Oboe Shoes Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 *From a Lugnet email* [LEGOR Universe to close in 2012] Online game will close on January 31, 2012. The LEGO Group's digital offerings will continue to develop over the coming years. November 4, 2011 - The LEGO Group today announced that it will close LEGOR Universe, an MMOG (massively-multiplayer online game) that has been in operation since the autumn of 2010. In spite of very positive player feedback and a large number of players in the free play zone, it has not been possible to convert a satisfactory number of players to paying subscribers. It has therefore been decided to close the game as of January 31, 2012. "The LEGO Universe team can take pride in having developed and launched a great LEGO experience that many players will miss," said Jesper Vilstrup, Vice President, LEGO Universe. "Right now, we have almost 2 million players in LEGO Universe, and we get extremely positive feedback from players. Unfortunately, we have not been able to build a satisfactory revenue model in our target group, and therefore, have decided to close the game." Despite the change, the ambition to develop and run a digital business remains. In future, it is the intention to further pursue cooperation with partners. The LEGO Group has a strong and continuing partnership with TT Games & Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to create digital LEGO experiences within video games. A further expansion in the digital area will mainly be based on similar partnerships. "The development of our digital offerings continues to be a very important element in our strategy," said Mads Nipper, Executive Vice President, LEGO Group. "We have more than 20 million visitors on www.LEGO.com every month, and LEGO video games are among the bestselling children's video games with sales of more than 60 million units in the last five years. Through our experience developing and running LEGO Universe, we have gained a lot of valuable insights, and we have a very strong foundation for future development in the digital area." As a consequence of the closure, the LEGO Universe staff has today been informed that the 'Play Well Studios' in Louisville, Colorado and the game's marketing function in Billund, Denmark will be closed. This will affect 115 employees. All affected employees will be offered assistance in finding new jobs inside or outside the LEGO Group. <http://aboutus.LEGO.com/en-US/pressroom/Default.aspx?y=276303&l=200071&n=0 LEGO.com> Source from LEGO Group. -end of report- Thoughts? I know the game changed drastically (and apparently for the worst) from it's original designs, and people (including me) were a bit let down, but completely killing it after just over a year seems a bit... harsh. I suppose that's LEGO for ya though, Purge anything that's not making money. :/ eagleeyedan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap't Rex Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 No! there closing it down? But can you still play it? Can i now acess paid parts of the game without buying? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonic322 Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 They tried to take the RuneScape approach and failed at it. That's what happens when you try to build something and forget what got you where you are in the first place. Original ideas like Rock Raiders and stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McJobless Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 They didn't even have an Australian server. I say let it die, and go out with a whimper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lol username Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 They didn't even have an Australian server. I say let it die, and go out with a whimper. The sad thing is they were just about to announce the Australia server when the developers found out the game was being shut down... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepper314 Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 I have only 3 days left on my subscription, and I think I might play it. Or maybe not, I didn't really like it, anyway. Maybe I'll go play... uh I don't know But it is kinda sad to see it go so early. LEGOR Universe to close in 2012 >LEGOR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RR Rocks Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 How long did we wait for it again? 4 or 5 years, maybe? And now it dies after only 2 years. That is... unbelievable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap't Rex Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 I have only 3 days left on my subscription, and I think I might play it. Or maybe not, I didn't really like it, anyway. Maybe I'll go play... uh I don't know But it is kinda sad to see it go so early. LEGOR Universe to close in 2012 >LEGOR Since you hate LU, can you let me play for the 3 days you have left? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepper314 Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Since you hate LU, can you let me play for the 3 days you have left? NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lair Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 How long did we wait for it again? 4 or 5 years, maybe? And now it dies after only 2 years. That is... unbelievable. Two years? It just celebrated its first birthday a week ago. Even worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McJobless Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 They didn't even have an Australian server. I say let it die, and go out with a whimper. The sad thing is they were just about to announce the Australia server when the developers found out the game was being shut down... That's not just sad, it's outright depressing. Those poor developers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RR Rocks Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 How long did we wait for it again? 4 or 5 years, maybe? And now it dies after only 2 years. That is... unbelievable. Two years? It just celebrated its first birthday a week ago. Even worse. Whoops, my mistake. When I first found out about LU I had very high expectations, the first trailer was not very action packed, But the building system that resembled LDD made me think that it was the perfect LEGO online game. But then came the story and characters that screwed everything up. Forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOJ650s Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Wow, they are really closing it down huh? I only played the free version it was pretty fun, but it did lack some stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Eight-Three-One Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 I'm honestly not too disappointed. When I first heard about the game before its redesign, I thought it sounded cool. But when I actually saw the game, I was very disappointed. They pretty much forgot that it was a game about a building toy and just shoved the building aspect onto tiny properties. And then they just made all these pointless side-missions and it was all stupid. I didn't even bother getting F2P because I didn't feel it was worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STUDZ Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 [/Prompt {RAGERANT}] WTF, LEGO!?!? You finally make a great MMO, has 2 MILLION players in a little over a year, and they can the whole operation due to MONEY. MONEY. Seriously??? Coming from the company that didn't really care about the green stuff before (unless you're talking about Green bricks), this is pretty stupid. What, after that big loss in '04 or something like that, you guys are all about the cost of your product? I've noticed. I've been watching you ever since. Your toys have declined in quality the past few years. You killed BIONICLE, just to "Try other ideas". I mean, Hero Factory isn't TOO bad, but it's still not BIONICLE. The last BIONICLE movie AND the Clutch Powers movie were FAIL. And ENOUGH WITH THE SAME FORMULA FOR YOUR CONSTOLE GAMES, ALREADY. Getting rid of LU was the last straw. I was hoping you'd be able to crawl out of the greedy little hole you've dug yourselves in, but to no avail. YOU HAVE LOST MY RESPECT. I still love your product, but you've made some pretty cr@ppy descisions the past few years. Your motto is no longer "Only the best is good enough". It's more like "The best is OK, as long as we get more money." LEGO. I am disappoint. I still love your toys, but some things need to change, quality-wise. [/RAGERANT] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cirevam Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Welcome to economics. If something isn't making profit, then it is inefficient to maintain it at that level. Every business has this kind of mindset unless they are being subsidized or they're stupid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDoctor Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Every business has this kind of mindset unless they are being subsidized or they're stupid. Or in the rare case that their prime directive is not to make as much money as physically possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fluffy Cupcake Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 The last BIONICLE movie AND the Clutch Powers movie were FAIL. And ENOUGH WITH THE SAME FORMULA FOR YOUR CONSTOLE GAMES, ALREADY. Clutch wasn't bad but it wasn't the greatest either. Yeah, their same formula can get annoying. Or in the rare case that their prime directive is not to make as much money as physically possible. I love those type of companies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McJobless Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Welcome to economics. If something isn't making profit, then it is inefficient to maintain it at that level. Every business has this kind of mindset unless they are being subsidized or they're stupid. I swear there are some absolute idiots in my business studies class that don't understand this concept...if it's so hard to learn that, why are you trying to start a business? At least this game had a year to prove itself...think about all the games that never were...I still would have liked to play that Indiana Jones game... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonic322 Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 think about all the games that never were I would have liked to play Duke Nukem Forever... A good version anyways. (No I have not played it for real but I know it sucks.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McJobless Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 think about all the games that never were I would have liked to play Duke Nukem Forever... A good version anyways. (No I have not played it for real but I know it sucks.) That's called Development Hell...forced to be constantly stuck in purgatory until it's lost all remnants of a living soul... Quite a few GTA Clones got killed off in the development process; some of which actually looked alright. Damn, GTA needs some other competition from Midnight Club or Saints Row... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyrem Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 think about all the games that never were I would have liked to play Duke Nukem Forever... A good version anyways. (No I have not played it for real but I know it sucks.) How do you know it sucks if you've never played it? Many people think LRR sucks, yet here we are. other competition from Midnight Club or Saints Row... MC is racing, and SR is just stupid. GTA is still top dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
le717 Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 If you want my take on this, along with my take on some unanswered questions, read this: http://triangle717.wordpress.com/2011/11/06/LEGO-universe-is-closing-now-what/ (BTW, I wrote that.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JrMasterModelBuilder Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 think about all the games that never were BIONICLE: The Legend of Mata Nui . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STUDZ Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 think about all the games that never were BIONICLE: The Legend of Mata Nui . . . ...Amen to that. That would've been a good game... I think I caused this topic to derail. Oops! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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