So, I was reading some impressions on the new Nintendo Labo, mostly by mainstreams outlets, and to no surprise (because the whole concept is actually brillant) all of them've being crazy good.
Update:
The Verge
TIME
Wired
Telegraph UK
The Hollywood Reporter
And this
Polygon
Update:
The Verge
Nintendo is making a bunch of weird DIY cardboard toys for the Switch and they'reawesome
Today, the company revealed a new initiative dubbed Nintendo Labo, which involves DIY cardboard accessories that can transform the Switch's Joy-Con controllers into everything from a fishing rod to a piano to a full-on robot suit. These accessories are then used to control a variety of mini-games, essentially turning the Switch tablet into a tiny arcade. The goal of Labo is to get kids involved in playing games on the Switch in a more hands-on, tactile way.
It's the kind of experience that seems like it could only come from Nintendo: clever, charming, and completely unexpected. "Labo is unlike anything we've done before," says Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé. It could just be the thing to keep the Switch's momentum going in its second year — but more importantly, it's a whole lot of fun".
Full:https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/17/...-diy-accessories-announced-price-release-date
TIME
Nintendo's Newest Products Are Switch Accessories You Can Build Yourself
Ever since Nintendo unveiled the Switchabout one year ago, one message was immediately clear: The ability to interact with the console in a variety of different ways — docked to a TV, held in your hands, or propped up on a table — was going to be the device's distinguishing characteristic.
(...)
Nintendo Labo works in conjunction with an app that walks players through assembling a Toy-Con. The app also includes games specifically designed for the Toy-Cons, as well as interactive graphics explaining how these cardboard-crafted accessories function. As such, the accompanying app is divided into three appropriately named sections: Make, Play, and Discover.
The Make category's video tutorials are as delightful as they are helpful, which I learned while assembling the RC car and fishing rod Toy-Cons. The walkthroughs are detailed enough to accommodate players of any age or skill level; users have the option to fast forward through certain steps to speed up the process. The videos are filled with flourishes that make them amusing to watch, such as a zipper-like noise that sounds while the tutorial reminds players to fold the cardboard along the defined creases.
Most interestingly, the Labo kits work with the Joy-Cons' built-in sensors to function. A player can, for example, actually drive the Labo's RC car around a table or desk by pressing buttons on the Switch tablet's touchscreen. When the Joy-Cons are inserted into the RC Car, their HD rumble sensors get the cardboard vehicle to move around.
The fishing rod Toy-Con takes advantage of the Joy-Cons' motion and HD rumble sensors in a similar way. After constructing the rod, which even includes a rotating wheel, players insert the Joy-Con into the fishing pole's reel. The Toy-Con then syncs up with a fishing game on the Switch. To win, players must deploy their line and then quickly yank it up and crank the handle to reel in fish. A small vibration indicates that a fish is biting.
(...)
When asked whether or not Nintendo plans to allow third-party partners to create Labo kits, Fils-Aime had a similar viewpoint. "While there's nothing to announce today, certainly if we're successful with Labo, it can create future opportunities," he said.
Nintendo Labo is also evidence that Nintendo is thinking about the Switch as a general entertainment device rather than a traditional game console.
Full: http://time.com/5106363/nintendo-switch-labo-toy-cons/
Wired
"NINTENDO'S NEWEST SWITCH ACCESSORIES ARE FUN CARDBOARD TOYS
Suffice to say the Nintendo Switch is a hit beyond what anyone could have expected. The versatile, modular console sold more than 10 million units in its first 10 months, and became the fastest-selling console in US history. That's all the more impressive given Switches were nearly impossible to find in the console's early months, as Nintendo (like everyone else) seriously underestimated its appeal.
For Nintendo, then, 2018 becomes a year of doubling down. The Switch is working, so the company's eagerly looking for ways to extend its reach. That could come from more games, certainly, or apps like Netflix that would help the device replicate a more traditional tablet. But first, Nintendo is releasing Labo, a new line of DIY toys that attach to either the Switch itself or a Joy-Con controller to let you play completely new kinds of games".
Telegraph UK
"After a successful first year for the Switch, built on a catalogue of fantastic traditional games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey, Labo is Nintendo looking to broaden the console's appeal with the kind of audacious inventiveness the gaming giant is known for.
Getting your hands on the kit and playing with its possibilities, as we did at Nintendo's Windsor office, you get the feeling that this is one of the most Nintendo things the company has ever done. Labo is an extraordinary feat of technical invention mixed with the right amount of barmy eccentricity, elevating humble cardboard into fully-functioning toys using a healthy dose of technological wizardry".
Full: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gaming/f...nds-on-switch-brilliant-barmy-cardboard-toys/
The Hollywood Reporter
"The company continues to move the needle of the gaming industry in terms of unique choices.
Remember being a child at Christmas and having just as much fun playing with the box your toy came in as with the new gadget itself? Nintendo does.
With the Nintendo Labo, the Japanese gaming giant has taken an innovative leap forward while simultaneously harking back to the most rudimentary of designs. The new product, set for release on April 20 with a price tag of $69, allows gamers to craft three-dimensional designs from cardboard sheets. The announcement trailer for the Labo features such creations as a piano, a wearable backpack and a fishing rod. Once constructed, the user then slides their Nintendo Switch into a specific slot and what was once a simple corrugated board representation of an object is transformed into a functional musical instrument, towering robot or fishing tool.
What makes the Nintendo Labo so revolutionary is just how simple the idea is: Give your audience a chance to create their own game and then bring it to life".
Full: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/h...ms-bring-childlike-wonder-back-gaming-1075467
And this
Polygon
"Nintendo Labo tweets are extremely good"
https://www.polygon.com/2018/1/17/16903268/nintendo-labo-twitter-jokes
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