Nintendo Labo

Nintendo Labo is released as individual Labo Kits, each containing a set of pre-made cardboard cut-outs and other materials, used to make one or more "Toy-Con", and a Nintendo Switch game card, which contains interactive instructions on how to assemble the Toy-Con and software that the Toy-Con can interact with. Once each Toy-Con is constructed, players insert the main Nintendo Switch display and/or one or both of the Joy-Con controllers according to the instructions. Each Toy-Con functions differently in the ways it interacts with either the Joy-Con or the main display. For example, the piano Toy-Con's keystrokes are read by the Right Joy-Con controller's infrared sensor to identify notes being played, while robotic Toy-Con move using HD Rumble from the Joy-Con controllers, which are controlled via the touchscreen.

Players may freely decorate the cardboard parts using coloring pens, tape, and other materials, while more experienced users can invent new ways to play with each Toy-Con. The game software provides instructions on how the Toy-Con works with the Switch, such as describing the fundamentals of infrared sensing.

Labo was announced on January 17, 2018. The director is Tsubasa Sakaguchi and the producer is Kouichi Kawamoto. According to Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé, "Labo is unlike anything we've done before", and was developed to extend the age-audience for the Switch. Nintendo said the product was "specifically crafted for kids and those who are kids at heart."

The tagline for Labo is "Make, Play, Discover"; "Discover" refers to how the user of the Toy-Con can understand the fundamentals of physics, engineering, and programming that make the Toy-Con work through the act of making and playing with them. The product was not originally intended to be educational, though one of its goals was to "explain how the technology behind the Toy-Con creations works".

On the day after its announcement in January 2018, Nintendo's stock price jumped around 2.4%, representing about US$1.4 billion to their value. Analysis suggested that Labo was the type of unorthodox product that only Nintendo could develop and market, showing a further return to their more financially successful period about a decade prior, leading to the rising stock price.

Nintendo Labo was received with praise for its unique take on video gaming and unconventional method of play, and its ability to encourage creativity and learning, especially in children. Reviewers primarily praised the enjoyable building experience and easy to follow step-by-step instructions; the rotatable camera and fast-forward/rewind features were appreciated, as well as the sense of humor that the instructions contain. Critics were initially concerned with the sturdiness of the cardboard, but were impressed with the durability of the assembled Toy-Con, also noting that the software contains tutorials with tips on repairing broken Toy-Con. Reviewers were mixed on the enjoyment and limited replay value of the software's gameplay, with Andrew Webster from The Verge saying "the games are perhaps the least interesting part of Labo."