Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé had a busy week promoting the company’s upcoming releases while meeting with multiple media outlets over the duration of E3 2018. In an interview with Forbes at the annual video game convention, Reggie was asked about Nintendo Labo.
He went on to explain how the latest IP was designed as both a title and platform that was expected to have ongoing sales over its lifetime - similar to the likes of Wii Fit and Brain Age on the DS.
So it's absolutely met our expectations, and to put this in perspective, we see Nintendo Labo as a title and a platform that will sell for extended periods of time, much like we experienced with Brain Age on the DS or Wii Fit on the original Wii. And so for us, what we need to make sure we do is continue to drive engagement with parents and their kids.
Reggie elaborated on how exactly future engagement would be achieved, explaining how in the Americas, Labo was intended for entry-level coding purposes.
There's a lot of activity happening this summer as parents are looking for experiences for their kids while they're out of school. Here in the Americas, we have activity going on in the fall in the educational market, showing how Labo can be used for an entry into coding, as well as the maker community and the creation of the Labo toy-cons themselves. And so it is going to be a key product for us, and something that we're going to continue to support, not only through the balance of this year, but well into the future.
While no specific details were revealed about the upcoming plans for Labo, based on Reggie’s insights, it sounds like Nintendo intends on supporting it over a long-term period.
Have you jumped on Nintendo's cardboard wagon yet? Let us know in the comments.
[source forbes.com]
Comments 77
Reggie used Assurance.
It's not very effective.
I will buy LABO Toy Con kit 01 on September due to my financial condition.
This makes sense in a way I never thought about. The DS had the Brain Ages, The Wii had Wii Fit, so this seems like the perfect next step forward for the Switch. I can't wait to see what they do with Nintendo Labo next.
I will be getting it for my kids and the biggest kid in my household, me.
Next up, Labo Money Printing Forgery kits.
Sure Reg that's good to hear. But I've still absolutely no interest in LABO.
While it's not really for me personally, I still think it's a really cool idea. If the devs of Deemo managed to add in support for the piano like in that video they released then I would rush out the door and buy the variety kit just for that.
When you charge $80 for what is essentially a pizza box, you tend to make a profit.
@thesilverbrick and a very well developed piece of software....
I'm only interested in the Labo Garage mode (to experiment with coding), which, unfortunately, is not available separately.
One of my most rewarding gaming experiences was with WarioWare: D.I.Y.
A sequel on Switch that allows us to include motion controls and IR camera functionality would be absolutely amazing. The ability to import assets via the microSD card would also be a plus. If Nintendo are concerned about shared content, they could just restrict online sharing to users aged 18 and over.
When things are a Hit, companies give sale numbers. When not - they give marketing BS like "met expectations"
If Nintendo made a cardboard Reggie, no one will noticed the difference. Reggie is as dry as a cardboard, how did he got employed at Nintendo?
What’s he gong to say? It failed to do well as we wanted so don’t go out and buy it? Guy’s a spin doctor. It’s his job.
eh, i'm not sure i'll get Labo right now.
When reading the headline I immediately thought of Lying Cat from Saga.
@justin233 I would actually be interested in getting it from you if possible o: Been meaning to get it but... Cash is a little tight rn
Oh, and for the article... Well, guess it’s a matter of seeing if they’ll make more with it. Since it is successful, makes sense that they would make more, right? But, eh. Reggie saying a lot lately, but... Hmm. Feels weird.
@Agramonte Except that Nintendo's viewing Labo in a completely separate light compared to their traditional game releases. They basically view this as a toy first, game second, thus will make most of its sales on Holidays. Nintendo France recently backed up Reggie's statements, saying Nintendo's only expects 20% of Labo's sales to be from launch to September.
Labo!
@thesilverbrick No kidding. Profit has to be in the $65 dollar range, and $10 the other $15 is simply painting the outside box with Nintendo logos.
@justin233 So you're saying you have box materials sitting in a box?
I've seen no one talk about Labo on Twitter since shortly after it's reveal. It's for a very niche group. I don't expect support past this year.
While the garage is definitely great for creativity for new individual projects, Nintendo should definitely release expansion kits via free software updates so kids will have more to do with it. Maybe even have contests for new projects created by users that get turned into legitimate ones by Nintendo themselves.
I kinda forgot all about Labo. I was just never interested in something like this.
I enjoyed the Variety Kit and would be down for some type of follow up. Like a protect kit that requires the variety kit software but has a dlc code or some sort. I like the fishing game and have romped around the garage mode some. It’s certainly more of a long term thing for creativity and tinkering.
@ParasolStars yes, this would be neat. I think there was one software load in the news feed at one point. Don’t remember what is was, though
If the robot met their expectations, then they expected not to sell that many and they probably never should have made it based on their expectation.
I do feel their is a big divide between the variety pack and the robot. I've seen plenty of stuff on twitter with people messing with the piano mostly but also other parts of the kit. I almost never see anybody doing anything with the robot.
Hopefully Nintneod learns from this and makes a lot of cheaper single kits or expensive variety packs but stays away from overly complicated large expensive 1 trick pony sets.
We own the variety pack but haven't started it yet, waiting until Thursday when school is done and the weather is fine so we can build these outside. I traded in a few games for it and paid $10 out of pocket so if it keeps us busy outside for the summer I'm good.
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*The Labo software is at version 1.0 and the cardboard product itself is, of course, unpatchable. This means that Nintendo’s engineers and QA staff were working insanely hard to ensure thousands or millions of Labo packages released and worked properly. There were no online reports of missing materials or perforation defects. Can you imagine another game company being able to pull this off???
@bluesdance Thank you for so neatly summarizing what the majority of commenters here were missing.
All the haters can say what they want, but Labo (kit 01) is nothing short of brilliant. It's something that has to be experienced to fully understand. Me and my three kids had an absolute blast with it and I don't regret my purchase for a second.
Nintendo and Pokemon Company have been releasing a lot of damage control statements recently in response to stock drops.
All his promise technically committed was that the current products will continued to be made and put on shelves.
@invictus4000 you're gonna tell you weren't disappointed with how shallow that software was for the little house after spending HOURS on it? The cardboard end of this stuff was brilliant and cool as hell. The software that ran with it had super clever tricks but zero depth. Like why the hell not make that house do a Tomagatchi sort of thing? WOuld have been super cool to check in once or twice a day. Starting to believe it's because they're too cheap as a company to invest significantly in more talent to compensate for the stress they put on their software development due to lack of 3rd party support.
I don't even remember seeing any reviews for the robot backpack's software. Just videos abouy how long the visor took to make.
@rjejr Yeah. At least in Japan the Robot kit has done much worse than the variety kit. I think the hurdle for buying Labo is quite high for parents cause you need a Switch so Nintendo will really need to put effort into convincing parents it’s not simply a video game.
Company announces product met their expectations. Anonymous armchair internet analysts respond: no, you're lying. Even though we have no idea about actual numbers or even if these numbers are satisfactory to you, it's clear you're lying! Labo Hate Squad is so predictable these days
Consider:
-How little they advertised it aside from the media stunts with Bill Nye and Jimmy Fallon.
-The time of year it released.
-How highly priced the kits were.
This was an experimental launch that they're sure to not have lost money on. And I'm rather convinced we will see LABO return at full force for late fall and Christmas.
Just move on. LABO was one time deal. I doubt they will make the same mistake again.
If they do it will be a matketing move.
People want REAL software not cardboard gimmick with mobile quality games.
Labour
Labo failed cause it launch on the most boring time of the year selling it as a toy product bundle with a game and during the time when news media are reporting the upcoming demise of toy retail giant, Toys R Us as well which contribute much to the product's downfall. Come holiday season I'm sure parents will be out there trying to buy one for their kids who are dumb enough to get anything Nintendo put their name of approval on.
I don't know if there are any global numbers out there but, looking at the Japan sales, I would imagine over 500,000 units of the variety kit have sold. Now, I'm not here to discuss whether Labo is good or bad but I think selling 500k is very respectable.
If we write off sub 500k (or sub million) sellers as having "bombed" and never to be tried again we will be left with a shallow and uninspiring industry.
Make the bike thing work with mario kart 8. even if its the no weapon mode in it. then watch the variety kit fly off the shelves simples squeak lol.
The expectations wheren't very high then...
@Nincompoop He worked for Pizza Hut before, he has experience with cardboard boxes
Considering the lack of remaining first-party games outside of Smash Bros. Ultimate and Super Mario Party for the rest of 2018 (or any mention of the heavily rumored N64 Classic Mini) at E3, I would say Labo is about the last thing I would want to hear Nintendo tout. I have no idea who the "target audience" is for it, but it definitely isn't me; I buy consoles to play VIDEOGAMES on.
E3 2018's Direct actually felt more like one of Nintendo's "Mini-Directs" dedicated primarily to a single title, in this case Smash Bros. Ultimate. With the wait for Fire Emblem continuing into 2019 and no announcements for Animal Crossing or details on Metroid Prime 4 or the new Zelda game they're known to be working on, the Switch had just a plain poor E3. Those months-long gaps between first-party games should look familiar to anyone who recalls the Wii U...and that is definitely a cause for concern for what, despite last year's huge success, is still very much a fledgling console.
But hey, we have Labo, which has "met expectations". Rah rah, Nintendo. Once again you find yourself having a lot to prove to your fans in the coming months.
Given LABO 1+2 have already sold 250k in Japan, why are people surprised that its "met expectation"?
This would equate to global sell-through between 600k-1m units ... with a lot more units shipped.
Give it a year, and it will certainly be a million + seller.
It will be interesting to see how well it does over the holidays and Christmas.
Wow, people saying it bombed or saying Reggie is lying/whatever when we have no idea how much it sold worldwide OR their expectations. The denial is stronger than Donkey Kong.
The problem is that stuff like Brain Age and Wii Fit stayed in the top 10 charts for months, nay years on end, whereas Labo tumbled out after a week or so. The Robot Kit in particular fell out of the entire top 40 almost as quickly as it entered.
Labo has sold hundreds of thousands of copies at a (much) higher retail than your average game. It's done alright, trust me. If people wanna call it a flop, I'll argue I wish I had a flop like that.
@KingdomHeartsFan I'm a lover, not a hater and the hate towards it is irrational. I'm not interested either,that doesn't mean I'm gonna moan about it every single time it's mentioned
@KingdomHeartsFan the team that made it has always been focused on casual games, some of the same people made 1-2 Switch. There's always teams within Nintendo making these type of games, it's nothing new
I can’t wait for the NEXT Labo kit! I really enjoyed the first two, although lon-term playability was lacking for the Robot Kit.
That said, I found using Labo Garage for ”coding” to be a bit limited. But I am hardly the intended demographic and maybe lack sufficient ingenuity to come up with interesting projects that can be done in Garage.
Comparing Labo to Wii Fit and Brain Age is laughable. Those games each sold tens of millions. Labo has sold the tiniest fraction of that. And coding? Does Reggie really believe that Labo will take off with kids because they can do coding? When NOA originally tried to market the NES in the United States, they included a keyboard with it. It bombed. Kids don't want to program. They want to play games. Nintendo is an arcade gaming company. Nintendo's problem is that this is just not enough for them. They seem to want to be Apple. Finally, it is very telling that Nintendo did not announce any new Labo products at E3. If they have such big plans for Labo, why wouldn't they have new Labo stuff to show?
@gortsi wait who said they're lying
People bought cardboard boxes when they owned a gaming console?
I don't get it.
@roboshort The Labo Robot looks really big when it's put together. My understanding is - I've never been there - is that the Japanese mostly live in smaller places than the McMansions people live in in the US. Where are they going to store that $80 big cardboard robot backpack and all it's accessories for the few times the kids will use it?
And something that I've never seen anyone talk about, besides me, is that the variety pack is based around using the Switch either in the Labo projects or in your hands. There is no dock or TV use with the variety pack that I've ever seen. So, kids can go outside to play, build, share, code. With the robot you pretty much need to be inside in front of a tv to get the full effect. Can't play in handheld with those things in your hands. Too small in tabletop I think while you move around.
Also for schools and camps, 5 toys to build for $70 or 1 robot to build for $80. That's an easy decision for anyone looking at money.
And needing a Switch obviously cuts down on your audience as you said. I expected a $200 Switch Labo Edition w/o the Dock, Grip or HDMI cable since you don't' use any of those things with the variety kit. Even if they only offered them to schools and camps. They'd have to be cheaper though to break into the education market. But schools do spend money on this stuff. Every kid in my sons 7th grade just got their own touchscreen Chromebook to keep. And it's a nice newer model, USB-C. But Nitneod would have to cut the schools a deal to get them to buy the Switch. Maybe a $200 Switch w/ the Labo variety pack. I don't see too many camps or schools wanting the robot. Too big for them to store as well.
I'm still expecting a dockless Switch and more Labo, but more smaller variety kits, no more big robots. Maybe some smaller $30 single kits of the gun, bird and camera in the reveal video.
@Dang69 Yep. That's what I'm telling you. Thought it was great. I wasn't looking for an in depth gaming phenomenon. Just fun with my kids and it delivered.
@Agramonte I don't remember a single time anyone of any company replied with actual sales numbers when asked about it in an interview.
Do you have an example for this happening?
@KryptoKrunch Agreed. It's become pretty tiresome reading comments about something being a lie just because it is Reggie who said it.
I had a lot of fun with Labo. I would buy a variety kit 02.
@gortsi Hehe nicely done
I still need to buy the Robot Kit!
@Kirgo Nothing to do with my point. Again...
When things are a hit, COMPANIES give sale numbers. When not - they give marketing BS like "met expectations"
God Of War (3 million in 3 days)... SONY USA, plastered on their Blog, social media, press release. No need to wait for interview.
https://blog.eu.playstation.com/2018/05/03/god-of-war-is-the-fastest-selling-ps4-exclusive-ever-with-more-than-3-1-million-units-sold-in-three-days/
Monster Hunter World (7.5 million, Best selling Capcom game ever)... Capcom USA/Japan, Social Media, press release. No need to wait for E3 interview.
http://www.capcom.co.jp/ir/english/news/html/e180305.html
Switch (10 million - fastest selling console).... Nintendo USA, Plastered it on their blog, social media, press release. No need to wait for interview.
https://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/detail/nintendo-switch-sells-10-million-worldwide
Go see if the only news from Zelda, Mario, Splatoon last year was "met Expectation" From Reggie.
@TheMisterManGuy Smash is #1 on Amazon best seller right now in the US. Pokemon - the expensive $99 one with the ball - is #3. And we in JUN - 5 months from release.
The holidays are about Smash and Pokemon - not LABO.
@Agramonte And again, Labo's a toy, not a video game. If it's going to sell huge, it's going to do so around the holidays. No reason it can't do well in the holidays alongside Smash and Pokemon.
@TheMisterManGuy It is an expensive "toy" tied into the Switch install base. If I buy $99 Pokemon I am also not buying $79 of LABO during the holidays.
You think kids will walk into a GameStop see Pokemon with a ball and pick the box of cardboard instead?... I for one doubt it.
We will find out - either way, a win for Nintendo.
@Agramonte Labo's not the only thing Nintendo's banking on this holiday, but it is going to be one of the key products for this Christmas.
@Agramonte
There are plenty of successful games whose sales we don't know about.
@Agramonte In all cases you say "no need to wait for an interview", though that is a massive difference.
Of course companies sometimes make statements, when big milestones are reached, not always, but sometimes.
That is not something they spontaneously do though.
In an interview, that would be spontaneous...
The fact that you couldn't bring a single example of a corporation doing it in an interview like this is already saying quite a lot.
Besides that, companies boasting with number means "look here, we managed to do something amazing (whether it is actually amazing or not)". "Met our expectations" is not necessarily amazing at all, so it is not a comparable situation.
@JDORS I don't think your overall point is bad, but your arguments don't seem very sound to me. First, comparing Wii Fit/Brain Age's lifetime sales to Labo's isn't telling at this point. Those games sold millions of copies over the course of many years, LABO is still newish. A new kit or a price drop could vault LABO back into the sales spotlight, only time will tell. Again, your overall point is good, I don't think it'll ever reach Brain Age or Wii Fit numbers because it lacks the same mass appeal. Second, I don't think a keyboard packin for the original NES is evidence that kids don't want to code. Those kids are in their 30s now. Kids today do want creative control of their games in ways that previous decade's children didn't. Look at the success of Minecraft. Look how many kids are engaged with programming languages like Scratch. Look at the anticipation for a project like Media Molecule's Dreams. Or even look at the success of Mario Maker from Nintendo itself. Kids do want to create, and they're often willing to learn coding to do so. It's not a bad market to aim at, but I'm not sure Labo has mass appeal. It's a great educational tool though. I have lots of teacher and librarian friends who like what it does even if they don't like the price.
I'm having a hell lot of fun with my 7yo daughter in law...
Nintendo itself says LABO is not for everyone and I'm glad to be part of that niche audience! Assembling the toys is satisfying well above my expectations, and playing the mini-games feels like a "bonus"
@Kirgo You replied to my statement with something that had nothing to do with it. The simple fact that you need to keep circling around to it already saying quite a lot.
"Besides that, companies boasting with number means "look here, we managed to do something amazing (whether it is actually amazing or not)". "Met our expectations" is not necessarily amazing at all,..."
And we back at my original point!... the LABO numbers are nothing special, so they used "met our expectation".
Eh, if it’s making them money then good for them. To me it seems overpriced though and I don’t really care if it fades into obscurity with the GBA e-Reader (which I actually loved) and the Wii Vitality Sensor (which never even got released).
@Agramonte "Met our expectations" does of course not mean anything special, just that it is selling well enough.
If that is what you understand as well, then how do you get to the whole "marketing BS" point?
@Kirgo It does not even mean it is "selling well"... He didn't say that - he does not want to go on record either way.
It is one of a series of statements that are designed to simply allow people to create their own narrative. I don't think it is selling well, or badly or anything - he didn't say. He probably not allowed to say - and nobody wants to show the data.
I mean he could have used Microsoft's Xbox go to "Outperformed Expectation". Same difference - It is all BS.
Eh. Whatever works for them and if people have fun with it, that's cool.
Its not for me.
I love the Labo hate...
@invictus4000 I wasn't expecting an in-depth gaming phenom either - but like a little more depth doesn't seem unreasonable.
@JDORS
"If they have such big plans for Labo, why wouldn't they have new Labo stuff to show?"
Probably because Labo isn't targeted toward the traditional gaming audience that would tune into E3.
Labo was first announced during some random 3 minute Youtube video and has never appeared in any Nintendo Direct. Skipping the E3 Direct is a continuation of that trend.
If a new Labo set is announced, it will be announced during some random 3 minute Youtube video as well.
I hope it’s not like Wii fit. That was an expensive piece of kit for a single game.
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