103 replies to this topic

[Mega Man: The Blue Bomber]

Okay this rumor has been going on for a while but some facts prove Bionicle might, MIGHT return in 2013.

Now here are the facts:

-from what some people are saying, prices of hero factory are going down
-this wave is reletivly longer than the last three which lasted half a year but this story stays till the end of the year.
-the core war has yet to be told

Now here are reasons we should NOT fully believe it yet

-TLG has so far said no end for hero factory and said they plan to keep it for three years
-it's been about two years since Bionicle died

Thoughts? Please no ruder mad comments

[Wrinkledlion X]

TLG has so far said no end for hero factory and said they plan to keep it for three years

Well, that's that, then.

[bonesiii]

Just a comment on the core war thing -- I presume you mean that as a theory of what a Bionicle return might be about? If so, I don't think that would be the best choice, because we really do already know the essentials of the Core War, including a fair amount of detail. It would be better to do something we don't know the end of, etc. There's plenty more we don't know; a new threat on the reformed Spherus Magna, or going to one of the other planets Mata Nui visited are two possibilities.

As for the rest, we -have- pretty consistently seen two to three year arcs since Bionicle started, so it does make sense that HF might follow that same basic plan. On the old forum I had a topic discussing two main times Bionicle might return; early to get a boost from current fans who haven't moved on (but I now think the time for that has probably passed), and several years down the road when old fans have target-age kids of their own. I would look for a Bionicle return only around that second time now. So likely if HF does end after two or three years, something else brand new will replace it for a while.

Anything's possible, though.

[Vox The Shadow of Reality]

well all i can say i would be like a kid in a candy store if bionicle did come back.

[GSR]

Rumors will always abound, but I've yet to see a scrap of anything giving this one credibility. By contrast, it's been stated again and again that Lego is done with Bionicle. As has been said many a time, if it ever comes back - and that's an if, not a when - it will be much later down the line.

[Princess Grr]

I'm still waiting for Blacktron to return. Come on, Lego; don't you care about your fans?

[Sumiki]

LEGO has said that BIONICLE is dead. I think that Blacktron returning is more plausible than BIONICLE returning. BIONICLE is still too freshly canceled, and the reasons it was axed are still valid for keeping it in the proverbial mothballs

That being said, there's absolutely no way to project what a company will do in, say, 2032.

[Gatanui]

I fail to recognize what´s plausible about these rumors. Hero Factory is selling very well, so no reason to believe they would already cancel it, especially after the cliffhanger of the Breakout episode. No doubt Hero Factory is unlikely to last as long as BIONICLE simply because I don´t think LEGO will want it to. They will end it in time before sales start decreasing significantly. So far, a more plausible rumor would be to believe that HF will last at least throughout 2013.

To be honest, I don´t even want BIONICLE to return, at least at this point. I´m enjoying HF, and BIONICLE hasn´t been gone long enough for me to be happy enough about it returning. Rather, I would be quite skeptical whether LEGO would manage to perform it right (not meaning I would be unhappy about its return, though ).

~Gata.

[Makaru]

Some Jim guy once told me Bionicle wasn't coming back.

[Lyichir]

Some Jim guy once told me Bionicle wasn't coming back.

I assume you're talking about Jim Foulds, the community outreach guy for LEGO. He is on the record saying that BIONICLE won't come back in the foreseeable future, and the things he says come straight from the higher-ups, although to be fair if LEGO were to decide on bringing it back he would not be part of that decision.

Unless, of course, by saying "some Jim guy" you're just parodizing the hearsay nature of this topic.

[Dralcax]

HF prices are going down because Caprisun juice pouches are cheaper than plastic canisters.

[Booker DeWitt]

A rumour usually requires some kind of vaguely factual basis, rather than a fan saying 'HEY let's see how this believable this rumour might be, then start it'.

It doesn't make sense for Lego to bring back a line that wasn't profitable over a current line that is profitable.

- Tilius

[T.B.O.C]

I'd be happy as heck if that happened, but I'd like to catch up on the older sets I've missed before new ones come out, I mean, come on.

[Nujanii: Kanohi Master]

I'd be happy as heck if that happened, but I'd like to catch up on the older sets I've missed before new ones come out, I mean, come on.

Not all would be pleased at BIONICLE's return. As I see it, there are two questions here. "Will BIONICLE come back" and "Should BIONICLE come back." Neither is certain. At least for me.

As to this rumor, if LEGO decides to ax HF after the three years, then there are three things that might occur: BIONICLE may return, another theme might take its place, and LEGO might choose not to replace HF at all.

There is also the possibility that LEGO might continue to make HF. If HF is selling well, then this is entirely possible. After all, one reason BIONICLE is said to have been cut is poor sales. It logically follows then that LEGO will not likely get rid of HF unless they think BIONICLE could sell better. As I don't know what LEGO would consider the likelyhood of BIONICLE selling better than HF, I cannot judge the likelyhood of BIONICLE's return in this regard.

My conclusion? BIONICLE's not coming soon. Unlike a movie trailer, there is no promise of a BIONICLE return. One reason that BIONICLE could come back is its continuing story. Which hasn't recently been continued. Not to be pessimistic, but we had better face two possibilities: Greg may have stopped writing serials for a while or for good. I like to think that BIONICLE will come back. I know that BIONICLE can come back. But I think that this rumor is not to be trusted. Not exactly as stated anyway.

[Makaru]

I assume you're talking about Jim Foulds, the community outreach guy for LEGO

I was being passive aggressive, but yeah that guy. Shook his hand too. That was pretty cool.

[bonesiii]

There is also the possibility that LEGO might continue to make HF. If HF is selling well, then this is entirely possible. After all, one reason BIONICLE is said to have been cut is poor sales. It logically follows then that LEGO will not likely get rid of HF unless they think BIONICLE could sell better. As I don't know what LEGO would consider the likelyhood of BIONICLE selling better than HF, I cannot judge the likelyhood of BIONICLE's return in this regard.

I think we can answer that to some extent (but not judge how much of an extent it is lol). Bionicle's sales started dropping near the end because (as the root cause anyways) it was no longer seen as new. If the same happens to HF within the next few years, I don't think Bionicle will be seen as new yet by enough people to warrant bringing it back. Most current LEGO fans probably still remember its existence fairly well.

After a few years from now it'll be harder to gauge. But likeisay I think it would be wisest to wait until a large number of old fans have kids of the target age. That could be well over a decade from now.

[Aanchir: Rachira of Time]

There is also the possibility that LEGO might continue to make HF. If HF is selling well, then this is entirely possible. After all, one reason BIONICLE is said to have been cut is poor sales. It logically follows then that LEGO will not likely get rid of HF unless they think BIONICLE could sell better. As I don't know what LEGO would consider the likelyhood of BIONICLE selling better than HF, I cannot judge the likelyhood of BIONICLE's return in this regard.

I think we can answer that to some extent (but not judge how much of an extent it is lol). Bionicle's sales started dropping near the end because (as the root cause anyways) it was no longer seen as new. If the same happens to HF within the next few years, I don't think Bionicle will be seen as new yet by enough people to warrant bringing it back. Most current LEGO fans probably still remember its existence fairly well.

After a few years from now it'll be harder to gauge. But likeisay I think it would be wisest to wait until a large number of old fans have kids of the target age. That could be well over a decade from now.

It's not just a matter of when BIONICLE's sales started dropping. Its sales stopped growing as early as 2005-2006. The fact that this was only around halfway through its eventual lifespan demonstrates how much faith TLG had in the theme's potential.

But I think the idea of "newness" is an often-exaggerated idea. It did play a role, of course, but there exist lots of toylines including some LEGO themes that have kept going consistently for years without needing to take a multi-year break. What separates BIONICLE from most of these is of course that BIONICLE had a continuing and expanding story, which TLG has said played a big role in why new fans weren't able to jump on board as easily in the later years as they had been before.

[bonesiii]

I think we can answer that to some extent (but not judge how much of an extent it is lol). Bionicle's sales started dropping near the end because (as the root cause anyways) it was no longer seen as new. If the same happens to HF within the next few years, I don't think Bionicle will be seen as new yet by enough people to warrant bringing it back. Most current LEGO fans probably still remember its existence fairly well.

After a few years from now it'll be harder to gauge. But likeisay I think it would be wisest to wait until a large number of old fans have kids of the target age. That could be well over a decade from now.

It's not just a matter of when BIONICLE's sales started dropping. Its sales stopped growing as early as 2005-2006. The fact that this was only around halfway through its eventual lifespan demonstrates how much faith TLG had in the theme's potential.

But I think the idea of "newness" is an often-exaggerated idea. It did play a role, of course, but there exist lots of toylines including some LEGO themes that have kept going consistently for years without needing to take a multi-year break. What separates BIONICLE from most of these is of course that BIONICLE had a continuing and expanding story, which TLG has said played a big role in why new fans weren't able to jump on board as easily in the later years as they had been before.

Well firstly, I was more talking about the timing of a return than the reasons for the end, and so the expanded complexity from its original ten-year incarnation would probably follow about the same timeline as the "new factor"; the less the new kids remember Bionicle in general, obviously the less they're going to remember the details about it. And the phenomenon of many parents who have fond memories of Bionicle to pass on to their kids works regardless. Secondly, that was to some extent just one of many branches that grew off the root cause, as it were; it continued and expanded because it had been going for so long.

Although, some of it, as I mentioned in my current S&T topic and recently on my blog, was avoidable because they kept acting like we had to get running updates on every minor character just because we'd met them once in the main plot. That isn't the fault specifically of the newness -- but by that same token, it can be easily avoided in a return, just like they're avoiding it now in Hero Factory. That's not a mistake that's inherent to Bionicle, it's just that Bionicle was the line they happened to make that mistake with. (Probably because this is the first time they'd made such a story-based line.)

[Indigo Individual]

I consider it a possibility that Hero Factory will end this year (I find the fact that they are releasing all previously-released heroes, and no new ones, comparible to the Stars), however, I do not think this is an indication of a possible return for BIONICLE. It's incredibly unlikely that BIONICLE will return so soon. Give it another decade or so, I say.

[Bambi]

I don't think any of this is solid enough to prove anything.

[Nujanii: Kanohi Master]

I don't think any of this is solid enough to prove anything.

I think we have reached that conclusion.

Different opinions: stand and deliver!

[fishers64]

As for HF ending, plans can change. Who knows? It's all just speculation.

[Kopekemaster]

LEGO has said that BIONICLE is dead. I think that Blacktron returning is more plausible than BIONICLE returning. BIONICLE is still too freshly canceled, and the reasons it was axed are still valid for keeping it in the proverbial mothballs

That being said, there's absolutely no way to project what a company will do in, say, 2032.

Actually, LEGO said that they did not see anymore Bionicle coming in the "near future". So it could be cryogenically frozen.
I do agree about Bionicle being to freshly postponed/canceled.

[Aanchir: Rachira of Time]

LEGO has said that BIONICLE is dead. I think that Blacktron returning is more plausible than BIONICLE returning. BIONICLE is still too freshly canceled, and the reasons it was axed are still valid for keeping it in the proverbial mothballs

That being said, there's absolutely no way to project what a company will do in, say, 2032.

Actually, LEGO said that they did not see anymore Bionicle coming in the "near future". So it could be cryogenically frozen.
I do agree about Bionicle being to freshly postponed/canceled.

That metaphor doesn't really suggest BIONICLE will ever come back, since the idea that cryonics can make revival possible is a pseudoscience at best. While your blood is usually replaced with a freeze-resistant fluid to keep your blood vessels intact, the freezing can destroy your cell membranes. Last I heard, cryonics companies were proposing that MAYBE nanobots might one day be able to repair your cells, or your mind could be moved into a clone body, but as it is the idea that a cryonically-frozen body can be revived any time in the foreseeable future is a pipe dream.

Probably overanalyzing this, but perhaps the metaphor is indeed an apt comparison with BIONICLE's status. BIONICLE isn't over only for the near future. Specifically, it's over for the foreseeable future. That is to say, the possibility will always remain that it could one day come back. But the conditions that would be necessary for its return are a complete mystery and it's not clear if they'd ever be satisfied.

Again, though, if BIONICLE were to come back I'd probably welcome it, just because I have faith in TLG that they would not under any circumstances bring it back unless they had a plan which ensured its success while treating it with the dignity it deserves.

[Ultimate Sybre]

AWWWWWWWWWESOOOOOOOOME! Imagine how good BIONICLE will be with all of the cool new stuff!

[Lyichir]

AWWWWWWWWWESOOOOOOOOME! Imagine how good BIONICLE will be with all of the cool new stuff!

Don't get too excited. All we have to go on is an unsourced rumor with zero supporting evidence. I will eat my hat if BIONICLE returns within the next year. Even if Hero Factory ended in 2013 (which I see as unlikely, given the impressive amount of attention it's getting this year), there's no telling what LEGO would replace it with. Heck, I don't know how the "ultrabuild" Super Heroes sets have been doing sales-wise; it's possible that if Hero Factory ended LEGO would just expand that theme to fill its shoes.

[Gatanui]

AWWWWWWWWWESOOOOOOOOME! Imagine how good BIONICLE will be with all of the cool new stuff!

Don't get too excited. All we have to go on is an unsourced rumor with zero supporting evidence. I will eat my hat if BIONICLE returns within the next year. Even if Hero Factory ended in 2013 (which I see as unlikely, given the impressive amount of attention it's getting this year), there's no telling what LEGO would replace it with. Heck, I don't know how the "ultrabuild" Super Heroes sets have been doing sales-wise; it's possible that if Hero Factory ended LEGO would just expand that theme to fill its shoes.

You shouldn´t say things like that, hats can be very useful.

I find it more than doubtful that LEGO would replace their own theme with a licensed one.

-Gata

[Lyichir]

AWWWWWWWWWESOOOOOOOOME! Imagine how good BIONICLE will be with all of the cool new stuff!

Don't get too excited. All we have to go on is an unsourced rumor with zero supporting evidence. I will eat my hat if BIONICLE returns within the next year. Even if Hero Factory ended in 2013 (which I see as unlikely, given the impressive amount of attention it's getting this year), there's no telling what LEGO would replace it with. Heck, I don't know how the "ultrabuild" Super Heroes sets have been doing sales-wise; it's possible that if Hero Factory ended LEGO would just expand that theme to fill its shoes.

You shouldn´t say things like that, hats can be very useful.

I find it more than doubtful that LEGO would replace their own theme with a licensed one.

-Gata

I, too, doubt they would do so permanently; but if for some reason Hero Factory ended before a licensed constraction theme, I imagine LEGO would be more than happy letting said licensed theme pick up the slack while they work to develop a replacement of their own. If it hadn't been for the Stars, this would have happened with the BIONICLE theme being "replaced" by Ben 10 while the finishing touches were put on the already-in-development Hero Factory theme.

But again, I doubt Hero Factory is going anywhere just yet. While the summer wave this year is smaller than previous waves, this seems to be more a result of this year having an overarching story that includes all previous heroes. It's comparable in size to the current wave, after all, just with one fewer hero-villain pair (and in the U.S., not even that). Compared to the last years of BIONICLE and Exo-Force, this year's Hero Factory sets bear the hallmark of a successful theme which LEGO is willing to try new things with.

[Rix]

Highly unlikely that Bionicle sets going to return anytime soon

[T.B.O.C]

Wait, wait, wait: I remember it being said that BIONICLE didn't have declining sales, but the fear over the line spiraling down into a mess, and the idea something new could sell even better promoted BIONICLE ending and Hero Factory being a line. SO, am I wrong about that, or is everyone just saying that?

[DeeVee]

Wait, wait, wait: I remember it being said that BIONICLE didn't have declining sales, but the fear over the line spiraling down into a mess, and the idea something new could sell even better promoted BIONICLE ending and Hero Factory being a line. SO, am I wrong about that, or is everyone just saying that?

Yes, you are wrong about that. BIONICLE did indeed have massively declining sales and had what amounts to no growth at all after the 2005-6 years.

[Meiko]

To me this seems like more of a list of reasons that Hero Factory will stay around, and not that BIONICLE will return.

In my opinion, I would be very dissatisfied if BIONICLE was to return, and Hero Factory was to end. Though Hero Factory is approaching a younger audience, I feel that it has a lot going for it, and that it needs to stay around for it. To be honest, BIONICLE is way past its prime. If they were to have ever brought it back, the option with the best result would have been to bring it back the second they cancelled it, which would still be a bad idea.

[bonesiii]

If they were to have ever brought it back, the option with the best result would have been to bring it back the second they cancelled it, which would still be a bad idea.

How do you figure? I tend to think the other way around -- the longer the wait, the better a return is likely to be. And delayed returns have happened before -- Star Wars for example.

[DeeVee]

If they were to have ever brought it back, the option with the best result would have been to bring it back the second they cancelled it, which would still be a bad idea.

How do you figure? I tend to think the other way around -- the longer the wait, the better a return is likely to be. And delayed returns have happened before -- Star Wars for example.

You should stop using this example. Star Wars as a franchise never went away. It was active throughout the entire 80s (which is when the last films were released from the original trilogy) through films, television spots, cartoons, comic books, video games, action figures, the West End RPGs, etc. It was active in the 90s when the EU publishing boom started, and continued on within those same media sources, and Episode 4 was re-released in 1997. Star Wars as a franchise was always active, always moving, and never, ever, ever hibernated. It was also not parents who shared their interest with their kids that "brought it back" (because it never went away), in fact, Lucasfilm did a big push to get parents to share Star Wars with their kids because he was about to film the Prequel Trilogy (Episode I was released in 1999 and started pre-production much, much, much earlier than that). Lucas' entire reason for waiting to do the Prequels was always expressed as a financial and special effects concern, and in the 90s he thought (perhaps poorly) that effects had gotten cheap enough that he could put his expensive visions down on film.

Your analogy doesn't work here. The two are not synonymous (especially when one considers that even if Star Wars had gone dormant, the fact that it was a world-wide phenomena, and changed the way movies were made, forever, and BIONICLE had a successful toyrun that spanned a few fansites and some dedicated fans. It is not remotely on the same level.)

[Applejack]

If they were to have ever brought it back, the option with the best result would have been to bring it back the second they cancelled it, which would still be a bad idea.

How do you figure? I tend to think the other way around -- the longer the wait, the better a return is likely to be. And delayed returns have happened before -- Star Wars for example.

You should stop using this example. Star Wars as a franchise never went away. It was active throughout the entire 80s (which is when the last films were released from the original trilogy) through films, television spots, cartoons, comic books, video games, action figures, the West End RPGs, etc. It was active in the 90s when the EU publishing boom started, and continued on within those same media sources, and Episode 4 was re-released in 1997. Star Wars as a franchise was always active, always moving, and never, ever, ever hibernated. It was also not parents who shared their interest with their kids that "brought it back" (because it never went away), in fact, Lucasfilm did a big push to get parents to share Star Wars with their kids because he was about to film the Prequel Trilogy (Episode I was released in 1999 and started pre-production much, much, much earlier than that). Lucas' entire reason for waiting to do the Prequels was always expressed as a financial and special effects concern, and in the 90s he thought (perhaps poorly) that effects had gotten cheap enough that he could put his expensive visions down on film.

Your analogy doesn't work here. The two are not synonymous (especially when one considers that even if Star Wars had gone dormant, the fact that it was a world-wide phenomena, and changed the way movies were made, forever, and BIONICLE had a successful toyrun that spanned a few fansites and some dedicated fans. It is not remotely on the same level.)

Then let's use Star Trek as an example...
If fans had as a group said...
Nah, that one is just annoying now.
The X-Men comics were axed in the 60s, but came back.

[Creep Of The Deep]

To me this seems like more of a list of reasons that Hero Factory will stay around, and not that BIONICLE will return.

In my opinion, I would be very dissatisfied if BIONICLE was to return, and Hero Factory was to end. Though Hero Factory is approaching a younger audience, I feel that it has a lot going for it, and that it needs to stay around for it. To be honest, BIONICLE is way past its prime. If they were to have ever brought it back, the option with the best result would have been to bring it back the second they cancelled it, which would still be a bad idea.

I have to agree with what Sir Meiko has said here.

I honestly have more fun with current Hero Factory than with the later years of BIONICLE. And LEGO already said that Hero Factory has been successful so far, it's unlikely they will cancel it so soon.

[bonesiii]

You should stop using this example. Star Wars as a franchise never went away.

Good point. Of course, LEGO hasn't gone away either. There are also things like Hawaii Five-0, etc. I'm sure we can all think of countless examples. Of course, there are also countless examples that haven't (yet, anyways) come back.

[Applejack]

You should stop using this example. Star Wars as a franchise never went away.

Good point. Of course, LEGO hasn't gone away either. There are also things like Hawaii Five-0,

Hopefully we won't have to wait as long.

[Indigo Individual]

I think it might have been me who wrote this rumour somewhere, so this could be partially my fault.
But anyway, BIONICLE is NOT coming back any time soon. That much is pretty much obvious.

I will eat my hat if BIONICLE returns within the next year.

I am going to hold you to that.

[Axilus Prime]

I see no reason for Bionicle not to return. Like it? Good. Dislike/hate it? Well, it's dead to you. It can't really affect your life if you're not a fan.

Plus, I'm in for new Bionicle stuff. The story had a thrown-in cop-out ending. They didn't even make a Teridax vs Mata Nui video. (Or bother to make a CGI Prototype Robot face view...) The Stars were plain laziness.

However, as for likelihood, I have no opinion. It's just a dream, for me, not something to expect. Ever. More likely, HF will die in a few years and yet ANOTHER theme, not Bionicle, will replace it.