Labo

While Nintendo and Sony's streams have rarely crossed in the past (besides a famous exception or two), reports are coming in that a certain part of Sony's PS5 pack-in game might reference a recent Nintendo product, albeit indirectly. Well, we say 'indirectly', but it actually seems pretty direct — at least to western ears!

Although other outlets haven't made mention of it at present, Kotaku AU has run a hands-on preview of Astro's Playroom (a pack-in title included with every PlayStation 5 console that showcases the features of the console's new DualSense controller) which discusses a special 'mural' room featuring memorabilia from the previous four PlayStation consoles that's named — wait for it — "PlayStation Labo".

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Here's a quote from the article:

As you run through each level, for instance, you'll uncover puzzle pieces. These pieces are then added to a mural in a room called PlayStation Labo — I wonder whether Nintendo was consulted on that one — which has little homages to each Playstation era.

The preview mentions lots of little Nintendo-like touches in the design of the controller's advanced HD rumble-style haptic feedback, although assuming this is accurate, the naming of this area in the game seems to be a little on-the-nose, no?

Well maybe not so much; the word 'Labo' is a common one in Japan, as detailed in this Legends of Localization article by the always excellent Clyde Mandelin (thanks to Maxz for bringing it to our attention). 'Labo' may seem novel and unique to western eyes and ears, but imagine if you knocked the 'O' off the end — it wouldn't stand out quite so much, would it?

It certainly caught the attention of us Nintendo fans in this context, though! Reports that another room in the game is named "PlayStation Mario Kart Live" are entirely fictitious.

[source kotaku.com.au]