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Instead of its much-anticipated Switch 2 console, Nintendo’s big hardware release for late 2024 is a big cartoon alarm clock called Alarmo. It will play your favorite tracks from Nintendo’s most popular properties to halt your sleep, then bombard you with game sound effects while tossing around in bed. The torment only ends after you sit up, where it will offer you a “fanfare” for being so bold as to get out of bed.
The $100 Alarmo is supposed to “make waking up fun,” according to Nintendo. It includes a circular, 2.8-inch LCD screen that plays a scene of characters like Mario snoozing. It then shows more simple animations for waking up, hitting the snooze button, and finally extricating yourself from the warm domain of your bedsheets. Users have options to select 35 different themes from Nintendo’s popular Switch titles, including Super Mario: Odyssey, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Splatoon 3, and Pikmin 4, along with the Japanese game maker’s odd exercise title Ring Fit Adventure.
Based on the theme, the alarm might play a song and show the image of a “visitor” on-screen. In a video trailer, Alarmo included the opening to the song Jump Up, Super Star! you’ll remember from Super Mario: Odyssey’s New Donk City level with an image of Mayor Pauline exclaiming “yeah” to a prostrate sleeper. Then, as you move around in bed, Alarmo uses motion sensors to blast you with sound effects, like the chime when Mario picks up a coin. Sitting up plays Mario’s typical “yahoo.” Finally, getting out of bed results in your room being filled with the full chorus to Jump Up, Super Star!, although Nintendo certainly shouldn’t expect me to jump as I shuffle to the bathroom literally, head hung in anguish while I anticipate a new day.
In its announcement video, Nintendo makes the motion-activated sound effects seem like the most obnoxious way to wake up. I don’t know who prefers to wake up to the sound of Link picking up rupees, but it certainly isn’t me. Nintendo says the “visitor” leaves after you use a gesture to set the clock to snooze, but they will return soon if you linger in bed. Nintendo says there’s a “gentle” mode for easier listening and a “steady” mode that ramps up the sounds’ volume the longer you stay in bed.
The device won’t work nearly as well if you sleep with a partner or a pet. On its store page, Nintendo said it’s best to use “Button Mode” if you sleep next to your significant other. In that way, the clock is best for kids or bachelors who demand they wake up with Nintendo, play Nintendo during the day, and fall asleep with Nintendo.
The clock is only available to Nintendo Switch Online and Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscribers. It can also be purchased from the Nintendo Store in New York City while supplies last.
Nintendo has a slight obsession with sleep patterns. The company said users can access “Records” to learn how long they stay in bed and how much they move while slumbering. The company already has Pokémon Sleep, an app that gamifies sleep habits and unlocks more creatures for Pokémon Go.
Nintendo has a lot on its plate hardware-wise. Fans are so rabid they may tear down the walls of its headquarters to see a hint of the Switch 2. We expect the legacy Japanese game maker to come out with more peripherals early in 2025, though we may not see the Switch 2 until sometime in April.
