Nintendo Labo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Nintendo Labo

Variety Kit, Robot Kit, Vehicle Kit, and VR Kit
Nintendo Labo logo
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Publication date	April 20, 2018 EU
System(s)	Nintendo Switch
Material(s) required	Cardboard construction set, craft materials
Media type	Nintendo Switch game card
Slogan	Make, Play, Discover

Nintendo Labo is a toys-to-life concept developed by Nintendo and released in April 2018. Labo consists of 2 parts, where one part is a game and one part is multiple sheets of cardboard. The games come as 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 a "Toy-Con" that can interact with the included game software and vice versa. Nintendo designed Labo as a way to teach principles of engineering, physics, and basic programming.

Construction and gameplay

The fishing rod Toy-Con interacting with the Switch console (encased on the right side of the image). Joy-Con are placed inside the handle and the reel of the rod.

Nintendo Labo is released as individual Labo Kits, each containing a set of pre-made cardboard cut-outs and other materials, used to make one or more "Toy-Con", and a Nintendo Switch game card, which contains interactive instructions on how to assemble the Toy-Con and software that the Toy-Con 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-Con or the main display. For example, the piano Toy-Con's keystrokes are read by the Right Joy-Con controller's infrared sensor to identify notes being played, while robotic Toy-Con 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 game software provides instructions on how the Toy-Con works with the Switch, such as describing the fundamentals of infrared sensing.

Toy-Con Garage

The Nintendo Labo software comes with a feature called "Toy-Con Garage", which allows users to create and program their own Toy-Con using simple programming commands, either starting with the available Labo kits, or with their own materials. Toy-Con Garage is based upon creating simple commands by connecting input and output nodes. When an input is performed, it will trigger the connected output event. Additional middle nodes can be added to modify the input. For example, an input node can be a specific button press or a controller movement, while the middle node can set a required number of presses in order for the output to occur. Output nodes range from vibrating the Joy-Con to lighting up the Console's display. Toy-Con Garage provides multiple options for customizing each node, such as adjusting the sensitivity and direction of the control stick as an input node. Multiple input-output commands can be used in combination to create more complex creations.

Labo Kits

Two Labo Kits, Variety Kit and Robot Kit, were announced for launch in North America, Australia, and Japan on April 20, 2018, and in Europe on April 27, 2018. An accessory set containing stencils, stickers, and tape are available separately. Replacement packs for individual parts and Toy-Con are available for purchase on Nintendo's online store, while free templates for the cardboard cut-outs are also available for download. While Nintendo did not confirm any additional Toy-Con kits at launch, journalists observed that other Toy-Con configurations were shown in the announce trailer, suggesting that additional kits may be announced at a later date.

Variety Kit

The remote-controlled "car" Toy-Con, with the two Joy-Con attached to the sides and controlled by the Switch console (held by the person in the background)

The Variety Kit contains kits for five individual Toy-Con:

• Two remote-controlled cars, where the vibrations from the Joy-Con serve to provide momentum and steering to the car. The game software allows the player to control the car like a normal remote-controlled vehicle using the console itself as the controller. The software also allows for the car to follow targets using the IR motion camera of the right Joy-Con.
• A fishing rod where the Joy-Con sit in the reel and the handle of the rod. The game receives motion input from the Joy-Con to simulate a fishing game.
• A toy piano with a full octave of keys; the console sits atop this to serve as a music stand.
• A motorbike with Joy-Con inserted into the handlebars on either side of the Console for steering. The Toy-Con Motorbike is also compatible as a motion controller in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and in Moto Rush GT.
• A house containing a slot to insert different components that can interact with the game software on the Console's display.

The kit comes with a game cartridge that contains interactive instructions of how to assemble each Toy-Con, and at least one software package to use the Toy-Con. Some Toy-Con have multiple programs; for example, the motorbike handles allow the player to race along a track in stunt bikes, and gives the player the ability to create new track layouts, or to use any object detected through the IR sensor to create a track based on that object. Similar IR sensing abilities allows the player to create new fish to catch in the fishing rod Toy-Con, or to create new waveforms to use on the piano Toy-Con.

Robot Kit

A user using the Robot kit to interact with the game on the Switch unit (right)

The Robot Kit includes parts to make a mecha suit that includes a visor which holds the left Joy-Con for motion sensing and a backpack that holds the right Joy-Con to read hand and feet swings. This allows the player to rampage through a virtual world presented on the screen. The software includes multiple game-modes: Robot, VS, Challenge, Robo-Studio, and the Hangar. Robot mode gives the player the ability to control the giant robot as it attacks targets across a cityscape, to control the robot as it flies over a city, and to transform in a tank. The two-player VS mode allows players to fight with their giant robots, though both players need a separate Robot Toy-Con for this mode. In Challenge Mode, the player can complete missions to unlock special abilities that can be used in the game's other modes. The Robo-Studio mode allows the player to insert the Console into the Toy-Con and play sound effects based on the player's movement, while the Hanger allows the player to customize the color and appearance of their virtual robot.

Journalists noted similarities between this Kit and Project Giant Robot, a software title for the Wii U that had players use the motion sensing of the Wii U GamePad to control a robot and rampage through a city. Project Giant Robot was teased during E3 2014 and believed to be tied to Star Fox Zero, but was ultimately cancelled by Nintendo. Labo developers stated in an interview that the original prototype was a ground-based tank with interactive floor pedals, but risked being crushed by the user and did not utilize the potential of the Joy-Con's gyro sensor; to solve these issues, the prototype was modified to be worn as a "Carry-Con" on the user's back.

Vehicle Kit

Nintendo announced its first post-release Labo Kit in July 2018, which was released worldwide on September 14, 2018. The Vehicle Kit includes the cardboard parts to make three steering consoles, one for a car, one for a plane, and one for a submarine, each with a slot for a "key" that is built around a Toy-Con. The associated game allows players to control cars, planes, and submarines in game, switching between these modes by moving their Toy-Con key between units, and supports co-operative play with a second person using another Toy-Con. The kit also includes cutouts for a pedal Toy-Con to power each of the vehicles, two key Toy-Cons, a spray can Toy-Con, and a stand for the console to sit atop the car Toy-Con. Included with the spray can Toy-Con are several "extra parts" made to aid in the Paint Studio, the mode made for it.

VR Kit

Released on April 12, 2019, the VR Kit centers around cardboard goggles that allow players to view stereoscopic 3D images using the Switch console, similar to Google Cardboard. The main kit comes with five items which attach to the VR Goggles: a blaster, a camera, a bird, an elephant and a pinwheel. A wind pedal that blew wind when stepped on was included with the full kit as well. A starter kit containing just the Goggles (and pinwheel) and blaster attachment is also available, with the other attachments to be purchased separately.

Interactions with other games

Following the release of Nintendo Labo, select software titles have received free updates giving them compatibility with certain Toy-Cons. A free update to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in June 2018 allowed players to use the motorbike Toy-Con, from the Variety Kit, to control their racer in the game. In August 2018, Nintendo announced that the car steering wheel Toy-Con from the upcoming Vehicle Kit will also be compatible with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. After unveiling a tech demo in April 2018, in August 2018, Rayark announced that it would add a mode to its piano-based rhythm game Deemo in October 2018 to support the piano Toy-Con on selected songs, as the first third-party title to offer integration with one. In January 2019, it was announced that Fishing Star: World Tour would support the Toy-Con Fishing Rod in an issue of the Famitsu magazine. Nintendo updated The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey in April 2019 to support VR game modes through the VR Kit, and introduced a limited VR mode for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate the following month. The Nintendo Switch version of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker received an update on July 30, 2019, that added a VR mode allowing the user to play four levels and get a 360° view of the course selection screen while using the Toy-Con VR Goggles. Puchikon 4 SmileBASIC released on May 23, 2019, in Japan with support for the Toy-Con Piano, House, Fishing Rod, Motorbike, and Robot kits what could be used in games made in the program. On May 27, 2019, a Nintendo Switch version of Spice and Wolf VR with Toy-Con VR Goggles support was announced what would be released on September 5, 2019. Neonwall was updated with Toy-Con VR Goggles support in January 2020.

Sales

In Japan, the Variety Kit sold 90,410 copies within the first week, placing it first on the all-format sales chart. The Robot Kit sold 28,629 copies, placing it third, and the Vehicle Kit has sold 49,389 copies as of December 2018. As of March 2019, the Variety Kit has sold 330,000 units in Japan, and 1.09 million worldwide. As of 2018, all kits consolidated have sold 1.39 million units worldwide. The 2020 CESA Games White Papers revealed that the Variety Kit has sold 1.31 million units, as of December 2019.

Awards

Images for kids

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  A Toy-Con being constructed from punch-outs from cardboard sheets with instructions via the Switch Labo software

See also

In Spanish: Nintendo Labo para niños