Nintendo is set to launch a new gaming device in 2024. Contrary to expectations, it is not the anticipated Switch 2, but rather the Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarmo.
This innovative motion-sensing alarm clock will wake you from your slumber with sounds from popular video games such as Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Priced at $99.99, this alarm clock features 35 unique wake-up “scenes” derived from Nintendo Switch games.
Users will have the opportunity to “experience immersive sounds and music” tailored to match the distinctive themes of Nintendo’s franchises.
Alarmo will also monitor users’ sleep patterns and movements; it will keep a record of how much you move during the night, similar to the Pokémon Go Plus Plus sleep tracker released for Pokémon Go and Pokémon Sleep, as well as the long-awaited, though seemingly abandoned, Quality of Life (QOL) project.
According to a news release from Nintendo, the Sound Clock: Alarmo will come equipped with various alarm settings.
Its Steady Mode features an alarm that gradually increases in intensity the longer you remain in bed. Gentle Mode provides “a more consistent intensity level,” while Button Mode offers a traditional snooze function that requires you to hit Alarmo to silence it.
Additionally, this interactive, motion-sensing clock includes “sleepy sounds”—calming music designed to help you drift off to sleep.
The Nintendo Sound Clock will feature scenes from Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Splatoon 3, Pikmin 4, and Ring Fit Adventure.
If you have a Nintendo Account and link it to your Alarmo, you’ll have the opportunity to download additional scenes from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Animal Crossing: New Horizons for free at a later date.
Alarmo is available for direct purchase from Nintendo, but exclusively for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. The retail launch is scheduled for early 2025, as announced by the company.
Nintendo first revealed intentions to develop a sleep-monitoring device back in 2014.
At that time, the company had ambitious plans for its “quality of life” health device, aiming to track not just user movement through motion sensors, but also heart rate, respiration, and fatigue, all linked to Nintendo’s gaming systems.
The then-president of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, expressed in 2014 that the company intended to enter the health market to enhance “quality of life through entertainment.” However, with the tremendous success of the Switch, Nintendo put its QOL device ambitions on hold… until now.
