Keith Watanabe * NET 2.0

Seems like the sports Lego has been somewhat of a failure for Lego. I noticed quite a bit of that stuff had been marked off over at the local toy shops including Lego's Shop @ Home network. I like the idea of sports and Lego and even have purchased some of the sets. I think the problem is the space and usefulness of these themes. It has a limited scope and really doesn't seem to be as interesting as doing the real thing. Next they really should get rid of Jack the Builder. I was really fond of the old freestyle Lego. I don't understand why Lego decided to go to a larger figure rather than relying on a highly compatible minifigure. Also, it just seems like a losing line since they're competing against Playmobile, etc. Duplo I can accept because 1) it's been around for a long time; and 2) it's really meant for babies. But by 4 years of age, kids shouldn't be denied the richness of the normal themes. Johnny Thunder isn't a very good idea either, imo. They want to do the whole Indiana Jones theme without licensing the product. But I just don't see much marketing nor usefulness as a product. Again very limited scope, although the Chinese theme was quite nice. If they're going to continue in these licensing themes, why not try Lord of the Rings? That ought to be a wildly successful idea. I mean it's not as if other people haven't already built large scale replicas of the movie. In addition, it's a hugely popular movie with many good years in it. Lego should've been aiming towards that rather than Spider Man, which seems like an expensive excuse for what could be very good town Lego.