Did Ninjago replace Bionicle?

[Lenny7092]

Hi, guys. I have a question, and that could be saddening. Do you think that Ninjago has replaced Bionicle. Is it why Bionicle was cancelled in 2010, because Lego likes a similar theme with minifigures? Hero Factory is Bionicle’s successor, but Ninjago came in and it was booming. There were fewer content and smaller budgets for action figures in 2010-2016, and Bionicle has a short reboot from 2015-2016 before being brutal cancelled. We don’t have a real ending for Bionicle’s G1 story (stopped in July 1, 2011) and HF’s story (stopped in 2014, and even though that it is implied that Bionicle G1 and HF share the same universe because of their similarities, nothing is confirmed because none of themes are running). Greg F never continued these stories for almost 10 years probably because they are not running. Ninjago outlived Bionicle G1, and it has a real TV show and theatrical that made Bionicle and Hero Factory look inferior. 
 

So, do you think Ninjago is the cause for the action figure themes’ fall and is it keeping the themes from returning because it runs? Ninjago is very similar to the themes, too. Did Ninjago also prevented HF from celebrating its 10th anniversary last year and maybe Bionicle from celebrating its 20th anniversary this year (well, its birthday would be July 1 because the first comic book was released in US during that time)? I mean, is it? I’m quite scared and nervous about the action figure themes’ fates. Greg never said anything about their futures. 
 

I tried asking Lego in September 2020 about bringing back Bionicle and Hero Factory, celebrating their anniversaries, give their stories real endings, and say that Bionicle G1 and HF share the same universe to do it, but Lego said “Sorry, we don’t seek Bionicle or Hero Factory anymore, and can you focus on other themes? However, we admire your devotion for them and your ideas, so we will let the designers now.” What does that supposed to mean? Is there hope for Bionicle and HF? There is a lot of wasted potentials for these themes (their cancelled plans in their history).

[Sailor Wah!]

No it didn't. Bionicle was already canceled before. Ninjago is and never will be a replacement for Bionicle. Where did you come from with the idea that Ninjago is the new Bionicle? I see little to no resemblance

Edited January 17, 2021 by Sailor Wah!

[Lenny7092]

Well, I said that because the themes do have similarities, such as story, dark lords, and heroes with elemental powers. 
 

The 2000s celebrated Bionicle, but the 2010s celebrated Ninjago much more than Bionicle and Hero Factory. Bionicle couldn’t do great stuff over there, and I would think that Ninjago’s presence may have something to do with it. Lego didn’t take care of the action figure category for some reason (less budget, perhaps) while Ninjago is a cash cow, so that’s how I look at it.

[Sailor Wah!]

How often should I say it: Ninjago is not responsible for Gen 1 death. And Ninjago isn't the New Bionicle. Gen 1 was on his deathbed before Ninjago was even invented. There were also constraction figures during Ninjago's time: Hero factory, Gen 2 and the Star Wars constraction figures. The reason why there are no more construction figures is because the last ones sold badly. That has nothing to do with Ninjago. As far as I know, there aren't any people who worked on Bionicle (except for Greg, although he only wrote the old comics, and they aren't Canon anymore. Which is a shame because the comics are way better than the actual Canon stuff in Ninjago) who are now on Ninjago, so it's not even the same team. Bionicle and Ninjago have slight similarities yes, but that's it. The story and how it was told, Worldbuild and how the characters where written is completely different.

Edited January 21, 2021 by Sailor Wah!

[Lenny7092]

Well, I see your points. Greg did write a few books for Ninjago, which is one of the similarities because he wrote a lot of books and comics for Bionicle. Well, Ninjago is about teenagers who are ninjas while Bionicle is about alien cyborgs. Both do have some different ways of storytelling, too. I was just thinking about business for the themes. Ninjago did better than Bionicle G2 as well.

[(-Kopaka Toa of Ice-)]

No i don't think it did. Funny thing is Ninjago was supposed to be retired in 2013 but this theme with ninjas was selling better than lego expected. Also since system is buildable and customizable... means sets are easy to sell and integrate and easy to market to a wide audience. And now it has been 10 years but i kinda think it will be ironic if it also get retired af 10 years.

[Fyndegil]

On 1/21/2021 at 7:42 PM, Lenny7092 said:

I was just thinking about business for the themes.

I think I understand what you mean. I don't think Ninjago is in the same market segment as Bionicle, because it seems to me like the target audience probably skews a bit younger. Maybe some of Lego's licensed lines could be thought of as successors to Bionicle. Another thought I had is that Lego might have actually given up on trying to develop properties for that age range, and instead decided to create sets aimed at adults in lieu of like 7-13 year olds.

[The Toa of Music]

Nah it didn't.

[T.B.O.C]

The decision to cancel BIONICLE was made in late 2007-early 2008, if I recall. BIONICLE ended due to slowing sales, which Greg as well as other Lego officials have specified. Simply put - they wanted to end BIONICLE before lowering sales began to tarnish the public image of the theme. Hero Factory was the successor that replaced BIONICLE, and very clearly. BIONICLE's niche was a unique buildable action figure component, alongside story. Lego also tried experimenting over the next few years with constructable action figures - the Ben 10 line, a brief stint with Marvel and DC comics characters, Chima figures, and the ill-fated yet very intriguing Star Wars constraction figures. Note that these go far into Ninjago's lifespan - these are far more equivalent to the descendents of BIONICLE design, at least in terms of a building system.

Ninjago was likely not conceptualized until a year or two later than BIONICLE's cancellation, and occupies a much different niche IMO. Their similarities mainly lie in being an original IP, with a roughly 7-12 year old demographic target. I would say Ninjago skews a bit lower too, especially in earlier years. They really have little to no relation in Lego's terms, I would expect. Different design principles, somewhat overlapping but otherwise expanded demographic, extremely different approach to set-making. BIONICLE's niche doesn't really exist anymore at Lego, and with adequate reason - BIONICLE is a product of it's time. The things that introduced BIONICLE and made it unique at the time were becoming ubiquitous, and the place Lego was in 2010 was lightyears away from where a struggling Lego was in 2001. I don't think there's much comparison, besides a handful of shared elements, most of which are attributed to both being Lego themes with a story.

[Nato G]

Ninjago replaced Bionicle only in the sense that it became Lego's next long-running, story-focused theme. It grew to fill the niche that Bionicle left behind, after other attempts at Constraction themes fell short of the mark. 

While Ninjago itself isn't to blame, I would argue that the rise of themes like Ninjago were among the factors that contributed to Bionicle's demise. While past Lego themes have certainly had barebones stories, Bionicle was the first theme to be massively narrative-driven, with rich lore and lots of multimedia tie-ins. And when that proved successful Lego started making other themes in the same vein, with a bunch of themes getting books or animated shows, to the point where they were oversaturating their own market. 

 

[Chronicler06]

From what I'm getting with the last two posts, it seems that when Bionicle was cancelled, it left a void in terms of an interesting storyline across multiple forms of media, a void that was quickly filled by the the next new theme with a strong story, which just so happened to be Ninjago.

I think a key indicator for what made Bionicle and Ninjago so huge comes down to how their main storyline was first presented. For Bionicle in 2001, it was an interactive online game. For Ninjago in 2011, it was the TV series. Kind of makes you wonder how much more staying power Bionicle could've had if it had been given a TV series from the very first year.

Also, once that void was filled by that one big theme, it became very difficult for another new theme to become just as big or even come close to it. I remember later themes like Legends of Chima and Nexo Knights were attempts to replicate the success of Ninjago, but both of them were cancelled after just two or three years. I'm willing to bet that if either of those two themes had been introduced when Ninjago was, it's possible they could've been more successful. Let's also not forget, Ninjago was originally intended to last for only two years, but was quickly revived and continued due to popular demand. In my opinion, it was simply a matter of excellent timing that made Ninjago so much bigger than other original themes that came out later.

[confused piraka]

@Chronicler06

two themes can't fill a hole meant for one.

[T-Hybrid]

Hot Take: Ninjago is the house Bionicle built.

 

Which isn't a slam on either brand. Bionicle laid the groundwork for the type of cross media line that Ninjago was able to build on and eventually stick.

LEGO hasn't really landed another hit like Bionicle or Ninjago since, because both caught on organically.

Lessons learned from the former helped the latter flourish.

Edited March 28, 2023 by T-Hybrid

[Toa Jaxus]

On 3/28/2023 at 7:44 PM, T-Hybrid said:

Hot Take: Ninjago is the house Bionicle built.

 

Which isn't a slam on either brand. Bionicle laid the groundwork for the type of cross media line that Ninjago was able to build on and eventually stick.

LEGO hasn't really landed another hit like Bionicle or Ninjago since, because both caught on organically.

Lessons learned from the former helped the latter flourish.

Yeah, basically my view on this.