Less than a week after their latest Nintendo Direct set the internet (and Chibi-Robo) on fire, the company made more waves by introducing a new line of interactive experiences for the Switch. Dubbed Nintendo Labo, these upcoming kits combine the Switch’s unique hardware capabilities with lo-fi construction materials (think cardboard and string) to deliver a new take on DIY tinkering and STEM edutainment. The early kits look really cool, and Labo has a lot of potential to expand Nintendo’s purview. I also think it’s an interesting evolution of some key elements of the company’s storied history.

A lot of Nintendo’s modern identity can be traced back to its toy-making roots and the innovative work of its hardware designers. Think back to the late Gunpei Yokoi, one of the company’s early heroes as it transitioned to toy—and ultimately video game—production. Yokoi is credited with landmark hardware creations such as the Game & Watch, the Control Pad (including the directional pad), and the Game Boy. Before that, though, he came up with the Ultra Hand and various other toys and gadgets that helped lead Nintendo to its ultimate destiny.

Yokoi is purported to have defined part of Nintendo’s approach to hardware design as “lateral thinking with withered technology.” Put another way, this means making innovative use of established, cost-efficient components. The company’s track record is rich with successful endeavors employing this approach, from the Game Boy to the Wii and even the Switch. Though Yokoi passed away in 1997, it’s clear his ideas became inextricably integrated into Nintendo’s culture during his influential 31 years with them.

Labo looks like a perfect encapsulation of Yokoi’s philosophy, but it goes a step further by showing users the concept’s appeal firsthand. It says, “Hey, with just some cardboard, string, tape, and imagination, look what you can do!”

In that way, I think Labo is a perfect product for Nintendo as an offering to future tinkerers and Nintendo fans alike. It’s potentially a cool DIY project for STEM students and educators, and it could be a great inspirational tool for tomorrow’s engineers. But it’s also an apt celebration of Nintendo’s own toy-making and product design legacy and evolution. I think Gunpei Yokoi would approve.