Nintendo Labo Has Brought Out the Toxic Gaming Community

Many hard core Nintendo fans were really excited for yesterday’s Nintendo presentation, and ultimately seemed to leave with a sense of severe disappointment. A lot of great ideas were being floated around the Internet, ideas that would get anyone excited: Animal Crossing making its way to Nintendo Switch, perhaps a accessory kids could use throughout the day, that could be synced to their Switch at night, and so on. So when Nintendo’s video presentation showed cardboard cutouts that utilized the many features of the Joy-Con, NUMEROUS people expressed frustrations online. Ultimately, though, so few took the time to realize who this is for: kids. Nintendo Labo will be a big hit – as indicated by its position as a best selling item on Amazon – and if Nintendo allows people to experiment on their own, there could be some fun for adults as well.

I have no problem with Nintendo Switch fans being disappointed in what was announced. Disappointment is the result of high expectations – or even simple expectations – that ultimately lets us down. Disappointment is an inward emotion that we often verbally express via our favourites mediums. For many, that disappointment landed on Twitter and Facebook. I look to one of our great writers here at GamesReviews.com, Daniel Fugate, who ultimately wasn’t impressed and shared his feelings.

This doesn’t bother me. I wasn’t expecting it to be for everyone, and Daniel and I are on two opposite ends of the gaming spectrum. I have two kids who love their Nintendo Switch units; on top of that, both my kids love to create and decorate arts and crafts, so Nintendo Labo mixes two of their favorite things. I don’t expect Daniel to love this announcement, and good for him if he doesn’t. Those that have expressed rage online, however, or utter contempt for the concept, are the toxic individuals who are so self centred, they cannot even find the good in a product for someone else.

Some games that get released are just plain bad, as are some products. Universally, they have no wide appeal, and the majority of people are left scratching their heads. I don’t think that is the case with Labo. There is an audience Nintendo is desperately going after here, and it’s kids under the age of 15, and parents of those kids.

I was tracking Twitter conversations around #NintendoLabo throughout the evening, and could not count the number of times I saw individuals cracking jokes at Nintendo for releasing cardboard peripherals, telling Nintendo as a whole to go F&#@ itself, and the like. All over a great new lineup of toys aimed at kids, and parents who want to interact and play games with their kids. Labo isn’t a one off experience, as Nintendo has obviously put a lot of work into this concept, and had it planned out long before the Nitnendo Switch launched. Remember when we all complained that a set of Joy-Cons in Canada ran us 99.99….now we know why. It is for experiences like Labo. Labo is front and centre for Nintendo now, as it has become one of the main tabs on Nintendo’s regional webpages. This is going to be a hit, and the longer uninterested parties fight it, the more I hope Nintendo invests in it.

Companies who release products are not always going to launch games and accessories that you enjoy. I hate the Kinect on Xbox One, but I never thought to trash Microsoft online because of it, or make fun of individuals who were excited for it. People like that added touch, so all the more power to them. On PlayStation, for the longest time, I didn’t understand the power or intricacies of PSVR. It wasn’t for me, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t for thousands of others. There are always going to be things we don’t like about a system or a company, but when we look at them from 10,000 feet, we realize there is an audience somewhere.

The Internet has become a pool of negativity, and toxic attitudes are so prevalent in the video game industry it has made me want to step away on a number of occasions. Labo won’t be for everyone, but when I saw my kids lose their minds over the announcement, I knew Nintendo had a hit product. People will buy this, regardless of what you think.