The release of Nintendo Labo for Switch is right around the corner now, with Toy-Con 01 - Variety Kit and Toy-Con 02 - Robot Kit becoming available on 20th April in the US and Japan, and later on the 27th in Europe.
Now you might be wondering how Nintendo is going to manage producing all of these cardboard kits on its own. This would be a huge feat considering that it is almost a worldwide launch and we're imagining that supply will be plentiful.
It turns out that Japanese packaging firm Rengo will be doing the honours of producing the kits for Nintendo; however, representatives from the company are being tight-lipped about details of the manufacturing for business reasons. Still, at least now we have confirmation which company is actually making the cardboard kits.
Rengo is one of the first companies within Japan to produce corrugated cardboard, and in terms of sales it is the third-largest maker of containers and packaging products in Japan. Rengo has a market value of about 250 billion yen ($2.3 billion), so it is quite the 'mover and shaker' in the world of cardboard and packaging.
Are you looking forward to getting your hands on Nintendo Labo soon? Let us know your thoughts about the price of cardboard with a comment below.
[source bloomberg.com]
Comments 54
As cool as Labo looks, I'm still not sure if I can justify the price. I'd like some hands-on time first and if it turns out to be as unique and fun as it seems, I will probably pick one of the kits up.
I prefer to buy to myself a brand new Metroid Prime 4 over carton.
Labo will be one of those things we all look back on a year from now and go 'lol remember labo?'
@0muros yeah pretty much this.
Please, tell us more-
What ply is the cardboard? How many sheets per hour are produced?
Is it recyclable?
What tint of brown are they using?
What is the menu in the factory canteen like?
They really shouldn't make that many. Can't see this doing much outside of Japan.
@0muros yep
"we're imagining that supply will be plentiful"
Hahaha! Yes, because Nintendo has always kept up a great supply of new (non-software) items.
@NewAdvent My tescos have a massive display on a end for just the switch with Labo big advertisements... not seen them even do that for ps4!
I’m not the least bit interested in this and neither is my child. She’d rather play games like Mario and Zelda or Rocket League than build some cheap cardboard housing to place our costly gaming system. First half of this year has been pretty bland from Nintendo what with all the Wii U rereleases coming. Has anything Switch exclusive come out from Nintendo yet this year or is Labo the first?
Very interesting.
Happy to hear that Nintendo is having stuff produced inside Japan, rather than China, as to share a bit of wealth and success with their countrymen.
@NewAdvent Agree, to an extent. I guess there's not much point in mainstream marketing it until it's available in stores.
Google's AI Kit is competing with Nintendo's LABO:
https://www.engadget.com/2018/04/16/google-aiy-kits-include-raspberry-pi/
It's a shame Europe has to wait an additional week.
Is it recycled cardboard or new? Makes alot of difference
My smaller Target has had a Labo ad up above the games for at least a month.
Will be interesting to see how Nintneod markets this and how well it sells. They've really been pushing Labo as it's own thing, not really Switch related.
Here's the official Nitneod (US) Switch games page. Labo isn't on it at all, not even at the bottom where it lists "Coming Soon".
https://www.nintendo.com/games/switch
Labo does have it's own page though. It isn't where you would expect it to be, it isn't "www.nintedo.com/Labo" it's "labo.Nintnedo.com". I just find that interesting.
https://labo.nintendo.com/
@Zach777 Kirby Star Allies released a month ago.
@NewAdvent We haven't got any advertising because firstly, itll only be sold in GAME/Amazon most likely, as other places just stock the yearly sellers. Maybe Smyths?
But additionally, it doesn't come out here until the 27th/
I can’t see this selling well in the uk. I hope I’m wrong tho
@Nincompoop Google has nothing on KiwiCo's Tinker Crate. Nintneod may as well be paying them royalties on the box design.
It looks similar around the 25 second mark.
Haven't seen it advertised anywhere in my country. I guess people here are just not much for overpriced cardboard junk.
Cya
Raziel-chan
I’m really lookin forward to Labo. It’s not over priced IMO and the amount people will be able to do with the garage is really impressive. Typical hate on something different before anyone’s really had anything to do with it
Was... anyone actually wondering how Nintendo was procuring large quantities of cardboard? It's not exactly a rare or expensive commodity.
Next year: Labo Deluxe, replacing cardboard with HDF, courtesy of ZenTerrain or Customeeple.
@Raylax No, but it's a large volume of specially prepared cardboard shipped in large quantities world wide. It's actually quite a feat logistics wise. I'm not sure if something like that has been attempted before, barring actual packaging for videogames.
@rjejr Oh, man... Once Labo is finally released, I'm going to have SO much fun with a heck of a lot of people that still don't understand that this is something that only Nintendo could get away with and make successful, and they're going to.
And still the dumb comments about $60 for cardboard, mostly stemming from a decidedly tunnel-visioned me, me, me look, and not from an ability of seeing the bigger picture.
They aren't about to risk losing the momentum that they have created with the Switch, and this diversification certainly isn't going to do them any harm either.
I think I'm going to have to either bookmark or print-screen a heck of a lot of comments to be able to get back to them and have fun ridiculing them once Labo becomes a HUGE success. It's pure marketing brilliance, and entirely Nintendo.
@SmaggTheSmug Exactly. There's your ordinary, run of the mill cardboard and then there's this kind of high grade, pre-cut cardboard. This will probably be of the highest grade of it's kind, because it'll need to be able to take a bit of a beating, considering how it's going to be used.
On a side note: considering the possibilities of the software, and taking into account a long term strategy, I wouldn't put it past Nintendo for a second or third wave of Labo to consist of some kind of plywood or plastic sheets...
I for one can’t wait to get my Labo Kits. I have every intention of being at the door of my (sort of) local GameStop when they open on Friday to pick up my preorders. I know what I’ll be doing all weekend!
"Just how is Nintendo making all the cardboard kits for Nintendo Labo?"
And not a single comment mentioning recycled Wii U boxes? I am impressed.
@ThanosReXXX "It's pure marketing brilliance"
There-in could be it's downfall, Nintendo and marketing usually don't mix.
I think this has potential, but it also has Nintendo standing in it's way. They tend not to make enough, advertise enough, discount enough or time things well enough. They make some great stuff, but they lack business acumen in other important areas.
For starters, Labo requires the Switch. The Switch is viewed as this world-wind global domination machine, yet it's sold barely more than the Wii U so far, which is seen, rightly so, as an abject failure. People get so caught up in the emotion sometimes they don't see the math, b/c nobody likes math. So your install base is limited right there. To a $300 "sold separetly" machine. And while it's sold 15m or so, judging from comments on here the owners of Switch are the exact opposite of the Labo consumer. Not all of us, some of us want Labo, but for the most part I'd guess Switch owners are adult - in age - males, not kids. Kids will come with Pokemon, but not yet.
So Nintneod has to sell $70 Labo alongside $300 Switch. When you add it up that's a lot. And that $300 Switch comes with an $80 dock, $15 Grip and $5 HDMI cable that can't be used with Toy-Con 1, it just can't. So for schools or camps or parents looking to buy Switch ONLY as a STEM kit accessory, well that's $100 worth of stuff they need to buy that they can't even use. And there are lots of other STEM kits they can maybe buy instead - see my vid above. Even Amazon has it's own monthly subscription STEM service.
https://smile.amazon.com/STEM-Club-Toy-Subscription-year/dp/B01M7UDAVI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523981339&sr=8-1&keywords=STEM+club
So it's possible Labo does more for Amazon and Kiwi and other STEM toys than it does for Nintendo b/c of the Switch price. Which is why I think they need "Switch: Labo Edition" for $200. Maybe sold only to schools and camps via 1-800#, but they need it.
They also need to keep these kits coming on a fairly steady basis and at lower prices. Maybe just sell $20 cardboard sets that come w/ a download code so they save on the cart price. Or maybe just buy the download, make your own cardboard, save Nintneod the costs of manufacturing and shipping cardboard. They are probably nto making a whole lot of money on these huge heavy boxes at any price. But they can't keep selling only $70 and $80 kits, they need some half that price. And they need enough of them so that parents, schools and camps spending $300 on the Switch for STEM are getting more than just 2 kits. I'm kind of surprised they haven't announced more already, even without dates, just "holiday" or "summer" so people know there will be a steady supply of new kits. The vids have had more, at least a few, but nothing announced. And E3 is SO NOT the place for Labo. They need real commercials on real TV on kids channels.
So it can succeed, but Ntinedo will need to make the effort and stay out of it's own way.
"second or third wave of Labo to consist of some kind of plywood or plastic sheets..."
I don't think it will be the 2nd or 3rd wave, those will be cardboard as well, but maybe wave 7 or 8. The thing is, the more sturdy they make the materials, the more rough kids may play with it, and the more likely the Switch will get damaged. There may be additional small paces of balsa wood, those are almost Styrofoam like, or bits of plastic, but I think the bulk of the builds will remain cardboard for at least a year or 2. Corrugated cardboard is really probably strong enough for anything they build. It's not like you want to build a sailboat and set your Switch adrift on a lake, or send it up in a drone. Sure, they could make things you control your Switch touchscreen and Joycon, but that's just a tablet remote control device, not a Labo. I think cardboard will do for 90% of what Switch can survive.
STEM market is only getting bigger, not smaller, it's not going away ever, Nintendo just needs to do it right to succeed.
@ThanosReXXX You're right - Labo has a lot of potential and Nintendo should be applauded for it. However, it's a decidedly kid-friendly concept on a somewhat adult system. Nintendo are constantly trying to appeal to everyone but this can confuse their target audience. It's a £280 handheld system - is that ideal for young children? Not really, so why then provide something like Labo? Sure, a lot of adults will have fun with it, but I don't think that's Nintendo's intention. Saying that, I'm hoping we see some kind of 'Switch for Kids' in the future - something akin to the Wii U GamePad (more kid-friendly, durable, etc).
I think Labo will be popular, but mostly with adults wanting to tinker about with it. Kids will likely become bored with it or wreck the cardboard, in which case the price point is a factor.
@NewAdvent I've seen a few Labo ads on E4 and Film4 (UK) in the last week or so.
I can't wait to try Piano from Toy Con kits 01 !
I have a lot of ideas for making music.
@gatorboi352
"Labo will be one of those things we all look back on a year from now and go 'lol remember labo?' "
Back Off !!
You kept salty for whatever Nintendo did.
You know NOTHING about LABO !
@NewAdvent my wife told me she saw it advertised on TV, (I'm from Northern Ireland), and believe me, my son knows all about Nintendo Labo.
@rjejr "The Switch is viewed as this world-wind global domination machine, yet it's sold barely more than the Wii U so far"
VERY important nuance: it did so in only a fraction of the time span that the Wii U took to reach that number...
The Switch is the proverbial goose with the golden eggs, and it's going to go to new levels of successful in the years to come, mark my words...
And things like Labo are, like I said, just to diversify, not to dilute or take away from the core experience. Yet another mistake that all those whiners are making: I don't like it, so it shouldn't be made for MY Switch.
Well, there's millions of people that actually DO like it, or people like me, who realize it's not really for them, but who do appreciate the broadening of the catalog, so the Switch can be even more successful. And it will.
@NewAdvent it's my sons birthday on Friday, one week before Labo is released here in the UK, and he really wants the Robot kit. We already have Mario & Rabbids Kingdom Battle put away for his birthday & some other little things, but if he gets some money too from people I'd imagine we'll be picking up a Labo kit next week!
@Monkey_Balls Like @rjejr said, it's based on STEM, as a sort of an entry level into that area, and it's supposed to be done with the family, or friends. And if Nintendo plays their cards right, and I think they will this time around (they've never made two successive failures, and considering the Switch'es success, I'm not expecting that to happen now either), Labo is going to be massively successful, whether that'll be for a shorter or longer period of time, is hard to tell right now, since some things stay popular for longer than others, but it sure seems to me like Nintendo is in for the long haul with this initiative.
And the whole building things (together) is also part of the experience, and of course also learning to build things, and then seeing the end result of that actually becoming an interactive toy, which definitely IS for kids/teens.
And the Switch is for all ages. Obviously not for toddlers, but that also goes for other devices such as smart phones or tablets, although there obviously are parents that actually do give their kids such devices, so that's up to them, I guess.
As for that price point: people are whining about $60 cardboard, but that's not what it actually is: it's a $40 game/experience, with $20 cardboard templates as a pack-in.
From all I've seen now already, the software seems to be far more competent than just an interface for mini-games, as so many people seem to think. It really does look like a foundation that they're going to build upon, provided they can sell enough and keep it's momentum going, but that obviously goes without saying.
And if, for whatever reason, the cardboard builds get damaged, I'm pretty sure that there will be replacement kits available, and these will more than likely not be costing $60 a piece...
@Anti-Matter I mean... I do know quite a bit about Labo. And it doesn't look fun at all.
@NewAdvent ... On TV I've seen about 7-8 ads in the last few days for labo
@rjejr haha awesome
So excited for Friday!!
@ThanosReXXX
I still curious what is public reaction about LABO.
I mean, what are their reaction when i suddenly take out a Toy Con RC Car Cardboard, assembly them, use the Switch console to navigate the RC Car in front of them, just let them surprised when they look at Moving Cardboard controlled by Nintendo Switch console like RC Remote ?
Don’t really understand the negative attention towards this, I quite enjoy the idea and always made cardboard crafts when i was a kid. The garage mode is what sells it for me, already plan on making the guitar and a few other instruments. But of course people have to think the development of this is taking away from games like Prime 4 and Smash 5, ah well.
@RazorThin
Every Labo kit sold is $70/$80 less spent on the production of Metroid Prime 4.
Believe me...
Whilst not buying it myself I look forward to the results and hope for success. Always interested in new ways to “game” and utilise game consoles.
@ThanosReXXX Whether the Switch sold as many as the Wii U in 1 day or 5 years, fact remains, the install base at Labo launch is at around 15 million, and you need a Switch for Labo.
Now 15m is more than any product I've ever sold, but it isn't 100m Wii or even 80m PS3. So as far as people all over the world go, 15m is small. Probably most people in the US who would be interested in Labo for their kids don't own a Switch yet. 2 or 3 years from now maybe a lot of them will, but not at launch. I wouldn't be surprised if Labo gets a lot more marketing during the holidays alongside Switch than it does at launch. Of course that is the case for almost any product aimed at kids.
Remember all of last year when we were discussing if Switch was a "soft launch' or not? Actually I don't recall you in on any of those, it was mostly just TW and I, but I think Labo is being soft launched to judge demand. Ninteod does not want to be sitting on top of boxes of boxes.
@Anti-Matter Yeah, who can tell? We'll just have to wait and see what the initial reactions are, once people will actually get their hands on the various packages.
As for going outside with it: for most people, it will probably only be used in the comfort of their own homes. I'm not expecting to see people walking around town in their Labo Robo kits...
Then again: some people are crazy enough...
@rjejr Yeah, could be. Of course they'll have to wait and see how many are going to take the plunge, and obviously, they've been anxiously watching all the reactions so far, ever since the reveal, so they can have some ball park estimate of with how many kits to start in the first quarter/year of release.
But that's always the case, also with games. They make an estimate, produce the numbers, ship them, put them in stores, and then they wait, hoping that their estimates are corroborated by the actual real life sales figures...
The only difference here is probably perceived value: like so many people see it, either a "real" game for $60, or a cardboard kit and a bunch of mini games for $60. Right now, there's no telling yet which side of the coin is going to end up on top, so I guess we'll once again have to wait and see...
I recall Nintendo showing off Zelda Breath of the Wild running live on the Switch for the first time via Jimmy Fallon's Late Show.
I'm surprised they haven't gone to some talk show host to promote the product. In fact, I'm surprised about the lack of Labo advertising in general outside of a few Youtube trailers.
I guess Nintendo really does intend to soft-launch Labo, with a big push coming during Black Friday/Christmas.
@Anti-Matter Labo isn't really the sort of thing you take out of the house. At least for most people. So I can't imagine you would see too many people assembling a piano on the subway (unless they were filming it for Youtube or something which I wouldn't put it past someone to do!). I expect most people will play with Labo in their homes; unlike the regular Switch, it's not really portable.
@ThanosReXXX "so I guess we'll once again have to wait and see..."
I've decided 90% of NL articles are about wait and see, only 10% after a game, system, or cardboard releases. Though Labo really should be the gift that keeps on giving, like FFXV.
@rjejr Haha, funny old man...
Obviously, I was talking about the big N themselves. Nintendo Life will have little to no effect on the success or failure of Nintendo Labo...
@TheLobster
About LABO, based on their model size, i think i can bring the RC Car Cardboard anywhere. Its shape is the smallest compared with Piano or Fishing. I can't wait to surprise someone by showing them a regular cardboard at first (They will think "Oh, it's just a cardboard."), but suddenly they see a Moving cardboard after i press the button from Nintendo Switch's touch screen (They might react " What ?! A moving cardboard ? How ?").
At the same time, that will be my Mission to introduce Nintendo Labo in public, just let them know about Labo existence. Maybe someone got interested with Labo after they know the details exactly.
the headmaster at my girls' primary school is buying a switch for Labo (he is not a gamer), he thinks it might be "just the thing to bring base level engineering and programming into the school"
Now I'm not expecting schools to suddenly start buying the switch for Labo, but i have no doubt if it is successful or even useful in that situation we'll see thousands of similar products that use Android tablets or iPads.
@Anti-Matter Well that is a good mission. Do you think it is something you will use with your students?
@YummyHappyPills
Oh yeah! Good call that was a fun one!!
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