This week’s Nintendo Direct presentation may have been and gone, but that hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from whirring once more before the weekend. Now, it has emerged that the Nintendo Labo Toy-Con: VR Kit will be the next addition to Nintendo’s interactive build-and-play experiences for Nintendo Switch.
Nintendo World Report had opened with a hint at an upcoming “VR-related announcement” for the portable home console, before GoNintendo soon stepped in to add that the news is regarding what Nintendo has prepared for the next Nintendo Labo kit.
It’s not hard to start to piece everything together from there. Nintendo has frequently spoken about wanting Nintendo Labo to become a “staple product,” with their kits of cardboard sheets and accompanying gameplay experiences having sold more than 1.36 million copies worldwide – to meet the company’s expectations.
The direct comparison for the Nintendo Labo Toy-Con: VR Kit would be with Google Cardboard, rather than more bulkier VR headsets. The clear difference being that, once constructed, you would insert your Nintendo Switch console into the cardboard contraption, rather than a mobile device.
And, in an effort to raise consumer interest in Nintendo Labo, they have made their cardboard creations compatible with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – which, let’s not forget, is currently the best-selling Nintendo Switch game worldwide. That has let you race with the Toy-Con Motorbike from the Nintendo Labo Toy-Con: Variety Kit, as well as the Toy-Con Car and Toy-Con Pedal from the more recent Nintendo Labo Toy-Con: Vehicle Kit.
It wouldn’t be a stretch, then, to anticipate that the kart racer will proudly sit among the first-party games that will support this new Nintendo Labo Toy-Con: VR Kit – especially given the fact that Bandai Namco Entertainment has proven to Nintendo that the concept can work with Mario Kart VR. As to what other games, or experiences, Nintendo has prepared, we’ll have to wait and see if the rumor turns out to be true.
