I heard your same rant in the 1980s - only small details have changed (not mindstorms then ...) But kids who want to build have always been able to, and most sets mix and match for those kids.

▲

wongarsu 7 hours ago | parent [-]

> I heard your same rant in the 1980s

The two options would be that either the perception is unsubstantiated but persists, or there has been a continuous decline for the last 40 years. I'm strongly leaning towards the latter. I also having the same issues in the 00s looking at old sets from the 80s, and looking back now the 00s look much better than what we have today. Obviously not in every way, and not all recent sets were bad. But overall I have the feeling that there's been a steady trend that the bricks got better but the sets got worse

▲

bluGill 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Lego was always very expensive. They have long made weird custom pieces and those sets have sold well - despite not having the long staying ability that the more basic sets have.

▲

iso1631 7 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Nostalgia 'aint what it used to be

▲

wongarsu 7 hours ago | parent [-]

Maybe my perception of 00s models is colored by nostalgia, hard to know. But I haven't been alive in the 80s, so my perception of them during the 00s should be pretty uncolored

	▲	bombcar 5 hours ago \| parent [-]
		My recall was that the 90s was pretty awesome, and the 00s fell into BURPS and large pieces and tie-in sets. But I think most people either agree there was a dark ages where they went almost bankrupt and did some really questionable themes, or the best time was when they were a kid. The 90s catalogs rocked in a way that no website ever can, though.