INTERVIEW: TT Games

How successful has the LEGO franchise been for TT Games?

This year we reached 50 million LEGO games sold worldwide. That figure speaks for itself when it comes to the success of the LEGO game franchise.

What’s the secret to this success?

The secret is distilling the brand values of LEGO and the fact that LEGO gives you permission to create aspects of gameplay that you won’t find in other titles. That sets our games apart from our competitors.

Also, understanding the intellectual property of the franchises we work with is tremendously important. Working with great franchises such as Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Harry Potter, you can see that the rich characters and storylines immediately lend themselves to being recreated in LEGO gameplay form.

How successful was LEGO Battles last year, which didn’t feature a popular film or TV franchise?

Very successful. We’ve just sold 500,000 copies on the DS worldwide.

The LEGO series is firmly aimed at the younger gamer, but there are a lot of older LEGO fans too. Have you considered developing a game for the older player?

Not specifically. Our target market for LEGO games has always been six to twelve-year-old boys. That said, we consider it a compliment that gamers over 12 would play one of our games.

I think it’s fair to say that LEGO games appeal to the six to 12-year-old within every adult. It’s also important to point out that social play is incredibly important to us, and our games encourage parents and children to share the couch and play games together.

There have been LEGO games published by others, including LucasArts. Is TT and Warner open to further collaboration with other video games publishers?

We’ll make games that make sense, where there are rich characters and storylines for players. We look forward to carrying on our excellent collaboration with the LEGO Group in building extraordinary LEGO video game franchises, using both Warner Bros. and third party IP that continue to resonate with consumers.

What are your hopes and expectations for the long-term future of the LEGO franchise?

We expect to continue making great games based on the franchise brand values mentioned earlier. And to take LEGO into exciting and interesting areas, with an extra emphasis on building things.