Lego Universe closure 31 Jan 2012

[wartywarlock]

Can't say I'm massively surprised, it was a poor MMO and largely lego unrelated. I mean it had lego like characters but the game was just not lego at all. It was about as Simpson-y as it was Lego-y (they were yellow).

Why I think this is noteworthy tho (and what makes me sad) is that this was a BIG franchise MMO, and highlights all too common MMO problem. You can't throw good money at bad design and make it work. However what the industry will likely see is just "if a Lego mmo cant work, nothing can beat WoW" and reaffirm another generation of poor wow clones. I AM *NOT* saying LU was a wow clone, but that many devs will default back to that as a design goal.

Dating back to 2007 (?) earliest memory and google searches date back at least that far, it could have been so much more. Imagine a (dare I say it) proffessional and better developed minecraft. But they had no balls

Hello Adventurer, today we are very sad to announce that LEGO® Universe will be closing on January 31, 2012. This was a very difficult decision to make, but unfortunately LEGO Universe has not been able to attract the number of members needed to keep the game open.

We realize how sad this will make the many players who have enjoyed LEGO Universe and we are committed to providing open communication with both kids and parents as we transition through this difficult time. We understand this is a challenging change and apologize for not being able to give parents forewarning before the general announcement.

We are thankful to have had the opportunity to share this adventure with an amazing community of players. We hope you will continue to enjoy LEGO Universe for the last few months. As a thank you, if you are a paying subscriber on December 31, 2011, we will provide you the full game for the final month for free.

Again, we want to thank the fantastic community of players who made LEGO Universe such a vibrant, fun and creative experience.
Sincerely,

The LEGO Universe Team

The Details:

The game will be turned off on January 31, 2012 at midnight (EST).
All current subscribers (1, 6 or 12 month plans) who still have active subscriptions on December 31 will receive a refund for any remaining game time remaining after December 31 as well as free play from January 1, 2012 until January 31.
For example, if you purchased a 6-month subscription on September 1, 2011 (which would expire on February 29, 2012), you would be refunded $16.66 for the 2 months following December 31.
We will begin processing all refunds on February 1, 2012. All refunds will be made to the credit card used for the original subscription.
If your subscription expires before December 31 you will need to purchase an additional 1 month subscription by December 31 in order to get the free game play in January (again, any unused game time as of December 31 will be refunded.)
LEGO Universe game cards can only be used until December 1st 2011. Unused game cards after December 1st can be converted to LEGO Shop @Home gift cards for the same value.
Please note: Details on how to convert unused game cards will be posted on December 1.
You can continue to enjoy the free to play zone until January 31, 2012 but your last chance to convert to a paying subscription is December 31, 2011.

[Venziir]

The idea was great, the result terrible.

[Mozu]

Didn't even know it existed. Sounds like it had great potential.

[conscript]

I think I just saw a commercial for the game when I was watching Pokemon on Saturday lol. Sad to hear about people losing a game that I'm sure at least some people loved playing, but not overly surprising. There are already tons of other MMO options on the market or soon to be on the market that are just far better products than LU and if people wanted a true Lego building online game they can just play Minecraft with no sub fee.

[Pachycrocuta]

I was in the beta for that game. It had a lot of potential, and would have been a great game. I mean, come on! It's LEGO. A great concept. But the execution was terrible. The controls weren't that great, the questing wasn't thoroughly explained. So this news doesn't surprise me in the least. It makes me sad, as the thought of a lego mmo was just awesome. But they fell severely short of what it could have been.

[Deleted]

I'd never even heard of it up until now.

[Saggypoo]

I was in the beta for that game. It had a lot of potential, and would have been a great game. I mean, come on! It's LEGO. A great concept. But the execution was terrible. The controls weren't that great, the questing wasn't thoroughly explained. So this news doesn't surprise me in the least. It makes me sad, as the thought of a lego mmo was just awesome. But they fell severely short of what it could have been.

I really could have been great. One bit problem was how heavily moderated the whole thing was. Even naming your character was moderated and had to have been approved by a mod before your character was officially named. It probably would have caught on if they did make it more like Minecraft, but with Lego blocks. And possibly not direct it towards such a young age group.

[Mandible]

It lacked the advertising to be known, and their reasoning is that they couldn´t get enough free to use people into becoming paying members. The game was heavily moderated and hard to get through, but for those who didn´t pay - and I really doubt alot was going to pay for the game when there is a free option, and the paid services wasn´t advertised properly.

[Edge-]

IMO this was game was a prime candidate for a F2P/Hybrid model partially because of the IP it's based on. They tried with the unlimited trial, but didn't go the whole way. If they had been more flexibile with the payment model, this game could have done much better. I'm surprised they didn't even try it considering the success other games have had after the transition.

[georgevonfranken]

IMO this was game was a prime candidate for a F2P/Hybrid model partially because of the IP it's based on. They tried with the unlimited trial, but didn't go the whole way. If they had been more flexibile with the payment model, this game could have done much better. I'm surprised they didn't even try it considering the success other games have had after the transition.

When I got invited to the beta I was surprised to find out it wasnt F2P

[funkyfloyd]

i was in the beta, i was so excited about it. but the mechanics...gameplay... basic movement...pretty much sucked.
they had the feedback they needed - i posted a lovely long rant about gamebreaking issues. but apparently it was all ignored.

if a seasoned gamer like myself had basic issues navigating, or understanding what the next step was supposed to be, it was destined to fail.
you couldnt even ask in chat due to the restrictions.

edit, oy that sounds a tad bit elitest doesnt it? i meant if a seasoned gamer couldnt navigate this overly complicated world how could they expect the actual targeted audience to?