Android devices, and was quite shocked at how many from major publishers (like EA) were no longer supported and in "SUNSET" phases. Thankfully, I had not spent one cent in in-app purchases. Like Powered Up, that's my main criticism. The "schtick" only lasts as long as LEGO continues supporting the app.
@theJANG said:
"I want all of the recolors & prints. I don't understand the tie-in with the physical stuff though. It looks to me like almost everything this does could be accomplished with an app alone, no physical product. The "BeatBits" are just physical tokens that you scan for digital unlocks and to form your digital sound/fx/canned-animation board. Minifig dances & such are all digital. Am I missing something?"
From the promotional video it does look like both the figures and tiles likely unlock content in the app. A bit like how Nexo Knights used the combo power shield. Put the figure you want to use on the stage with the tiles that will unlock the sounds, animations and effects you want to use with it, then 'scan' it with your phone to use it in the app.
While it could all be achieved through just being an app, I think part of the idea is that some, particularly parents, are going to be more comfortable with putting money on a familiar, physical product than a purely digital one. If the theme goes away in a year or ten, they still have the LEGO figures and pieces that can be played with/sold/given away, even if the original intended pattern of play no longer works.
My guess would be that at some point this goes the route of CMF, Nexo shields, and DOTS, with two types of blind packs. One with a minifig and a printed tile or two, and the other with just the printed tiles, in addition to some sort of starter packs that will have particular figures, tiles, and the stage.
@julianbricks said:
"This theme'll flop, too."
Yes, because LEGO is 100% relying on the AFOL community with this theme
I can't help but notice that tile color might indicate the function of the print. For example, all the yellow tiles appear to depict specific dance moves.
According to promobricks the price is 20 euros for a minifig, and the tiles stand
https://images.brickset.com/news/57570_Character%20and%20BeatBits_202101260144.jpg
On the plus side:
* Some potentially interesting minifigs, but they seems to be mostly based on the theme itself rather than actual artists - OTOH the artists I'd like to see are probably not that popular among kids and wouldn't be prioritized anyway.
* Lots and lots of nice printed (hopefully) tiles, especially for record covers but also video game screens and general posters.
Cons:
* Possibly expensive - seems like it will be 10-20$ for sets containing a minifig, a stand, some tiles and not much more - looks like most of the price goes into licensing the music.
* DLC-based business model, you have to buy more sets to unlock features in the app - haven't they learned *anything* from the Dimensions/TTL fiasco?
* Misleading marketing - the pictures shows kids being filmed with the phone, while the fine print says you won't be able to upload/share such videos.
* Probably only works with recent, top-of-the-line phones, while most kids in the target group has low-end or handed-down ones. Parents will be reluctant to let them borrow their phone every time they wants to play.
In addition comes general app issues like limited lifetime and parents already struggling to get the kids away from screens.
Looking at the old Ninjago comments you may say it's not the first time Brickset users are skeptical about something that may turn out great, but I believe one reason for such general negativity is Lego's annoying "teaser" marketing. Especially AFOLs are getting increasingly tired of getting slowly drip-fed an irrelevant image here and a few soundbites there and becomes frustrated by not getting the full picture - which easily leads to "hype fatigue" and people writing it all off as "it's probably crap anyway".
@Wolfman40 said:
"Only one word for this: garbage¹°"
I’m guessing that’s because you’re not a child aged 7-10 !
I’ve just shown my two daughters who ARE in that age bracket, and they both think it looks “cool”
(I don’t care, as long as they eventually let me have all the minifigs for my collection!!)
Another theme of Blind packs :-( :-( :-(