Lego has been around for a long time, but what many people don’t know is that part of the company’s modern success is due to their partnership with video game developers. Here are some things you should know about Lego’s history, including the rise of physical toys as well as digital games.
Early History
The first bricks were developed in 1949 by Ole Kirk Christiansen who founded The Lego Group in 1932 and began producing plastic injection-molded goods in 1947.
It was not until 1958 that they started to sell Minifigures; which are now known famously for their distinct color combinations and facial features. In 1968, Lego expanded into space exploration with Apollo 11; one of the most popular sets ever made by them (and still in production to this day).
Why People Love Playing with Legos
- Creativity
- Playtime can get to be a family event.
- Children have the ability to use their imaginations while playing with Legos.
The advent of video games in the 1980s caused a major shift in the company, who began designing sets with digital components, such as Mindstorms. Even though their older technology was still popular at the time, Lego’s move towards incorporating digital gameplaying into its physical toys resulted in higher sales during 1989-1990.
Lego Games
In 1991, Lego released their first “game” set called Time-Trekker . It was not until 1993 that they developed the first true video game called Lego Island for the PC and Macintosh. In 1997, Lego released Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures for PlayStation 1, Nintendo 64, and PC. In 2005, Lego began to support the development of games for their own system called LEGO Digital Designer . This software is available online for free download.
Lego has been around for a long time, but what many people don’t know is that part of the company’s modern success is due to their partnership with video game developers.
In 2000, Lego partnered with TT Game Creators who developed a series of action-adventure games called “Lego Star Wars” starting in 2005. These turned out to be wildly popular and spawned a new series of Lego games. The most recent one that has been released is called LEGO Worlds , which was developed by TT Fusion, the same company behind any recent release of Minecraft for PC/Mac/consoles.
In 2007, Traveller’s Tales became a subsidiary under TT Games and the first game they released was called LEGO Batman: The Videogame . This game received critical acclaim and they have since released over 20 action-adventure games for all consoles including mobile devices.
In the 2010s, Lego partnered with video game developers to produce licensed games based on popular characters and properties such as Star Wars and Batman. The first of these was Lego: The Lord of the Rings in 2012 for PC, PlayStation 3, 4, Vita, and Xbox 360 (with a Wii U version coming two years later). It received positive reviews with critics praising the game’s visuals, humor, and exclusive bonus content.
Two further games were developed for mobile devices in 2014 with Lego: The Hobbit following in its predecessor’s footsteps both critically and commercially.
The Lego Group owns more than 60 licenses around the world, including DC Comics, Marvel Comics, The Lord of the Rings, The Simpsons, Ghostbusters (which they released a game about in 2009 called), Indiana Jones, Jurassic World and Star Wars.
One of their most recent releases is Lego Dimensions which allows players to participate in both physical Minifigure play as well as digital gameplay by utilizing the figures’ respective NFC chips. The base game is required to play additional figures but all are playable within the main game itself, allowing for seamless cross-platform gameplay across any platform it’s available on.
A Whole Lotta Licenses
The Lego Group owns more than 60 licenses around the world, including DC Comics, Marvel Comics, The Lord of the Rings, The Simpsons, Ghostbusters (which they released a game about in 2009 called), Indiana Jones, Jurassic World and Star Wars. Lego also has their own, original properties such as Ninjago, Chima and Legends of Chima.
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga PS5 Release Date
Their upcoming title Lego Star Wars: The skywalker saga is set to be released sometime in 2022. In total, there have been 85 video games released by the company since the 90’s. For a full list of Lego Video game titles, head to Brickipedia.
Tech runs the world - one of his driving quotes. Investing in blogging since 2015. When not surrounded by technology, enjoys rock climbing with his highschool friends.
