Michael McWhertor, Polygon:

Labo will let Nintendo Switch owners build cardboard versions of real-world items like a 13-key piano, fishing rod or motorbike. Nintendo calls those cardboard creations Toy-Cons. And, by inserting Joy-Con controllers into those Toy-Cons, players will be able to play games themed to the cardboard creations.

“With each Nintendo Labo kit, kids can transform modular sheets of cardboard – specially designed to interact with the Nintendo Switch console and Joy-Con controllers — into creations called Toy-Con,” Nintendo said. “As you build, you will have fun discovering how the technology works, and might even invent new ways to play with each Toy-Con!”

No one could have predicted Toy-Con. Try as you might, cardboard attachment kits for the Switch are not just out of left field, they are on a different pitch altogether.

There is an increasing wealth of junior robotics and toy-to-life experiences on the market. This is a clever, unique take on that market — and does Google Cardboard one better.

When folks call Nintendo a crazy toymaker, they’re not joking.

Uncharted director and writer Amy Hennig and Campo Santo (Firewatch) founder Sean Vanaman in conversation for Polygon’s excellent 2017 Year in Review essay series:

Amy Hennig: I talk to students and young developers sometimes, and they’re always sort of amazed to find out that everybody has imposter syndrome.

Sean Vanaman: I still feel like I’m ripping everyone off.

Amy Hennig: You look back at your own work and go, “I’m not even sure how I did that.”

Sean Vanaman: Exactly.

Amy Hennig: So even though you have this underlying sense of faith and tell yourself, “Well, I’ve been here lots of times, and I’ve always figured out a way to solve these problems, so I’ve got to relax and assume that I will figure it out again,” in the moment you’re like, “I don’t know how I did that before. I don’t know what I’m doing.” And everybody feels that way. It’s something I haven’t heard creative people talk about that much until recently. I always hear this sigh of relief when I bring it up. Everyone feels lost all the time.

This is a wonderful conversation between polar perspectives. Whether you’re running a large ship or a tiny dinghy, self-doubt is inevitable. I’ll add that it’s not just the captains that encounter it.

The quicker everyone and lay bare their uncertainties, the quicker the entire crew can sail in the same direction.

During today’s Nintendo Direct Mini, Nintendo announced Dark Souls: Remastered will be heading to the Switch on May 25, 2018. The title will also be launching on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

This continues a trickle of AAA third-party ports to the hybrid portable/set-top console. In 2017, among other third-party ports, Bethesda released Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and DOOM to the console and will soon to be releasing Wolfenstein 2: New Colossus.

Dark Souls was originally released in 2011 for PS3 and Xbox 360. It spawned two sequels and riff Bloodborne.

I have never played a Souls game. The idea of sitting in front of a TV, beating my head against an insanely difficult boss for hours on end is not a luxury my life can afford. However, doing so on a portable console is a whole different story.

Killing hours traveling, accompanying my wife on the sofa, relaxing in bed, stealing myself away to any place to chip away at a game are the reasons I’ve tucked my consoles away. Furthermore, the ability to quickly put the Switch to sleep and seamlessly launch back into a title make it my ultimate gaming device. For all of these reasons, I feel the Switch will allow me to join the Souls conversation, finally.

While Dark Souls: Remastered is the first of the series, the announcement of another classic PS3/Xbox 360 port to the Switch extends my enthusiasm for the console. I’m reminded of how tickled I was seeing this tweet by Jon Cartwright:

https://twitter.com/NomComms/status/948645714036273152

Honestly, it’s remarkable to see a Nintendo console glean so much third-party support. I’ll just keep my fingers crossed for Cuphead.

Allegra Frank, Polygon:

Nintendo Switch has had a huge December over in Japan, with nearly 900,000 systems sold by Dec. 24. Based on the most recent cumulative sales data from Famitsu, the country’s biggest gaming publication, Nintendo has now sold just under 3.3 million Switch consoles in its homeland — both edging out PlayStation 2’s first-year sales numbers and matching Wii U’s lifetime sales to date.

Astonishing.

Simon Parkin reporting for The New York Times:

Even people like Mr. Miyamoto, 65, a leading figure at Nintendo since the 1980s, is ceding control at the company’s Japanese headquarters.

“More and more I am trying to let the younger generation fully take the reins,” Mr. Miyamoto said.

This younger generation has been carefully chosen; Mr. Miyamoto says he wants people who are more likely to create new kinds of play, rather than merely aim to perfect current ones.

“I always look for designers who aren’t super-passionate game fans,” Mr. Miyamoto said. “I make it a point to ensure they’re not just a gamer, but that they have a lot of different interests and skill sets.” Some of the company’s current stars had no experience playing video games when they were hired.