Sardrox: Will of Makuta

(Man, is it just me of is it that everytime a point comes up in this topic it is compared to Transformers...Not gonna hate though, TF is awesome.)

OK. Getting back on track, I think the story would be something like Legend of Korra is to The Last Airbender. A new story and concept but with enough returning characters and concepts to satisfy previous fans.

I say that they should give another go at the point and click adventure game genre, a la MNOLG. If Bionicle does return It'd be cool to see the series return to its gaming roots. As I mentioned in another topic a Bionicle based RPG would be neat as well. However if Bionicle doesn't return then I think both genres would work well for other themes.

 

So, in an attempt to get the thread slightly back on track, I ask this. If BIONICLE would return, what sort of media outlets would you think would work to accompany the sets? I personally would like to see a video game, specifically an RPG-style game. A new game would be released every year or so, for each storyline.

Video games would be cool, especially if there were a point-and-click adventure game like the MNOG. It seems like a game like that would be ideal for mobile gaming, so with that becoming such a popular platform for promotional media it's peculiar that the LEGO Group hasn't released one in a long time.

 

Books are probably to be expected, but no telling when — despite it being a huge new theme, Ninjago didn't get chapter books until August 2011, over half a year after the first sets were released, and its first graphic novel came out in November. Likewise, Hero Factory didn't get a lot of books published until 2012 despite premiering in summer 2010. So we might have to wait a bit before a BIONICLE book series gets underway.

 

And as for animated media, no telling. The LEGO Group might do a TV special like they did for LEGO Friends, Atlantis, and Ninjago 2011, or they might do a full TV series like they did for Ninjago 2012 and Legends of Chima. Or they might wait on that and prepare for a feature-length movie. I wouldn't mind any of those possibilities, though I think a full TV series would have the best chance of increasing BIONICLE's exposure.

 

A long time? Wasn't the Invasion from Below game released on mobile? I know the Breakout and Brain Attack games were.

Another Bionicle movie would be cool too, if they could get Miramax to do it; I didn't really care for TLR.

So, in an attempt to get the thread slightly back on track, I ask this. If BIONICLE would return, what sort of media outlets would you think would work to accompany the sets? I personally would like to see a video game, specifically an RPG-style game. A new game would be released every year or so, for each storyline.

(Whoah! Discussion!)

Personally, I would be fine with humans in Bionicle, if it wasnt on Earth. Maybe some astronauts landed on Spherus Magna or something.

I too like the idea of a "Makuta cult". I believe someone else earlier (IDK who) presented another idea, in which Teridax's spirit (Antidermis?) possessed another character. That could possibly work as well.

Granted , but it's foreign money, and you are forbidden from leaving your country.

I wish for world peace.

Granted, but Hasbro retcons the franchise so Machine Wars is the only canon continuity, therefore ruining Transformers FOREVER.

I wish for a castle.

Granted. Rumble and Frenzy (or Frenzy and Rumble) banish everyone who calls you uncharasmatic, aka everyone you know.

I wish for a potato.

 

 However, if BIONICLE were to return in that design I wouldn't want something as simplistic as that Tahu.

Me too. I for one would appreciate a titan-sized Tahu! And if the storyline would demand the return of the other Toa Mata, I'd like them to be titans as well.

@Aanchir: I personally think that a new Bionicle would work well with the CCBS. If they do a sort of "mixture": The few Bionicle pieces still in production, CCBS, some Technic, and some new parts, I really think they could really do something great.

 

I got my info from a site called brickpicker.com. Unfortunately, the post with all the sales info on the 2 themes was shut down because they didn't want any legal trouble with lego. I did make notes of some of the more important sales details, but I won't post any official numbers because I don't know if its allowed. I always fact check before making a post, and I never make up random statements out of thin air

 

I'm not sure where you got those statements on bionicle sales, but I know for a fact most of them are incorrect. Bionicle sales actually peaked in 2003. The only reason lego didn't cancel Bionicle back then (there was talk of cancellation at the time) was because the sales were at such a record-breaking high. Lego originally planned for bionicle to be a short-lived technic based theme like slizers, robo riders, throwbots, etc. They had reached a good ending point in the story... as far as anyone knew Makuta was dead, and the toa had won. The outrageously large sales were what caused lego to reconsider cancelling Bionicle. After 2003 sales dropped by about 5,000 to 10,000 sets each year until 2009 when the sales dropped by almost 50,000 sets that year.

 

 

Hmm. I got all that info from TLG's Annual Reports (here). I'll see if I can use the wayback machine to find that sales post you mentioned.

EDIT: Would you happen to know around when these articles were deleted, so I know exactly when to search?

 

In short, I would love for Bionicle to come back if I knew it wouldn't become sucked up in the mainstream younger audience fad that Lego seems to be trying out.

It's not a fad, it's what Lego has been about since the beginning. The target audiance has never grown higher or lower for this stuff - it's always been 8-14. Or something like that. 

 

Sure, that part is true, but just compare an episode of HF to, say, one of the Bionicle movies. Now there's now admitting that those movies were pretty cheesy, but something about the HF series just seems a bit "younger-focused" to be (IDK about the newer episodes; the last one I saw was Breakout)

 

While I can't deny that Ninjago, Chima, HF, etc. have their own cult followings, Bionicle was such a giant and important part of Lego's history that if they remade it with the quality (and prices - don't even get me started) as they seem to have going now it would just cave in on itself and make a bunch of canon things nobody really likes.

At risk of "getting you started", the prices of sets today are generally pretty consistent with what they used to be when you take inflation rates into account. In fact, when you adjust for inflation, many sets today offer more parts for less money than certain BIONICLE series. Case in point: every $10 Hero Factory set for the past two years has offered between 41 and 59 pieces. The Piraka offered just 41 or 42 pieces for $9 in 2006, which would be $10.60 today. The Vahki offered only 32 pieces for $9 in 2004, which would be $11.32 today. Even the original Toa Nuva offered just 36–44 pieces (40 pieces average) for $8, which would be $10.56 today. Inflation can take a serious toll, and coupled with other rising costs in production and distribution of LEGO sets it's a marvel LEGO prices haven't increased considerably. I don't think prices should be any serious concern in a BIONICLE revival or any new constraction theme.

 

True, but I believe titans' prices have increases a bit. Titans used to be around $20, wasn't Witch Doctor almost $40?

Hi, could you possibly do the song that I believe was the title theme in Web of Shadows?

(from 0:00 to roughly 1:25 in this video:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNU0COTzpkM

Thanks in advance!

I just hope that if a TV show is made, that they wouldn't pull off a Hero Factory and condense the entire year's story into one 30-minute episode.

 

the first I just want to see a source on, because people keep throwing around general terms on how HF is selling ranging from "it's selling poorly" to "it's selling great" and I want some specifics.

 

We never get any actual sales figures, which is frustrating. We can only go on Lego's occasional statements, which often lack important details. For instance, the '05 report says Bionicle's "sales did not live up to expectations". What were those expectations? By how far did the line fail to reach them?

 

Yeah, I read all annual reports from 2001-present, here's what they mention

2001: A sharp increase in sales was partially the work of BIONICLE

2002: BIONICLE sales remained high, it was the best-selling theme of the year.

2003: BIONICLE sales fell about 20%, but it was still LEGO's best-selling theme.

2004: BIONICLE was the best-selling product again, no info about sales.

2005: like you said, sales did not live up to expectations, however it was still the best-selling theme.

2006: BIONICLE isn't mentioned.

2007:BIONICLE was one of LEGO's best sellers, however it did not show any growth. 

2008/2009/2010: BIONICLE isn't mentioned again.

As for Hero Factory...

2010: A growth in sales was partially due to Hero Factory.

2011/2012/2013: no mention 

very vague information...

Cool guys never squash their Haus*, then wear two different-colored contacts.

*(Do we even know the plurals for mask names? Is it "I have 5 Haus" or "I have 5 Hau" or something else?)

Ahh yes, pieces.

The majority of Bionicle parts are discontinued by now, so that's a definite no.

I think they'll use a mixture of HF parts and new parts as well. I for one hope that they would use more technic, not so much so it's just super-complicated (The majority of Bionicle titans), but not so little (most HF sets). Also, have some sort of gear function to make those kind of people happy too 

Drawing of the upper half of a Tahu with a gold hau.

 

Does anybody have any ideas about when in 2015 bionicle is comming back?

I've been thinking about this too, and assuming that it'll be next summer; does anyone have any information that suggests that it'll end up that way or another?

 

Well, considering that a "certain picture" was made known of this early, I'd probably say they're winter sets, so probably December 2014/January 2015.

Kopaka, keep being: Small. 

Guurahk, stop making me disintegrate. =(

All the evidence so far seems to heavily imply that Bionicle would be returning. I'd really be glad because I came way too late. By the time I came around, it had already ended...

Kagome in the Overworld.

Why did you do that? That's okay, I wasn't planning on sleeping tonight anyways.

Says the one with the Akaku.