Uh, how do we even start talking about this? What can you even say that the title doesn’t say already? Do we need to get more sleep or is this really happening?

Honestly, we’re not sure. Seeing this announcement today made us sceptical of our own sanity, let alone Nintendo’s.

Because right out of the blue, Nintendo has announced a new piece of hardware. Alarmo, the Nintendo Sound Clock! Here’s the trailer if you haven’t seen it already:

Yes, it’s a physical alarm clock. You will actually be able to buy a Nintendo themed alarm clock that plays Nintendo music to wake you up and lull you to sleep, and tracks your sleep patterns like a more old school version of Pokémon Sleep. It’s the company’s first foray into the whole ‘Internet of Things’ market, and one that feels like it comes straight out of left field to say the least.

And it genuinely makes us wonder… why?

Why an alarm clock? Why now? Since when did Nintendo make non-gaming hardware?

Still, the feature set is pretty interesting. The songs vary based on the time of day and situation, and you can apparently play Nintendo related sound effects when you move while waking up. Plus, with various updates coming to add new games in future (like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Animal Crossing New Horizons, it’s clear they do want to support this for the long run. So that’s pretty cool too.

But the security and privacy implications make us worried about it going forward. Like, the current Internet of Things trend has already garnered a lot of criticism for leaving hardware either unusable or open to hackers. Companies release a product, barely release updates for it, then leave it to die after a year or two.

And with those being actual hardware companies with experience in non-gaming consumer electronics, it makes us worry about the Nintendo setup here. Like, they already suck with internet functionality on the Switch as it is, and their hardware is easy enough to hack that a child could do it. Do we really want to trust them with anything with sleep related privacy implications? That could end up seeing support discontinued in a few years or so?

Honestly, we’re not sure we do. IOT products are a dubious enough proposition as is, let alone with a company like Nintendo leading the charge.

Still, that’s Alarmo in a nutshell. It’s a Nintendo themed alarm clock that supports themes from Switch games like Mario Odyssey and Breath of the Wild, and tracks your movement to play relevant sound effects. A weird product for sure, and one we’re worried about given previous experience, but something we’re sure many die hards will enjoy nonetheless.

So, what are your thoughts on it? Are you going to buy Alarmo when it releases in future? What games should Nintendo add in future?

Leave your thoughts in the comments below, on social media, or on our Discord server today!

Source:

Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarmo – Announcement Trailer (YouTube)