Yesterday Nintendo announced a brand new piece of hardware, but it wasn’t the Nintendo Switch 2; instead it was a ‘Sound Clock’ called Alarmo which costs $99.99 / £89.99 (pricing and availability in some regions to be announced). No, I’m not kidding, and yes, I desperately want one.
Alarmo is a round alarm clock with a 2.8-inch LCD screen that shows you the date, time, and features a playful Nintendo character who reacts to things like the time, or how well you’ve responded to the alarm. When it’s time to wake up the clock will ring out with iconic Nintendo music like Jump up, Super Star! from Mario Odyssey.
Where Alarmo seriously up its game over a regular alarm clock, however, is its in-built motion sensor. Alarmo can track your sleep movements during the night to help monitor your habits, and also respond to how quickly you wake up.
If you wave your hand towards Alarmo too many times to snooze your alarm, or delay getting up by just ignoring it, the music it plays will get louder and more intense – with the trailer showing it playing Bowser’s boss tune and displaying the Koopa King himself on-screen to persuade you to wake up.
When Alarmo detects you’ve actually got out of bed the Alarm will end, and Mario will celebrate with a quick fanfare and explosion of confetti. Alternatively, when you’re trying to fall asleep you and Mario can relax to Alarmo’s “Sleepy Sounds”
Not just Alar-Mario
While the red clock’s border invokes Nintendo’s iconic mascot Mario, the alarm clock can take musical and visual cues from across the company’s whole catalog including The Legend of Zelda, Splatoon, Animal Crossing, and Ring Fit Adventure (a fitness title you absolutely hadn’t forgotten about until just now).
And now I simultaneously want Alarmo to play that dread-inducing Guardian activation music cue from Breath of the Wild, and desperately hope it doesn’t.
It’ll for sure scare you out of bed if you’re feeling lazy, but starting everyday with a heart spike to over 100 bpm might not be great for anyone’s health. Alternatively I’m imagining the intimidating sound of Timmy and Tommy Nook knocking at your door asking where Tom Nook’s money is, though I’m not expecting Nintendo will actually use this one.
Regardless, I’ve fallen in love with Alarmo, not just as a smart alarm clock that looks set to bring some joy to your morning routine, but because it feels so delightfully silly. When we’re all desperately waiting for a Switch 2 announcement it’s kind of hilarious that Nintendo would instead release a smart alarm clock.
It’s not entirely out of nowhere though, with developers Yosuke Tamori and Tetsuya Akama explaining in an interview that it was inspired by the research Nintendo had done when developing the motion sensor tech it deploys in its less unorthodox gaming inventions like its Joy-Cons.
Alarmo might not be for everyone
Unfortunately, this technology does have a few limitations. It’s compatible with Twin to King-sized beds, so smaller or larger beds may mean Alarmo doesn’t function correctly. Plus, you’ll need to be able to place Alarmo somewhere that’s within arm’s reach, no higher than eight inches above the bed, and make sure it’s facing the bed’s center – and that placement will need to be in reach of a power socket.
Additionally, if you share a bed with your partner or a pet, Nintendo recommends swapping Alarmo to Button Mode for the best experience – which will turn off all motion-sensing features.
Lastly, to actually purchase Alarmo right now you’ll need a Nintendo Account and paid Nintendo Switch Online membership – though this restriction is just for a ‘limited time.’ Alarmo will go on sale to the general public sometime in January 2025.
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hamish.hector@futurenet.com (Hamish Hector)
