When Bionicle Almost Became its Own Company: LEGO History
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ส.ค. 2024
- Join us for another episode of LEGO History, where we dive deep into an obscure part of LEGO's past. For this video, we do some investigative analysis on a throwaway quote from a LEGO history book: how BIONICLE almost became its own company.
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The real turn around for Bionicle's popularity is when you never even noticed the Lego logo on the sets for people to want to buy them
Damn, we'd still have bonkles probably if it was its own brand ;-;
imagine if Bionicle DID become it's own branch outside of LEGO you think it would still be going on today?
100%
"For better or worse." Personally, I think it's for worse... As I said in yesterday's April Fools' special, Lego has the potential to be SO MUCH, and to see that potential squandered so it can all be bricks bricks bricks and more bricks is just... distressing.
Another W take. God, it'd have been great to have that split company still...
don't forget the 10th failed attempt to be modern by shoehorning technology into shallow lego themes\
Yep
While I do agree a bit (okay, a LOT) more variety would be nice...I also wonder if they can't use this brick-focused era to translate Classic System's greatest strength, its versatility, into constraction. I'm sort of reminded of your (2nd) Technic video, and how that system evolved from bricks with functions into its own thing with its own pieces that can still build and interact with "classic" LEGO while the original, brick-related Technic were incorporated into System and its play patterns, and I'm kinda hoping the current SCCBS mechs and creatures will evolve into that: their own independent but creative constraction system while the early "bricky" pieces remain in the mechs and creatures of "classic" system.
In hindsight, most non-brick constraction so far have had to struggle with being as versatile and creative as System or Technic: Galidor, while not as awful as people tend do to remember (if the quantity of MOCs is any indication), was still clearly limited by highly specialized pieces and very little connectivity with classic LEGO; the Technic-based themes like Slizers or G1 BIONICLE were much better at construction but also started to rely too much on specialized pieces as time went on and the omnipresent pistons and greebles made organic characters difficult to portray; CCBS was probably closest to a good contraction system, but was still too polished for organic beings, the torsos made non-humanoids difficult and it probably could use some more connections and interactivity between their own pieces, let alone other systems (I mean, just 2 pin holes for each shell, and most details bigger than a spike fill both of them?).
That would have been awesome and crazy to see way back when. Imagine Bionicle sets continuing to be made even until now in 2024.
The problem is that means no CCBS.
@@charziz6693 That would be too good to be true.
They would have eventually made CCBS anyway. It is pretty much the perfect evolution of the non-specialized Inika build system. You would have seen the same multi-faceted skeletal structure, but the shells would have been more specialized and technic would have likely also played a big role like with the Uniters. For all intents and purposes, the CCBS BIONICLE sets are better than the Inika builds, and the plastic quality was top notch. With the Inika system sets eventually became too homogenous, this is a problem the CCBS BIONICLE sets avoided well.
I find it ironic that Lego ended up advertising its entire brand to the older age demographic with larger builds and more mature themes, but are still embarrassed by Bionicle and refuse to revive it despite having a guaranteed core fanbase
They tried in 2015 and failed miserably.
I love how throughout everything, how little sense bionicle being a Lego theme makes. It genuinely feels like a beautiful accident
Nah, I wholeheartedly disagree. Being different from bricks doesn't make it "not-LEGO". And I don't think it was an accident, either. It was unique but some very talented people worked and researched very hard to make it. 😉
I think he meant it by all the talented people worked on it and were passionate for it not because it was lego but because they were passionate project itself regardless if it was lego. Lego essentially funded a ton of creative people to do their thing because they needed the money and it was successful@@AlVainactual
"LEGO has never spun off a theme into its own company."
Modulex: Am I a joke to you?
In my opinion bionicle was not only their best theme but the most creative and interesting fictional world in general. For how amazing it was I can only imagine what it could have potentially been with an entire company based around it. I really don't think anything could remotely compare today if it was continued with the respect it deserves.
I’ve thought about this before, and now that I know it was considered for real, I think it would have been the right thing to do and if Bionicle ever comes back and gets back on its feet, then it should.
maybe at the time but I can quite easliy see a future where fabers "faber coins" were konohi masks and it makes me sick.
@@amymorgan886well the idea of a Games Workshop style Bionicle Company dedicated to the story and sets akin to Gunpla meets 40K unrestrained by Lego is very appealing and we would have never had to keep the fandom alive to the extent we have but I agree that could have happened. Hopefully the hypothetical backlash would have gotten them to stop
If they make a deep lore not children friendly story.... when I was a child i was interested by the deep mature lore in the first place...
I liked the part where you were talking about how lego wanted to keep a child friendly appearance and the showed advertisements of lego dino attack
I wish they bring it back.
I miss bionical 😢
Me too.
In my opinion, if this plan succeeded, BIONICLE could become another Transformers or Warhammer- a toy line with story loved by both kids and adults. When you'll look at fan animations and role play servers, fans like more edgy side of BIONICLE, where level of darkness and violence isn't limited by LEGO's politics. Instead of another Warhammer, we ended up with unfinished G1 story, failed reboot in form of G2 and with whole franchice resting on the intelectual property shelf, awaiting to be used by LEGO again in the future. Story could keep evolving through all those years after BIONICLE Stars line, even if only in the form of web stories written by Greg Farshtey. For me, LEGO wasted this theme at the end and I hope that some day, we'll get some kind of continuation of G1. Even if it will begin with time skip leaving some sidestories to be explained by dialogues and retrospections in the future
it's very intresting to see the people behind a lego theme considered to make a seprate company becuse they thought thath bionicle was soo diffrent compared to lego (even though znap and galidor are WAYYYY too diffrent from lego)
what a great video on such a itresting thing!
This story certainly makes sense from the companies perspective. However I do want to chime in with a little tidbit for those who still love the Bionicle ans CCBS system.
At the annual toy fairs where I live there is still a healthy market for Bionicle and Hero Factory parts. And not just young adults, like us who grew up with this toy. But children who are clearly still single digit ages are happily perusing the toy stalls, some even specifically hunting for Bionicle stuff.
20 year run? Bloody hell.
And G2 couldn't even make it to it's planned 3.
LEGO was high off of the success of The LEGO Movie and Ninjago. BIONICLE failed because of their hubris and greed. They wanted bare minimum effort and high profits, like most companies nowadays. If BIONICLE had split off from LEGO, it would probably still exist in a niche like Transformers does. Furthermore, it would have pivoted to adult collectors primarily without unrealistic sales expectations.
It’s too bad that Bionicle has to end 😢, although it ends we will still remember it in our hearts.
I'm glad that they didn't make an entire constraction company, but I do love constraction. Especially Hero Factory. Just because it wasn't system, it didn't mean that constraction wasn't "real" Lego. I wish they at least used CCBS a lot. It was made to also work with system bricks.
I think he’ll be happy when he hears what’s coming back next year to Lego
bionicle g3 I hope, ten years since G2
Well, there's big "ifs" in that. First of all, it's a rumor. Secondly, the only "confirmation" we got is a survey talking about Bionicle clothes being considered. I wanna hope but I ain't keepin hopes up
If Lego has no intention of bringing bionicle back they should just sell it to an animation studio and make it a series given that they have source material to build on
The more I learn about Lego internally and their relation to the Bionicle team, the more I despise them.
they pretty much cut support for them once they didn't need them anymore. Feel like if they had more confidence in bionicle and understood the popularity would go up and down there could still be a successful constraction theme today.
There definitely were, and honestly ARE, a group of core people at LEGO then and now that absolutely despise Bionicle, especially that it practically saved LEGO! It's a real shame as I wish they would at least give it the respect that it honestly deserves as LEGO would essentially be nonexistent at this point were it not for Bionicle.
Don’t you have any power to bring bionicles back for us?? I mean you know the creator 😂
honestly im kinda glad this didnt happen with fabers current mo we could of had fucking mask nft garbage
On one hand, it is kinda unfortunate that this fell through, because I would be fascinated to see how differently things could have gone. On the other hand, I was already kinda put off by Bionicle's darker and edgier shift during the Ignition era, (and then put off again by the swerve back in 09, lol) and I kinda wince at the thought of how it could have developed under a company specificially breaking away from Lego's values in favor of explicitly pursuing a more warhammer-like tone.
Honestly I don't know how good Bionicle would have been if it were under its own brand since idk how much they'd be motivated to push the envelope if the shackles of limitation were broken off. Knowing they could get away with a lot more they'd probably come up with less creative and interesting solutions to dilemmas. Would those darker themes hit as hard if there wasn't a grain for the story team to go against? That said, the death of constraction still absolutely sucks. Such a good system with brilliant potential to expand its own niche and it got cut because Lego had no faith in it. They're so safe these days that I can't care about anything they put out. Even during Hero Factory I still got a set or two even if I didn't care about any of the characters just because they has such fun action figure builds.
Fascinating! I love these history episodes
There is a youtuber named utam he makes such good mechs with ccbs
BIONICLE definitely was the most unlike LEGO theme that LEGO ever created and to now know the date of this proposal is 2006 is really fascinating. I could easily see BIONICLE being up there with the great evergreen toy properties that have continued for decades such as Transformers and Star Wars and with fans across multiple generations. The fact a BIONICLE spin-off from LEGO was even considered just shows how massive of a success this theme was, how innovative it was and how much potential its phenomenal concept had.
Actually Star Wars isn’t a toy property but a film franchise that’s had a toy line since the beginning.
@@RetroActionUK Personally I consider Star Wars a Multimedia franchise like DC or marvel that happened to start off as a film series.
@@grandon183 agreed
That opening shot of you walking backwards gave me such secondhand anxiety, do you never get worried about walking into something with all the lego around?
If you ever open a museum to the public I would like to donate all my lego sets from the 80s and early 90s. most are complete.
I wish it could. Think of the potential it could achieve
I mean Bionicle technically had mecha elements, take the Exo toa for example, it is an exo-suit used by the toa and were able to work independently as well. Or the fact that Mata Nui was actually a giant robot housing millions of inhabitants inside. And of course the giant robot brawl between Teridax and Mata Nui.
What if the Story came back, but not the toys? Would people still be just as hungry for more? 🤔🤔
Well there’s an alternate universe to visit now
Thats why they stopped making new molds by 2008.
Do you know about the video game BIONICLE: Masks of Power?
Well lego ain't doing anything with it now but if I were to make a bionicle toy company or some kind of movie for the fans I know I'd get sued for copyright infringement. Any way around this?
Easy make your own brand look at space king animation it a satire of Warhammer 40K they are making lots of money now they making more episodes as a independence studio.
Well true but I was thinking more along the lines of a major fan film. Although some are bad there are those that have a lot of care in them. But how is it not copyright violating?
One can only dream...
have you ever fallen down those stairs starting your videos walking backwards while talking
You know if bionicle was given to fromsoftware under hidetaka miyazaki and hero factory given to hideo kojima then it would've been a fair equal deal to have bionicle franchise under the care of miyazaki the same man responsible for dark souls,bloodborne and armored core not to forget elden ring. Hero factory under kojima productions would've been somewhat of a mecha cod/ metal gear crossover or something like that
I really wish they had, or made a new branch like Marvel is doing. They'd still get the money, but we would have had more Bionicle & Hero Factory e.g.
I wish
Mark my words if I become rich I'm buying Bionicle and finishing the OG story
1:36 I believe those chest pieces are misplaced on that Knights Kingdom character.
Nah my dude, I remember that set. That’s the way it was designed. :)
@@will_tzu My goodness. You are right. I should have checked. I guess I had it built wrong all these years.
Rascus's armor plates are deliberately asymmetric to express how he's supposed to be the unpredictable one.
You are my favorite Lego master winner 🫵🐐( and Robert)
For real what do ur parents do
Lol 😂
Dude just reverse the intro.
*nerd voice* will this be on the test?