An interesting piece of news that came out a few days ago is that Rovio Entertainment – the Finnish video-game company best known for creation the Angry Birds franchise – is joining forces with The LEGO Group to release Angry Birds related sets. This will coincide with the upcoming Angry Birds 3D computer-animated action comedy film, scheduled for release on July 1st, 2016. Below is the official press-release, then we can discuss. 🙂
Rovio teams with The LEGO Group to create a collection of building sets related to its 2016 film
LAS VEGAS, Nevada– 8th June 2015– Rovio, makers of Angry Birds, the most downloaded mobile game ever, today announced a partnership with The LEGO Group to develop a line of construction toys. LEGO Angry Birds will be available in spring 2016 to coincide with the release of The Angry Birds Movie, a full-length feature film based on the popular gaming franchise.
“The LEGO brand has an unparalleled ability to connect with people through products that spark creativity and imagination. We’re really excited to build experiences together with this amazing best-in-class partner,” said Pekka Rantala, Chief Executive Officer of Rovio.
“We are excited to bring Angry Birds to life in LEGO form, given the popularity of the game and its characters with fans of all ages, which will only be amplified by the forthcoming film,” said Jill Wilfert, Vice President, licensing & entertainment at The LEGO Group. “We seek partnership with globally relevant properties that offer a unique and rewarding play experience to our fans, and our designers are having fun developing building sets that leverage the engaging play and deconstruction found in the Angry Birds game.”
Further details about the collection, available in spring of 2016, are not yet available.
I find this news quite surprising. The Angry Birds game certainly has been popular, but my understanding is that it has already past its heydays. I don’t really see kids playing it any more. Also, K’NEX has been already producing pretty decent construction sets for the game. I guess Rovio figured that with the film coming out there may be a revival of the game itself, and LEGO would be a better partner for their construction toys. I’m just surprised LEGO agreed to this – they seem to be picking up a lot of random licenses like Angry Birds, Scooby Doo, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, etc. to produce just a few sets – and with the upcoming LEGO Dimensions game there are even more licensed characters.
Previously LEGO concentrated on long-term collaborations with large license partners like Star Wars, Harry Potter, Super Heroes, Lord or the Rings and Disney Princesses. The quality construction sets produced in these lines gave LEGO a wholesome, focused look. Spreading out between so many licensed with cheap, half-baked sets that don’t seem to live up to the standard and longevity LEGO is known for, can devalue the entire brand in the eyes of consumers. There is real concern from the LEGO fan community about this, as you can read in most LEGO forums and blogs. So far the overall consensus appears to be that LEGO Angry Birds is a bad move…
What do you think? Do you play Angry Bird? Or did you play in the past? Is it still popular in your opinion? Do you think that LEGO and Angry Birds go well together? And how do you feel about LEGO getting so many licenses? Are you happy about the new sets, or wish there were less? Feel free to share and discuss in the comment section below! 😉
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It does indeed seem an odd commercial decision. I played angry birds briefly on release but that was a good few years ago.
Unless there is a huge marketing campaign on the build up until the film is released I cannot see these doing well.
From a personal view unless these make good parts packs/have very unusual parts or colours I won’t be getting any of them.
It must be one heck of a movie to convince LEGO to partner with a dead/dying franchise.
I was really surprised about this when I saw it on the Brick Show! (Go Brick Show!) I think it will be targeted more at younger children and there may even be a LEGO Angry Birds version of the game coming out! Now that would be pretty cool!
Yeah, I don’t know what to think about this news either. Sounds quite strange for LEGO to pick up this license now. 😕
Whyyyyy…. What’s next? Lego Candy Crush?!
No, Fruit Ninja! I want LEGO Fruit Ninja!
Hmmm… strange… I never like angry birds, although I did play it when I was extremely bored…I dont see this as a LEGO set working…Couldnt I just get some blocks and throw another block at them??
LOL! Yeah, that’s basically how it works! 🙄
Really? They’re making angry birds set?
Couldn’t they just make more LotR sets instead? :p
tragically no. Lego lacks the common sense to make smart moves. No matter how liked a licensed theme set is, its lucky to last a few years. New TLM stuff is in high demand but that wave has bit the dust after one really good wave and 2 half waves. Minifigure scale Minecraft has potential to last but i’m already mentally prepping myself for it to leave next year.
Scooby Doo and TMNT doesn’t sound that random, though. These are licenses that have been running for decades, being constantly revived on a regular basis. In comparison, the Angry Birds concept feels rather limited.
The Speed Champions theme actually strike me as an odder concept than SD and TMNT, particularly since the blockiness make them less useful as miniature scale models…
That is true, although small LEGO cars are perennial favorites with boys. I think that is the main selling point with Speed Champions.
Maybe, but bringing in real cars into the equation would mainly appeal to tech geeks and increase the price and paperwork. I have a hard time seeing that sales would increase compared to a racing theme based on approximates or fantasy cars. Also, in-house cars would probably look smoother and more fitting within the system.
That might be true. Although I know from personal experience that at least in certain states in the USA, kids (and of course adults) are hugely into racing and they know the stats of real racecars like the back of their hands. Kids also start racing really early. So yeah, racing is a huge part of some people’s lives, the same way as soccer, football and other sports in other areas. So I see LEGO Racers as at least worth a try.
Yeah, I don’t know what LEGO was thinking… 😐
weird!