A Calm before the Storm?

[fishers64]

One of the theories that occurred to me this week is that it's going to take some time for the younger fans to get invested in Bionicle and find this place. It's probably going to take awhile for Bionicle to get out in the marketplace, kids who aren't former Bionicle fans or siblings of Bionicle fans to become aware of it, look it up online, and find here. 

 

Therefore, we might have a little lag time - perhaps a month or two - where it's just us talking. What do you think?

[Lyichir]

One of the theories that occurred to me this week is that it's going to take some time for the younger fans to get invested in Bionicle and find this place. It's probably going to take awhile for Bionicle to get out in the marketplace, kids who aren't former Bionicle fans or siblings of Bionicle fans to become aware of it, look it up online, and find here. 

 

Therefore, we might have a little lag time - perhaps a month or two - where it's just us talking. What do you think?

Based on how the new theme is being promoted, I don't totally expect there to BE much of a "storm"—at least, not one that arises all at once. The short web-based animations seem like they'll most likely build up interest in the theme more gradually than, say, a TV or movie event would. I don't know if, looking back a year or so from now, we'll be able to point to any one moment this year when interest in Bionicle (and by extension, BZPower) suddenly went critical.

 

I suppose we'll see. Activity in the community is steadily building, but a surprise announcement or contest might very well kickstart an exponential growth in activity and fan engagement. It's too early now to tell.

[Jobber]

Like Lyichir said, it's probably too early to tell. I don't have any siblings that are below the age of 12 anymore, so I couldn't say how the youngsters will take to this new line of sets. I'm assuming they'll react to it the same way they did with HF, seeing no difference than besides the name. I doubt we'll see a 'storm' of sales like G1 did, but it's pretty much confirmed that G2 will outsell any previous CCBS line. And we already know that old/new members are slowly trickling into BZP, but we most likely won't see an influx of people coming into the community until at least the summer wave.  

I just hope Lego manages to promote it better, though. (i.e. giant posters, giant displays, more commercials, etc.)

Edited January 8, 2015 by Chasm

[The 1st Shadow]

I agree with those guys. If LEGO had brought in the new line with the flare and mass of promotion that most big things get, then maybe. Unless they've got some secret TV ad that they've not released yet or they're planning to redecorate the entire LEGO site with hints of a BIONICLE theme, then I suspect any activity increase will be gradual.

[Bfahome]

a surprise announcement or contest might very well kickstart an exponential growth in activity and fan engagement.

Well there are still seven gold masks left as far as contests go, so there's that.

[Lyichir]

 

a surprise announcement or contest might very well kickstart an exponential growth in activity and fan engagement.

Well there are still seven gold masks left as far as contests go, so there's that.

 

Yeah, I'm eager to see how those will be distributed, especially since it's been confirmed that the Battle for the Gold Mask was the only such distribution that would be done with a building contest. Assuming the others aren't all just ordinary sweepstakes, we could be seeing all sorts of contests—art, music, fiction, you name it!

[UngluedBike]

 

a surprise announcement or contest might very well kickstart an exponential growth in activity and fan engagement.

Well there are still seven gold masks left as far as contests go, so there's that.

 

Based on how the gold Haus were distributed, I'd say that it will be some years before they're all gone.

[fishers64]

But the new line is only plotted to run three years, so they would have to have some plan to get rid of them in that time frame, correct?

[Hitoshura]

They'd have to distribute them faster, I guess.

[Jobber]

They need to do contests that everybody can participate in, if they want to react out that way to kids/other peeps.

[Sumiki]

I think we're already starting to see a gradual increase in activity. Something like a movie would get everyone interested at once, whereas this takes a little longer.

[Lyichir]

 

 

a surprise announcement or contest might very well kickstart an exponential growth in activity and fan engagement.

Well there are still seven gold masks left as far as contests go, so there's that.

 

Based on how the gold Haus were distributed, I'd say that it will be some years before they're all gone.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't all the gold Haus distributed within the theme's first year? Sure, some were retained by Lego or Advance staff, and many found their way to market once their recipients saw fit to sell them, but they certainly weren't left lingering in Lego HQ by any means.

 

In any case, I'm pretty sure they explicitly stated at NYCC that all seven would be given away within the year.

[emily]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't all the gold Haus distributed within the theme's first year? Sure, some were retained by Lego or Advance staff, and many found their way to market once their recipients saw fit to sell them, but they certainly weren't left lingering in Lego HQ by any means.

There was a "design the Mask of Life" contest tied to BIONICLE Heroes in which the grand prize was a gold Hau. Pretty sure that's the only example.

[You just lost the game]

It took around 3 years for Bionicle to get really popular.

We may have to wait the same amount of time for this version to do so.

Edited January 11, 2015 by You just lost the game

[Chro]

But the new line is only plotted to run three years, so they would have to have some plan to get rid of them in that time frame, correct?

The line is planned for three years at least - but it is highly unlikely that it will expire after that point, and I doubt Lego would not foresee that.

[Toa Smoke Monster]

With Bionicle just getting started again, I do agree that it could be a little while before we get some new members posting regularly on the site. 

 

So I'll enjoy the peace time while it is here.

[Banana Gunz]

Oh I can see the awful flame wars erupting all over the sight as new and old fans battle over... eh, probably nothing important.

 

I do agree it'll be a little more gradual, but I think that it'll be noticeable when new fans come in. One of my concerns if BZP as it is will be ready for new fans. I mean, the canon of Bionicle Gen 1 is pretty much known by everyone here (to varying degrees) so we have this sort of huge block that could make new fans shy away from BZP. Our culture is based around something of old that will always be referenced and talked about no matter what, which can be a hard atmosphere for someone who doesn't understand it.

[Adventurer]

My little brother isn't aware of the existence of the new sets yet (I mentioned to him when I last saw him but don't think he remembered. ). If not through me, he'll probably become aware of their existence one he starts school again. Suppose he becomes a fan and is the type of fan that would join chat online - it'd take a time period for him to become attached to the line, then another period of time for him to migrate to an online community. So in that little scenario there's at least three lag periods between now and when he'd end up here. I'd say the base new demographic could be quite a while away from arriving. That being said there'll be an increasing flow I suspect, the question is how large it'll get I guess.

[ShadowBionics]

There's still no real telling just yet. The year has just started, the sets are getting around into stores little by little, and fans are getting around slowly both new and old. I mentioned it somewhere around here, but while it's definitely possible we could see more members around here, only time will tell. Because that's what the false Turaga wanted.

 

 

I definitely hope there's no clashing between G1 and G2 fans. The last thing we need is for the fandom to become as hectic as the Transformers fanbase. I like how peaceful and reasonable the Bionicle fandom is, we're all fans of the line and to an extent most of us are fans of fantasy-mythological and sci-fi based story-telling and I like that mutual understand everyone has with each other mostly. 

[Pomegranate]

I feel like the "storm" isn't gonna hit until the second wave of sets/marketing, once Bionicle settles in and gets recognized as something that exists. It takes time for new lines to spread around to all potential customers around the globe and for 'em to accumulate enough content to sufficiently hook and entertain newcomers.