Nintendo remains on a quirky streak as it announces Labo-- a range of "experiences designed to inspire creative minds and playful hearts alike" customers build out of cardboard.

As seen in the announcement video, Labo sets consists of sheets of perforated cardboard. Customers pop out the different shapes and fold them according to on-screen instructions to create objects such as a piano, fishing rod, bike or even a robot suit. Nintendo calls these results "Toy-Cons," and they spring to life when the users slot the Switch controllers or tablet into place.

Thus the cardboard piano becomes a playable instrument, with the IR sensor in the right Joy-Con detecting which key is being pressed before the console plays it through the built-in speakers. Other Toy-Cons use the combination of controller and console to create drivable motorbikes, fishing games and what looks like an interactive house.

HTC presents an update of the Vive headset at CES 2018-- the Vive Pro, a VR offering featuring higher resolution 2880 x 1600 (1400 x 1600 per eye) dual-OLED displays, a 78% increase over the original Vive.

According to the company, the Vive Pro is aimed at "VR enthusiasts and enterprise users who want the best display and audio for their VR experiences." As such, the headset also features improved audio through integrated headphones with built-in amplifiers promising "overall richer sound." Further additions include dual microphones complete with active noise cancellation and dual front-facing cameras.

On the ergonomic side the headset should be more comfortable to wear, thanks to a redesigned headstrap, decreased weight on the front of the headset and a redesigned face cushion. The nose pad is also improved to block off more light.

Mysterious startup Magic Leap finally reveals the hardware behind its supposedly revolutionary augmented reality technology-- the One, a headset the company claims adds "another dimension to computing."

Magic Leap has been around for a few years, even if its existence so far was something of a conundrum. Founded in 2011, it received $1.9 billion in funding from names as big as Google, but it never actually showed its technology outside of a 2016 Wired report, instead simply hyping its supposedly incredible take on VR. Until now, that is.

A Co. Design feature confirms what many were suspecting-- Microsoft has stopped production of the Kinect, the arguably revolutionary Xbox camera accessory and former device sales dark horse.

The news via interview with Kinect creator Alex Kipman and Xbox Devices Marketing GM Matthew Lapsen. The two tell Microsoft has be de-emphasising the Kinect for a while, even if the technology continues to exist in other products. The core sensor is now inside the Hololens augmented reality headset, while Kinect team members are working on the Cortana voice assistant, the Windows Hello biometric system and a future UI Microsoft calls Gaze, Gesture and Voice (GGV).

Kinect launched in 2010 as an accessory for the Xbox 360. Formerly known as "Project Natal," it essentially maps a space in invisible infrared dots in order to track the human movements. It was a surprising success, selling 8 million units in its first 60 days on the market, earning it a Guinness World Record for "fastest selling consumer electronics device."