A toymaker masters virtual reality

Lego Bricks and flicks
乐高搭扣积木

A toymaker masters virtual reality 
玩具业大亨的虚拟现实

May 5th 2011 | from the print edition

KIDS these days do nothing but play mindless video games, leaving no time for constructive toys like those their grandparents loved. Lego executives must laugh when they hear such sentiments. Films and video games have not demolished the little plastic bricks for which the Danish toymaker is famous. On the contrary, Lego has invaded the virtual world.

现在的孩子们只是在玩儿不需要动脑筋的电子游戏，却没有时间玩儿那些他们祖父母曾喜欢的建造类的玩具。乐高公司的管理高层听到这样的情绪一定会开怀一笑。电影和电玩不仅没有打败这家以小小的塑料积木闻名的丹麦玩具公司，相反的，乐高公司已经入侵虚拟世界。

This month Lego will launch eight building sets inspired by "Pirates of the Caribbean", to coincide with the release of the fourth film in this Disney franchise. The Lego Jack Sparrow is shorter and stiffer than Johnny Depp, but recognizable. And Traveller's Tales, a British software company, will release a video game based on Lego's new Pirates play sets. The idea is that children will see the film and then be inspired to recreate its most swashbuckling scenes with Lego bricks. Then they will play the video game.

这个月乐高公司将推出的八个建筑场景，其灵感都来自于电影《加勒比海盗》,以符合迪斯尼公司发布的这个系列电影的第四部。乐高公司推出的杰克•斯帕罗船长比约翰尼•德普要矮一些和硬一些，不过仍可辨认出来。英国软件公司Traveller's Tales将基于乐高这次新的海盗系列玩套发布一款电子游戏。具体构想是孩子们看了电影并激起他们用乐高积木重现这些活灵活现的场景，然后他们就会玩儿这些电子游戏。

Lego has pulled this stunt several times before. It bought from Lucasfilm the licence for construction toys based on the "Star Wars" films, and now makes dozens of complex Star Wars play sets (see picture). Traveller's Tales keeps releasing new Star-Wars-Lego-themed video games to complement them.

乐高公司在此之前就有几次这样的招数。乐高曾经从卢卡斯影业买下了许可权，设计了"星球大战"电影题材的玩具，现在已经制作了许多复杂的星球大战系列的玩具（如图）。为了配合乐高，Traveller's Tales也不断推出新的乐高版的星球大战系列电子游戏。

Small wonder Lego's profits are "extremely satisfactory", as Jorgen Vig Knudstorp, the chief executive, put it last month. After nearly going under eight years ago, Lego now has 5.9% of the global toy market, up from 4.8% at the end of 2009. That makes it the world's fourth-largest toymaker. It is doing especially well in America, where sales last year surpassed $1 billion for the first time. Worldwide sales were up by 37% in 2010, to DKr16 billion ($2.8 billion). Net profit increased by 69% to DKr3.7 billion. Meanwhile, the world's biggest toymakers, Hasbro and Mattel, are struggling.

难怪乐高的执行长Jorgen Vig Knudstorp在上个月提到：乐高的经济效益"极其令人满意"。八年前乐高频临破产，如今乐高玩具占全球玩具市场的5.9%，高于2009年底统计的4.8%。这使得乐高成为世界第四大玩具制造公司。尤其在美国其销售非常好，去年一年的销售额首次超过十亿美元。其在2010年的销售额是160亿丹麦克朗（28亿美元），占全世界销售额的37%。净利润37亿丹麦克朗，增长了69%。与此同时，孩之宝公司和美泰公司，这两个世界最大玩具制造公司正在拼命挣扎中。

It helps that parents like Lego's toys (except when they tread on stray bricks with bare feet). Playing with bricks is said to enhance motor skills, creativity and other things that grown-ups fuss about. Last year in America Lego launched family board games with boards that need to be built and even a buildable dice. They instantly captured 12.6% of the market. A Lego website, Design byME, offers free software that allows brats to design their own Lego castle, spaceship or ginormous monster with huge fangs. They can send off their design, receive the bricks in the post and start building it.

这样也可以使得父母们喜欢乐高玩具（只要他们没有光脚踩到这些零散的积木）。玩儿积木据说可以训练精细动作和创造力以及成年人所在意的其他方面。去年在美国，乐高公司推出了可以用木板搭建的家庭棋类游戏，甚至有可以建造的骰子。这让公司立即占领了12.6%的市场。由ME设计的乐高网站提供了一个免费软件，可以让孩子们设计属于自己的乐高城堡、宇宙飞船或者有超大毒牙的大怪兽。他们可以将设计寄到公司，就会收到公司寄来的积木，这样就可以建造自己设计的作品了。

Success breeds imitators. Last year Hasbro launched KRE-O bricks, aimed at the over-fives. Fisher Price, Mattel's preschool brand, launched bricks called TRIO, which boast of a "unique click-and-snap" technology but look a lot like Lego.

成功就会被模仿。去年孩之宝公司针对五岁以上的孩子推出了"KRE-O"系列品牌的积木玩具。美泰公司针对学龄前儿童的品牌费雪也推出了"TRIO"系列品牌的积木，标榜为有着"独特的click-and-snap"技术，但看起来很像乐高。

Yet Lego's position looks strong. Mattel was hurt by scares about toxic toys made in China. Lego, which does not make toys in Asia, was not. (It has cut costs by moving production to Mexico and eastern Europe.)

然而乐高的地位仍然不可动摇。美泰公司因为其在中国生产的有毒的玩具所引起的恐慌而受损。而乐高没有安排在亚洲生产玩具，没有出现这样的事情。（为了消减成本，乐高已经将生产转移到墨西哥和东欧）

Mr Knudstorp does not want to sound complacent. He says he expects slower growth in 2011. Lego has come unstuck before, when it branched out into theme parks, girls' toys, clothes, watches and other unfamiliar businesses. The toy industry is fraught with peril: it is highly cyclical and subject to the whims of people who can't decide which shoe to put on which foot. But for the time being, Lego has built a business that can compete with the best.

执行长Knudstorp先生却并没有显得自信满满。他表示希望公司在2011年能够有较慢的增长。乐高公司之前将业务扩展到主题公园、女孩儿玩具、衣服、手表和其他不熟悉的领域时碰到很多困难。玩具行业一直充满风险：这是一个高速周转的行业，而且人们的想法总是反复无常，总是无法决定将哪只鞋穿在哪只脚上。但是从目前来看，乐高已经进入了一个可以和最强者竞争的商业领域。