Nintendo's big announcement took everyone by surprise

(Credit: Nintendo)

This week, Nintendo left everyone guessing what it meant by a "new interactive experience" coming to Switch, but last night we finally got to see what it was, and it took everyone by surprise. It's called Nintendo Labo, and it's a range of interactive build-and-play toy experiences made out of cardboard and rubber bands.

Nintendo doesn't just want us playing on Switch, it wants us creating real toys with it. In order to do that, Nintendo is creating a number of cardboard kits, called Toy-Cons, that allow for the creation of real-world objects that are then enhanced with the Switch and its Joy-Cons.

The first two kits will be called Variety Kit and Robot Kit. Variety Kit allows you to make five different Toy-Con projects including two RC cars, a fishing rod, a house, a motorbike, and a piano. Each object is formed from folding up the included cardboard sheets and putting the different parts together then sitting the Switch in these creations to bring them to life. So, for example, once the motorbike is built there will be a racing game to enjoy using it, the piano can actually be played. The Robot Kit takes the form of a backpack, visor, and foot inserts. When worn, you become a robot on the Switch, which moves like you do.

You can see the potential here for Nintendo to create new toy kits on a regular basis by introducing new functionality and games to play using your creations. There will also be accessory kits offered to allow each toy to be customized using stickers and stencils, and of course coloring them in is encouraged.

The potential for profit is absolutely huge considering each kit mainly consists of cardboard and rubber bands, while Nintendo is charging upwards of $70 for them. At the same time, parents are going to jump at the chance to give their kids something educational to build and play with in-between sessions of Super Mario Odyssey.

Nintendo Labo will launch on April 20 with the Variety and Robot kits being the first available. Unlike with the Switch, it seems unlikely Nintendo will struggle to keep up with demand as the base materials used in each kit are so widely available.

This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.