The Nintendo Labo: Nintendo’s Intro to STEM Toys

Nintendo has recently unveiled their newest product: The Nintendo Labo, a set of interactive cardboard DIY kits to use with the Nintendo Switch. The point of these kits seem rather obvious: to get kids to stop mindlessly staring at a screen all day and do something constructive.

For a video game company, this seems like an odd marketing decision.

Is Nintendo trying to branch out from video games into interactive toys? This brings up an interesting thoughts about the future of play. More and more we see toys evolving to be more digital, so this combination of old school cardboard crafts with the brand-new Nintendo Switch is very interesting.

For parents, the Nintendo Labo is an appealing prospect. They’ll be eager to see their kids return to something more similar to their own childhoods, with crafts you do yourself, made from simple cardboard that invoke that coloring-inside-a-cardboard-box feeling that a lot of people know and remember fondly from their own youths.

However, as much praise as the Nintendo Labo has been getting, there has been plenty of criticism as well. Consumers balk at the idea of paying $60 for what is, essentially, cardboard. A lot of people don’t like that they can’t just buy a used copy of the game after its release and use their own cardboard to make the creations. A DIY kit, they think, should have the option to use your own materials.

Personally, I think the Nintendo Labo is a great opportunity to introduce kids to basic engineering. The Nintendo Labo can be considered a “STEM” toy. Like the popular but expensive littleBits, the goal of STEM toys is to get kids interested interested in STEM careers. There has been a big push lately for companies to design more STEM toys for children, particularly girls.

The Nintendo Labo promises to do just that. Using the instructions included, the player must assembly the cardboard kits themselves in order to play the games they come with. There are no cheat codes or short cuts for this step. My hope is that young people who choose to spend their time creating with the Nintendo Labo will grow up and help create something worthwhile that will also help and enrich the next generation.

Moving forward, I think it would be beneficial for Nintendo as a company to branch off into different markets. With Nintendo Labo as an introduction to what could be possible if more companies were invested in the creation of smart toys, our children will be experiencing a much different playtime than we had in our own childhoods. With the way technology is advancing, future employees will need to have basic technological knowledge if they are to compete in a highly tech savvy work environment. Furthermore, smart toys like Nintendo Labo are accessible to a wide variety of children, even those with disabilities that traditional toys and games tend to exclude.