Who Killed Lego Castle?

[@arno_nuehm_1]

Castle cannot be killed. It is sleeping...waiting for its return. Like Smaug.

[@MINI_Bricks]

How cool would it be... to go to the LEGO Store and find a new theme of LEGO Castle on the shelf?

[@stasisbricks4565]

Star Wars killed space, Harry Potter/LOTR killed castle, Ninjago killed pirate, Indiana Jones killed adventures ...

[@Jsdo1980]

PoTC killed pirates too.

[@studebricker2845]

Harry potter has nothing to do with medieval castles, and LOTR was only in production for a few years. The real answer is today's kids just aren't into castles like they just to be.

[@jeffc4862]

@@studebricker2845 The 3 in 1 Medieval Castle has been a best seller, and there are plans for a replacement in 2025. Also worth noting the 'Friends' Castle themes which have been doing exceptionally well. I don't think that kids lack interest, I think it's that Lego hasn't offered smaller, more affordable sets that parents with younger children can easily afford.

[@studebricker2845]

@@jeffc4862 The 3 in 1 creator castle is great, but I wouldn't assume it's being built by children primarily. And I don't know of any "Friends" castles, so I guess you're referring to the Disney princess sets. Those "castles" aren't even traditional castle designs, more like a dollhouse for the princess character. Anyway, my original point was just that Lego isn't making a castle theme anytime soon because the average kid just isn't interested. If their marketing people said it would be profitable, they would do it. Pretty simple.

[@menoflowicz]

Licensed themes not only did kill Castle, they have killed Lego altogether...

[@jeffc4862]

I don't think they 'killed' Lego (clearly), but they contributed to changing the demographic through the elevated price points.

[@Metallex]

The biggest problem I have with Castle is that they continue to lean on nostalgia rather than doing anything new with the setting. The Blacksmith is a fantastic re-imagining, but I feel sets like the Lion Knights' Castle is a little regressive and instead of trying to win new fans they're pandering to the market of yesteryear. Give me a castle that isn't built entirely of the same light grey.

[@batmanamicu]

Exactly, gives us something that brings younger audiences while you involve the old ones. Gives a new batch of sets with cheaper price tags.

[@npucentral5811]

Exactly! You would definitely like my top 5 problems with Lego Medieval video

[@alphonsesuitperson]

@@Metallex they have that, in the disney castles :p, /s, but hear you,

[@Bolderox]

I mean, I think that is why the kraken knights won the vote, a sea themed castle, or even just a seaside based castle theme is fresh enough to be different. A tan and sand green castle on a rock shore i feel has potential. But then again that is stepping hard on harry potter's toes

[@spudmaphot]

It's a shame it was abandoned in favor of Nexo Knights and their other string of failed themes when it was so much better. They keep experimenting with bad ideas when demand for classic themes is sky high.

[@gearbear43]

Really cool video! You should make this a series with similar types of video essays. Keep up with the content... great job!!

[@drfries172]

man just bring back skellies vs knights like in 2007 and if they are any close to the originals imma buy em all

[@suliemanjadallah2062]

Y’all hate to mention nexo knights like it was a fever dream

[@npucentral5811]

Not my go to theme, but I'm kinda in love with the Fortrex design

[@jeffc4862]

As a long time Castle theme collector, I think the first real issue was an ongoing redundancy of 'variation on a theme/design' models... While I personally was a 'completest', other Castle collectors I knew were beginning to pass on models simply because they all looked pretty much the same.

[@npucentral5811]

I agree with you there! It's important to keep things fresh.

[@umuterdonmez6995]

This is a great take too. I have a couple castle set and armies with them, and thats about it for me, one side is good, the other is evil. Not much too add. Dungeons and Dragons set though, that got me excited, castle/dragon/characters/scenario/gameplay it has everything in it. Looking forward for an animation like Vox Machina gets mainstream or a kid version, so LEGO can own it and make its sets. Cause it is how they work

[@AirZero]

It's hard to make castles without raised baseplates.

[@chickenpie4402]

As a kid a had two sets from the 2013 wave... never had any problem with them, they were awasome.

[@bearsausage8599]

They released in the worst year possible, with the most competition from star wars especially.

[@chickenpie4402]

@bearsausage8599 Well I never had a Star Wars set for myself, but I can see that it could be faveored instead of medieval knights.

[@arno_nuehm_1]

There are plenty ideas for a castle theme: LOTR, Last Kingdom, Vikings, The Witcher. Using that esthetics would create a really well selling theme. It wouldn't be that difficult.

[@Bolderox]

Castle just needs to find a way to market smaller sets that aren't just castles... i feel that is the biggest hurdle the theme has. It is a big set theme. Castles, villages, hideouts. When themes need smaller sets, and i don't see many people caring for a horse drawn carriage and a couple guards over a castle, so the theme ends up being bland with too many big builds that all end up kinda samey, or has small sets thay nobody wants

[@iiiwwwooo4168]

I think the best Lego castles was in between 1982-1998. It was time of my childhood

[@knightowl5512]

Lego rather has those ugly sonic or mario themes than their own actually good themes

[@ubervocal8777]

Lego markets worldwide. Medieval sells well in north america and europe. Ninjas sell worldwide so ninjago is also a culprit as well.

[@npucentral5811]

Excellent point! I have a feeling Ninjago might be a culprit for a bunch of other themes too considering just how many different seasons and locations its explored.

[@thrillhouse4151]

I blame the same things that made me quit as a kid, Star Wars, Harry Potter. And JACK STONE.

[@azombie8mybaby]

Especially this time of year (Christmas), my family and I wish Lego would release advent calendars for some of the older themes. Castle, pirates, and space would all have awesome small builds. Unfortunately it will never happen. We have just been getting the Harry Potter ones due to it easily being repurposed as castle material. Still, I can dream of catapults, weapon forges, an awesome throne, etc. Whatever. Back to building my wizards tower.

[@sniraizen4938]

Very nice video 👏 The music is sometimes a bit to loud so your voice gets a bit lost. I hope to see Lego castle released as a full theme agian. I guess that Lego is making to much money of nostalgia at this point with the Icon sets and the CMF line (always throwning a medieval minifigure into the mix). Perhaps a video secual to this can be, what is preventing the return of Lego castle.

[@npucentral5811]

Thank you so much. I'm fairly new to making videos so this is really helpful feedback!

[@mogumanjulien4366]

So, I was an avid Lego Castle fanatic from the 90's on to around roughly 2013. Then I quit the Lego hobby for a while to pursue other things. Shortly after I decided it was time for me to return to Lego, and I bought the ~400 euros anniversary castle set, Castle seemed to come back. Coincidende? I think not... Sorry folks, I've let you down for all that time...

[@rumpelpumpel7687]

xP

[@kingwolf9447]

Current lego Castle is way too expensive in my opinion to appeal to kids and especially parents. 150 or more on a single castle, which is likely the only medieval knights set available, is a turn off for a good selection of people.

[@MINI_Bricks]

Your Suspect List is Solid... but I think you are onto something bigger then just the DEATH of Classic Castle in 2013 !! I think there may be a "second murder" you may want to consider in your final analysis and possible a second video IDEA. This being the "Killing of LEGO Space" themes in the same year... If you look at the scene of the crime "2013" this was the same year "Galaxy Squad" was killed off. It would be interesting to dive into 2013 as a whole but I think its clear that LEGO made a "pivot" in the year 2013 that has effected the founding themes up to now. We all know TOWN turned to CITY and has been more or less solid. I had a bunch of Pirate LEGO in 1990's but never really felt it was a foundational theme to count. The bread and butter were always SPACE and CASTLE and I'm happy to see that there is a small revival of both of these themes. We are once again getting sets like the "Lion Knights' Castle" and the [NEW] "Blacktron Renegade" that is about to launch in 2025... and you better believe I'm going to pick up a good size battle pack handful of "Wolf Pack" come CMF Series 27 in January. Again, I love your story telling and skills in video making. Big FAN !! Keep up the good work.

[@npucentral5811]

Hit the nail on the head! I was thinking the same thing regarding the loss of Lego Space and how it has reemerged in the form of retro thowback sets. Appreciate your support!

[@Aussie_Jesus_Christ]

forget castles, who tf killed monster hunters?

[@bearsausage8599]

It was like Prince of Persia, very niche. Glad to still have the ghost train

[@alphonsesuitperson]

The question is, why aren't there more Lotr sets as well, it could be its own, albeit smaller line of IP. to a lesser extent pirates of the Caribbean Also ninjago is a culprit, for the non ip kid oriented sets, has weapons, ninjas, its a culprit of why castle and pirate have not made a resurgence

[@physicsstudent451]

Bring back Castle!!!

[@TheYooperPooper]

Harry Potter killed castle. Star Wars killed space. I hate both franchises. How many times do we need another X Wing?

[@bearsausage8599]

As a star wars, I'll agree, I prefer the sequels. But yeah I hate how redundant star wars sets are, they fail to release what they need to, and just continue to overprice and produce just ehhh sets. It's unfortunate that what they've produced in recent years could've had the opportunity to have some castles.

[@David-qp9xe]

Yes. But the collectors are probably Star Wars fans and Harry Potter fans - more than actual Lego fans.

[@rumpelpumpel7687]

yeh well ... selling point for SW sets are the minifigures, not the vehicles ... ;) it could be version 437 of a speeder bike and still it would sell if it had a set-exclusive scout trooper with special leg printing or whatever xD it is as funny as it is stupid.

[@Sassy_Witch]

It was me! I'm sorry I'm a gemini lol x3

[@santiagomalagon6345]

The mediocrity of castle 2013 and Nexo Knights killed castle

[@melnik_edits]

What do you think about the Castle themed sets of the Bricklink Designer Program?

[@knightowl5512]

To expensive, lego used to be fun for kids but now everything is to expensive for normal people

[@npucentral5811]

I love the designs and personally own the Mushroom house, definitely on the pricer more adult end of things.

[@rumpelpumpel7687]

they are fantastic builds. But expensive and sold out too quick. they should keep selling them for longer. Like - collecting orders for ~ 1 year. And whenever there are ~50.000 orders on, they produce a bunch and start shipping. The castle builds from the designer program practically sell themselves ... i dont like that they are limited to such a small amount and only available for two or three hours before they are sold out.

[@rascares2813]

킹덤->리뉴얼캐슬 합쳐서 몇년간 어린이층에 어필을못하는 와중에 닌자고는 대히트를 쳤으니 어쩔수없는 수순..

[@roolio227]

Ninjago just did things better, they nail it every time beautiful temple sets with whole armies of minifigs, good prices, and dragons!. I think this is also a big reason that chima and now dreams fail

[@RazHolly]

At the start of the video: “Why did this happen? and who is responsible? Those are the questions this video plans to answer.” At the end of the video: “Who do you think is responsible for the death of Lego Castle?” Weren’t you planning on telling us?

[@npucentral5811]

Good point! Probably could have clarified better that I think the real culprit is probably Castle 2013 for its lackluster wave and destroying Lego’s faith in the line’s future success, but all the other suspects were confounding factors for this environment

[@jonathansantiago792]

Lego Castle + Lego Battles was >>>>

[@jolemaire6629]

Some not so smart manager.

[@fredrikkarlsson0496]

castle 2006 and kingdoms had kind of satisfied castle fans. it was arguably the best castle sets ever. I bought caste 2013 late but I could feel it was okey with a brake from castle sets lego betted on tv series based lines and ninjago and friends is still around but I have to agree it's a crime scene I think something fishy has happened at lego like it's only movie sets like everywhere I think lego has made so many deals it has lost control of what sets it makes and with the old businessman ceo 2006 to 2017 gone I don't think the OG lego leaders knows how to tackle it sales have stagnated 2024 maybe they are trying to stop all the movie sets that's my guess

[@logansmith2703]

Some Danish guy probably

[@trafalgarlaw6549]

Is there a market for Lego castle theme?

[@borysadwent8121]

Yes, trust me there's a lot of people who want to see a full castle line more than anything else Lego related

[@dollar4banana114]

I'm younger compared to most castle fans, but I would almost exclusively buy castle sets if there were more of them and at varying prices

[@bearsausage8599]

They'd be a fine addition to my colle--- im gonna stop

[@HenritheHorse]

Licensed themes and DEI have ruined Lego.