The staple of every childhood imagination is cardboard. Cardboard boxes can be used as a rocket, a fort, a car or even a robot friend. With cardboard, the possibilities are limitless. Nintendo is proving this with a new upcoming project called Nintendo Labo.
Nintendo Labo is a line of Nintendo Switch accessories involving kits with cardboard components that make different things. There are two kits out for preorder now. One of the kits is the variety kit which has the ability to make five different cardboard creations. The other kit is the robot kit, which gives the user a “robot suit.” Included in both kits is the software that directly integrates the cardboard creations to actually work. Along with the two kits, Nintendo also sells a customization set.
In the variety kit there are five options. You can make an RC car, a fishing rod, a house, a motorbike and a piano.
The variety kit costs $69.99 and the robot suit costs $79.99.
How Labo works is the Switch tablet is integrated into the design of the cardboard components or “Toy-Cons” and the Switch controllers (Joy-Cons) are also integrated into the design.
In the RC car, the Joy-Cons are placed on either side of the ‘car’ and the direction is controlled with the Switch tablet. The car moves because of the vibrations in the controllers.
Labo was greeted with mixed reviews. Nintendo’s target audience for this product is children, but that didn’t stop older gamers either being totally in love with the idea or completely skeptical on the whole concept. Most just seem to think of it as expensive cardboard and probably won’t bother with Labo at all. Like anything on the internet, people turned to reddit and twitter to mock the concept with parodies. Others seem more optimistic.
Reddit user Polish Music really liked the concept and said, “This is the first time I’ve felt like a kid in a long time. I used to tinker around with stuff a ton as a kid and this really reminds me of all those silly little arts & crafts or school projects I got to do.”
After Nintendo Labo was announced the Nintendo stock made a huge jump of 4.2 percent growth.
Pre-orders for the products are available now, but Nintendo Labo is not set to release until April 20, 2018.