Nintendo Labo launched earlier this year with a genius mix of build-it-yourself cardboard accessories and genuinely entertaining games bundled up in the Variety Kit and Robot Kit, respectively. If you thought that was going to be the end of it, you’d be wrong. A new Nintendo Labo Vehicle Kit (or Toy-Con 03) launches on 14 September this year.
This new Vehicle Kit contains the software and cardboard pieces you’ll need to build a Toy-Con car, plane, and even a freaking submarine! You’ll be able to build a steering wheel for land vehicles, a flight stick for air vehicles, and of course a control column for the submarine.
Each ‘vehicle’ is controlled by a master key that the first Joy-Con is inserted into, which will activate the selected mode of transport. A for-realsies master key. When inserted into the steering wheel, the key activates an in-game buggy that can be raced around an open field. By pulling a cord next to the steering wheel, the buggy’s afterburners are activated and it does a radical wheelie — look out Fortnite golf carts.
“Our goal is to put smiles on the faces of everyone Nintendo touches,” said Stephan Bole, Nintendo of Europe’s COO/President. “We hope that the new Nintendo Labo: Vehicle Kit, which allows players to build three different vehicles and play with them together, will introduce totally new players to the unique combination of making, playing, and discovering.”
The Vehicle Kit is a must for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe players, though you don’t have to wait for some cardboard love there — Nintendo recently added MK8D support for the Variety Kit motorcycle. Using the handlebars, players are able to race around the track just like players using traditional controllers. There isn’t really a way to alter your speed in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (you’re accelerating or braking/reversing, that’s it), which could be an issue for the pedal in the upcoming Vehicle Kit. We suspect it’ll just be used to tell your kart “GO!”.
As with the Variety and Robot Kits, the Vehicle Kit’s software includes a creation tool called Toy-Con Garage. This allows players to create entirely new gadgets using their Switch and some cardboard. They say the sky’s the limit, but actually your bedroom roof is the limit.
The kit includes a working analog alarm clock and a “solar-powered” cardboard accordion that relies on the Joy-Con’s camera to determine which notes to play.
The new kit launches on 14 September, and it looks as though South Africa will be included in the launch rollout. Local pricing isn’t known yet, but international is: $70. At present the $70 Variety Kit goes for R1000 here in SA so we’re expecting this one to be close, if not identical, in price.
