Microsoft has signed a deal with Lego to create games for its upcoming next-generation console, Xbox. As part of the deal, Lego will also create online activities for the children's section on Microsoft's Websites. Financial terms were not released. In recent years, Lego has aggressively moved to leverage its multicolored interlocking building bricks franchise into new technology. Lego-produced CD-Roms have proven successful and Lego Mindstorms are high-tech robots that utilize microcomputers. Last year, Lego teamed with Steven Spielberg to launch the Moviemaker Set that allows children to create movies. The Xbox is set to hit store shelves in fall 2001 and the Lego pact could definitely strengthen Xbox's appeal with younger game players.
Read Animation World Magazine for more info about Lego's leap into the high-tech field with their Mindstorm robots.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
