Random: Kid Creates Switch From Cardboard, Father Caves And Gets Him The Real Deal

I love these photos it's great fun! I hope my son eventually is a devout game fan so that I can have similar experiences.

Also you might want to fix that first line, "What it is..." Instead it probably should be "What is it..."

I wonder if Nintendo hit him with a cease and desist order for copying their product?

Wish for a Nintendo Switch as his Birthday present.

Lol: He could have ordered the cardboard-box for the Splatoon 2 bundle for his son. Only 5 Quit!

Awesome story, wish there was a video of him discovering it!

The last pic shows this kid needs......discipline! (jk)

Still waiting for Disgaea 5 review.

I tried this aswell but all my mum wanted to do is send me to a nuthouse... Probably because I am in my late twenties... Was worth a try I guess

That's cool.

@Anti-Matter
Your comment suggests that you didn't even read the article or the title of the article.

Kids creativity makes me happy. It's why I'd rather see 3D printers become a must have gift rather than VR headsets. There's a place for both, but I'm really more excited for the 3D printers.

Programmable NFC chips and 3D printers = amiibo of our own choosing.

Looks like he is playing NBA Playgrounds in one pic, and it also doesn't have online mode....pretty much like the real thing.

wifes already told me to get rid of the 60" carboard cut out tv from living room

Good to see things like this

@Niinbendo Plastic would be more appropriate.

Great story, glad his dedication paid off for him in the end.

The kid is making one more (switch) than Nintendo is making.

Maybe I should build a 4K TV out of cardboard? What was I thinking getting a Curved TV over a 4K one!?

I used to do this as a kid. Lol.

Hope the kid doesn't drop it from that height.

NOW for the real trick: Can we turn a cardboard NES Classic Mini into a real one?

@Anguspuss Just remind her that all the high end furniture stores have them all over the showroom.

@rjejr " It's why I'd rather see 3D printers become a must have gift rather than VR headsets." Because one lets you escape to virtual imaginary places. The other lets you eviscerate pricy consumables at a pace that would make HP and Gillette weep all in service of cheap plastic products. Technically I'm not a fan of VR. As long as it's a heavy headset that makes you look like a cyborg, isolated from all reality, and chained by wires and cables, it's just awful. But 3D printers don't produce very good products and the plastic compound is like the worst of the inkjet industry multiplied by 100. It's a must have gift if you hate your wallet

Reminds me when I was a kid, I made some Gameboy Colors out of paper before I got a real one for my birthday.

So awesome good for him

I remember the last time this subject was brought up on here, people, were deriding the kid just as much as they were praising him for being creative.

And people think the Switch is too big (as a portable) for Japanese kids...

This kid looks so happy, props to the parents.

Awesome story. Thanks for sharing! Love it when kids use their creativity and imagination like this. It's great that the dad rewarded/surprised him like that. Dad probably got just as much satisfaction from his son's reaction as the son did from the surprise. I know it warmed my heart.

Cheater. -w-

I did similar things with paper or plasticine. I remember modeling banjo. For harvest moon it worked. Took many years though^^

If you make it, your parents will buy it.

@NEStalgia I'd rather pay the money for the 3D filament and have my kid make his own toys than spend hours online and driving around looking for Zelda BotW amiibo that are sold out everywhere.

We own over 100 Slylanders, 30 or 40 Disney Infinity toys and a dozen amiibo. We already spend plenty of money on cheap plastic toys.

And I much rather kids all over the world were learning the skills necessary to program and create cheap 3D objects then spending all their time in VR. VR has it's place, I really like it. It has it's uses. But if this kid made a Switch in Mine craft or Super Mario Maker I wouldn't be as impressed as him using his hands.

Let's put it this way. How many commercials have you seen on tv about VR headsets and how many about 3D printers? I think every kid in America has a $10 fidget spinner, probably could have printed one at home for less.

@rjejr LOL

100 Skylanders? 30+ Infinitiy? You seriously have a thing for Toys 2 Life over there!

I don't watch TV so I've seen zero commercials for either I'm actually annoyed if VR is being plied that heavily. 3D printing...eh, it's still not ready for prime time. It's a fun toy for the wealthy, but the real deal still costs in the many thousands of dollars. It'll get there, but it'll also usher in a whole new problem of IP rights on tangible goods. I'm not looking forward to a DMCA that applies to physical materials.

But soon you forget, human labor will soon be obsolete, the AIs will do everything for us, and we'll have to live in our VR worlds to see anything that resembles what real life used to be and eat whatever scraps our masters leave for us.

@rjejr

"And I much rather kids all over the world were learning the skills necessary to program and create cheap 3D objects then spending all their time in VR. VR has it's place, I really like it. It has it's uses. But if this kid made a Switch in Mine craft or Super Mario Maker I wouldn't be as impressed as him using his hands.

Let's put it this way. How many commercials have you seen on tv about VR headsets and how many about 3D printers? I think every kid in America has a $10 fidget spinner, probably could have printed one at home for less."

You want a kid to learn the skills to program, buy an Arduino, or hell buy a Raspberry Pi and have them use Python to screw with minecraft. 3D printing has a LOT of problems where it is no where near ready for every child to use. I got a basic one and between there filament and the heater breaking I spent more time buyung replacement parts and repairing it.

Also you poop on minecraft yet praise making 3D prints?

@Anguspuss That reminds of a company that sells cardboard TV sets (specially around the Super Bowl event) and deliver them to your house. That way, your neighbor thinks that you just bought a new, humongous TV to watch the game in. People are so vain!!

@NEStalgia I have more than 150 sylanders (all sets from the first 4 games and lots from the last two).

I used to make all the Transformers I couldn't have out of Legos.

Haha! The kid's reaction to getting the real thing is amazing! I can see myself doing this for my kid when they get older!

Heartwarming. God bless them.

@yuwarite I don't believe people say that...since portable gaming is quite popular over there. What I found interesting about the Switch is the fact that's it's built not too large, but not too small, so it's perfect for just about any size hand. Well from my perspective I guess.

@AlwaysGreener No, there's a lot of people who say the Switch is "too big" to be considered a true portable.

@NEStalgia "I'm actually annoyed if VR is being plied that heavily."

The only commercials I saw on TV all throughout the holidays it seemed were for VR headsets that work w/ phones. I saw this one about 18,000 times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpUaSbrFuEQ

I saw this one about 12,000 times.

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/AHA2/samsung-gear-vr-a-perfect-day-gear-vr-song-by-nada-surf

And this one only a few hundred.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrUC6wgsqzw

Haven't ever seen a 3D printer commercial.

@Arehexes "buy an Arduino, or hell buy a Raspberry Pi"

I'm probably going to get my older son 1 of those to keep him busy over the summer, the 3D printer is for my younger son who still likes tactile toys.

Wasn't disparaging Minecraft, my kid has learned a lot messing around w/ that on PC, all about security, modding, playing well w/ others. But I'm still more impressed these days seeing kids make something tangible than inside a PC program. I'm all about moderation and expanding ones horizons, I don't keep my kids from doing much. But I do feel VR has the potential to shut people out from the real world more than most PC related activities.

Thanks for the info on the 3D printer woes, I'll certainly look into whichever model I purchase before picking one.

@NEStalgia "You seriously have a thing for Toys 2 Life over there!"

Yeah, we did. Did i mention the 2 dozen Lego Dimensions sets? My oldest son has outgrown just about everything now, not sure he's discovered girls yet, but he's probably close. My youngest has just gotten bored I think after so many of the same types of games, he's not even interested in Lego Marvel Super Heros 2.

Not sure what the next hobbies will be in the household, trying really hard to get them outside but so far that isn't going well.

I think Nitneod could win them back w/ 700 Pokemon amiibo and a MMO or Snap! game on Switch. Japan would probably buy them all up before they made it to the US though as Nitneod would only make 5 of each.

@rjejr Oh, Samsung Gear.....I tend not to consider that when I think VR. It's such a limited, proprietary....it's mostly a cheap, disposable to people pick up, get amused by, and then toss. I considered picking one up about 2 years ago just for giggles to play with it since my phone supports it. And then I realized I'd have more fun watching a pile of money swirl down the toilet, and it wouldn't take up space. And there's no way I'm clipping an $800 phone into that thing.

And those commercials still do more to convince me VR is still a toy as a whole. I do think it will iterate and evolve and become more...but like 3D TV they keep trying to push it too hard before its real time when the hardware isn't as obtrusive.

Which is of course why they push it at Christmas. When else are they going to convince people to dump money on a disposable expensive toy? (PSVR/Occulus/etc. aren't toys, they're legit platforms, but they're REALLY EXPENSIVE and REALLY OBTRUSIVE platforms still.)

But 3D printers...well, it's not much of a toy. It's a productivity device first and foremost. They're not an easy sell for Christmas morning amusement. I'm not sure you'll ever see commercials for them other than, when they go mainstream, doorbuster sale prices at office stores and such. But the cheap ones are still so limited and the good ones are still so expensive (they make Occulus look cheap) and geared toward business/industrial users.

Overall I still see 3D printers going mainstream earlier/more than VR. But in a less fun way and more in an investment way. It will become a standard way items are obtained and a standard part of life the way a laser printer is. I don't see laser printer commercials on TV either other than sale prices, but they sell a heck of a lot more than VR headsets

@rjejr " But I do feel VR has the potential to shut people out from the real world more than most PC related activities."

Oh, heck, I'm in! VR, where have you been all my life?!

" My oldest son has outgrown just about everything now, not sure he's discovered girls yet, but he's probably close. "

If people thought you were grouchy before, you should probably send a PSA through all official NL channels in advance....

"Not sure what the next hobbies will be in the household, trying really hard to get them outside but so far that isn't going well."

You know what provides great entertainment outdoors? Nintendo Switch! (Plus a USB-C battery charger...)

I dunno, I don't get modern kids. I was of course glued to video games once I got into them as a kid, and that seemed to be the odd way to be. Now kids are mostly glued to electronics, but somehow seem LESS engaged despite having more complicated devices than a simple NES was to me. Either I'm out of touch, or he world is careening off the abyss. Or both. But they'll be ready to be plugged into the Matrix without the urge to resist like us...so I guess there's that.

(climbs back into rocking chair...)

I'm convinced you're the most into Amiibo of anyone I've seen. The idea that a bunch of Amiibo could get you guys back into the games....that's kind of a fun thought.

@NEStalgia

I'm expecting 3D printer prices to continue to drop. I think Hasbro, Mattel etc will continue to push the concept, there are already cheap pens and such. And for the past 10 years or so there have been model making kits that use tiny balls and water, Pixels, Mixels, must arts and crafts stuff. I think w/ the emphasis on STEM toys 3D printers will be mainstream in a year or 2, they just need to hit $199. Lego has been selling a $350 Mindstorm kit the past 3 years which is basically a toy.

Mattel was pushing it's $300 3D printer last year -

http://gizmodo.com/mattel-is-making-a-300-3d-printing-toy-studio-for-kids-1759078152

but it got delayed until this year -

https://techcrunch.com/2016/09/27/mattels-thingmaker-the-3d-printer-that-let-kids-make-their-own-toys-delayed-until-next-year/

@NEStalgia "most into amiibo"

I prefer to think of it as "most knowledgeable about". It's a keep your enemies closer situation.

I was a scrawny kid w/ very few friends, but I was ALWAYS outside as a kid and teen. We never wanted to go in. Frisbee, bike riding, skateboards, touch football, hockey, Wiffleball, tag, just talking. And I owned all of those simple videogames then too. But that was for at night, after going in. Same w/ TV, one in every room - my dad was a TV repairman growing up, I think a bunch of them were used - but at night. Or on rainy days. Or early in the morning. It boggles my mind that I live in a small town w/ roughly 10,000 kids (school population) and nobody is ever outside. Ever. Anywhere. It's like a Star Trek episode. And I know they all own smartphones. And soon they'll all own VR headsets and they'll be begging to be jacked into the Matrix and used as batteries for Skynet. The human races future is insanely bleak if something doesn't change.

@rjejr I suppose in fairness to kids always being indoors there's another difference between then and now. Shut down the AC and see how long they stay indoors Of course they're inside, it's always comfortable. We didn't have that. In the summer, it was so hot indoors that I didn't care if it was an electrical storm, I'd be willing to go hold a 50 ft steel rod under a storm cloud rather than stay indoors in that heat

I'm always frustrated seeing all the constant construction and all the noise in the middle of residential areas as what used to be common landscaping with quiet shovels and rakes is now done with backhoes and front loaders beeping constantly and industrial hydraulics. And then I remember of course I'm the only one bothered by it. Nobody as much as opens windows anymore let alone goes outside.

Me? I'm a nerd, so I'm still glued to my games, but my games go outdoors any chance I get. Thus why I love Switch (and 3DS prior) And I keep my bone conductor headphones or open back headphones out there (or just the system speakers)....so I still hear the world around me, unlike the disconnected VR. It's not quite physical activity But it's at least enjoying the world around. Everyone else? Shut in with closed windows in permanent artificial environments. I read somewhere in the past year that people spend 94% of their time in closed, climate controlled environments (including vehicles.) I don't know when that happened....it feels like an alien planet.

In our day we walked to school, 10 miles, up hill, both ways. And we were happier then. Not in spite of it, but because of it!

@NEStalgia We don't have central AC so I can't turn it off, buy my basement stays fairly cool year round and that's where the 52" TV and the PS4, Wii U and X1 are. So I know it's kind of my fault, but I do try really hard to get them outside every day, they just aren't buying it.

I suppose if there weren't always 5 or 6 kids outside on my block growing up maybe I wouldn't have gone outside as much either, so I'll just blame it on all the other kids not being outside rather than my bad parenting skills.

@rjejr Woot! Thought I was the last one on earth.

Nah my NES was upstairs.....if you can't game in 98+ degree temperatures, you're no gamer at all! It made it a lot easier to not game and go outside. No kids hanging around....just made my own fun...it's better than 98 degree Zelda. Winter otoh, forget it. Neither now nor as a kid have I ever tolerated the cold and snow for a moment. No way, no how. Play in the snow? I can see it from here, I'm fine.

@yuwarite I see. They shouldn't really be complaining since the 3DS XL is still selling units and that strives on, well being a bigger 3DS. I think what could be considered to be a "True Portable" is subjective to each person, since everyone's got their own tastes & preferences and you can't usually sway someone's personal opinion. Either way more Switch's for everyone else, I guess? Have a good day.