Nintendo Labo

[Guest Hal]

As a longtime fan of Nintendo, I'm excited to see that they're showing their trademark innovation once again with the Nintendo Labo. Has anyone used it? What did you think of it? I think the idea of making your own game is really cool, but I don't know how I feel about it taking fifteen hours only for five hours of gameplay.

[Guest milyt g. planet]

I just posted a thread about how many hours in a row has someone played a video game. The amount of work required for some of the activities for the Labo seems a bit exorbitant compared to the result, and compared to other games. I appreciate that it seems like Nintendo is always trying to bring an aspect of the real world and social interaction into their games, and seems to always explore new ideas.

[Guest Hal]

@milyt g. planet, like I said, I really appreciate the innovation behind this. While it does seem like a lot of work for such a short amount of playing time, maybe that's a good thing. It's making you spend more time building skills than playing video games.

[Guest milyt g. planet]

@Hal From what I've gathered, the building is supposed to be an intrinsic part of the game, and that kind of ties back into Nintendo bringing real world values into their games. It may be that the completion of a project in some cases is supposed to add to the value of the result, and that's something that a lot of people may be more distant from nowadays because of the conveniences of technology. Labo is a lot of hands on, physical, real world interaction and involvement.

[Guest Hal]

@milyt g. planet, I always cringe a little when I have to say things like, "The kids these days just don't [fill in the blank]," but I'm in agreement with you. Technology has moved in the direction of instant gratification with little to no effort or even thought. I still remember having to look things up in an encyclopedia! Labo just keeps sounding better and better. I'm going to have to get my hands on one.

[Guest North]

We buy Labo for the idea of crafting your own console, not for the games itself. The price and hours spent make sense that way. I have recommended Labo to some parents with young children as it's way better than getting a PS4.

 

I read that a group in Japan released an unofficial kit for a guitar. Labo inspires people to be more creative, so it will be interesting to see more variations for the platform.

[Guest milyt g. planet]

@milyt g. planet, Technology has moved in the direction of instant gratification with little to no effort or even thought.

Certainly.

 

@North Pricing does make sense that way, that you're paying for making a console. Speaking as someone who enjoys spending hours at a time making things by hand, I'm not really sure if I can agree that getting kids a Labo is better than getting them a PS4, since I'm such an avid fan of being able to experience decadent, well-realized worlds through games. Then again, the Labo requires the Switch anyway. And although my love and appreciation for video games started when I was very young, I didn't start playing them until I was much older. I had many years to learn to appreciate the real world before I started playing video games, so perhaps you have a point about Labo being a better choice for kids than a PS4.

[Guest North]

@milyt g. planet PS4 games usually feature complicated controls and questionable content which may be hard to explain to the children. They can do away with the violence and gore. It doesn't guarantee their complete protection, but the less source we provide, the better. Labo (and Switch by extension) seems to have more family-friendly games in their library. Combined with the crafting stage, it seems like an easy choice for the kids.

[Guest milyt g. planet]

@North I must say, I'm a fan of introducing young gamers to the concept of complex controls since during early youth is when a lot of people learn and play video games efficiently. (That being said, I don't know if you were referring to complicated systems when you said controls or if you meant just the controls themselves.)

 

I really like that the Switch has family friendly content. Even though Switch features some mature third-party titles that require parental guidance, I like that Nintendo's core content philosophy is basically creating G-rated, sometimes innovative content that incorporates the real world. A lot of distinct products from Nintendo like the Animal Crossing series and the Wii, and here recently the Switch, tie back into the real world through mechanics or themes. From what I've seen, even the darker moments in Nintendo games are done in a way that is palatable to kids.