Nintendo Labo is one of Nintendo’s most innovative ideas in years, combining cardboard models with its Switch system to create new interactive experiences. It isn’t out until April but if your kids (you) can’t wait to see the various sets in action, Nintendo has released three new trailers showing of several cardboard gadgets.
In the first “overview” trailer, which you can view at the top of this post, we see everything you’ll receive when you purchase a Nintendo Labo set. Along with cardboard sheets containing the components, you’ll receive additional pieces of string and rubber bands, among other small parts, as well as the Nintendo Switch game card.
You’ll use the game software to guide yourself through the process, which includes building the cardboard toys and then slotting in various Nintendo Switch hardware pieces. The video gives us a great look at the “Toy-Con” creations, including the fishing rod, motorbike, piano, and RC cars, as well as the software tools you can use to learn just how they all work. By using the “Toy-Con Garage” mode, you can even create your own inventions like a tank, guitar, or piggy bank.
The second trailer shows off the Toy-Con Variety Kit. We see how the HD Rumble of the Joy-Con controllers move the legs of the car and allow it to get around the floor, and how the Joy-Con camera allows it to see where it’s going. With the fishing rod, you can even view your catches in “aquarium mode” by using the Toy-Con piano. The piano has to be our favorite, as you can even shake it back and forth while playing a note for vibrato.
The final trailer is all about the full-body Toy-Con Robot Kit. Here, we see how spreading your arms will turn your walking robot into a flying death machine, and how crouching will transform it into a tank. Holding a cartoon “victory” pose will even make your robot gigantic. You can even adjust the robot’s look by inserting cardboard “tools” into the included backpack, and in “Robo-Studio” mode, you can walk around as a robot without even needing a television.
The Nintendo Labo Variety and Robot kits release on April 20. Both require the Nintendo Switch.