Lego to Stop Producing Mindstorms

nick58b writes "Lego, in response to the worst financial loss in its history, has announced they will stop making the electronics and movie tie-in products. This would include Mindstorms, one of the greatest educational toys ever produced." It saddens me greatly to see the toy that was such a mainstay of my childhood to be in such dire financial straits. If I were a more qualified sociologist, I'd think it may have inspired by the way that our children play today versus how they played twenty years ago.

Maybe they wouldn't loose so much Money...

[cflorio]

Maybe they wouldn't loose so much Money if they didn't pay people to play with Legos! [slashdot.org]

At the very least, they could outsource the playing with Legos to India!

Re:Don't forget...

[Carthag]

Plus Lego is Danish for "play well"

Almost. It's a contraction of "leg godt" which is the Danish for "play well." (not in a well, that's dangerous, kids!)

Re:Such a shame :-(

[Anonymous Coward]

I was hoping to buy my nephew lots of Mindstorms stuff when he got older. Maybe I have to buy them now and keep them around?

Your nephew. Uh-huh. Look, sometimes it's okay to admit that you have a problem. There's probably a LEGONON support group near where you live.

Re:Don't forget...

[splattertrousers]

...and that in English, it means, "How can a box containing a bunch of plastic squares cost so much money?"

Youngsters...

[NineNine]

You used to be able to buy sets that allowed for lots of imagination, such as "pirate", "city", and "space" legos.

When I was a kid, I bought Lego sets that just came with x number of assorted blocks with no theme whatsoever. That took REAL creativity. I don't even know if you can buy just plain ol' regular blocks anymore.

Re:NNNNNOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

[splattertrousers]

The highlight were the Lego Mindstorm robots and the stop-action movie studios. I guess I had better buy some now, eh?

Nah, you'll be able to get the Mindstorms cheaper on eBay in the future. And all you need for a stop-action movie studio is a cheap ($30) digital camera, some normal Legos or action figures, some cardboard and crayons, and some software that turns a bunch of JPEGs into a movie.

Mindstorms for 401K

[mikewas]

I've been looking for something to put my retirement saings in. The Mindstorm kits are showing their age, but I still love them & I think they'll be around for some time to come.

They will stick with their core business...

[garethwi]

...like this [corrupt.net]?

Re:What happened?

[saunabad]

Also, how many parent think, "Little Jimmy should have a programmable set of Lego!"

Every parent who is an engineer? At least I will when I have my own kids.

Re:They Don't Care About Customers

[Anonymous Coward]

As Kewl as Bionicles are, we have tried to steer our boyz

Christ, l33t-speakers are reproducing?

Re:Don't forget...

[dcmeserve]

The plural of Lego is Lego, not Legos.

And I believe the assertive form has the suffix "my eggo".

Sorry, just had to say it.

Re:What happened?

[MrMr]

Also, how many parent think, "Little Jimmy should have a programmable set of Lego!"

I did,
It's probably the least pointless gift Jimmy got last year.
(But then, his dad reads slashdot, so what chance of a life has he got anyway)

Oh, grow up

[Animats]

If you want to make stuff, get a milling machine like everybody else. Legos are for kids.

Re:Overpriced is unfortunately right.

[Kent Recal]

That's already fixed via DMCA.

They're going to print an expiration date on every piece and pass a law that makes it illegal to use their intellectal blockery after expiration.