Nintendo Labo

For 2018, most video game companies have turned to virtual reality. In true Nintendo style, the company decided to do something completely different. Instead of chasing after its competitors to become a juggernaut in the VR world, Nintendo just released Labo which combines the Switch gaming system with the fun and imaginativeness of DIY.

Nintendo always lets quirky and out-of-the-box thinking drive its products, and the Nintendo Labo is no different. The Switch gaming system is a perfect example of this. It’s nice to see the company doubling down on its latest success with such a compelling idea.

Cardboard and Ingenuity Equal Fun

The Nintendo Labo is an all-new way of playing with the company’s innovative Switch system. The initiative uses accessories that can be built out of cardboard to transform the Switch system into a number of different gaming experiences. Essentially, if you have a Switch and love DIY projects, you now have the gaming system you’ve always dreamed about. You can turn Nintendo’s latest gaming console into your own arcade by building the different gaming experiences yourself.

The DIY creations range from a remote-controlled car, a fishing rod or a toy piano to a motorcycle-style controller and even a robot-suit kind of kit. Each of these Nintendo Labo kits will come with all the cardboard sheets and pieces you need to complete the accessory, and a cartridge. From there all you have to do is attach your Switch system or Joy-Con controllers and start gaming.

Nintendo’s Switch has already far exceeded expectations, and it’s likely that the Labo Toy-Cons could do so as well. The Switch is special because of its blended home and mobile gaming experience. This isn’t the first time Nintendo created accessories for gaming consoles.

An Alternative Future for Gaming?

Sony, Microsoft and most of the other big hitters in the gaming world are going all in for VR. Nintendo shows that there’s still room in gaming for systems that aren’t going to take you completely out of physical reality. The Switch system is wildly successful, and its versatile design allows it to be used in a number of different ways. Nintendo Labo accessories (Nintendo calls them Toy-Cons) is a perfect example of how innovative thinking can create something special and original.

If you remember using the Zapper gun or the Power Glove for the old Nintendo Entertainment System then the Nintendo Labo DIY kits probably hit on some nostalgia. If you don’t remember those accessories, the new DIY Toy-Cons are still appealing because they’re different, interesting, and just plain cool.