Nintendo Labo VR Kit: why is it attracting so much attention?

Summary

• The Nintendo Labo VR Kit: making virtual reality accessible to children
• A new way of consuming VR
• Nintendo Labo VR Kit arouses the curiosity of the competition

This is THE big novelty of the day. This April 12, the Nintendo Labo VR Kit is available in France. Moreover, the firm kindly sent us a copy in order to carry out the test. See you early next week to learn all about this product. (We forgot the Switch at home: S).

In any case, it is clear that all the media are interested in this product, which technically consists of plastic and cardboard. As a reminder, the Nintendo Labo VR Kit combines a cardboard compatible with the Switch and accessories. Six new accessories are available in this Toy-Con 4 pack sold between 64,90 and 79,90 euros. Nintendo promises 64 experiences. To try out VR, the owner of the console can get a Starter Kit at 34,95 euros.

The Nintendo Labo VR Kit: making virtual reality accessible to children

This very low entry fee thus allows parents to be seduced.

You must first start with a careful assembly of the elements. It is inevitably reminiscent of long afternoons building Lego. Depending on the box of the pack, allow 30 to 60 minutes for the VR glasses, the same time for the camera, 1 to 2 hours for the elephant, 1:30 to 2:30 for the bird, or for the wind pedal. The blaster or cannon in French will take you 2 to 3 hours to set up. Suffice to say that this product is primarily intended for small patients.

According to the first feedback, including those of The Verge, the times mentioned are quite correct. But this playful aspect quickly gives way to a shared observation. Les Inrocks, The Verge or Nintendo Power note that it is nothing more thana window on virtual reality. According to them, the low resolution (720p 60Hz), the simplicity of the experiences, the quality of the graphics and the fact of constantly holding the console and the Nintendo Labo VR Kit give the impression of having in your hand a wonderful prototype. But a prototype anyway.

A new way of consuming VR

This therefore reserves it for very short gaming sessions. Just as we nibble on episodes of our favorite series on Netflix, we nibble VR with Nintendo. As the journalist from Les Inrocks writes, “”. So it would be a new way of consuming this technology. Indeed, according to the desire, an HTC Vive can be the means to live an experience of 5 minutes or to plunge several hours in a virtual world.

Technically, the Nintendo Labo VR Kit doesn't really allow this. However, the Japanese giant wants to please the greatest number with the possibility of playing the ENTIRE Zelda: Breath of The Wild with this helmet. It is hard to imagine doing our 45-hour game in an almost straight line while holding the object in your hand. Obviously, we will tell you more when the game update scheduled for April 25. In contrast, the bonus experiences associated with Super Mario Odyssey seem particularly suited to the item.

Nintendo Labo VR Kit arouses the curiosity of the competition

Hence the curiosity of the industry which owes both the console and the Nintendo Labo VR Kit with a funny eye. The Switch indeed benefits from an incredible vista in an end-of-generation context for Microsoft and PlayStation. And it is precisely this funny look that Shuhei Yoshida, President of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios, is about to dip into the zany experience of its competitor. It confirmed to have pre-ordered the Toy Con 4 from a curious Twitter user.

We understand it. Who would have thought that the former card maker was distributing 1,39 million units of Nintendo Labo products around the world in 2018? As a reminder, the worldwide Switch fleet had 32,27 million copies at the end of last year. Sony, for its part, has sold 92,2 million PS4 and 4,6 million PS VR. Like what, sometimes cardboard can turn into gold.