Digital Bounds Logo

Nintendo Labo are DIY cardboard mods for the Switch

Nintendo’s wild success with the Nintendo Switch was somewhat of a surprise. Many thought an underpowered tablet would flop, but with the nostalgia and new games being released, it’s becoming a runaway hit. Nintendo has never followed the traditional path. They’ve done off the wall, crazy ideas. Today’s announcement of Labo is no different.

Nintendo Labo is a DIY cardboard platform that uses the Switch and the JoyCon controllers to turn into a fishing rod, piano, and even a motorcycle handlebar. The Labo cardboard construction kits are called Toy-Cons. Once you get your Toy-Con, put it together, you just slide your Switch and JoyCon’s in. Then you can play a special game developed around the Toy-Con.

Nintendo Labo lets games have a more hands-on experience

At launch, there are two kits. Toy-Con 01 Variety Kit, which features the RC Cars, Fishing Rod, Motorbike, Piano, and House we see in the trailer; and the Toy-Con 02 Robot Kit, which has all the stuff you need to create a robot battle pack that your in-game avatar can emulate. The Toy-Con 01 will cost $69.99, and the Toy-Con 02 will cost $79.99. When you consider most retail games cost $59.99, the Labo games aren’t that expensive.

The Labo won’t launch until April 20th, 2018. We will have to wait a month or two until we can play the new games. I’m sure the games will be a big hit among parents who want their kids to be more active and have some hands-on experience with their playtime. The possibilities for Labo is endless; we could have hundreds of different hands-on games. I imagine the DIY cardboard kits being on par with the success of the Wii controllers which changed the game for Nintendo.

Let me know what you think about the Nintendo Labo. Are you going to buy a kit once they hit stores in April, or are you going to stick to games like Mario?

Comments