Warner Bros., Lego building a bridge to gaming

Capitalizing on the success of its hit “Lego Movie” franchise, Warner Bros. on Thursday unveiled a new interactive game with Lego Group that that marks its foray into the lucrative “toys to life” category.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, TT Games and the Lego Group introduced “Lego Dimensions,” which combines the world of brick toys with digital gaming.

In the game, players use a sensor pad to connect brick characters they’ve created to a video game. David Haddad, general manager of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, said the game marks a significant expansion of the studio’s video game business.

“It’s a big day for us,” Haddad said. “Lego has always been a pillar of the growing games portfolio and we want to take that strength and expand on it.”

Like “The Lego Movie,” the game combines characters from different worlds, including mini figures of Batman from DC Comics, Gandalf from “The Lord of the Rings” and Marty McFly from Universal’s “Back to the Future.”

“We wanted to re-create how kids actually play with Lego — it’s all mashed up into one giant group of toys,” said Jeff Junge, a senior vice president for the Lego Franchise at Warner Bros. Entertainment.

The game, which costs about $100 for a starter kit, reflects a push by Warner Bros. to build on the success of franchise properties including “The Lego Movie,” which generated $469 million in ticket sales.

The studio has published about two dozen Lego video games, selling some 140 million games in the last decade.

The video game business is becoming an increasingly important source of business for Warner Bros., which also publishes the “Mortal Kombat” series.

The studio is expected to generate $1.5 billion in sales from gaming this year.

“We believe the games business and the games marketplace has significant growth opportunity for the broader Warner Bros. studio,” Haddad said.