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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Switch Labo Hands-On Impressions

HoloDust said:
Yeah...I don't think people saying durability isn't an issue here seem to have kids - I have 2 of those, and this would last about 2 days max in their hands.

For something that teaches them coding, while being physical, I'd rather go with LEGO Boost, since they already like LEGOs quite a bit - sure it's more expensive, but it's more durable and if you're really, really into it, you can eventually code in something like Python for it.

Always depends on the kids. I don't think durability would've been a problem with my daughter when she was eight or nine. At the same time you can argue against LEGO because many kids loose important parts or might break stuff, as rugged as LEGO is.

 

Cardboard is easily replacable and you might be able to make your own spareparts. In the end every material has its pros and cons.



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captain carot said:
HoloDust said:
Yeah...I don't think people saying durability isn't an issue here seem to have kids - I have 2 of those, and this would last about 2 days max in their hands.

For something that teaches them coding, while being physical, I'd rather go with LEGO Boost, since they already like LEGOs quite a bit - sure it's more expensive, but it's more durable and if you're really, really into it, you can eventually code in something like Python for it.

Always depends on the kids. I don't think durability would've been a problem with my daughter when she was eight or nine. At the same time you can argue against LEGO because many kids loose important parts or might break stuff, as rugged as LEGO is.

 

Cardboard is easily replacable and you might be able to make your own spareparts. In the end every material has its pros and cons.

Sure, you can loose LEGO parts, but they will not break or wear as easy - in addition, they look way, way better. Cardboard is indeed replaceable, but if I'm buying something I want it to last more than few days - which would be the case with my boys.

I don't think it's bad concept per se, but due to obvious limitations of both cardboard and joycons, I think that asking price is way higher than it should be.



SuperNova said:
Machiavellian said:

Or I could spend 10 bucks one year, another 10 bucks another year and ..... While parents who like nice expensive gimmicks have blown hundreds in the same amount of time for the same experience.  I could not tell you how many times I have seen parents purchase a expensive toy only to see their kids get more fun out of playing with the box it came in then the toy itself.

it's NOT the same experience though? That is why I ponted out the software. You're not paying 70$ for cardboard. You're paying 60$ for a software that transforms the cardboard into something you can't possibly buy with 10$ this year and 10$ the next.

The combination of physical feedback, the basic coding experience for kids, the audiovisual feedback and the magic of transforming something you build out of cardboard into a truly functional item is not easily replicated. Sure, kids can use their imagiation, nothing wrong with that, but pretending that that is the same experience as working and figuring out the tools you have at hand to make someting truly work, is just factually wrong.

You might be of the opinion that it's unneccissary and that's fine, but it's not the same.

My point is that when you make a toy for kids, there are considerations that a parent will make.  Just having fun is fine.  Most toys come with fun that is just the the start.  Having fun at a high cost and less durability comes into question is that fun worth the price of admission.  If the toy only last a week or is so shabby by a week time that it cannot be played then its a bad toy no matter how much fun it was in the beginning.  As a parent, I want that toy to last for as long as the kid wants to play with it.  Not me shelling out more money every week or have to hear the crappy whining until you get something new.

Also just because you can do some very simple logic programming doesn't make this toy any better than a kid with a cardboard box cutting, designing and building their toy from duck tape.  If anything it takes more effort and skill to make something truly functional instead of already having the parts cut out and you just put them together, load up the software and do one or two things to get it to work.

Because my son loves to do this type of creative work, I looked into Mindstorm and that Lego Boost creative toolbox.  Definitely a higher price but the longevity is worth the cash and offer a higher ceiling than something like Labo.  Labo sounds like a nice cash grab but I believe kids that do enjoy something like this will outgrow it quickly and it would have been better to just invest in already tried and true products on the market that gives you all the points Labo does including the durability, longevity and creative growth.



CaptainExplosion said:
KungKras said:
The part about making your own inout-output combinations is huge! That means people can do all kinds of ingenious stuff with it.

Unfortunately a lot of these might be sex toys. Never underestimate how horny Nintendo fans can be. That's why we got a post-game with Princess Peach looking like this:

She looks just like a regular girl on a beach though :P



I LOVE ICELAND!

I don't doubt Labo could be a really fun experience, but $80 is a complete cash grab.$20 for cardboard is probably more than double what it should be if you consider R&D, and the software that comes with it isn't even worth $20 maybe not even $10, but anyways I digress.

The people that buy this kind of stuff are probably the same people that complain they can't afford a house or complain that the 1% make too much.



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CaptainExplosion said:
KungKras said:

She looks just like a regular girl on a beach though :P

She's still a character from a kids' game showing more skin than normal.

Do kids never go to beaches?



I LOVE ICELAND!

CaptainExplosion said:

She's still a character from a kids' game showing more skin than normal.

Lol, that's not "more skin than normal" in a beach environment though. It's probably less than normal. 

Honestly the fact that we need to shield children's eyes from a bikini is ridiculous ... 

Last edited by AngryLittleAlchemist - on 04 February 2018

Labo is looking cooler. At first I thought it was bizarre. But I could see this plenty of parents who have a Switch get their kids a Labo set. I don't see this thing selling many millions, as it is obviously a niche thing just for kids which but yeah I could see this being fairly popular for kids with a Switch. It does depend on how long the cardboard lasts. Nintendo could also just sell replacement cardboard sets for like $20 and make most of that in profit for when stuff needs to be replaced.



CaptainExplosion said:
AngryLittleAlchemist said:

Lol, that's not "more skin than normal" in a beach environment though. It's probably less than normal. 

Honestly the fact that we need to shield children's eyes from a bikini is ridiculous ... 

True. The whole nudity taboo thing can be pretty ridiculous, but it's not like we should have a game that lets you see Mario's penis or Peach rip her bra off.

There's a difference between nuditiy (especially only partial nudity) and sexuality or sex.