New licenced theme: ASTERIX, from 2022

[Bolingbroke]

No, old PM isn't still there.

Because of licensing?

[Erik]

I still dislike the licenses, I just don't complain about them because it adds nothing. But the old PM is gone and is not coming back, and I wish it wasn't so. 

You couldn't have said it better, I completely agree...   

[collectobart]

I still dislike the licenses, I just don't complain about them because it adds nothing. But the old PM is gone and is not coming back, and I wish it wasn't so. 

You couldn't have said it better, I completely agree...   

I think PLAYMOBIL is currently in a similar spot where LEGO was in at the turn of the century, when it entered the licensing era AND struck on a path of wild data-driven innovation that pretty much bypassed it's very essence: The Brick.
It was the time of Jack Stone, Galidor, eXplore (a rebranded duplo) and a number of other failed experiments, heralded by a management that did not understand or value the core element of the LEGO brand, and relentlessly tried to jump into every market segment with a "NEW LEGO" offering. As a result, customers did not recognize it anymore as the LEGO they valued, and sales dropped steeply.

On the verge of bankruptcy, the company was forced to go back to basics and with that rediscovered their Brick. They returned to being a construction toy foremost and resumed some of their classic lines again. It not only saved the company but resulted in an unimaginable come-back.

Such a scenario is still possible for PLAYMOBIL too.

[Joshua D]

I still enjoy getting out my old playmobil and setting it up. There is just a certain charm to its simplicity that I don’t find with the new stuff. Western is and always will be my favorite. My son has really gotten into the modern city sets, which I never had any real interest in. We spend hours playing cops and robbers and now I find myself browsing the city action page of the playmobil website!!

So now I am enjoying it again in a new way. It’s true that Playmobil isn’t what it once was but we still have our collections and can pick and choose from the new sets. Personally, I am more interested in some of the accessories instead of the figures and I definitely want to see clearer pics of the two Roman sets.

[Bolingbroke]

I think PLAYMOBIL is currently in a similar spot where LEGO was in at the turn of the century, when it entered the licensing era AND struck on a path of wild data-driven innovation that pretty much bypassed it's very essence: The Brick.
It was the time of Jack Stone, Galidor, eXplore (a rebranded duplo) and a number of other failed experiments, heralded by a management that did not understand or value the core element of the LEGO brand, and relentlessly tried to jump into every market segment with a "NEW LEGO" offering. As a result, customers did not recognize it anymore as the LEGO they valued, and sales dropped steeply.

On the verge of bankruptcy, the company was forced to go back to basics and with that rediscovered their Brick. They returned to being a construction toy foremost and resumed some of their classic lines again. It not only saved the company but resulted in an unimaginable come-back.

Such a scenario is still possible for PLAYMOBIL too.

Well it could be argued that it was the Star Wars license that almost singlehandledly boosted Lego’s profile among punters and reviewers after those terrible years. So there’s that, too …

[collectobart]

Well it could be argued that it was the Star Wars license that almost singlehandledly boosted Lego’s profile among punters and reviewers after those terrible years. So there’s that, too …

Yes, but it was also Star Wars that helped tank the company, after producing massive numbers of sets in a movie-less year, the inventory of Star Wars sets stayed on the shelves and no new ones where ordered.

Licenses are not necessarily bad, they bring you into hard to reach markets more easily. But as Geobra is only doing "retro-licenses" - with mainly throw backs to the 80ies at this point - it is hard to stay relevant to kids through their license offerings.

[GrahamB]

I split this topic to create a new one about the 'essence of Playmobil' here.  Please continue to discuss Asterix and licensing in general here.

[Jimbo]

If those preposterous moustaches are indeed attached with a peg in a hole, big noses could have been done that way too. I love the theme as it appears so far, but the lack of big noses is a real shame.

I tried this just for fun.

[Eplay]

Thanks Jimbo. It looks weird 

[Klickteryx]

It looks wrong, bootlegish. Great job though, did you use a wrist for the nose?