The LEGO Group has responded to concerns around the price of its new SMART Play Star Wars sets, stating that they’re a ‘slightly different value equation’ to traditional products.
We’ve currently got prices and piece counts for three of the LEGO Star Wars SMART Play sets coming in March – although we know more are on the way, including a Mos Eisley Cantina playset – and next to even other LEGO Star Wars sets they’re not what you’d call favourable. 75421 Darth Vader's TIE Fighter includes 473 pieces for £59.99, 75423 Luke's Red Five X-wing retails for £79.99 for 584 pieces and 75427 Throne Room Duel & A-wing contains 962 pieces for £139.99.
The key difference between these sets and others in the wider portfolio is of course the tech involved, which consists of SMART Bricks, SMART Tags (2x2 tiles) and SMART Minifigures. And as you’d expect, the result is a more expensive entry point for these sets – but the LEGO Group is confident it’s offering a ‘strong value equation’ for what these sets offer kids and parents.
“Like with any other range from our assortment, there's going to be different price points, different accessibility points and different value equations across the assortment for SMART Play,” Federico Begher, the LEGO Group’s SVP of Product (New Business), tells Brick Fanatics. “It is a slightly different value equation because there's interactive play in it, so you can't compare it like apples to apples to other sets.
“But what I can tell you, which is reassuring and important for us, is we've done extensive testing with this. We've put it in the hands of many kids. We put it in the hands of their parents. We've left it in the houses, and we've been very close to how they play. And value is one of the things that we really wanted to understand, and we have a lot of reassurance that it’s a really strong value equation that we're offering, and that is something that both parents and shoppers are seeing as a very strong proposition in that sense.”
Part of that ‘extensive testing’ involved sending jungle-themed LEGO City SMART Play sets to families in the UK in 2024, but the LEGO Group has not publicly disclosed particulars around testing for these Star Wars sets. The reaction to their prices across the web has not been quite so favourable, either: just check out the comments on our latest YouTube video for one.
“The fact that this is primarily for kids right now makes the price worse, not better,” said one. “With these prices very, very few kids will ever get their hands on one of these sets.” Another highlighted the high barrier of entry for the SMART Brick sets: “There isn't a small $20 to $30 set to allow kids a taste of the system so they can be sold on it and THEN be motivated to pursue the big ticket items. The pricing… presumes excitement and familiarity that children don't really have with a system this new.”
The three LEGO Star Wars SMART Play starter sets will be available to pre-order at LEGO.com later today (January 9), and it’ll be interesting to see how long it takes for that initial allocation to be snapped up (if it is at all). For now, head here for my hands-on reaction to the SMART Play system, or head over to our YouTube channel for Matthew’s thoughts.
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