Nintendo Labo Makes DIY Cardboard Creations Part Of The Switch Experience

Today Nintendo unveiled Nintendo Labo, a "new interactive experience" that's unlike anything else we've seen in a while.

Labo will let Nintendo Switch owners assemble cardboard approximations of real items like a fishing rod, a 13-key piano or a motorbike that combine with Joy-Cons to play games themed to them. It's a "new line of interactive build-and-play experiences that combine DIY creations with the magic of Nintendo Switch,” says Nintendo.

The cardboard creations are called "Toy-Cons," and are made from each Nintendo Labo kit using modular sheets of cardboard that are specially designed to interact with the Switch's hardware and controllers. “As you build, you will have fun discovering how the technology works," Nintendo said. "[You] might even invent new ways to play with each Toy-Con!”

April 20, 2018 is the release date for Nintendo Labo. The product line will begin with a $69.99 Variety Kit that includes a house, RC cars, fishing rod, motorbike and piano, while the $79.99 Robot Kit will let playesr build a "cool robot suit." Each kit will come with its own software. There's also a $9.99 customization set that comes with “fun stencils, stickers and colored tape.”

For some people, this will be a head-scratcher but for anyone with kids (or a playful inner child) this is the perfect add-on to a console that's captured the attention of the mainstream and gotten people excited about Nintendo again.

While sales of the Switch have been exceptionally strong since its March launch, Nintendo president Tatsumi Kishima recently told Japanese news that he considers the second year to be "crucial," saying that he wants to add more "people who barely touch game consoles."