BIONICLE

For the in-universe Bionicle, see The Bionicle. BIONICLE is the point of this wiki. Bionicle is a line of Toys and a Storyline made by the Lego Group that is marketed towards those in the 7-16 year-old range. The line was launched in January 2001 in Europe and June/July 2001 in the United States.

History
The year was 1997, and this was an absolutely horrid time for the Lego Company. For the first time in the history of the company, it had posted a loss. The Lego Company needed a change in order for it to appeal to this new generation of youngsters. They realized that kids in this fast-paced modern world wanted something cool to play with that would encompass more than building blocks. Kids wanted a story behind those blocks, and to go with that story they wanted neat pieces that they could use to create their own play fantasies. No, this was not the start of Bionicle as one may expect it to be, this was the birth of the Star Wars line. Star Wars was a smash hit, and it almost took Lego out of the red for 1999. However, although the sales for the sets were outstanding, a large number of royalties had to be paid to Lucasfilm in order to retain the licensing agreement for Star Wars. Lego now knew that bricks with a story and focus worked, but the licensing agreement with Lucasfilm kept Lego out of the black.

Meanwhile, Lego's Technic line (known in Europe as Slizers and Throwbots in the U.S.), popular among adult enthusiasts but never well-received by the younger customers, had recently scored a surprise hit in the line of fame of  be found later in Bionicle. Main characters had an elemental focus of sorts; a that allowed for extensive playability. And to top it all off, they came in cool plastic cases and had neat, collectible discs.

Lego's next line, the RoboRiders, were a considerable failure, but were an obvious step toward Bionicle: they had reduced the cast of characters from twelve somewhat ambiguous characters to six heroes fighting against an unseen evil. The story was becoming more focused, and a tie-in with the Lego website featured a game allowing visitors to battle monsters using the robotic motorcycles.

Therefore, sometime in 1999 Lego got the idea of creating their own story. No longer would they have to rely on Lucasfilm or any other outside company to create stories for them. This story -- this saga -- was Bionicle. Lego thinkers and design staff wanted to create something that would appeal to boys ages 8-12, yet could also be appealing to other groups. This saga creation would be a challenge for Lego, as they have never actually created their own story before. As 2000 approached, it began to come together. 6 heroes. An Island. Magic masks. A dangerous villain. A fight for control was a smash hit, and it took the continent by storm. Six months later, Bionicle hit the shelves in the United States. The popularity of the sets was absolutely incredible. Lego finally found another hit that would not rival any other theme in the area of actual profits.

Links

 * Official Bionicle