The rumors were true
From literally nowhere, Nintendo has announced that a new Labo kit will be coming to the Switch. Along with containing more cardboard to clutter your house, this new kit confirms the rumors that VR will be coming to the Switch. I’m honestly shocked since I didn’t think the Switch was powerful enough to run stereoscopic 3D.
Nintendo Labo: VR Kit will offer six new Toy-Con creations, one of which is the “VR Goggles.” These goggles will combine with other creations (possibly from past kits) to let players experience a basic form of VR at a low cost. As the official description reads, “Fend off an alien invasion with the Toy-Con Blaster, visit a colorful in-game ocean and snap photos of the sea life with the Toy-Con Camera and so much more.”
Doug Bowser, Nintendo of America’s Senior VP of Sales and marketing, said, “This new kit builds on the core tenets of Nintendo Labo – Make, Play and Discover – to introduce virtual reality in a way that’s fun and approachable for both kids and kids at heart. We wanted to design an experience that encourages both virtual and real-world interactions among players through passing around Toy-Con creations.”
The Labo: VR Kit will launch in two configurations on April 12, 2019. Players will have the option to buy the full kit for $79.99, which will include the VR goggles, Blaster, Camera, Bird, Wind Pedal, and Elephant Toy-Con accessories along with a screen holder and safety cap. If you don’t want all of that, you can opt for the “Starter Set + Blaster,” which retails for $39.99 and will contain the goggles, Blaster, screen holder, and safety cap.
Not wishing to make people double dip, owners of the starter kit can pick up two expansion sets for $19.99 each. Retailing exclusively from Nintendo’s online store, the first will contain the Elephant and Camera accessories while the second comes with the Wind Pedal and Bird. There isn’t any cost difference to buying things separately, so I could see grabbing the starter bundle before plunking down the extra cash on the full kit and kaboodle.
The Toy-Con Garage feature will be making a return in the VR kit, which could lead to some seriously awesome creations. Along with that, users can turn off the VR functionality and use the screen holder and cap in 2D mode. With all of that said, this sounds like the best Labo kit yet. I’ll be curious to see if anyone is able to hack the goggles for use on PC because I just might end up buying this one.
