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Lego pulls the plug on future 'Dimensions' toys
Chalk up another casualty in the decline of collectible-based video games: Lego, Warner Bros. and TT Games have stopped producing new expansions for Lego Dimensions. They'll continue to sell existing expansion packs, and servers will continue to run, but there won't be any new toys or gameplay. The companies didn't explain the move in the announcement tweet beyond saying it came after "careful consideration." We've asked if they can elaborate and will let you know if there's more they can say on the record.
'LEGO Dimensions' makes me like things I hate
2016 has been a rough year for Ghostbusters fans. After more than a decade of rumors and false starts, the franchise finally got a new film -- but the reboot's cast of leading ladies turned a spotlight on a misogynistic minority within the fandom's community of cosplayers and prop-builders. When the dust settled, we were left with a movie too mediocre to extinguish the hate surrounding it, yet not nearly bad enough to warrant the outrage. For me, this became a personal problem: How was I to reconcile a lackluster film that I just didn't like with my weirdly fervent love of Ghostbusters? The answer, it turns out, was LEGO Dimensions.
Playdate: Kart racing with Disney Princesses and stepping on LEGOs
Just when you think you're done with this whole "toys-to-life" genre of video games, nostalgia is there to pull you back in. Did you play with LEGOs as a kid? Do you like Walt Disney? Have you ever played Mario Kart? Then there's still plenty of expensive, RFID-powered toys to exploit childhood. Today, Tim Seppalla and I are looking at LEGO Dimensions' multi-franchise romp through your toy-chest and Disney Infinity's Toy Box Speedway. Is your wallet ready? Join us at 6PM Eastern / 3PM Pacific right here, on the Engadget Gaming homepage or at Twitch.tv/joystiq to find out.
'Lego Dimensions' reunites the original 'Back to the Future' cast
We already knew that the upcoming Lego Dimensions video game would be a universe-bending mashup of characters from franchises including Back to the Future, Jurassic World, Ghostbusters, Lord of the Rings and, of course, The Lego Movie. Today, we found out a lot more about the voice actors behind the game, and it's a veritable treasure trove of big-name actors and some of the best video game voice talent you can find. Perhaps most notably, both Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd will reprise their roles as Marty McFly and Doc Brown. It's no surprise Lloyd is involved -- he voiced Doc in Telltale Games' Back to the Future series a few years ago and was featured in advertisements for Lego Dimensions. But Fox hasn't performed as McFly in any official capacity in years.
'Lego Dimensions' has the toys, but 'Disney Infinity' is a better game
The toys came to life, and it was cool when they did. Almost four years after Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure let kids place action figures on an NFC device to make them playable in a grand adventure game, what seemed like a goofy idea turned out to be a great one. There's something undeniably wonderful about seeing your toy come alive. That idea is also an absolute gold mine. The Skylanders series broke $2 billion in 2014, just weeks after Disney Infinity became its first major competitor. Now Warner Bros. is releasing Lego Dimensions, a massive mash-up of different pop culture icons rendered as little toys to use in one of Traveller's Tales popular Lego game series.
Future 'Lego Dimensions' packs will work with the originals
Lego has something up its sleeve to lure you away from Skylanders and Disney Infinity: future-proofing its toys-to-life-game, Lego Dimensions. Along with the announcement that a handful of new figures will be sold in "Team" and "Fun" packs, the press release wasn't afraid to get passive aggressive about what separates it from the competition: "Future expansion pack purchases will continue to work with the LEGO Dimensions Starter Pack, even in the fall of next year. No compatibility chart necessary." That last portion refers to the aforementioned games' need to point out what does and doesn't work between different expansions and figurines in each game. Cheeky, yeah? That means the Joker and Harley Quinn minifig/vehicle Team Pack, and Superman and Bane minifig/vehicle Fun Packs won't have any trouble getting along with anything released in the future, it sounds like. Nor will a certain Timelord when he meets the likes of Doc Brown of Back to the Future fame and some more Ninjago characters.
'Lego Dimensions' will include 'Portal', Doctor Who and Homer Simpson
If the combined might of Batman and Gandalf wasn't enough to intrigue you, how about throwing in a Timelord (with a Scottish accent)? More details of the Skylanders-baiting Lego Dimensions game have been gleaned from a building instruction sheet for its Back To The Future set, with a catalog of level packs (read: figures and accessories) we're going to see alongside the game itself. As well as Doctor Who, expect to see a Portal 2 pack, as well as Jurassic World, The Simpsons and Scooby-Doo. You can also expect multiple figures from Lego's own brick-based franchises like Ninjago as well more characters from Lord of the Rings -- these will be part of "fun packs", likely to cost less than the aforementioned full-blown level add-ons. And if it sounds like a lot, remember: we haven't even seen the DC comics sets yet.
