One of the criticisms we've seen time and time again surrounding the Nintendo Labo construction toys is that you could easily just recreate it yourself for mere pennies and a spare half an hour. Well, we thought it would be interesting to see if we really could do as so many claim they can, so we set aside a morning to recreate Nintendo's design, and we actually came up with something that looks pretty close to the original Rc car/bug/thing.
We took some liberties with the design due to our limited tools and because we didn't have a full understanding of the design's intricacies, but even so we were fairly pleased with how accurately we managed to reproduce what Nintendo designed. Unfortunately we were limited to only being able to vibrate the Joy-Con in the controller menu that allows you to vibrate a controller in order to find it should you have misplaced it on a hard surface.
We had to use two Switch consoles for this though as this menu only allows you to control one controller at a time, and we weren't going to get very far without simultaneous vibration. And wowsers trousers, as the video and gif above show, it actually works! True we had to put it on a very uniform and sloped surface to get it to move, but even so, we were marginally chuffed.
It doesn't move anywhere near as freely or smoothly as the official product however, and this can partly be put down to the limited control over the controllers' vibration, but also simply due to our own knockoff design. What this has shown us more than anything is just how well-designed Nintendo Labo actually is, and that 'just making your own' is not going to prove a viable option. Having said that it will be interesting to see how well it works with the actual game this cardboard cutout is made for once it's released.
Has this affected your view of Nintendo Labo at all? Let us know down there in the comments.
Comments 50
I mean, I'm probably not going to get one unless they make a sweet gun for a rail gunner game. That said, Nintendo is always about quality so I'm not shocked that knockoff toycon models will not look as nice.
The official thing probably has a special (HD) vibration too, if that wasn't obvious.
I've seen a couple of efforts before and the thing moved like treacle. That was a decent effort Alex, though you did need a slope.
I swear I just don't see how Labo isn't going to be a resounding flop (beyond the droves of curious early adopters, anyways).
It's friggin' cardboard, people! Once the first wave of orders break after light use (because, well, cardboard), I don't see many folks picking up 2nd and 3rd orders of this stuff.
But hey, I guess finally Nintendo has a justification for their underwhelming HD rumble.
@gatorboi352 They make some pretty good cardboard out there. Just depends on how much you are willing to spend.
Since Nintendo has already said they are going to provide the schematics to make your own cardboard, it's obvious that the majority of the cost of the product isn't in that part of the solution, anyway.
The software is where the main cost is, and I don't see how you can "make your own" for that.
@gatorboi352 this was said about the Wii when the simple Wii Sports was displayed. The bigger part is that it's not aimed at the typical gaming market, but in the "STEM" (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) learning market. When looking at the toys in this space, it's pretty on-par with what's being designed and likely to compete quite well.
@r4builder "this was said about the Wii when the simple Wii Sports was displayed."
I really don't think it was though. All it took for Wii was that 2006 E3 reveal where everyone was lined up en masse for hours trying to get their hands on it. The rest is history.
This works in Nintendo's favor. The more people who make these and can't get them to work properly the more Nintendo gets to say - you aren't paying that much for the cardbaord, it's all about the software.
And then at some point Nintendo can just sell the software without the cardboard once they prove the HD Rumble can be used to do stuff.
Thanks though, I was going to try this myself if I could get the Joycon to rumble properly, but we can't, so I won't bother.
@Yorumi if it flops, it flops because it will be stupid. That's the tes t-
whether it's any fun. Cardboard has nothing to do with it. They sell toys from anything, including crappy strings and cheap goo passed as playdough. It's completely irrelevant to the success of the product.
@gatorboi352 dude I don’t think it will flop, not a full failure anyway...reason is Nintendo will easily make there money back from this, and kids, who by the way this is for, are going to love this!
Man when I was a little tyke I’d have loved this posh cardboard, instead I played golf with an empty toilet roll to putt in.
I understood you are supposed to be able to make them yourself?
This is the most underwhelming thing I've ever seen.
Anyone who says "who would pay that for cardboard" has outed themselves as a very ignorant person... or a troll.
Same thing for anyone who watches these homemade attempts and says "see, it doesn't work".
@Yorumi maybe they won't buy it again but (others) would still buy it the first time. The amount of crappy toys that broke within a day in my house is huge. Includes plastic.
@Deathwalka A failure in the sense it won't be nearly as popular as Wii Sports was (like everyone saying it will be).
@r4builder Actually that was confirmed as fake news, Nintendo won't be sharing the patterns.
Cya
Raziel-chan
This is quality investigative journalism! Thanks man!
I was going to try this. Glad to see someone did!
I know people are saying that the joy is in the making and folding the cardboard, it’s a magical feeling, the children’s smiles, an intersection of craft and technology that warms the heart. . . . But for $80 my money’s on an RC Truck. Now you’re playing with power! Lol
@gatorboi352 I think you are missing two significant points here;
1) The announcement itself has already been wildly successful for Nintendo. Everyone is talking about it. All publicity, whether good or terrible = good for business.
2) Profit VS Risk.
Cardboard= cheap= low risk.
But more importantly,
Cardboard = cheap = HUGE profit margins. Potential profit like you wouldn't believe.
Even if LABO sells low numbers, the profit will easily offset the RISK.
@Razzy Ah yes, I see the retraction by IGN France about it now.
So the options will be that Nintendo will supply additional materials after the fact, or aftermarket patterns/suppliers will spring up rather quickly. Half of the fun of this will be the construction and discovery phase.
It'll be interesting to see how this works out once it's released.
It'll probably be possible to make better controller setups once the programming app Fuze is released. That is supposed to give access to the joy cons and such.
@Alexolney There's a £10 off a £50 spend on Amazon UK at the moment using code BIGTHANKS (it has to be sold by Amazon). That means you can get a SNES Mini for £59.99 or a Labo Starter Kit for £49.99. It runs until the 25th January.
are you guys done yet with these excessive Labo articles?
FYI GameXplain already did this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FWtbMRu_-c
It would be nice if Nintendo sold replacement pre-cut cardboard without the software for a discounted price. I have to wonder how good can I recreate the original pre-cut cardboard if I have to make rebuild my Labo if it gets damaged? Even with the schematics provided, I know I'm not as precise as a machine. Some people can probably recreate these easily but not everybody is great at crafts. This RC car is one thing, but can I really recreate something as precise as the piano or god forbid that robot suit thing?
Alex...erm...this is just cardboard...
@Curlynob Does it work for US too?
@GrailUK
Yeah..... cardbox.
But it's Magic, you know.
Can we have a version with the motivational Labo music playing while the thing works...down a slope lol.
@Thumbsofsteel I feel Ninty have to sell the cardboard packs alone as replacements. Just as people will also demand the game carts alone, although how easy and fun it’ll be to play the games without the cardboard accessories is anyone’s guess. I will get a pack if I find out I can get a replacement cardboard alone pack for ~£10 or less because my daughter will destroy these unsupervised. I do wish I was a kid though, what a wacky yet awesome idea. That robot pack!!
You got the thing to vibrate down a slope. This is not impressive.
IGN did this last week. It’s like South Park ripping off the simpsons then family guy ripping off South Park. Chall rippin trippin
You succeeded where GameXplain failed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FWtbMRu_-c
Clap Clap...
Nope didn't watch the video as usual
@gatorboi352 You completely ignored @r4builder's extremely valid point that this is aimed at the edutainment market as a STEM tool. Just because you, personally, don't like it, doesn't mean there's no market for it or that it won't be successful.
Guess Labo is this years fidget spinner-- Guess anything can become a "thing" nowadays
I'm intrigued to know if Labo will be opened up to 3rd party devs for them to make software and... hard(?)ware.
You should save it to test it with the real software once it comes out and see if it works better.
the reason it's not working that great is because you can only vibrate the joy-con at one frequency with the find my joy-con app. the actual game will allow you to tune the frequency so you can get the most movement out of the toy-con.
@gatorboi352 Is the user SLIGEACH_EIRE your cousin? You sound like him.
@boop22 Are you kidding me? The "toycon" made by Alex is leagues behind Nintendo's, but that is leagues behind Alex's intent. The guy built nothing!
What everyone missing is the metal-like strips that come with teh ttoy con and, I bet, will improve the connection between the controllers attached to the toycon and the Switch. I bet that besides been a kind of an antenna, they serve other purposes.
GameXplain already did this!
Ying tong idldle I Po!
All further arguments are now invalid.
i'll call this the Nintendo Labo: NintendoLife Edition. comes with a free extra cardboard.
I think the legs are too flat. Especially the rear ones. I think thats stopping it from moving really well.
I'm looking forward to Nintendo's bottle cap range.
Alex... Nintendo made you to get creative, craft something and come up for solutions for a problem.
I think thier plan worked very well.
@gatorboi352 By the time it breaks you will have:
1) Followed detailed instructions to construct the toy.
2) Played around with the mini game to see what it does.
3) Deconstructed the toy to see how it works.
4) Broken out your felt-tips and customised it.
5) Repeat 4 more times for the other toys.
These are not peripherals to play with. They are construction kits - the fun is in the making not the keeping.
@chardir Actually even though i have been a vocal hater of this idea, have often called it stupid and will fail (which i firmly stand by even after saying this), in terms of the long term "use" of this product, it has more than you could ever know.
If you can keep this product from being damaged, still boxed and in its original state (in fact just buy them and store them for collection without using at all) - in years time they will have much more value as a collectors piece.
it's items like this, which can be destroyed, in fact this particular item, like you say, its in its very nature to get destroyed and dismantled, then not resold by the manufacturer will balloon in value in years to come (in its original state though)
If i purchase this it would be to store it and sell it in 20 years to a collector for a huge profit (i'd buy an extra as i myself am a collector too).
@Yorumi The Switch will be a sunk cost. Nintendo's idea is that Switch will obviously be extremely prevalent, universal. So it is irrelevant. it's already going to be there like your old Wii, DS or iPhone (in Nintendo's utopia).
People buy things that cost more than 5X the times of this cardboard stuff and never open it, or use it once, or never get it to work. RC cars or planes or robots often cost much more, and rarely do they keep working for a long time. All it takes is for them to crush onto a car, fall from a table etc, not to mention the batterly leaks, water and a million of other issues. People buy expensive crap all the time if they think the crap is fun even if short lived.
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