>>9720068Back in the early 90s, Lego was releasing 100-200 sets per year, mid 2000s doubled that, and now we're getting just under 1000 sets per year. The difference is that things are retired from production a lot quicker to make room for new releases. So there's a much higher turn around. When I was a kid, I could easily find 4-5 year old sets in Zellers during the early 2000s. Average lifespan of a lego set now is 18-24 months, and collectors/resellers will clear out something if it passes msrp value.
When you're pumping out that much new stuff, you can't release the same old police station or fire house all the time, that's why themes have seemingly become a bit more niche. And Lego has to play on current trends in order to stay relevant to the general market.
In terms of pricing, Lego has never been cheaper per piece. But Lego has also taken out most large elements for sets targeted at 12+. We also have a parts catalogue and color catalogue that is logistically insane now. The problem with that is that quality control suffered with pigments around the 2010s, so there's stuff like brittle blues, browns and dark reds. Although some chemical instability has always been an issue with Lego such as grays and whites turning yellow in sunlight.
Lego design has never been better with it's variety and selection, and quality / pricepoint seem to be on point with it's historical past. With the early 90s probably being the most costly but also best quality era of Lego, but with much less selection today. The main thing I think has been lost in the evolution of Lego is the classic aesthetic. Even the early licensed themes had it. Characters from other IPs were put into a Lego universe form, rather than Lego trying to emulate that universe and be overly detailed. The classic, bright color palette we saw in themes like early pirates and castle was lovely too. I'm also hoping Lego re-enters some of it's heritage themes; pirates, castle, etc.
