Nintendo Labo

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ESauce
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Nintendo Labo

Postby ESauce » January 18th, 2018, 12:20 am

Nintendo announced an interesting new thing today:

http://m.ign.com/articles/2018/01/17/ni ... ndo-switch

Basically they’re cardboard kits that you build and then use with the Switch by sticking your joycon in them (watch the video if that sentence makes no sense to you). There’s a 13 key Piano that uses the joycon’s IR blaster to actually see what key you’re hitting and play it out of the Switch. There’s an RC car that uses the HD rumble to drive around. There’s a fishing rod that actually has a working reel and a string line you attach to the Switch to play a fishing game. There’s a motorbike with functioning handlebars. There’s a...house, for some reason. And finally there’s a full robot suit that you actually wear. The robot suit is sold with its own software for $80 and everything else is sold together for $70. They will also be releasing a customization pack of stickers and stencils for $10 (profit margins must be great on that).

I’m sure most gamers will look at this and scoff, but I think it’s fantastic. It’s nice to see a game that actually requires kids to use their imaginations and also build something with their hands. Plus, frankly it just looks cool to me. I might actually get the kit with the multiple parts. I have a feeling that the robot game probably won’t be worth the $80 price of admission, even with as stupid fun as that wearable robot suit looks, but I bet the $70 pack will be worth it if you’re going into it just to goof off and not expecting a traditional game. I’m wishing my son was older because it looks so cool for kids!

And for anyone worried about the cardboard kits wearing down, Nintendo will be providing the design patterns for free so you can make the stuff out of whatever materials you like. A Budweiser box robot suit perhaps?

eneuman96
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Re: Nintendo Labo

Postby eneuman96 » January 18th, 2018, 12:37 am

This concept grows on me the more I read about it. It's definitely out of left field and not exactly the sort of announcement we expected, but I think it looks genuinely cool and although I am wary of the price for that robot game, I look forward to seeing if this turns out to be worth it. The Switch has been full of surprises since day one, and this is looking to be yet another one of them.

...I just worry I'll break something when I put the cardboard parts together since I'm horrible at building things.

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ActRaiser
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Re: Nintendo Labo

Postby ActRaiser » January 18th, 2018, 7:57 am

It looked awesome and then I thought, wait $70 for cardboard?

The profit margins on these things must be through the roof.

BanjoPickles
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Re: Nintendo Labo

Postby BanjoPickles » January 18th, 2018, 9:16 am

And this is another thing that annoys me about many of the Nintendo diehards (a continuation of a previous rant). This is clearly designed for children, and for parents of young children (I am so stoked to play this with my daughter), but the complaints remain the same:

-"When are they going to announce Smash Brothers?!"
-"Who is going to buy this crap?"
-"Nintendo did such a good job in 2017, catering to the core. Why are they doing this?"

Personally, I think that this is brilliant, and it annoys me to no end that so many people can't see the greater good in announcements like this! I mean, don't these people want to see growth beyond their favorite franchises? It would be like being disappointed with a new PS4 announcement because it isn't Call of Duty! 2018, in my opinion, is looking great! I have reminded people that we are getting the Bayonetta 1+2 pack, Mega Man 11, the new No More Heroes, Wolfenstein II, (maybe) Metroid Prime 4, Dark Souls Remaster, and whatever else Nintendo has yet to announce. These gamers need to realize that not every announcement is going to be for them! They know that they're going to get their games, but they want them NOW, and nothing else will do! It's like booing an excellent opening band because you want to see the headliner!

My daughter is going to love this, and I'm going to use this game to ease her into gaming, while also getting her working with her hands, flexing her creativity, etc. Will I play it while she's asleep? Probably not, and that's okay.

ESauce
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Re: Nintendo Labo

Postby ESauce » January 18th, 2018, 10:40 am

ActRaiser wrote:It looked awesome and then I thought, wait $70 for cardboard?

The profit margins on these things must be through the roof.


I don’t disagree on the profit margins for the $10 accessory pack but it’s not $70 or $80 for cardboard. It’s $60 for a game plus $10 or $20 for the cardboard. That doesn’t seem that unreasonable to me.

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ActRaiser
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Re: Nintendo Labo

Postby ActRaiser » January 18th, 2018, 11:13 am

Thanks for some reason, I'm thinking it's more akin to (Xbox 360) Kodu $5 or (Xbox One) Project Spark $20 by MS. It seems hard to price the actual software at $60 based on a few other options in this space.

But, it's still fun to build things. Heck, it's still cheaper than a nice sized Lego set.

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JustLikeHeaven
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Re: Nintendo Labo

Postby JustLikeHeaven » January 18th, 2018, 11:42 am

I think it looks neat. It's just something wacky and random (and fun!) that they cooked up. I'm all for it. I hope it sells like hotcakes so that we can bathe in the insane Sony and Microsoft rip-offs that eventually come 1-2 years down the line. Cardboard is the new VR people!

Also, I don't think there is any coincidence that this is coming out on 4/20...

ESauce
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Re: Nintendo Labo

Postby ESauce » January 18th, 2018, 11:56 am

JustLikeHeaven wrote:
Also, I don't think there is any coincidence that this is coming out on 4/20...


Haha. I can’t imagine being able to build that robot while celebrating 4/20.

I just imagine I would finish it and end up with a barn instead:

https://vimeo.com/96671094

DaHeckIzDat
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Re: Nintendo Labo

Postby DaHeckIzDat » January 18th, 2018, 2:18 pm

I know it's for kids, but I can't get over it costing $80. They're packaging it with a minigame compilation, and those should never be sold for more than $20, which means you're still paying three times as much for the freaking cardboard than the game.

ESauce
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Re: Nintendo Labo

Postby ESauce » January 18th, 2018, 3:01 pm

DaHeckIzDat wrote:I know it's for kids, but I can't get over it costing $80. They're packaging it with a minigame compilation, and those should never be sold for more than $20, which means you're still paying three times as much for the freaking cardboard than the game.


Maybe the games will be shallow but why are you passing that judgement before it even releases? Who knows how much depth you’ll get out of the games at this point? And since when are minigame compilations always $20? Last I checked they tend to retail at the same price as every other game, unless you’re just referring to shovelware.


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