Lego’s Mario sets were one of its ‘most successful theme launches’
Company will release more products which blend physical and digital play
Danish toy giant The Lego Group has said the Super Mario sets released in 2020 enjoyed one of its “most successful theme launches” to date.
The interactive Lego Mario sets see players collecting coins and defeating enemies in real-life ‘levels’. The first set in the range was the Mario Starter Course, which is required to unlock further expansion sets.
Lego Mario himself features LCD screens and a speaker to interact with the brick courses, and the range released alongside a free app which includes instructions and keeps track of scores to encourage rebuilding.
Reporting strong full year financial results on Wednesday, Lego revealed 2020’s top product themes in no particular order were Lego City, Lego Technic, Lego Star Wars, Lego Friends and Lego Classic.
“Lego Super Mario which uniquely blends digital and physical play was released in August 2020 and became one of the company’s most successful theme launches,” it said.
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Lego CEO Niels Christiansen also said the company plans to accelerate its digital plans by expanding its technology teams during the current year.
“We know children and adults love the Lego brick and that will always be the heart of our business. But today’s children are growing up in a digital world and they effortlessly blend online and physical play.”
He added: “We will further develop our capabilities in this area so we are well positioned to meet the evolving needs of our retail partners and consumers now, and in the long term.”
Jonathan Bennink, the design manager at the Lego Creative Play Lab and digital design lead for Lego Super Mario, has said the company hopes to have a “long and fruitful” relationship with Nintendo and its IPs.
