Topic: Nintendo Labo

@GrailUK Are you indirectly responding to me? It doesn't matter how expensive plastic is, for Nintendo it's in the $70 and $80 packages. You need more than the cardboard for it to work. Reflective stickers, for example.

Maybe the little plastic rings used to reinforce the holes in some of the models could be hard to get (not impossible to replicate with other materials though), but other than that, the kits don't really have rare stuff.

From what I could see it's literally just cardboard, string, and reflective stickers. If your own cardboard doesn't fold, you can simply cut it and use tape as hinges.

It should technically work with anything capable of bouncing light back to the camera.

This is likey why the projects that use the infrared camera use closed boxes (the backpack, the piano, the house), it's so other sources of light or reflective surfaces don't confuse the camera.

Many seem to think it's too expensive but to be fair, we don't even know what the games are going to be like. They showed some gameplay but who knows, maybe there are multiple smaller games for each accessory? Piano game could teach how to play piano, a free play mode where you can play whatever you like and it could also have a rhythm game. The games will most likely be simple minigames but they don't have to be.

I'll buy the variety pack. I loved making things out of cardboard as a kid. I made a cardboard PC that could "display images" by sliding a piece of paper through the monitor. I also made custom Beyblades out of the plastic container found inside Kinder eggs and cardboard.

@Haru17 Not at all mate.

I wish they would stop making video games into toys, especially into cheap toys.

@Late From what little I could find about the games, it seems the piano has some rather nifty features, like being able to adjust the sound of the notes by inserting certain cutouts, or changing the instruments by using different, huh, instrument keys? They're kinda like keys...

The "race car" seems to have at least two or three different control modes, one of which lets you use the ir camera to see from the point of view of the toy. Bettle sumo-style fighting and other "real world games" seem to be encouraged with this one, an article I read mentioned that one of the activities Nintendo presented them with involved finding a Kirby toy in a dark maze using only the camera.

The fishing seems to be a lot more involved than it sounds, with the player being able to go deeper into the water to find different fish, and even using caught fish as bait to catch bigger fish.

The house apparently features a pet sim of sorts, and it seems the slots you insert the little accesories in have different effects, for example I saw an image where the button accesory inserted underneath the house generated a trampoline, while the crank accesory inserted on the side could be used to play jump the rope with the critter.

Also, every toy con comes with full explanations of how do them work, and why.

I'm not sure how indepth they'll really be, but they seem to be on the right track at least. And I expect the robot game to be a fully featured video game, considering the price.

@Meowpheel Those plastic rings are to prevent the strings from cutting into the cardboard. Just tape the edges of the hole with one or two layers of duct tape and you get the same result. You don't even need plastic rings.

Thinking about it, and seeing how the piano thing got me interested the most anyway, I could easily make one out of wood. Even the design doesn't have to be the same as long as the reflective stickers line up and work the same, that's all that matters anyway.

EDIT: The keyword is 'could', I don't think I ever would spend that much time on a replica made of wood.

This strikes me as being a bit like a McDonalds burger in that it looks far better in a picture/video than it ends up being in practice.

Already lighting up the Amazon charts

https://www.amazon.com/best-sellers-video-games/zgbs/videogames

@GrailUK Ah, my mistake then.

Anyway, with it selling off of a very limited trailer, I could see this game creating a minor internet rage storm if Project Giant Robot is like I think it is... Most people will probably buy the $70 SKU though, so actually that one is probably more crucial.

And someone in my Twitter feed noticed this...

@kobashi100 Of course, it's updated every hour. It's a new thing, so more people will be pre-ordering the Labo instead of something else. Doesn't that happen with nearly every new game related item anyway? The interesting question is if it will still be on the top of the charts a week or two from now.

Maybe I'm just being pedantic but I'd argue that VR is something pretty specific. As in a set of displays/speakers ect that take control of your senses. This is no more vr than Wii Sports or Guitar Hero were and I don't consider either VR.

Note I'm not saying its crap or stupid. Just saying its closer to an AR toy than it is VR. In that its not VR at all and its a lot more like Anki Overdrive, Lego Mindstorm etc.

Pretty hard thing to do given that games are toys.

The first thing that crossed my mind:

When Labo turns into a major succes, Labo knights!

First thing I thought....What a load of S***, wow a load of cardboard, well at least its bio-degradeable.

Where is Virtual Console?

It isn't actually that expensive when comparing with mindstorm. Lego is an expensive hobby. Especially if you already own a switch.

The biggest problem is that it is a closed system. Mindstorm can be programmed to do anything. This will probably be locked down to certain very specific tasks. Albeit more polished experiences.

Yeah how DARE they make stuff you are not interested in?

@skywake bro ive been playing VR since NES Track and Field when I used to beat Turtle with socks on my hands

@Therad That's what I thought it was going to be. When I saw the piano I immediately thought of some kind of music composing app; however, I believe it's more of a mini-game.

Either way it's definitely targeting the same sort of market. If anything it's probably has a bit more of a larger audience than what else is on the market simply because it's cardboard. And like Wii Sports the fact that it's a little bit removed from the "gamer" stereotype might push some parents to get a Switch for their kids who otherwise wouldn't have. All I know is that I would have gone nuts over this when I was a kid.... and am kinda tempted to give it a go now