Sadly, the above pictured Lego-cam only looks like it is made from the iconic Danish bricks, but that's certainly enough to get our nerd toy sense a'tingling. The camera is part of a line that will be rolled out by Digital Blue, the company behind endless tat that has been rebadged for the kid market.
The Lego digicam will be joined by a slew of other junk, including a walkie-talkie, MP3 players, USB drives, miniature boomboxes and clock radios. While these products are clearly awesome in a theoretical way, in practice they look to be a real waste of the franchise -- the camera, along with everything else, in made from faux bricks which cannot be taken apart. This will frustrate the target market of boys aged 7-11 along with nerds of, well, every other age. In fact, if read carefully, the press release shows just how cynical this cash-in is:
Those words are from Lego's Jill Wilfert, not coincidentally Lego's senior director of licensing. Making Lego toys that cannot be stripped down and built back up is akin to actually serving up the fake plastic sushi in the windows of Japanese restaurants, only worse. Teasing a curious child like this can only devalue the Lego brand.
The prices are between $20 to $60 -- clearly pocket money pricing. If your children actually listen to you, steer them away from this and towards a combo of real Lego and real gadgets. It might cost a little more, but you'll make huge savings in disappointment and the bricks themselves will last forever.
Press release [Digiblue via PSFK. Thanks, Henrietta!]
