LEGO, Video Games, and the Recession

I have been thinking a lot about this lately, so I figured I mine as well post something about it. These are all my personal opinions, so I hope it gets you thinking!

With fears of another recession looming around the corner, I was curious to know how you as the readers felt about LEGO as means of stimulating the child's mind while trying to save your money in a tough economic period. Is that how you see it? Have the prices of LEGO sets discouraged you from buying them recently? 

I see it this way. LEGO essentially pays for itself in the long term. What could be seen as a basic building toy for youngster can evolve over time as that same kid realizes new building techniques and the fact that LEGO is much more than a toy, but rather a hobby.

For much of my life, I have grown up with video games, and of course LEGO. I managed to balance the time between them, usually drawing inspiration from one another. Sure the video games were great, but as I grew older, I realized how utterly pointless they really were. It's a fictitious sense of accomplishment, with nothing to show for except hours and hours logged into staring at a screen.

Sure, some may say that these video games are stimulating, which they are. But in most cases, based solely on my own experiences and encounters, they create a sense of irritability and impatience. Kids are easily sidetracked and seem to become lackluster in focus. Again, that's just from what I have witnessed from other kids growing up. What do you think?

LEGO, on the other hand, focuses the mind into creativity, problem solving, and imagination. Suddenly, all sorts of variables come into play as one tries to determine the right height, length, width, color scheme, weight, and overall style of what they're building. Not to mention the limited number of pieces they have available. It builds patience and rewards a sense of accomplishment when something is finally built.

Anyways, those are my thoughts on the matter. I'd love to hear what you have to say about it. Hope you enjoyed the read!

Chris

Branching Off the Cafe Corner Theme

LEGO obviously has had much success with the Cafe Corner line. Although LEGO is considered a "toy", the recent Cafe Corner line has appealed to many AFOLs, mainly due to the new building techniques, massive amount of pieces, and realistic architectural designs. So, what's next?

Architectural Themes and Sub Themes

Now that the line has proven its success, LEGO should consider branching off into themes and sub-themes based on particular architectural styles. We have already slightly seen this with the American turn-of-the-century styles of the Fire Brigade and Grand Emporium sets, compared to the more lavishly decorated European styles of Cafe Corner, Market Street, and Green Grocer. Nevertheless, it could be expanded even more. 

Examples of Architecture Styles

Here are a couple ideas of what I mean:

Themes

• Houses
• Farms
• Downtowns
• Marinas/Harbors

Sub-Themes

• Asian
• European
• 1800s American Gold Rush Era
• Mexican/South American
• African/Mediterranean

Maintaining the Standard

Regardless of the chosen architectural style, the standard must be kept as with the original modular buildings; and that is the pin hole connections, the sidewalk, and the modularity of rearranging the floors and roofs.

How should they be introduced?

Every six months (or however long it may take), LEGO would release a certain number of sets based on different regions of the world  all related in some way or another. For example, let's say in the first half of 2013, they release a series of small houses; one Asian styled, another European styled, another Mediterranean, and so forth. The second half could be a release of downtown or town square buildings, each from a particular region. The sets however, will have to be much smaller than their original counterparts if this were to work.

The line of sub-themes could be placed under a names such "Modular Farming - European - Barn" or Modular Housing - American- Two Story Home" to distinguish from one another and create a catalog of sets that could easily be viewed and purchased based on need or want.

Possible Problems

• It will impede on the current town and city theme
• It will cost a lot of money to introduce a new theme
• It will be focused mainly on older fans of LEGO, and not kids
• How to represent different cultures, countries, and regions

I would love to hear everyone's thought on the matter. I've been thinking about this idea for awhile now, so I finally decided to post something on it and see what everyone thinks, so please, post a comment, question, or another suggestion about the idea.