Lego Dimensions

andhe · August 2015

SuperTramp said:

Bank manager with the looks of it,

Seriously, this must be the first game to achieve the £500 mark.

£742 so far, according to Huw's calculation on the homepage.

cheshirecat · August 2015

^^ totally agree with you, it is possible to say no to a child, but the entire pricing structure of toys2games, pay as you play etc etc is so that people do 'unwittingly' spend far far more than you ever would upfront in traditional pricing structures. And sure personal responsibility should kick in but when large software companies are hiring entire teams of psychologists to optimise how to charge to maximise revenue your average suburban mom is up against it.

VorpalRyu · August 2015

@cheshirecat, this is why I rarely buy any new games these days & have a boycott on certain companies like EA. So many games these days are a shell, requiring the players to pay to play 50-75% of the actual game.

Mass Effect 3 was the final straw for me with EA, I had ME & ME2, but I was going to wait six month to see what others thought of the game, then my brother bought it for me for my birthday. Quickly, I heard from others how short the game played without any DLC (seems like 60-70% of the game was ripped away for DLC), plus the pay to see the full ending issue. I only have all the DLC for ME3 cause I got several dozen XBL points cards for presents with nothing else to spend them on, else I wouldn't have the DLC.

Game companies can hire all the psychologists they want, seems the pay-to-play model is already burning itself out, hearing more & more others complaining about this stuff, saying thanks, but no thanks. What these companies need to realise is, that should the general consumer decide this isn't right & walk away, they are screwed, video games aren't necessity.

legomatt · August 2015

Well, i'm having mixed feelings from those GB images.

On the one hand is the fear that these might be the only official lego GB ghosts TLG do, and dimensions might be the only way to get them, so for a purist they're almost must haves... on the other hand, i'm just not that impressed by their execution.

Mr. Staypuft is okay, but that Slimer is just awful... so awful I - (can't believe i'm saying this) - might NOT actually bother with it at all... *shock face!*

It's just too much like something a child quickly drew from memory, after having only a fleeting glimpse of the 'real-ghosbusters' comics version, (and then with the page that was shown having itself been 'phoned-in' by the worst artist on the payroll, shortly before he got sacked for being rubbish at drawing Slimer)...

...Wow. Never thought i'd ever hear myself say i'm not buying the official Lego Slimer for my GB team.

*Thus begins the forlorn hope that they do a regular lego set later, containing a film-version Slimer*

Xefan · August 2015

VorpalRyu said:

Mass Effect 3 was the final straw for me with EA, I had ME & ME2, but I was going to wait six month to see what others thought of the game, then my brother bought it for me for my birthday. Quickly, I heard from others how short the game played without any DLC (seems like 60-70% of the game was ripped away for DLC), plus the pay to see the full ending issue. I only have all the DLC for ME3 cause I got several dozen XBL points cards for presents with nothing else to spend them on, else I wouldn't have the DLC.

ME3 is an incredibly bad example because the base game was still what, like 50 hours of gameplay. The full ending came with the game, though a lot of the Call of Duty kids who wanted some dumbed down Bruce Willis type action movie ending didn't understand it and whined, so they created a new alternative ending for the kids, and gave it away free.

There was no need for any DLC with ME3 to get a decent game out of it - I never played any of the DLC, nor did I even bother to download the alternative ending and it was still one of the best games I've ever played with a far above average amount of content and a perfectly good ending, especially for people mature enough to contemplate what constitutes life, and the place of AI and synthetic life in the universe should we (or others!) create it. I think you missed out on a great game because of nothing more than completely incorrect hearsay by the sounds of it.

But your general point is perfectly correct- there are way too many studios selling you half a game and charging you for the rest now. Call of Duty is an obvious offender, you're lucky if you get 6 hours out of the main storyline nowadays and the multiplayer has become dull and uninspired. Games have typically been good value for money - if a game lasts 20 hours and you pay £40 it's working out at about £2 an hour of entertainment whilst a Bluray might last 2 hours and be £15 so you're looking at £7.50 an hour. But with games like Battlefield Hardline and Call of Duty's gameplay dropping to about 6 hours of worthwhile content, their price per hour of entertainment has increased to about £6.67- they're barely competitive with movies anymore, and movies were always grossly overpriced.

That's why I'm intrigued to see how much content say a Lego Dimensions level pack has - at £30 it ideally needs to come in at about 10 hours of gameplay. But I doubt it'll even approach that. The cost of the figures makes it a bit more messy, but I wouldn't be surprised if a level pack is only an hour or two of gameplay, and even discounting the physical product, that means Dimensions could be the most expensive common form of entertainment yet.

This is all very rough back of a napkin type stuff though- you have to also factor in the quality of entertainment, but I think that only justifies an increase in cost per hour of entertainment so far, and I think @cheshirecat is right - this could stretch that to the point of royally pissing parents off. Parents wont be happy blowing £30 only to find it's kept their kid quiet for a mere 2 hours, and even 5 hours will probably be short enough to annoy - taking a kid out on a Saturday morning to buy those things for £30 only to have them saying they've finished it and are bored by 4pm the same day isn't going to go down well.

cheshirecat · August 2015

Yep, I think there's two issues. Firstly the 'extras' wont give a huge amount more game content/time. You'll probably play the same levels mostly but with different characters, maybe a few unlocks, a few new areas. Level packs will give new levels but they'll probably be pretty similar. The more packs you buy the worse value you're going to be getting.

Secondly theres just the overall cost. When after six months, say christmas and birthdays, you stand back and realise that you've spent hundreds of pounds on a computer game. Then people will work it out before buying anything, as Huw did, and the daily mail will get a hold of the number and they'll cause an outcry. Possibly justifiably.

Im also a bit worried about the game - we love LEGO games, although there have been a few duffs (LEGO movie for one) but their strength is in the story - that you can reconcile much of the game to the movies. Without that, they're fairly repetitive linear puzzles and doing the same thing with just different characters could get old quickly.

Disney infinity is kind of similar, the marvel games themselves aren't great and doing them with different characters doesn't add much. Without the construction side of the game they wouldn't be worthwhile unless heavily discounted. But through in the without limits stuff and they've become great value for us.

VorpalRyu · August 2015

@Xefan, I haven't quite gotten around to a serious play through for ME3, but I've got all the DLC now, so I'm curious to see how much it extends out the gameplay. As for the ending, from what I understand, it makes the outcomes clearer & lowered the points required to get the best ending. Lowering the points required, to me at least, was a good thing. I don't play online & I don't have any Apple products (if the app had been on Android too, that would have been a tad less annoying), why should I unable to see the best ending to the campaign, just because I don't play online or use Apple products.

As for COD, the current 'benchmark' for FPS games, lack of a decent single player campaign is the least of its offences... The longer its reign continues, the further down the drain FPS games will be dragged & I think we're not far from the treatment plant now...

I hope that the Lego Dimensions game isn't like most of the DLC fests that have become the face of modern gaming. I have enjoyed all the previous Lego titles, it would be a shame for Tt Games to go in that direction, because at that point it pretty much leaves me with Nintendo, Eidos & very much little less to look to for gaming.

Aanchir · August 2015

cheshirecat said:

Im also a bit worried about the game - we love LEGO games, although there have been a few duffs (LEGO movie for one) but their strength is in the story - that you can reconcile much of the game to the movies. Without that, they're fairly repetitive linear puzzles and doing the same thing with just different characters could get old quickly.

Personally, I feel like the strictly movie-based games have gotten a little stale, and lately my brother and I have gotten a lot more enjoyment out of games with original stories like LEGO Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin or LEGO City: Undercover. Even the last two LEGO Batman games have told more or less original stories, and while I haven't played or watched any of them I believe they've been fairly well received. I think the trademark humor of the LEGO games is at its strongest when it's not held back by a story that has to hit all the major plot points of a particular movie or TV series.

As far as the cost of LEGO Dimensions goes, I'm not sure what to expect, but it seems to me that the packs have much more lasting value than some of their competitors. The starter pack is being advertised as forwards-compatible (instead of you needing to buy a new starter pack to use each new generation of figures), and the fun packs, level packs, and team packs are actual toys with play value of their own instead of just static figurines. And even the "toy pad" gameplay seems like it uses the figures as more than just decorative memory cards. It's hard to imagine that parents who would gladly pay $15 for one to three static Skylanders figurines they've never heard of would balk at paying the same for a familiar buildable LEGO minifigure and vehicle.

Yes, I know there are plenty of naysayers to the whole "toys-to-life" product category in general. But at the same time, those naysayers don't seem to be taking much of a bite out of these toys' profits.

Renny · August 2015

Geez, that's quite the list. I have a tendency to want a complete collection, which is why I have stayed away from things like Amiibos. As much fun as Lego games are, this just looks like a massive, unending money pit for myself. I'm out.

plasmodium · August 2015

Xefan said:

ME3 is an incredibly bad example because the base game was still what, like 50 hours of gameplay. The full ending came with the game, though a lot of the Call of Duty kids who wanted some dumbed down Bruce Willis type action movie ending didn't understand it and whined, so they created a new alternative ending for the kids, and gave it away free.

There was no need for any DLC with ME3 to get a decent game out of it - I never played any of the DLC, nor did I even bother to download the alternative ending and it was still one of the best games I've ever played with a far above average amount of content and a perfectly good ending, especially for people mature enough to contemplate what constitutes life, and the place of AI and synthetic life in the universe should we (or others!) create it. I think you missed out on a great game because of nothing more than completely incorrect hearsay by the sounds of it.

So I have to leave r/masseffect and come to Brickset to hear a well thought out and rational explanation of why ME3's ending was fine. Well played, sir (I pretty much agree with you - though I think the Extended Cut was in general 'A Good Thing'). I played it through (with all DLC) the first time a few months ago and thought it was fine - it left me feeling a bit empty, but that's because it made such a great universe and I knew it was over - same feeling as you might get when you finish, say, Harry Potter or Friends or something, but the ending itself was fine.

I think the reason why it's used as a poster child for "EA sucks", "DLC sucks" etc, is that it was shaping up to be a really great game from a studio which had a reputation for really great games but the fact that there was great content in DLC left a sour taste in people's mouths - you feel like you're getting an incomplete game. That and some of the DLC has been more or less confirmed to have been cut from the original game (the character Javik, for example) as a money-spinning exercise

VorpalRyu said:

@Xefan, I haven't quite gotten around to a serious play through for ME3, but I've got all the DLC now, so I'm curious to see how much it extends out the gameplay. As for the ending, from what I understand, it makes the outcomes clearer & lowered the points required to get the best ending. Lowering the points required, to me at least, was a good thing. I don't play online & I don't have any Apple products (if the app had been on Android too, that would have been a tad less annoying), why should I unable to see the best ending to the campaign, just because I don't play online or use Apple products.

Play through! It's brilliant. The Citadel DLC really shines through as what DLC should be. It was basically a tribute to the fans and to the characters Bioware created. Leviathan is good as well, and goes a decent way to explaining the ending. Give the multiplayer a shot, though - the people who are left are the people who properly enjoy it (the trolls etc have moved on) and it's pretty fun.

Ok, so bringing this back on topic somewhat: If DLC is well thought out and a decent improvement on the existing game, it's worth it. When it's tons of small things which don't add a lot to gameplay, it's annoying - not only that you're being pestered to buy these things, but the feeling that you've been sold an incomplete game. I guess Dimensions is a bit different as the whole premise is that you add and remove characters that you want. Micro-transactions (well, not so micro) are built in to the whole gameplay mechanic - conveniently enough.

That said...£700+? That's crazy. Even factoring in the fact you're getting some physical bricks...bonkers. My Mass Effect addiction (including the oh-so-expensive DLC) can hardly have cost me more than £50 with all the main story-related DLC (thanks to some Steam sales).

Xefan · August 2015

I don't have an inherent problem with DLC - I was buying expansions for games in the 80s and 90s and I remember fondly the expansions for Quake and Warcraft II.

But I agree, some companies are just cutting the game and selling it to you for extra. The warning sign to me seems to be the growing trend of DLC that's available on release day - if the DLC Is available on release day, that means it was ready for the games release (even if patched in) and so should have been part of the core game.

Developers should not be even beginning to work on DLC until a game is released- they should be working up to the release to make sure it's as polished as possible.

There's nothing more insulting than buying a game that's buggy on release and barely works, oh but the DLC is available because "We spent more time figuring out how to milk you rather than sell you a working product to start with".

VorpalRyu · August 2015

@Xefan, my wife & I agree 100%, we don't buy demo discs, which is how it feels when they release a game & have several DLC packages ready to purchase from day one. What irritates me more is when I buy DLC & its like a 5Kb to install, yet adds several new missions, three new characters, etc, clearly too much content for a small file, because no data compression is that good... Effectively locked-on-disc content, if its already there, why did I have to pay to unlock it, it should have been in the game, available from day one.

cakeinmilk · August 2015

Maybe the initial budgets and development time for these games are increased under the assumption they'd make a proportion back in DLC sales?

VorpalRyu · August 2015

@cakeinmilk, regardless of their reasoning, locked-on-disc content is wrong, its like buying a car & having to pay to unlock extra gears, reverse, turning left. If its on the disc, I have already paid for it & now they expect me to pay for it a second time so I can use something I already have?

MasterBeefy · August 2015

I am optimistic that the minifigure packs will see more significant price cuts than usual for Lego products, but I won't be crushed if that's not the case. On the topic of DLC the video gaming industry has been trending downwards in terms of value for quite a while, at least with a Lego toy to life game the toy being Lego is essentially worth the cost if it is an exclusive.

bobabricks · August 2015

My list so far is StayPuft, Slimer, Portal, Wizard of Oz and Doctor Who, then I'll try to sell all the game pads because I'm not very interested in playing the game. :P

Sethro3 · August 2015

^Eerie, since that is my list so far too...

VorpalRyu · August 2015

^ I would consider buying the GB stuff, but after all I've heard about the 'reboot,' I'm not sure I want the studio to get any more of my money, lest it be used to help finance that garbage.

dannyrww · August 2015

So now we are seeing new game play footage and all the worlds are floating on islands. It just dawned on me that Lego dimensions may have been hinted at in Chima. In the series finally they zoomed away from the world of Chima and it was on a floating island. That being said it seems like a lot of heart and thought went into this. The Doctor regenerates (as does his TARDIS console so to speak). When you fall off the island of Oz you wind up in the Kansas. I do think this is going to be a great game. I love playing the Lego games with my kids and this one looks like it will be the best yet. We have been setting aside money for what we want for the day one release (starter, Back to the Future, and Wicked Witch). Many seem so doom and gloom about this, but my thought is the people who want it will get it and those who don't won't. I do think Lego and TT know what they are doing.

Coolguy5000 · August 2015

Just saw this on thebrickfan. Seems that not all packs will be released immediately as they are listed in series

dannyrww · August 2015

I think the releases are Sept., Nov.,Jan., Mar.,.....must be one more in there.

LostInTranslation · August 2015

Who is the fig for #71235?

dannyrww · August 2015

I think is a gamer for the midway content (holding a soda and a coin)

dragon114 · August 2015

I was hoping for all the wizard of oz figures

dannyrww · August 2015

I am surprised that we only get the witch. I wonder of we will see variant exclusives similar to other toy to life games?

dragon114 · August 2015

dannyrww said:

I am surprised that we only get the witch. I wonder of we will see variant exclusives similar to other toy to life games?

mabey will get a set.

dragon114 · August 2015

dannyrww said:

I think the releases are Sept., Nov.,Jan., Mar.,.....must be one more in there.

the release dates for the us based on amazon listing are spetmber 27th, November 3rd, january 19, march 31, may 31

bobabricks · August 2015

Ugh, why can't they put all the ones I want in series 1 so I can get them all in September? :/

cheshirecat · August 2015

These waves seem interesting to me. Are they releasing in waves or retailing in waves.

If its the latter I can't see a gotta-catch-um-all approach would work with a kids video game. Add in Lego collectors/resellers buying and I can imagine real availability issues. If someone buying the game in December can't get some of the September packs at all that's just crap.

If its the former then perhaps its also to help spread content release dates which would bode well for unrushed decent sized download updates for new level packs etc. Of course it could just be to maximise revenue by spreading release over 12 months.

Such a wide number of packs, legos known manufacturing issues, the insane popularity of Lego and Lego games, some great and new IP tieins and non gamer interest in key exclusive Minifigs mean I'm expecting some severe shortages of some of these packs. Which for a video game seems like a terrible idea, if you've got Disney infinity and want to play the hulk it needs to be available to buy or the whole toys2life thing starts to fall down.

leemcg · August 2015

My kids got a bit fed up with Skylanders on the most recent version (which is the fourth) but I seem to remember previously there being plenty of figures that they couldn't buy, some were explicitly limited edition (so just different colour in the game) and were on eBay/Amazon marketplace for high prices if at all.

Not it sure the lack of availability is that odd, that's all.

cheshirecat · August 2015

Have to admit I have no knowledge of skylanders, but I would see dimensions much more closely aligned to Disney infinity with strong IP aligned characters. With the likes of ghostbusyers, bttf, Dr who, Simpsons etc if you can't get any one of those it could be a real issue, more so than missing one generic skylander. Its not as if all four ghostbusters are available so you could get any one of four and be pretty happy. Perhaps they've spread themselves too thin with too many IPs?

dannyrww · August 2015

Actually this is the first time I've seen stores let you preorder and reserve the sets for the game. You could not do this with Skylanders or Infinity. Infinity is a better comparison. I would say most infinity figures, especially the big name characters are not hard to find.

nexander · August 2015

Skylanders make some of the bigger figures 'limited' to begin with to command a higher price. When the next version is announced they suddenly find a warehouse full of them and are available everywhere. I cant see TLG pulling the same stunt. I hope.

dannyrww · August 2015

I don't think they will. The fact that you can preorder specific sets bodes well for that.

dragon114 · August 2015

would be nice to get Lord Vortech as pre-order bonus

dannyrww · August 2015

I would love to see any pre-order bonus. No one seems to be doing anything.

Fauch · August 2015

VorpalRyu said:

@cakeinmilk, regardless of their reasoning, locked-on-disc content is wrong, its like buying a car & having to pay to unlock extra gears, reverse, turning left. If its on the disc, I have already paid for it & now they expect me to pay for it a second time so I can use something I already have?

the problem is they don't sell you a game but merely a license to use it the way they intended, which I think was clearly demonstrated by some company when they took away from people some games they had bought.

wouldn't it be partly the fault of buyers that packs are so expensive? it seems normal to have minifigs cost 10 to 20 € on the aftermarket, and I guess people buy them, or they would sell them cheaper. I don't care if the minifig only comes in a 500 € set, or is a SDCC exclusive, 10€ is already overpriced.

Lordmoral · August 2015

Unless I am mistaken I think to have seen Lord Sauron from the LoTR in one of the story trailers, if he comes alone I will buy it no question about that (so long as it is well priced).

DNA · August 2015

Looks like great fun. Following Skylanders and Infinity, I never thought I'd want to get involved in another money sucking vortex but here I am. Ready to plunge head first into the portal.

dragon114 · August 2015

new trailer for Lego dimensions is out

novicebuilder101 · August 2015

I saw the starter kit at my local Target in California. Anyone else seeing this on the shelves or has purchased it already? I was tempted to get it, but I'm a Gamer Unlocked member and can get 20% off all Lego Dimensions kits.

Ray1204 · August 2015

What?!! It's on sale already or you just trolling?

novicebuilder101 · August 2015

It turns out that my Target had accidentally put the Xbox versions on the shelves yesterday. I went back to buy a copy and when I got to the cashier, a big error showed up on the cashier's screen with "DO NOT SELL UNTIL 9/27". Bummer.

dragon114 · August 2015

novicebuilder101 said:

It turns out that my Target had accidentally put the Xbox versions on the shelves yesterday. I went back to buy a copy and when I got to the cashier, a big error showed up on the cashier's screen with "DO NOT SELL UNTIL 9/27". Bummer.

if they had the addon packs i would have gotten some portal packs for trade.

Coolguy5000 · August 2015

It seems the clone brands can't resist ripping off dimensions. Just saw this online priced at $30. A lot of parents could be mislead into thinking these are a cheaper alternative to playing but we all know they will never work.

dannyrww · August 2015

scoiltreasa said:

It seems the clone brands can't resist ripping off dimensions. Just saw this online priced at $30. A lot of parents could be mislead into thinking these are a cheaper alternative to playing but we all know they will never work.

some of those are ridiculous. What an odd line to make knock offs of.

plasmodium · August 2015

dannyrww said:

What an odd line to make knock offs of.

I wouldn't say so. They can charge close to what an official Dimensions pack costs and make a bigger profit than TLG themselves as there are no electronics in it. That is, as long as they are convincing enough to fool some unsuspecting who doesn't look closely enough.

dannyrww · August 2015

^Valid point.

chuxtoybox · August 2015

I REALLY REALLY REALLY hope LEGO releases real play-sets based on this like they did the LEGO Movie!

dannyrww · August 2015

Would be neat.....you know I was seeing things online abot Ninjago mentioning 16 realms and that one is Chima......I wonder if these concepts are tied together and Dimensions has more to it than just the game....or not.

Lego Dimensions

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