Nintendo Labo turns the Switch into a fishing rod, robot and more

Nintendo has announced the Nintendo Labo, a set of what appears to be cardboard paper attached on the Switch, transforming the console into various items like a piano, a fishing rod and a motorbike. It’s perhaps the most Nintendo announcement in years, perhaps less surprising, considering that the company had sold playing cards and extendable pantographs in the past.

The package comes with modular sheets of cardboard used with the Switch to create what Nintendo calls a Toy-Con. The Toy-Con can be a lot of things, from a fishing rod with a rotating wheel to a motorbike with controllable handlebars. Owners can also build a 13-key piano that works using the IR Motion Camera in the right joy-con.

Explaining the decision to release the Nintendo Labo, the Japanese game company stresses on uniqueness. "Nintendo Labo continues our longstanding mission of making people smile by surprising them with new experiences," Nintendo of America's President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime said in a press release. "It is an exciting evolution of the Nintendo Switch platform – one designed to inspire curiosity, creativity and imagination in people of all ages."

The Nintendo Labo will initially launch two kits. One is the Variety Kit, which includes the Toy-Con RC Car, the Toy-Con Fishing Rod, the Toy-Con House, the Toy-Con Motorbike and the Toy-Con Piano. The second is the Robot Kit, a wearable suit of cardboard designed to look like a robot.

Both kits will be released in Australia on April 20. The Variety Kit costs $99.95, while the Robot Kit costs $119.95.

To gain more understanding of how the Nintendo Labo works, check out the creatively done first-look trailer below.

Nintendo/YouTube