GBC Sets?

Picopirate

Does anyone know why Lego has not produced a GBC (Great Ball Contraption) set?  I have yet to find someone who does not enjoy watching GBCs in action.   My 7-year-old son is obcesed with them and really wants to build a GBC module. He had a gift card from his birthday that was burning a hole in his pocket so I took him to the store and we went straight to the lego section.  For the first time in his life, he evaluated set based on the pieces rather than the set itself.  He was indecisive so we walked around and looked at other items.  Then he saw some VEX sets (a technic like building set that moves balls around) and he immediately picked one up and told me this is what he wanted.  The system is a bit more complicated than lego/technic but he has adjusted well and so far really enjoys the set.  Obviously there is a market for ball moving sets, and if Lego had produced one he would have purchased it instead.  It surprises me that Lego has not entered this market especially with the growing popularity of GBC builds.

SprinkleOtter

The thing is... It only does one thing, and it is very set in that.

CCC

Some of them use illegal techniques. The other problem is that having one is pointless. You need to have a decent number (5-6) to look any good and a large number to be impressive. Then there is the problem of joining them - going two is different to joining three and different to four. There would be complaints about instructions to join, the size, the cost, ...

Plus it is nice to keep some AFOL things non-official. If LEGO started doing their own standard, it starts to undermine the community standards.

TechnicNick

The upcoming #42055 Bucket Wheel Excavator looks like a superb parts pack for several GBC modules. They even chuck in a motor. 

ecmo47

K-Nex has this market locked up with a couple different GBC type sets. Their building system, lends itself well to this type of construction. My kids had this one as kids and loved it. It has 4 different paths to the bottom.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Big-Ball-Factory-KNEX-Building-Set-Construction-Toy-KNEX-Ferris-Wheel-52443-/381569028622?hash=item58d749520e:g:AWwAAOSwmmxW5dyb

A google search will yield tons of hits on huge ones that people have done. 

Picopirate

I guess I should clarify, I understand why a proper GBC set is not made but I'm surprised LEGO does not offer something similar.  The VEX and Knex sets are examples of interesting ball moving sets, and both have alternate builds (the alternative builds for VEX sets are vehicles).  LEGO could make something like a ball clock for a somewhat reasonable price and it would likely have many of the same attractions a GBC modules.

CCC

The problem with things like ball clocks is that they have to be accurate. If they are out by even a couple of seconds per day, then they soon become useless. LEGO isn't engineered to make precision clocks, it is to fit in with an existing system. I cannot see them making an accurate clock, thus it would be useless.

That said, I never thought they'd make an expensive maze that isn't as good as the real thing. :-)