Jeffrey Van Camp from Wired: "I was a rambunctious, energetic child. It was hard for me to sit still for anything, but if you gave me a box of Lego and a good set of instructions, I could sit for hours. I had Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, K’Nex, model cars, you name it.
There’s a wonderful zen to quietly assembling something. But then, what do you do after you're done? The true test of a building toy is whether you find creative ways to play with it once it’s finished. Toys like K’Nex could always be repurposed for games or rebuilt in perpetuity. Models and electronic Technozoids (yes, they were a real thing) on the other hand tended to end up in the closet or on a garage sale table sooner rather than later.
As crazy as my little building projects got, nothing from my childhood was as ludicrously weird and inventive as the new Nintendo Labo. Nintendo’s latest nutty idea is a pair of Switch games that each come with more than two dozen sheets of corrugated cardboard. To play the included games, you must first spend at least an hour snapping and folding together what Nintendo calls Toy-Cons: cardboard controllers."
BLG writes: "The Nintendo Switch has sold more than 100 million units since its debut and it shows no signs of slowing down. While the Switch and Switch OLED are amazing right out of the box, there are a few Nintendo Switch Accessories that can enhance your experience in some useful and sometimes unique ways."
Having been out since 2018, Nintendo Labo VR isn't a new thing, but it has been criminally underutilised. With a staggering amount of potential for Switch owners.
Skyrim vr on the switch???? I honestly couldn't imagine it. It ready looks a blury mess on psvr. So imagine what a switch vr port would look like.
— Nintendo Labo:
Nintendo Labo is an ingenious combination of technology, cardboard, and creativity on Nintendo Switch, yet it didn't sell and is now being forgotten. Why?
It was imaginative, creative and unique. But ultimately, just another Nintendo gimmick. Tech demos.
They dabbled in it, made high profits on what is basically, expensive paper. AR Mario Kart will be following right behind it and Labo VR that they didn't fully support. Because the RC Kart only works for one game. Just like most of the Labo.
Power Glove and Virtual Boy will have a new friend in the closet to sit next to that eventually, will getting trashed or donated.
They were tech demos sold with pieces of cardboard. Anyone could see this wasn't anything more than just a one off thing
If Nintendo were smart.... they would release do it yourself software and allow people to create their own stencils and cut outs. Share them with others and really turn this novelty into something bigger.
I am gonna get it.
It's pretty clear Nintendo is positioning Labo as a educational and creative platform, rather than as a video game. If you look at the companies that Nintendo has targeted with these Labo reviews they're predominately not typical game reviewing websites, they're tech websites. They even did a video with Bill Nye about the product (which is a questionable decision considering how awful his Netflix show was, but it certainly shows the type of audience they're targeting).
I have reservations about the product's success considering the price of a Switch + Labo. However Lego Mindstorms does very well at a price of $350 and anyone that owns a Switch only has to pay $70 for Labo. It'll be interesting to see how it performs.
Good reviews all around for the Labo.