Nintendo Confirms It Won't Be Freely Supplying Extra Cardboard Replacements For Labo

Good news.

Of course, how do you keep people from making cardboard boxes anyway?

Time to 3D print some Toy Cons!

If that ain’t Fake News, it’s very Good News!

How am I awake? My reggiebody knew something big had revealed itself.

The 3D printing community will love this! Though the material I assume should be as light as cardboard. That RC "bug" won't go very far with heavy plastic.

@Zyph You underestimate the power of vibrations.

Totally buying at least one of these kits to build with my kid. It's not "$70 for a bunch of cardboard", it's $70 for cardboard, directions for making a bunch of cool projects with your child, and software to bring those projects to life in various interesting ways. I consider that money well spent.

I have no doubt that this will be a success now. The fact that you can easily replace parts will go a long way towards easing concerns.

Free ?
I Want it !

Here's hoping the games can be downloaded on the eshop - then we could build our own unique toycons without ever leaving the house!

Oh snap, that's huge.

All the people complaining "$80 for cardboard" kinda lose their argument with this.

There's literally nothing to stop this now.

@onex I understand the Joy-Con's rumble can be prettry strong depending on the game. Still, if you're using heavy material it has its work cut out for it. No pun intended.

Im going to get this. Pack 1, 5 fun projects. Kit 2, cool Robot game. Kit 3 steering wheel and fight joystick with new software. I like where this is going.

Who knew I would wake up today see this news and go to bed thinking I need more cardboard in my life?! This is why I've loved Nintendo for 30 plus years now!

I thought that kid that made his switch out of cardboard was impressive. Nintendo made a piano!

@JaxonH One may assume at that price point, it includes the learning experience for kids in regard to building DIY projects, handicrafts, etc. I'm guessing the cart/download only version is less expensive.

@Zyph
Right. Game only will be less.

Personally though, i'd rather pay the extra 10-20 bucks and just get the whole kit.

I'm lazy like that 😁

Nintendo is being really smart about this, it seems...tbh I figured someone would copy the patterns as they came out.

@JaxonH Agreed xD

It's brilliant - having the option to make it yourself will make the kits more enticing. They'll sell more this way.

This is great news, people can buy the game & make their toy-cons at a much cheaper price meaning that the biggest complaint had already been considered. How not-Nintendo!

People will find something else to complain about, they always do.

In the meantime, I love the innovative and well though out concept that Nintendo has put together for for Labo. I really hope that the robot set can be made in larger sizes. My...erm.. child is about the size of a 36 year old...

I don't understand the buying "just cardboard" argument. You're actually making stuff here not to mention a actual game cartridge comes with it. It's like buying a puzzle and saying what a waste of money for a board of cardboard. Or buying legos and arguing it's just a bunch of plastic.

@DanteSolablood Yes, my child is 30 and weighs about 240 pounds... needs to go on a diet maybe...

Well now I'm sold. I am going to buy both kits but before I was worried if something broke I couldn't replace it without spending tons of money. Now I'll just buy both and rest easy.

"here's 3 cardboard boxes and some boxcutters kids, have fun"

"oh you'll need these blueprints too"

This makes the $70-$80 entry fee seem even more unreasonable. It’s literally just cardboard and a couple minigames. Granted, it seems novel and fun, but the asking price is a bit steep.

@DanteSolablood And sadly enough, you're right. The complaining has already started, and backward logic-mode has kicked in. So, so sad...

And what will be even more sad is coming back to this article in an hour or eight and (more than likely) finding out that the total number of comments has risen to well into the two hundreds, of which around half or more will be from negative idiots that are just not getting it, and who will never be satisfied, let alone are capable of being happy for anyone other than themselves...

I looking forward to the Custom Robot costumes that people come up with!

LOLZ! Nintendorks! I saw a funny meme about this after playing COD. Once again Nintendoomed and their gimmicks and kiddy consoles. I am very grown up for being in the 8th grade because I am extremely bitter about everything.

There. Just getting some of it out of the way so if anyone else does it legitimately, at least they won't be original.

I still wont be getting this. But it's cool of Nintendo to provide the plans for the kits for free. Since most likely the day after launch they would all be on 3rd party websites anyway.

All I have is a paper printer and I don’t think paper is strong enough to support the switch. Oh well I’ll just buy the kit

@frogopus "People invest too much time being angry"

Yes, they do, and especially on the internet. Meanwhile, regardless of the whining people for who this isn't even intended, for crying out loud (if only they would get that into their thick, dumb skulls), Nintendo is going to make this a HUGE success, and now that we know that replacement parts will be for free, there's even more of an incentive to not give a damn and just give it a try, safe in the knowledge that as long as we have the prints, we can make new parts once the original ones are broken or worn down.

This isn’t just for gaming purposes. Nintendo should playing to the STEAM initiative in schools. I see a lot of application for his.

Coupled with the FUZE update, Nintendo is really setting itself up for education. At least, that is my excuse for buying another Switch. 😁

In all seriousness, the thing I’m most looking forward to with Labo is seeing what the community does with it.

@SimplyCinnamon53
Pssst...
I will help you.
Later, if the Templates can be download for free, print them on paper first, paste on the Cardboxes, cut them based on their pattern, assemble them, insert your Switch or Joy Cons, Done !

Everyone is saying Labo this and Labo that! But no one is saying worship this and Jericho that!

I told my sister about this and she cracked a joke about buying pizza to make a new piano top. My niece and nephews are going to love everything about this.

I need this in my life so badly. I can’t wait to tell my dad.

Edit: I just realized this makes me sound possibly younger than I am. My father was a factory worker for a box manufacturing company, so cardboard boxes are sorta a big deal in my family. And I think my dad will get a kick out of this...and go on a dissertation about crush strength and the like. LOL

Can't wait to see what kinds of versions crafty people will be able to make themselves! 3D printing is sure to be a big hit with Labo.

This is awesome! I do wanna get the pack 1 to get the basics and support it, and then get the cardboard things to build more and replacements!
I am getting pretty excited about this!

I'm just ready for this to crash and burn so I can stop seeing it on every feed I have.

You can say it's great that Nintendo are providing the designs for free. All someone needs to copy them is paper and a pencil to trace them out. No way Nintendo could stop this. The problem is in the printing of these designs. It wouldn't be cheap for Joe Blogg to just knock these out. Is there some cheap cardboard printer out there that cuts out the designs?

@MailOrderNinja Oh no! People are excited for a new idea! What ever shall the internet do without MailOrderNinja on board?!

$70 cardboard, armirite??

For the first time in 2 years I'm happy I work in a cardboard factory!!

@SLIGEACH_EIRE
"Anti-Matter
Pssst...
I will help you.
Later, if the Templates can be download for free, print them on paper first, paste on the Cardboxes, cut them based on their pattern, assemble them, insert your Switch or Joy Cons, Done !"

Dude is correct, that is indeed how you can make it extremely easy. And cardboard is the easiest stuff to obtain for cheap. So after you've bought the game itself (and probably tried it once with the kit), your kids would be able to make new toys themselves. With the improving 3d printing, you can even make them in plastic for cheap. That is the future, at least the good part of it

I have never seen this brittle cardboard of which you speak.

I guess Nintendo is going old school since they were originally a toy company.

Anyways I hope this won't distract the company from making games.

This is excellent news. I can’t wait to see the wooden Labos people make.

@JaxonH Happy Birthday to you! Have a great day.

@Franklin brilliant 👌

@thesilverbrick I figured the initial cost was for materials + software. After you've bought the software you're free to create duplicates of the cardboard stuff on the cheap...

Some cardboard is pretty strong, my TV came in a box that I struggled to cut up and dispose of because it was such thick stock and doubled up in areas, if Labo were made of that I'd be less concerned.

Trouble with printing them off free is I don't have a printed that can print on card, just paper. It's going to be a right faff to print it on paper, find a decent card stock (cereal boxes won't fly here) and then neatly cut it all out. I wonder if they'll sell the card without the cartridge at some point?

That's very good to know and actually a pretty obvious solution. Only issue for me is price, so I probably won't be buying anything like this until it's something I can enjoy with my whole family rather than just me. Although I am tempted just for the piano alone, which looks amazing.

It's for the next generation. They will grow up with Nintendo. If I was 5 and I had this it would be the best game in the world. Maybe not for everyone but it's something that wil grow

Cool. And the price doesn't seem too bad at all now that I realise it comes with a game (which was elusively obvious now that I think about it).

@JasmineDragon Exactly $70 to spend many hours of quality time with my daughter building, playing, creating and learning is an absolute steal IMO.

@Ogbert They'll probably sell the software digitally as well. I can see how it could help being able to swap these Labo sets on the fly.

70 bucks for a tech demo is reasonable? Even 1, 2, Switch! was less than that and still thought it was overpriced. And if you can get the cardboard patterns for free, why would you pay for them in the first place? It's an overpriced IKEA-game that will lose it's appeal after playing with it once. It's like those 3DS AR cards that everybody forgot about.
You're not really creating anything unique like you can with Lego. You're just supposed to follow strict instructions on how to build something. Plus you can't reassemble and build something else, like Lego.
If the appeal of Labo is building things with cardboard, you can already do that with Nintendo-less cardboard. Just use your creativity.

Also funny how some people say they're lazy to print the designs out, so they rather pay 70 bucks to get them out of the box, but then the whole point of Labo is not to be lazy.

@RazumikhinPG
It's a construction set, not a tech-demo.

You pay the high(?) price for the software + a kit that allows you to assemble the different pieces. If you want to rebuild stuff later on after using the cardboard in the fireplace you can do it without having to pony up much more than a few bob. If you don't enjoy this kind of stuff, then there's always the option of not buying.

I'll grant you that it is not repurposable like Lego. Because it is not Lego, few things are, besides, well Lego. LABO is a construction-kit that allows you to do cool things with technology you already have at hand.

I get that this is not for everyone, but while the cardboard itself is an inexpensive material the R&D and construction of these patterns + corresponding software probably wasn't. It might be that Nintendo even has the outrageous idea of making money from LABO.

People buy a few pieces of plastic to assemble airplane-models, and people buy a piece of cardboard to puzzle an image that is already printed on the box. I don't do neither myself, but neither do I feel outraged about the price nor the fact that people seem to find value in these products.

You guys should probably edit this really quickly since the French IGN site already published a story saying this was false.

Nintendo is NOT giving out the blueprints for free.

http://fr.ign.com/nintendo-labo-nintendo-switch/33119/news/nintendo-labo-non-on-ne-pourra-pas-creer-ses-propres-patrons

^ This

@NickFalk The difference is that this is just Nintendo's clever way of selling peripherals that cost them nothing to produce. There's no creativity to it, at least not as much as building an Ikea shelf. Just follow strict instructions and you're set. Lego are popular because you can build whatever you want with it.

I don't have anything against Labo per se, there's stupid things being sold all over the world, just find it hilarious that people want to convince themselves that Nintendo invented the idea of building things out of cardboard. And charge you for that.

I don't see how you can print out your own designs. Given how the entire thing works (IR cameras detecting reflective tape to send a signal), you simply can't 'print' reflectiveness onto cardboard.

Furthermore, how many of us actually have printers that are able to print on cardboard...

@ProfessorNess You can't print reflectiveness on a cardboard, but you can buy tape and stick it to the cardboard. Magic.

You don't have to print on cardboard, you can print the designs on normal paper, place them over the cardboard, and cut the shapes out. Magic.

If Nintendo don't provide the blueprints they'll soon be scanned and all over the Internet anyway. They are just flat sheets of card.

@RazumikhinPG
I'm not sure I've seen anyone claiming that Nintendo invented cardboard-cutouts.
The context, complexity, and interaction with hardware is certainly not something I've seen released at a commercial scale.

And while the cost of printing cardboard is fairly low, R&D, software-development, testing etc. is certainly not free.

@MartyFlanMJFan
Thank you. Tbh I'm kinda shocked you knew lol

@RazumikhinPG

Given that the Frence IGN story has been already proven fake, I guess it proved my point. It's not just about reflective tape and cardboard printers. It's also about perforated edges and strings and other mechanisms built into the cardboard that we don't know about now.

But what you said is still possible, and even if Nintendo doesn't release the designs, I'm sure some China knock-off will be offering them online real soon after launch.

@Wolfy76700 Oh there's no doubt with that. If nothing else it'll be downloadable from the eShop I'm sure.

What I want to know is if I buy the set that has the official printed cardboard and a cartridge with the game, and my official printed cardboard constructions break, can I re-buy some official printed cardboard without the cartridge or will I have to print my own?

Because anything I print out myself is going to look terrible in comparison. I don't care about getting the game on it's own, I want the card on it's own so I don't have to keep re-buying game cartridges to get the nice official sets.

@JaxonH lol I saw it on Twitter! Don't be freaked out 😂

@NickFalk And that’s exactly the problem. The “materials” you’re paying $70-$80 for are literally a few sheets of cardboard. And the software is a game card that very likely is a low-capacity one with a handful of minigames on it. Labo looks like tons of fun, but considering that it’s simply a game card and cardboard, the whole package just seems massively overpriced.

Different strokes for different folks. I don’t think $70 is too much for the amount of fun I’m going to have with this (along with my daughter when she’s a tad older). And I’m currently surrounded by cardboard as I put together far too much IKEA furniture.

For those that aren’t the target market, I suggest you move on. I get that it’s not your thing, but I’m sick of hearing y’all moan about it.

Jolly good, carry on.

@MartyFlanMJFan
No, I'm just impressed is all.

Wonder if we'll see the templates as MyNintendo rewards. It's not like they're doing much else with it. A couple of exclusive patterns?

@thesilverbrick
Sorry, I guess we're just not on the same planet in regards to LABO. It's not like the price of an object is a direct translation of the production-cost.

"A ton of fun" is worth my money, but then again I have less regrets paying full price for BomberMan than I have for doing the same for Skyrim (as the amount of fun I've had with the former easily outweighs the few hours I've put into Skyrim).

It still feels it's too expensive. The parts look pretty intricate. I could see many having difficulty implementing these designs even with the drawings due to miscuts or the material not having enough support. Also need calrification on if $80 is for these 5 labos and future labos will need another $80 purchase or if the software will be updated and it's a 1 time cost. I'm still interested because it looks unique, but I'll need to see more to convince me it's worth buying at this price.

@RazumikhinPG Have you been to a LEGO Store lately? "You can build anything you want with them" stopped being the main selling point of LEGO decades ago. 95% of their sales are kits with exactly the pieces and colors you need to build exactly one model, and step by step instructions for building that one model. And the vast majority of the people who buy it will never build anything else out of those pieces.

And there is nothing wrong with that. You can have a lot of fun, get a sense of achievement, stimulate the mind and maybe cultivate a little creativity following the instructions to build a pirate ship or a TIE Fighter. It's a very good way to spend a few hours. And for kids, the fact that they built it themselves makes the resulting toy that much better and more immersive.

People have been complaining for many years now that LEGO isn't what it used to be because of this emphasis on bespoke kits over freestyle construction. As an AFOL, I saw dozens of these complaints when LEGO launched their "Friends" theme, as a lot of people who haven't bought LEGO in decades made the completely spurious claim that the Friends kits were LEGO "dumbed down" for girls.

All the same things apply to Labo, with the big, big bonus that the models are made out of a renewable resource instead of ABS plastic which uses petroleum and will sit in landfills for centuries when discarded.

Signed,
An Adult Fan Of LEGO
(And parent of two kids who also love it)

@RazumikhinPG
"You don't have to print on cardboard, you can print the designs on normal paper, place them over the cardboard, and cut the shapes out. Magic."

Yes, exactly like i was thinking about.

@JasmineDragon My apologies, I'm not as well versed in the wonderful world of Lego as I thought I was.

Is taking them a while to correct the article and mention that this is a fake news.

Cya
Raziel-chan

@Razzy Exactly; http://fr.ign.com/nintendo-labo-nintendo-switch/33119/news/nintendo-labo-non-on-ne-pourra-pas-creer-ses-propres-patrons

Regardless of whether this is real or fake, the first thing I would do is pop the pattern out of the sheet, trace it on to card stock, and line out all the folds and perfs for a sturdy master blue print. Every single step of this is meant to be a fun, tactile, interactive experience for you and your kid(s). Or just you.

@onex Who said anything about me being onboard or not? I'm just tired of people on both sides crying about it.

Seriously there is a happy middle ground here folks, just don't buy it or do buy it and don't tell the internet about it.

Dear author of this article, cardboard is the exact opposite of "Brittle". Brittle things crack and snap and crumble. Cardboard bends and is pliable. You may want to edit the wording and remove the word brittle.

@JasmineDragon I don't know who you are referencing because they have huge brickcons where the whole point is custom designs, people nonstop post custom creations and kids (mine included) eventually tear down that bespoke kit and use those pieces to create their own things.

It's the biggest market for Lego. They even have portions of their store where you can buy the exact pieces you need to construct your thing.

Lego is still completely about creativity, but unlike cardboard creating additional waste recyclable or not I can pass down to my kids and they can pass down to thiers because they are indestructible through standard play.

Well ya, obviously they're not gonna hand out the manufactured ones free of charge- that should go without saying.

They'll provide the pattern but you'll have to make it yourself. The official cardboard is being sold at a cost

@Anti-Matter Thanks! That’s a great idea

@NickFalk Seeing as they’re providing the patterns for free, the only “production costs” are printing and perforating a few sheets of cardboard. And seeing as cardboard isn’t exactly durable, charging $80 for that and a low-capacity game card is crazy.

@MailOrderNinja Of course those things exist, and there are numerous websites and groups devoted to creative LEGO building. I'm fairly active in at least one of them even though I'm an "average" builder at best. And I always hit the Pick-A-Brick wall when I get to a LEGO store. You can, and people do, make brilliant, beautiful and innovative things with LEGO.

But you're making the same mistake a lot of AFOLs make, thinking that they are the primary market. It's not even remotely close. The Lego Group is not the world's second biggest toy company because of people who are making their own creations. The vast majority of their sales are to kids, and the vast majority of them spend most of their time building by the instructions and playing with the minifigs.

I'm not saying all of them. Most kids will at some point break up an older model and use the parts to build something new. It's a natural part of the process. But the bulk of their sales depend on the idea that kids (not adults) want to build an X-Wing or a Batmobile by the book. If this wasn't a fact, there would be far less justification for TLG's constant stream of new sets featuring the hottest pop culture brands. They would be focusing on generic brick buckets and Creator sets, and the Pick-A-Brick wall would take up half the store in every LEGO shop instead of one little wall.

In reality, every LEGO Store is dominated by Star Wars, Superheroes and Ninjago. Because those sets are where TLG make the money.

@thesilverbrick
The price they’re charging is only crazy if it stops people from buying. Production cost is not the only cost, and I’m pretty sure this thing wasn’t just slapped together during lunch hour. Some of that software-hardware integration seems fairly advanced when considering it’s tied together with cardboard and rubber bands.

I’m no economist, but I’m pretty sure the basic idea of running a business is making money.

I'm a father of two sons and I think the prices announced seems steep for what you get. I also guessed last night that the price would be around $70-$80. However, if we have the option of downloading the games at a cheaper price and providing our own cardboard, then this might be something we're interested in.

@thesilverbrick I'm confused by your inability to look past the capacity of the game card as if file size dictates the charged price. This is Nintendo we're talking about. The masters of compression. That aside, think about the tech going into that file size. You're basically saying it's OK if some so-called AAA game maker charges $60 for essentially the same game for the 23rd time, but if Nintendo's R&D dept. designs something truly groundbreaking in its execution - yet doesn't create a large file size - you don't approve of the price.

Stop looking at the material used here, and take a few moments to consider the inner workings. These aren't tech demos; they're fully realized mixed-reality toys with complex working parts constructed with easily replaced material.
The average LEGO set runs for $99.99 and above, and that's usually for one instructed toy, WITHOUT a neat motion-contolled game.

@Timppis Even if Nintendo don't the first batch will be scanned, repurposed, and downloadable as PDFs before the day is over.
There'll be Etsy shops who's sole merch is different designs of these.

The best part of this will probably be for the more creative/inventive types using alternate materials. I love this idea, but I really dislike the use of cardboard packs....heck just stick it in a humid house and July and the toycons will be limp soggy messes in under 48 hours....and given how cardboard in my house collapses and degrades, just sitting there, I would not expect any toycon to survive a full year. That's kind of a big problem.

I'm not inventive (or patient) enough to use other materials, but if they're at least providing the patterns, someone more creative than me can make some use of it.

@JasmineDragon Wow, I haven't looked at Legos in ages, and hadn't realized they don't really emphasize random building kits. Back in my day you got a hardshell case full of blocks and were told to build something. gets off rocking chair.

Still, there's a balance between renewable and potentially unfit for the task. The cardboard will fall apart fast (varying between climates, usage, and skin oils...and kids with dorito fingers... ) and since it's expected to move around and hold a $300 console.....I'm very very skeptical of the material.

I know it will sell well. And as a kid I'd have NEEDED it for very survival itself. And the cardboard would have been stepped on or bent or flattened in one spot by the end of Christmas week, and by June would have been forgotten. I do wish it were a bit more durable in material than corrugated. I think the real aim here is the inevitable 3rd party licensed project packs which we'll see consume every toy store.

Nintendo's new DLC = $2 for new cardboard patterns. I can see that idea being a hit especially if they are planning to release more games for Labo.

@onex LEGO sets are made of plastic and will last. I still have LEGO sets from 30 years ago. Labo is literally made of biodegradable material, meaning most sets will be quickly torn or crushed, and even those who take good care of theirs will see them break down over time and then they’re stuck trying to print and make their own or pay $80 again for literally just more cardboard. And I’m only focusing on the size of the game card to point out that overhead material costs will be dirt cheap for Nintendo. If Labo software needed a 64G card or something it might be easier to argue that price.

@NickFalk People will still buy it, surely. And Nintendo has every right to charge whatever they want. I’m simply arguing that the prohibitive cost may prevent many people from playing who would otherwise enjoy it, and they may be able to sell many more units with a more reasonable price point, especially considering the only material costs are a game card and cardboard. Again, it’s their right to do what they want, but it seems a little greedy, considering what you’re paying for.

You do realize the technology you are speaking of already was in place last March and the consumer has already paid for it, right? There is zero technology included in these sets beyond cardboard moving parts and rubber bands. The tech you speak of is already integrated into the Switch hardware and the IR sensor. You are essentially paying $80 for a game card full of mini games and a few sheets of cardboard. And oddly enough, what is printed on the cardboard will be available for free elsewhere. So you really are only paying for the cardboard itself, the perforations and the ink.

So ... isn't the obvious question whether or not Labo will pave the way for a DIY VR Kit like Google Cardboard?

And also - there's NO WAY that Nintendo won't be selling the cardboard by itself There's too much opportunity there for people who either want to replace, or want to build the same thing a second time and try different artistic touches...

Labo is pretty brilliant. I'm hoping Nintendo will annouce that future kits will be available ... Does each Labo kit have a different cartridge, or is there one Labo Cartridge and the kit determines what cardboard you get and what things you can do? I'd prefer this as Nintendo can push updates and keep demand up for buying $20 cardboard kits for a long time... It's DLC with real world things — it's Amiibo but totally different.

Wonder what the digital download price will be for those who just want to try to build them all from the patterns ourselves. Also, I'm confused now, will they offer downloads of the patterns for you to cutout yourself, but just not offering free pre-patterned cardboard or just no, you get nothing?

@thesilverbrick
Yes I am aware that LABO does not magically add additional technologies to the Switch.

No really, I am.

My point was rather that while the technology has always been part of the device, it is not a given that using it rumble to remote-control a card box-figure is an easy task.

I also happen to know a little bit about software development, and know that it is not particularly cheap, and not always as straightforward as one might think.

I will be paying for the game card, the perforated cardboard and ink, but mostly I will be paying for the pleasure of doing something I suspect my kids and I will enjoy immensely.

Nintendo will probably consider my payment against the cost of all the research and development money spent in order to bring the final product to market.

Pretty much every high-profile product costs vastly more than the sum of its parts, and my guess is that LABO just seems more expensive because it is made of cardboard. I'm not 100% this is necessarily true compared to mass produced molded plastic products for example.

@Archius9 I'm even considering starting one such shop. It's basically like those Switch skins people make.

@NickFalk I’m aware many hours of R&D went into these designs, but ironically, they are giving them out for free. The only things not being provided for free are their proprietary prints on cardboard and the game card itself. That is what you are paying for. There’s no way those items alone cost any more than a few dollars to produce. This thing is entirely profit for Nintendo. Again, they can charge whatever they want, and many people will still buy it, but I’m arguing they could sell many, many more units if they were priced more competitively. You also have to weigh the fact that you only get a finite amount of playtime out of these things before they inevitably get crushed, ripped or break down. This is not something you can keep long-term, like a LEGO set.

@thesilverbrick
Sorry, you lost me.
They're not giving them out for free. The product is clearly the combination of cardboard++ & software. You pay a premium for this, which I believe you are arguing is too high.

In addition they give you a chance to protect your investment by allowing you to print new patterns yourself in the future. They can do this because the patterns themselves are essentially only half the product and are really only worth anything if you've already made the purchase.

But I guess we won't see eye to eye on this. To me the pricing seems fair for what they're offering, while you clearly see it differently. Perhaps we should just agree to disagree.

@NickFalk Fair enough. I don’t mean to come across as argumentative or condescending or anything, just for the record. I’m glad you’re looking forward to building and using these, and truth be told, I love the concept. They’re unbelievably clever. I just personally have a hard time justifying paying $80 for what is ultimately a disposable toy, but that’s me. To each his own.

@thesilverbrick all toys are disposable and it’s for kids so of course you won’t see justification but remember than skylanders, Disney infinity and LEGO dimensions came bare-bones at $100 and look how much they are worth now so $80 for this kind of thing, which is more healthy than those for kids, is not a huge ask.

@brutalpanda It’s funny you bring up Disney Infinity. Sure, those figurines have tanked in value, but just about every figurine that ever was purchased still exists and is usable. I personally own most of the figurines from all three series of Disney Infinity, and while I don’t play with them much anymore, I still can if I want to. The same cannot be said for Nintendo Labo. Kids who bought Disney Infinity figurines back in 2013 can still dig them out and use them. Kids who buy and assemble Labo kits this year will certainly not be able to play them in 2023. And sure, everything degrades over time and everything is ultimately disposable, but plastic figurines don’t biodegrade and disappear in a human life time. If you think used Disney Infinity figurines are worthless, wait and see how much you’ll get for the average five-year-old used Labo set. I can guarantee the value will be much, much lower than any Disney Infinity figurine, and that’s only if your Labo set isn’t crushed or torn beyond recognition or functionality, which it almost certainly will be...

@NEStalgia I remember the days when your only option was a bucket of brightly colored bricks. Or in my kids' estimation, the Late Neolithic Age...

On the choice of materials, I'm sorry for everyone who hates it but there are going to be more and more of these things. Nintendo is just moving with the times. Almost every large corporation is starting to realise that we can't keep using indestructible petroleum-based materials for everything. Even if we never run out of oil (which we will) plastic detritus is piling up in landfills and floating in our oceans and we are getting to a point where it's impossible for even the most ardent anti-environmentalists to ignore. A lot of people are demanding that we change our petroleum-based lifestyle to more renewable choices that will hopefully leave our children and grandchildren with something resembling a livable planet.

Not to get all political here, but these are the facts. Even the Lego Group knows this. Everyone (including myself) cites the fact that LEGO lasts forever as a positive thing, the idea being that you can pass your old sets down to your kids and maybe even the grandkids. And that IS a good thing, to a certain point. The flipside of this is that plastic and ABS use a ton of petroleum, cause pollution to make, and take centuries to break down. It's not a sustainable model. TLG have been looking into plant-based ABS alternatives for some time now, and the paranoid hippy part of me suspects that one big reason they claim to have never found a good alternative is that TLG have a "relationship" with Shell that has been said to be over $100M. But sooner or later, the scarcity of oil and increasing public demand for a more environmentally friendly option will force them to change.

....

Anyway, how 'bout them Dodgers?

@MailOrderNinja Ah, but if people kept to the happy middle ground, a vast portion of social media would cease to exist.

@thesilverbrick true, but they are not even that fun. the appeal wears off quick in those games. Lego is literally just crush stuff over and over. Disney is a little better. There are better and cheaper platformers out there than Skylanders. Either way to unlock the full game it could cost you $500+ for each one. It comes down to the memory you had with the title. I think parents and kids will have more fun and learn more with Labo instead of the gimmick of setting a plastic toy on a plastic platform so you can spawn a character for the sake of crushing things and just zoning out. It's way more creative than constantly looking at the screen and can spawn some really cool ideas if it takes off. Imagine a Little Big Planet or Dreams type game where you make a game in the game and create your own real-life contraption to control it. It can be pretty revolutionary for some time and it wouldn't be possible with plastic. Paper allows it to be cost-efficient for the producer, cheaper for the buyer and better for the environment than plastic. I don't argue with you that they are disposable but I'm just saying there is nothing wrong with that because the experiences and memories are what matter. What was the last time somebody pulled Wii Sports out to play at a party or get-together? Games get old and so many get stashed into a basement, attic, closet or shelf never to be used again. It's only the memories of them and experiencing them with others that remain. Also, all the materials that help people be creative are disposable. Clay, paper, ink, etc.

Just saw the update about designs not being free...that's Nintendo's choice, but someone will be selling knock-off toycon patterns on ebay before April's over.

yeah yeah, toys made from cardboard for kids ...their lifespan = 1 hour?

@JasmineDragon of cooourse the people here will defend Nintendo at all cost...so enjoy your 70bucks chardboards with your children and play together for about 1 hour till your children definitely destroys the cardboard toys ............yes, cleverly spent money!!

@onex you totally should. You could make them jazzy designs and whatnot. I reckon that walking big one will be adapted to be different things but same procople. Like a car or something. The Mario Odyssey taxi!

Sucks they won't publish the patterns at least, it's such a small thing to do. And it would have let people modify and build their own versions with extensions of it.

Because I could definitely see people build upon the robot one, making full costumes and not just a backpack n feet. Wouldn't take long before we'd see gundam n what not inspired ones.

A missed community opportunity there Nintendo....

Why would anyone think that they ever would? So you make one purchase and then just keep ringing up every day for more. never ever gonna happen cardboard or otherwise.

Eh. Even if they don't publish the patterns, I imagine they'll be on the internet before the kits even hit retail. And third parties will be selling cardboard with the patterns applied.

The cardboard price is just highway robbery no matter how you look at it. Well whatever I guess because of their greediness, they will most likely see people do a 1-time but only for them as opposed to a potential customer buying it over and over again that would eventually exceed the $70.

It shouldnt be free ... but nor should they receiving a 2000% mark up either. They'll be making money on the software .. thats fine. Given that it isnt exactly robust material, why not just sell replacement cardboard at cost price. I certainly wont be buying replacements at £20 for £0.02 worth of cardboard.

I think a lot of DIY men would make some wooden toycon.
It would be some really solid toy !

Whether Nintendo release them or not, you will be able to find blueprints for the cardboard designs free online anyway. It will take less than a day after release for them to appear all over the net.

but i be nice if say you bought the robot kit, you should be able to get the other kit for 10 without the game, so you don't have to pay for the game twice after all 10 pounds sounds a lot better than 60.

it will be nice i mean

or maybe do a two in one kit!.

Why are people that preordered 10 Labo Kits 30 seconds into the trailer so upset that people want to know more about the durability, functionality, and replay value of Labo? It’s perfectly ok for people to raise questions like that, lol.
I want to know how the fishing game plays and if the string will slowly tear through the cardboard after a few uses, or how smoothly the reel turns, and whether it can withstand kids trying to beat their high scores by playing more aggressively. (I’m an adult and I press buttons on a controller super hard, thinking it’ll make a difference.) Can’t imagine a kid getting really into a game and remembering to lightly press down on a cardboard peddle, or not to punch too hard with their little robot kit.
Don’t see what’s wrong with asking these questions until we get the answers before making a purchase. That’s just how I do things.
Not everyone who isn’t onboard the Labo train is salty because we didn’t get a 2 hour Nintendo direct on Prime 4, Pokémon, and Animal Crossing, and hope that Labo fails because it doesn’t appeal to us. Geez, jump to conclusions much?

@BlackenedHalo I regret to inform you that my kids are not the avatars of destruction you seem to think they are, and when I buy them a $70 toy they will understand that it's not the kind of toy you step on.

@ThanosReXXX very very well said

@SEM There's absolutely nothing wrong with asking questions of that sort. I'm wondering about the same things myself, and have not preordered Labo and won't order it until I see what kind of materials we're talking about.

But what I'm seeing is a lot more blind negativity from the other side, the people who are insisting that this WILL be destroyed "within 1 hour", like the fellow I just responded to. According to a lot of people, it's 100% inevitable that kids will destroy this stuff almost as soon as they see it, and from my experience raising two children that just isn't even remotely true. If it was, I probably wouldn't be trusting my kids to play with my $300 Switch.

This is Nintendo, though, and this is not their first rodeo, so I'm inclined to believe that they've spent some time thinking about how to engineer these things. For example, I believe that the fishing line is fed through plastic grommets so it won't cut through the cardboard. I also suspect that the cardboard used for most of these is not the flimsy two-ply cardboard most people are thinking of. Cardboard can be surprisingly strong material, it just costs more to make the strong types.

The giant robot kit is the one I'd be most worried about. I really want to see how these strings are anchored and how you adjust them for different sized "robots". I almost want to order it just so I can see how the thing works. But even though I'm inclined to trust Nintendo engineering, I'm not made of money, so I'm going to need to see a few previews demonstrating its durability before I jump on that train.

@retro_player_22 I think that’s how Labo should’ve been implemented from the start. Being able to buy individual projects, and maybe a free app on the eShop where you enter in a download code that comes with the individual projects.
For example, if I want the fishing kit and the piano kit, I’ll pay a separate price for each and then enter the code in the app to get the instructions and play the games. That would be ideal, especially for people that are not interested in everything a variety kit has to offer, rather than having to pay 70 bucks just to try something out.

I really think I will prefer making the cardboard cutouts myself. I expect Nintendo to encourage experimentation and making own designs in the future.

On well just means we have to make our replacement and be extra careful.

why don't they make more expensive plastic parts?
I will never touch this - cuz hands are greasy
Charge a few more bucks and make it last forever.

@DonSerrot A year or two later they'll be like, 'Damn, I wish our uncle got us the new Kirby game instead"

@SEM Exactly, I'm surprised many people are blindly buying these before seeing what reviewers are experiencing first. I'm simply not supporting this because I find kids will have much more fun with this years first party lineup of games.

@Slim1999 Thank you.

@JasmineDragon As for the materials, for thousands of years people used wood and metal and clay and ceramic without a problem. If you think a nearly indestructible material is unsuitable for a particular use case any of those other materials should be more than suitable to produce durable goods that can be destroyed or re-purposed as needed. Building things out of paperboard that are meant to be manhandled isn't the wisest idea. The whole point of paperboard is that it's disposable and self-sacrificial. Not an ideal material for a toy. At worst, wood is highly preferable and is made out of the same material anyway.....

Keeping in mind that that paperboard is made of trees, and we all know that absolutely no petrolium, coal, or natural gas is burned in logging, hauling, transporting, processing, refining, treating, or even recycling of paper, right? "Disposable" goods aren't necessarily any more "earth friendly" than plastics. It's like the myth of electric cars. The dream that it runs on cleanly produced energy instead of burning fossil fuels is only a dreamy utopia if you don't look into what producing those disposable batteries for them looks like. Of course that's all stuffed in Guangdong so nobody ever sees it and can dream.

But I'll throw you a bone against plastics: Recycling plastic typically consumes more petroleum than simply disposing of it.... it's a smoke and mirrors act, so I won't disagree that plastics aren't a great choice for most things that aren't long lasting either.

That said, we're here participating on a forum for generational disposable electronics with disposable batteries, with plastic game cartridges. I'm not sure a "save the earth, make payer toys!" campaign is anything but hypocrisy on an electronics forum. We're literally talking about the earth friendliness of using paper as a holder for 3 lithium batteries, an LCD display, 4 seperate circuit boards, all of which are going to be discontinued in 4-7 years, and the stock batteries won't be alive by then anyway.

The biggest problem in my own experience with "plant based plastics" which sound great in theory is that they require a RIDICULOUS amount of plasticizer (toxic chemicals) to hold together, but they separate rapidly with the decaying organic compounds and become brittle generally within 1-2 years. Fine for disposable drink cups that go from production to landfill within a year, but not so good for legos or anything strain bearing.

Still, at the dawn of "3d printing" I wouldn't expect a decrease in plastics use for the time being...they're trying to create a boom!

Regardless, "green" or not, a product needs to be fit for its intended purpose, otherwise it's just wasteful. I don't want to see a pile of Wii Tennis rackets piled up again, but at the same time, cardboard isn't fit for extended handling, and especially not rough handling of delicate parts as kids are going to employ. The idea of "scrapyard fun" is cool.....but not for $20+ in specially made boards. Wood, fabric, ceramic, metal. Arts and crafts feature disposable papers, sure, but they're built to be observed, not used. It just strikes me as a mismatch between materials and intended use.

More cynically, one could say it's designed precisely to appeal to someone like you, the earth-conscious parent who will notice the eco friendly materials without evaluating if the use case for those materials is actually sensible or durable enough to itself be fuel economy efficient. It's such a juicy target in the "target parents" motif for selling to kids.

To be clear, I like the Labo idea of arts & crafts meets video games. I've just handled enough cardboard to know it's just a wrong material choice. And I can also tell kids will still find it appealing and want it, not calculating the disposability of it, and Nintendo knows that the fragility will not affect sales while both keeping the product very cheap to produce, and be able to market it to those earth conscious parents.

@JaxonH Up until the little brats accidentally break said 70 dollar cardboard. And how much easier and cheaper it'll be for people to reproduce. All the naysayers can say, argument won then.

@frogopus

I'm not upset. A lot of people are more likely just rolling their eyes.

I just don't see the point to paying so much for something like cardboard. It's not the most sturdy material to hand over to kids and you can't deny that.

Not to mention non-gaming parents may not understand or see the point.

So I don't think this'll do all that well tbh.

Plus you can get art supplies cheaper and let the kids have at it and make whatever they want anyway.

My late step-dad helped me make me a doghouse for one of my plush puppies with a cardboard box, stencils and spraypaint. Had his name on it and everything.

My daughter is always asking for art supplies and she honestly thought Labo was a practical joke announcement.

@dok5555555

What's not to understand? It's an easily destructible material, that as far as I can tell, is necesary to play a 50 dollar game.

Because nothing is worse then using common sense and seeing the difference between the cost of long-term and short-term investment.

@JasmineDragon

The late neolithic age! XD

Boy, the market for sealed versions 20 years from now is gonna be costly. XD

@frogopus

Aww that's wonderful that you and your daughter do stuff like that.

That's a good point about the quality of the games as well. I didn't think of it.

My daughter and I have different things we bond over, since I'm artistically disinclined and she's great at it. But for me at least, and I think for a lot of parents especially non-gaming ones, its about long-term investment and the cost of it.

I mean my daughter and I can still play games on my GBA. She has inherited my last childhood toy and owns several vintage toys. So unless Nintendo figures out how to infuse nintendium in their cardboard kits, we'll pass this up. XD

@Tempestryke I guess I meant more from the perspective that people are feeling ripped off for buying "just cardboard" and aren't considering the game as a whole, not so much the fact that it could be flimsy. Yes it can break easily but you take that risk with almost any type of toy.

@NEStalgia But any of those materials would have made this bulkier, heavier, much more expensive and less suited to Labo's primary purpose of being a kid-friendly craft project. The making of the objects is more than half the fun here. You're talking about durability, but this isn't meant to be something that's passed down through the generations - it's meant to be something that you make, without tools and without any engineering experience.

This is totally not about the long term. Look at the things you're making and the games that go with them. Two remote-controlled car/bugs that move by vibrations (which pretty much prohibits any heavy materials). A simplistic fishing game that could be a minigame in any of Nintendo's big franchises. A house for a Tamagotchi. And a toy piano with a quarter of the options any $20 toy synthesizer has. None of those things are meant to keep entertaining any kid for more than a few months. The point of the whole business is making the things that will interact with the Switch. So why NOT use a material that's light, cheap, easy to work with, easily recyclable and just durable enough to make things out of?

@Tempestryke Yes kids can easily break the cardboards but the same could be said about fixing them. All it takes are some Scotch tapes and the cardboards are usable again. I don't see the big deal about them breaking though, it's not like glass where if it broke it's not usable anymore.

Urgh, kind of irritating whenever people call laser etched cardboard, "3D printing". 3D printing involves an additive process on 3 dimensions. You print designs and cut in two dimensions to produce Labo you fools.

I would definitely buy the piano one. I would mainly use Labo with casual games that really benefit from the experience.

@JasmineDragon I think the view of an $80 toy being acceptably disposable is a scale of economies issue. When i was a kid an $80 toy better darned well be the center of my life till I'm 90 (and lo, i still have my nes and carts... )

Though I'm not sure we're talking months. Kids and cardboard i give between hours and weeks. Heck I'm not sure i give myself much more than that today! Not that I'm reckless but clumsy

All that said I'm still not sure "we think your kids will get so bored with this so fast we figured it's best to make it disposable" would make a good sales pitch.

@Angelic_Lapras_King It kind of makes me think those people selling an "XBox 360 Box" for $400 on eBay years ago were way ahead of their time.

to all who express concern about the blueprints being free (a la French ign) they come in the pack. Keep the sheets and the pop out section are a stencil. Exclusively obvious indeed.

Elusively

You'd think they would let you buy replacements? Even if just £5 each on the official store. But whatever, people will have PDF's of these for download within hours of release and I'm sure people will print their own to sell on eBay anyway

3D-print is your friend! Yes, they will be duplicated.

Of course Nintendo ain't gonna provide replacement pieces. That would require them to give a hoot about their customers which they clearly don't.