Lego plans video games and social network for Chinese children

Danish toymaker Lego is teaming up with Chinese internet giant Tencent to jointly develop online games and potentially a social network aimed at Chinese children. Privately-owned Lego has seen a slowdown in sales growth in recent years, but the Chinese market has been a bright spot with sales growing 25-30 per cent in 2016. It is competing with Barbie maker Mattel and Hasbro, the firm behind My Little Pony, for a slice of the $31bn (£22bn) toys and games market in China. Lego said on Monday the partnership with Tencent, China's biggest social network and gaming company, aimed to create a safe online environment covering content, platforms, and experiences tailored for Chinese children. "What we are looking for now with Tencent is just to find more creative ways... (of) reaching children, and creating bespoke content with Tencent, in this case, video games," Jacob Kragh, head of Lego in China, told Reuters on Monday at joint event with Tencent in Beijing. The partnership includes developing a Lego video zone for children on the Tencent video platform, as well as developing and operating Lego branded licensed games, the toymaker said.