LEGO Dimensions Announcment

By Denny Connolly 26 August 2015

• ps4
• xbox one
• wii u
• ps3
• xbox 360
• warner bros. interactive
• lego

As Nintendo’s amiibo continue to sell out with each new wave and consumers are willing to pay ridiculous prices for them from third-parties, it’s clear that the wave of interactive gaming toys that was kicked off by Skylanders is not ready to die off just yet. Both Nintendo and Disney has seen success with the collectible trend and later this year another major name in gaming will be bringing a handful of very popular IPs to life in a new game.

The LEGO series of games has already brought some of our favorite IPs to consoles with games like LEGO Hobbit, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes, and many others. Earlier this morning it leaked that the franchise will be heading in a new direction this fall with the release of Lego Dimensions, a game that will blend a number of popular universes together in a Disney Infinity-style experience.

LEGO Dimensions will include characters and settings from The Wizard of Oz, DC Comics, The Lord of the Rings, The LEGO Movie, LEGO Ninjago, and Back to the Future. If that’s not enough brand power to suck you in, maybe the game’s awesome smart toys will do the trick. Jon Burton, Founder and Creative Director, TT Games gave the LEGO Dimensions sales pitch once the game was officially confirmed.

“When kids play with Lego bricks, they build beyond the singular brands, intermixing all of their favorite characters and universes, and we have come up with a way for players to experience that in games. Now for the first time in a videogame, Lego fans can play in the virtual world and in the real world — combining everything without restrictions. Imagine putting LEGO Gollum from The Lord of the Rings behind the wheel of the Lego DeLorean Time Machine in New Ninjago City — the creative play is endless.”

The game is in development at Travelers Tales Games and is coming to PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on September 27, 2015. The starter bundle will get players up and running for $99. The aforementioned bundle will include the game, the LEGO Toy Pad (similar to the base for other toy-based games), bricks to build the LEGO gateway, three LEGO Minifigures, including LEGO Batman from DC Comics, LEGO Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings and Wyldstyle from The LEGO Movie, plus the LEGO Batmobile. Players will use the Toy Pad and the magic LEGO Gateway to transport their creations into the game world.

As you might expect, additional expansion packs will be available to give users more characters, vehicles, and items to add to the game. The toys will be distributed in level packs, but Warner Bros. Interactive hasn’t given pricing details on those just yet. Here are the confirmed packs for 2015:

• Back to the Future Level Pack with a LEGO Marty McFly minifigure.
• LEGO Ninjago Team Pack with Kai and Cole minifigures.
• Three Ninjago Fun Packs with Jay, Nya and Zane minifigures.
• Two DC Comics Fun Packs with Wonder Woman and Cyborg minifigures.
• Three The Lord of the Rings Fun Packs with LEGO Gollum, LEGO Gimli and LEGO Legolas minifigures.
• Four The LEGO Movie Fun packs with Emmet, Bad Cop, Benny and Unikitty characters.
• A The Wizard of Oz Fun Pack with a LEGO Wicked Witch of the West minifigure.

Additional packs will be announced as we get closer to the game’s launch and rest assured that the developer has plans to release level packs throughout 2016, as well. All future level packs will work with the original start bundle’s Toy Pad.

Lego definitely has no shortage of competition in the toy-based gaming market. Skylanders dominated the market for a few years, but Disney Infinity and amiibo have been able to close the gap with the help of recognizable IPs. Luckily, LEGO is also working with some great characters and properties and many players already trust the LEGO formula of puzzles and humor for games.

Although Disney Infinity has great characters and the game had some major improvements with 2.0, the campaign still doesn’t compare to what we’re used to from a LEGO game. If Disney Infinity rolls out a Star Wars line in the coming year, as many expect them to do, then LEGO Dimensions and Disney Infinity may be at war with each other for Christmas shoppers.

What do you think of LEGO Dimensions? Do you think the game can compete with Disney Infinity, Skylanders, and Nintendo’s amiibo? Let us know in the comments.

Lego Dimensions releases on September 27, 2015 for PS3, PS5, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.