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Wow – this is pretty comprehensive and thoughtful. It’s interesting to see where LEGO is focusing it’s energies and how their strategy is meant to work. It’s pretty diverse.
NEW YORK, Feb. 16, 2018/PRNewswire/ — NORTH AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL TOY FAIR — Today LEGO Systems, Inc. unveils hundreds of its new building sets while kicking off a year of milestones for some of its most celebrated and groundbreaking play innovations: 60 years of the classic LEGO brick (circa. 1958), 40 years of the LEGO Minifigure, which introduced character-based role play to the brand in 1978, and 20 years of LEGO MINDSTORMS, the original “smart” toy first introduced in 1998.
New sets leverage the limitless versatility and creativity of the LEGO brick to deliver something for builders of all ages and interests. Highlights include anniversary-inspired Classic sets that ask #WhatWillYouBuild?, new properties such as the Wizarding World, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Powerpuff Girls and Unikitty, preschool building sets that encourage learning and child development, and LEGO experiences that bridge physical and virtual play worlds for today’s generation of digital natives. New toys are showcased to buyers, media and influencers in booth #1335 in Hall 3Bof the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center from February 17-20.
“We are proud to celebrate three core LEGO innovation milestones this year that have dramatically changed the way children play, by tapping into the power of their imaginations, exploring their curiosity and expressing their creativity,” said Skip Kodak, senior vice president, LEGO Systems, Inc. “We’re fortunate to put the iconic and versatile LEGO brick at the center of everything we do, which enables us to expand and re-invent our play experience to deliver endless surprise and delight. Our 2018 portfolio is designed to inspire even more kids with new ways to build and play, and we can’t wait to see how they use our new sets to respond to our anniversary question: ‘What will you build?'”
Younger Builders (Age 1½+)
LEGO DUPLO introduces builders as young as 1½ to the world of building with bricks twice the size of standard LEGO bricks. Twenty-four new DUPLO sets offer classic themes such as My First Race Car and Airport, toys that teach values like sharing (My First Celebration) and empathy (My First Emotions), and properties such as Jurassic World. DUPLO sets also feature Mickey Mouse & Minnie Mouse, Disney Princess, and MARVEL Spider-Man.
LEGO Juniors helps builders as young as four years old transition from DUPLO bricks to classic LEGO building with a mix of larger modular elements such as solid walls or archways designed to help children gain confidence in building. Familiar LEGO themes such as LEGO CITY and LEGO Friends are joined by popular properties such as Jurassic World, and DC Batman, as well as MARVEL Spider-Man, and Incredibles 2.
Nostalgic and Creative Building (Ages 4+)
Five new 60th Anniversary building sets are designed to prompt creativity and open-ended building by posing a thought-provoking question, such as World Fun which asks, “How can ____ make the world more fun?” Additionally, each of the anniversary items includes a custom printed 60th Anniversary element, available only in these sets while supplies last. To celebrate the milestone, the company offers fun facts and building inspiration at http://lego.com/whatwillyoubuild, encouraging families to build and share their creations using the hashtag #WhatWillYouBuild.
LEGO Classic offers a variety of no-instructions building experiences for ages 4 and up, such as Creative Suitcase, for on-the-go building fun. LEGO Creator provides hours of play with innovative 3-in-1 models that can be built and rebuilt into creatures, structures and vehicles, including Mythical Creatures and Pirate Roller Coaster. Advanced builders will enjoy the challenge of 14 new LEGO Technic sets featuring gears, beams, pulleys, actuators and pneumatics to recreate authentic, functional replicas. Sets include 2-in-1 models such as Racing Yacht and Mack Anthem.
Themed Building (Ages 5+)
LEGO CITY introduces over 30 new detailed sets depicting everyday, real-life heroes in action-packed scenarios for hours of build-and-role-play fun. New themes – Mountain Police, Mining Experts, and Arctic Expedition – join evergreen favorites Town, Trains, andGreat Vehicles.
LEGO Friends features 25 new realistic building sets based on the lives and adventures of five girls in Heartlake City, exploring both the city and the girls’ interests with sets such as Emma’s Art Stand, Stephanie’s Sport Arena, and Friendship House. An exciting new LEGO Friends Racing theme hits the starting line later in 2018.
Following its 2017 theatrical debut,LEGO NINJAGO returns with new building sets loaded with details, features and functions based on TheLEGO NINJAGO Movie and two new seasons of NINJAGO: Masters of Spinjitzu airing on Cartoon Network. New NINJAGO action toys bring the ninjas’ competitive Spinjitzu powers to action-packed battle adventures.
The next LEGO Elves chapter unfolds in seven new sets featuring heroine Emily Jones as she rescues new buildable mythical guardian creatures. The powered-up, futuristic LEGO NEXO KNIGHTS to take on the holographic wizard, MONSTROX, in six new sets plus a free digital gaming app, Merlock 2.0. Six new LEGO Speed Champions sets create brick-based replicas of the world’s hottest cars, such as the Ford Fiesta M-Sport WRC, Ferrari 488 GT3 “Scuderia Corsa,” and Porsche 919 Hybrid.
Collectibles (Ages 5+)
Fans can collect 59 never-before-seen LEGO Minifigures from three new series of mystery bags, each including one figure, starting with 20 new characters from the blockbuster film The LEGOBatman Movie. Series 18 in April celebrates the 40th Birthday of the LEGO Minifigure. A third series launches later in the year.
Collectible LEGO BrickHeadz construction sets offer LEGO versions of iconic characters with 36 new sets, sold individually or in duo packs, in rolling release all year. Characters are based on a wide universe of beloved brands such as Disney, MARVEL, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Warner Bros., the Wizarding World, and DC’s Justice League. A “selfie” pack – Go Brick Me! – allows builders to create and customize any character, including themselves.
The LEGO Ideas platform, where trending fan designs can become official LEGO sets, yielded the latest release, Ship in a Bottle. Additional sets will be announced this year. LEGO Architecture celebrates the world’s most iconic buildings and landmarks with four new sets, including Shanghai, the latest skyline series addition. LEGO Exclusives, available at shop.LEGO.com and LEGO Stores, offer skilled builders a more challenging and detailed building experience, such as the LEGO Creator Expert Downtown Diner ($119.99). Additional items to be announced.
Licensed Building
New in April, eight LEGO Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom sets bring the characters and moments from the much-anticipated film to brick form, as Owen and Claire return to Islar Nubar.
LEGO Powerpuff Girls debuts in August with two building sets based on Cartoon Network’s animated series, featuring the action-packed adventures of Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup in LEGO form.
LEGO Minecraft returns with 10 new sets that kids can use to bring the virtual creative building experience to life in physical form through LEGO play, featuring their favorite characters and biomes.
LEGO Brand x The Walt Disney Company
LEGO Disney offers seven new sets featuring beloved stories and characters including Elsa and Olaf from Frozen and Disney Princess favorites including, for the first time, Mulan. A new “Build & Swap” feature enables children to use their imagination to combine sets to form an ultimate castle. Disney characters also appear in several LEGO DUPLO and LEGO Juniors sets, highlighted by the debut of upcoming Disney Pixar’s Incredibles 2 in brick form in three building sets launching in May.
LEGO MARVEL Super Heroes brings action-packed building sets inspired by the renowned comic books and upcoming theatrical releases, including Black Panther. New Mighty Micros feature MARVEL Super Heroes and villains plus their mini vehicles.
The LEGO Star Wars collection adds 28 new building sets based on characters and scenes from various episodes of the film and animated television series, including Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and the upcoming Solo: A Star Wars Story. Fans can also create five new buildable figures of favorite characters.
LEGO Brand x Warner Bros. Consumer Products (Ages 5+)
LEGO Unikitty!, based on the famous unicorn cat princess from the Warner Bros. film, The LEGO Movie, now has her own animated series, Unikitty!, produced by Warner Bros. Animation and currently airing on Cartoon Network featuring Princess Unikitty and her brother Prince Puppycorn. Five new building sets and a series of collectibles launch in August, enabling kids to recreate favorite stories or imagine and build new ones.
Bringing the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films to life in LEGO form in the second half of 2018, the new Wizarding World inspired building sets recreate the action-packed storylines from the films and feature a cast of fan-favorite wizards, Muggles and magical creatures – from Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger to Newt Scamander and more. Fans will also be able to collect their favorite Wizarding World characters in new LEGO BrickHeadz building sets.
Characters return from the film, The LEGO Batman Movie, with five new building sets where fans can further explore the most exciting scenes and vehicles from the film, including The Bat-Space Shuttle.
LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes returns with new building sets inspired by DC’s comic books and the Warner Bros. Studio’s theatrical releases, including Superman, Justice League, and the upcoming release of Aquaman. New Mighty Micros feature DC Super Heroes and Super-Villains plus their mini vehicles.
Physical to Digital Play
This year marks 20 years of digital LEGO innovation ushered by LEGO MINDSTORMS, the robotics toolkit introduced in 1998, pioneering the idea of “smart” play for the brand and the toy industry. The LEGO tradition of innovation continues with a new “Powered-Up” app remote control compatible with select building sets in 2018 that will put dynamic motion control of built models in the hands of kids, including a LEGO CITY Passenger Train and an iconic vehicle to be announced later in the year.
Following the successful launch of LEGO BOOST in 2017, two new experiences merge LEGO NINJAGO and LEGO CITY with the build & code toolkit to expand the play potential. Finally, a new LEGO DUPLO Steam Train allows kids as young as 2 years old to tinker with their ability to “code” with low-tech brick accessories that enable cause & effect play exploration.
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