Nintendo’s Next Big Hit? A DIY Cardboard Kit

While Microsoft and Sony are busy bringing 4K and VR to its consoles, Nintendo is taking an entirely different, innovative approach, as usual. On Wednesday, the company came out with a new do-it-yourself cardboard kit for the Switch: Nintendo Labo.

Nintendo Labo is a $69.99 cardboard kit that utilizes the Switch’s joy-con controllers to offer a bunch of different interactive experiences on the Switch. The cardboard kit uses things like the built-in IR sensors on the Switch’s joy-con controllers to enable these innovative experiences, which includes a virtual piano on the cardboard, and more.

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These experiences are called Toy-Cons, and you can build things like an RC car, fishing rod, house, or a motorbike. There’s even a $79.99 that lets you build a wearable robot suit and play as a robot on a couple of gaming experience on your Switch connected to a TV.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3Bd3HUMkyU&feature=youtu.be

Labo is made for kids–but even as an 18-year old–this thing looks incredibly fun. I am not a huge gamer by any means, although Labo still looks like such a fun experience. It’s almost like building with Lego, with the added bonus of being able to actually play with what you build and learn from the building experience. Talking about the build experience, it shouldn’t be too much of a difficult task since the building guide is actually displayed on the Switch. Clever.

If you own a Switch, you can get the Labo on 4/20 for $69.99. That’s the 20th of April.

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Conversation 11 comments

  • Usman

    Premium Member
    18 January, 2018 - 7:52 am

    <p>I was reading through and just stopped… Mehedi is 18?</p>

    • Mehedi Hassan

      Premium Member
      18 January, 2018 - 7:57 am

      <blockquote><a href="#238654"><em>In reply to Usman:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>Uhhhh…yes?</p><p><br></p>

    • Anguis

      18 January, 2018 - 10:32 am

      <blockquote><a href="#238654"><em>In reply to Usman:</em></a></blockquote><p>Gotta be the beard.</p><p><br></p><p>Good write up, looks like a lot of fun.</p>

    • Polycrastinator

      18 January, 2018 - 10:52 am

      <blockquote><a href="#238654"><em>In reply to Usman:</em></a></blockquote><p>Just wait until you're old enough for your doctors to be younger than you. That's when the age of other people really starts feeling weird.</p>

  • skborders

    18 January, 2018 - 9:31 am

    <p>I think this is a great Idea. Get kid's, even big kid's, imaginations going by making stuff. I am 56 and this looks like fun.</p><p><br></p><p>I was surprised to see Mehedi is 18, but only because his photo doesn't look like an 18 year old. I don't care how old he is as long as he writes well, with a balanced point of view. </p>

  • Polycrastinator

    18 January, 2018 - 10:54 am

    <p>This looks incredibly fun, but at the same time, I feel like the price point is wrong for cardboard. I think Nintendo would have had more luck selling each item in the first pack individually for $10, that makes these quick impulse buys for a bit of fun. The robot looks awesome, but the $80 asking price for that pack is steep. There will have to be a lot of interactive content to make that worthwhile, otherwise the price should be half that.</p>

    • wunderbar

      Premium Member
      18 January, 2018 - 12:29 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#238715"><em>In reply to Polycrastinator:</em></a></blockquote><p>the price includes a game. I still think it's $10-20 too much, but it's not like you're just buying cardboard cutouts, you get the game needed to play them.</p><p><br></p>

  • Ndragonawa

    18 January, 2018 - 11:17 am

    <p>Wait … you started working at MSPowerUser when you were 14? What have I been doing with my life?!</p><p><br></p><p>As for Labo, I'm still skeptical about the durability of cardboard. I wonder how open this will be, maybe a Super Mario Maker eske SDK for people to make their own games?</p><p><br></p><p>With all the focus on creators in Windows 10, curious something like this hasn't popped up for Surface.</p>

    • PurpleDisciple

      19 January, 2018 - 10:49 am

      <blockquote><a href="#238726"><em>In reply to Ndragonawa: </em></a>With all the focus on creators in Windows 10, curious something like this hasn't popped up for Surface.</blockquote><p><br></p><p>That's because Microsoft's focus is, well, not focused as usual. </p><p><br></p><p>They've got this vague idea of a bunch of shiny people who draw / make pictures for a living they want to attract because Microsoft knows that they're (waste of breath celebs excepted) the most visible influencers in social media, but they have neither the ecosystem nor a more comprehensively idiot-with-an-ego-resistant OS to cater for them. </p><p><br></p><p>There's nothing to back it up at this moment beyond the Surface hardware and… 3D Paint?</p><p><br></p>

  • wunderbar

    Premium Member
    18 January, 2018 - 12:30 pm

    <p>This is the most Nintendo thing ever and I love it and I'm really glad it exists.</p><p><br></p><p>I have zero personal interest in it.</p>

  • Michael Rivers

    18 January, 2018 - 1:59 pm

    <p>That's easily the single stupidest thing I have ever seen in my live. Nintendo will sell at least a billion of them, and people will love it.</p>

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