What Should I Do With My OG Switch? Nintendo's Wooden Amiibos Are the Answer

With a Switch 2 in tow, your original Switch is likely gathering dust. The sequel handheld is an upgrade—a spec bump. Nintendo is trying to give users a few more use cases for the older handheld, implying its first dockable handheld may end up being your child’s or younger cousin’s new toy.

The Mario maker introduced a whole slew of new toys and Switch software explicitly geared toward kids. They’re all currently exclusive to Japan, though we can’t imagine western audiences wouldn’t jump on these immediately. The big ticket item is a set of wood blocks in a large “My Mario” playset. These figures first reminded me of my Thomas the Tank Engine wooden train I used to careen down my kitchen table as a preteen. Unlike those lo-fi locomotives, these Mario figures have the extra benefit that they “can also be used as an amiibo figure of the relevant character in compatible games. The blocks are “made in sizes and weights that are easy for young children to hold and play with.”

Nintendo has sold its NFC-enabled figurines since the Wii U launched as a way to enable special in-game items or user icons, but fans considered them as collectibles rather than toys to play with. The wooden Mario, Peach, Luigi, Yoshi, and all the extra Koopa shells and coin blocks are meant to be handled by a child’s caustic hands (you just have to remember to keep any teething toddlers from going to town on them). Parents may need to help their kids actually stick the amiibo up to the Switch joysticks to get those exclusive perks.

There are additional plush rattles, baby shirts with mock overalls, and a “Hello, Mario!” popup children’s book. Nintendo also plans to release claymation My Mario shorts on the My Mario website “and other channels.” The big update for owners of Nintendo’s handheld is the addition of an app on both Switch, smartphones, and tablets. You can use the app to tug on Mario’s face. Mario is supposed to react to you yanking on his mustache, akin to the 3D Mario head from Super Mario 64. The app will be available to Japanese audiences on Aug. 26. We’ll have to wait for if or when Nintendo offers these same services in the states.

Nowhere amid all the images Nintendo used to promote its children’s toys was there a big, bold, black Switch 2. That device’s 7.9-inch screen seems geared for adult-size mitts. The smaller Switch with its more colorful Joy-Con options is the better fit for pubescent players. That was true even before the Switch 2 launch. Remember Nintendo’s big Labo experiment, with its slate of cardboard peripherals and DIY VR headsets players needed to build themselves? These were geared to younger folks first for cerebral stimulation. Nintendo’s wood blocks and funny, stretchy Mario face seem to be lowering the sign that says, “You must be this tall to ride this ride.”

Nintendo needs to give you a few more reasons to keep your Switch around, especially since you likely can’t pawn it off on eBay for much more than $150. Because of updates to both systems, Nintendo restricts you from having game save data in more than one place at once. Nintendo’s Virtual Game Cards also restrict users from having one instance of a game on the OG and Switch 2. You can disable Virtual Game Cards through the system menus, but the end result is that you won’t be gifting your game library to somebody else. Instead, Nintendo seems to be saying that your Switch can be even more of a toy than it was previously.

The claymation show, plus the extra clothes, backpacks, and other kid-friendly items, are part of the company’s efforts to diversify its business. Japan’s most-storied publisher is into both theme parks and movies. The company has implied this will help it weather the storm of international economic mudslinging. This week, Nintendo hiked prices on all its original Switch consoles, likely due to U.S. tariffs. The consoles now look even more like a worse deal than the Switch 2, but only if you’re considering them from the perspective of a gamer. For a beleaguered parent looking for any way to distract their child, a Switch may be what Dr. Mario ordered.