Nintendo Labo

Nintendo Labo cardboard project

Nintendo Labo is a gaming and construction toy platform developed by Nintendo to be used as an extension to the Nintendo Switch gaming system, which will be released in April 2018. The platform uses kits that include cardboard cut-outs and other materials that are to be assembled in combination with the Nintendo Switch console display and Joy-Con controllers to create "Toy-Cons" that can interact with game software and vice versa. Nintendo designed them as a way to teach principles of engineering and physics.

Construction and gameplay

Nintendo Labo is released as individual Labo Kits, each containing a set of pre-made cardboard cut-outs and other materials, used to make "Toy-Cons", and a Nintendo Switch game card, which contains interactive instructions on how to assemble the Toy-Cons and software that the Toy-Cons can interact with. Once each Toy-Con is constructed, players insert the main Nintendo Switch display and/or one or both of the Joy-Con controllers according to the instructions. Each Toy-Con functions differently in the ways it interacts with either the Joy-Cons or the main display. For example, a piano Toy-Con can read the Right Joy-Con controller's infrared sensor to identify notes being played, while robotic Toy-Cons move using HD Rumble from the Joy-Con controllers, which are controlled via the touchscreen. Players may freely decorate the cardboard parts using coloring pens, tape, and other materials, while more experienced users can invent new ways to play with each Toy-Con.The software will come with a feature called "Toy-Con Garage", which allows users to create and program their own Toy-Cons using simple programming commands, either starting with the available Labo kits, or with their own materials.

Development

Labo was announced on January 17, 2018. According to Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé, "Labo is unlike anything we've done before", and was developed to extend the age audience for the Switch. Nintendo said the product was "specifically crafted for kids and those who are kids at heart." The tagline for Labo is "Make, Play, Discover"; the discovery part arises from how the user of the Toy-Con can understand the fundamentals of physics, engineering, and programming that make the Toy-Con work through the act of making and playing with them. The game software provides instructions on how the Toy-Con works with the Switch, such as describing the fundamentals of infrared sensing. While the cardboard Toy-Con are sturdy, Nintendo recognized that the cardboard can suffer wear and tear with time, and plans to offer replacement cardboard kits.

Labo Kit

Nintendo Labo Robot Kit Software

·         Cardboard sheet x 19

·         Cardstock sheets x 4

·         Reflective sticker sheet x 1

·         Orange string x 2

·         Blue string x 2

·         Gray canvas straps (large) x 1

·         Gray canvas straps (medium) x 1

·         Gray canvas straps (small) x 2

·         Grommet set (gray) x 10

·         Grommet set (orange) x 2

Reception

Investors in Nintendo responded positively to Labo; on the day after Labo's announcement in January 2018, Nintendo's stock price jumped about 2.4%, representing about US$1.4 billion to Nintendo's value. Analysis suggested that Labo was the type of unorthodox product that only Nintendo could develop and market, showing a further return to Nintendo's more financially-successful period about a decade prior, leading to the rising stock price.

For more Labo Kits visit https://labo.nintendo.com