Lego responds to criticism of Smart Bricks: Staying true to our core promise
According to critics, electronic Lego bricks could undermine children's fantasies. While Lego doesn't want to go fully digital, Smart Play is the future.
Smart Brick
(Image: Lego)
Following Lego's concept of building blocks with electronics and sensors to generate motion-dependent light and sound effects, there were mixed reactions. Experts argued that the new Smart Bricks would undermine what distinguishes Lego for children in an increasingly digital world. But now Lego is pushing back. While the introduction of smart elements into Lego sets is a big moment for the company, one that has been worked towards for a long time, it doesn't mean Lego is abandoning its core customer promise.
At CES a few days ago, Lego presented its new Smart Play system – according to the manufacturer, the “biggest innovation” since the introduction of minifigures in 1978. Smart Bricks recognize movement, position, and touch and react with light and sound effects. Other components like smartphones, screens, or an app are not necessary. In March, Lego Smart Play in the form of Star Wars sets with light and sound is set to launch.
Lego sets suppress children's imagination?
The highly miniaturized technology of Lego Smart Play, which generates sound effects when moving a spaceship held in hand, also has critics. According to the child protection organization Fairplay, the Smart Bricks could “undermine what was once great about Lego.” Sound or other effects are not necessary. “As anyone who has ever watched a child play with classic Lego bricks knows, children's Lego creations already move through the power of their imagination and make noises,” explained Fairplay director Josh Golin to the BBC.
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Andrew Manches, Professor of Children and Technology at the University of Edinburgh, agreed that Lego's appeal lies in the “freedom to create, redesign, and adapt simple building blocks to tell endless stories driven by children's imagination.” However, he also welcomed the integration of physical and digital play and the way Lego sets respond to children's use of Smart Play products.
Lego Smart Play just an additional offering
Lego manager Federico Begher also emphasizes this. “This is an addition, a complementary evolution,” he said in an interview with IGN. “We will continue to nurture our core competencies, drive innovation, and continue our core business.” Lego also compares it to minifigures. “In the past, the minifigure started small, it was included in only a few products, and wherever role-playing took place, it made sense to use the minifigure,” explained Begher. “In that sense, we see it similarly: wherever there is an opportunity for this kind of three-dimensional play, we will likely use it. That is fundamentally our mindset.”
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The Smart Play system is therefore an additional offering. “That doesn't mean it replaces anything,” he added. “It's an additional layer that will be permanently integrated and that we believe in. It will be part of our play system, just like the building block or the minifigure.”
Begher declined to comment on future Smart Play products but indicated that the first three Smart Play sets from the Star Wars line are just the “tip of the iceberg.” “There is much more that this device can do, and that will become apparent over time,” said Begher. “We had to decide how big the launch and the associated leap should be. It has to be a fantastic, new, and exciting experience, but the leap must not be so big that understanding and education become a hurdle, right? We have worked on the right balance and the corresponding roadmap.”
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