With the gaming world waiting with bated breath for Nintendo to announce Switch 2, the company behind Mario has once again surprised its fans with the announcement of a completely unexpected piece of hardware: an interactive alarm clock.
“Ever wish that you could wake up in one of the playful worlds from Nintendo?” the company asked in a note to press. “Well, it’s time to stop dreaming!”
The Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarmo is an interactive alarm clock designed to add “some Nintendo charm to your home and your daily routine.” Alarmo is due out early 2025 priced $99.99, with Nintendo Switch Online members in the U.S. and Canada able to buy it right now via the My Nintendo Store.
Alarmo features motion sensor technology that responds to your movements, letting you snooze your alarm with motion alone and stop it by getting out of bed. You can pick from 35 scenes inspired by five Nintendo titles – Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Splatoon 3, Pikmin 4, and Ring Fit Adventure – then set a time and let Alarmo do its work.
Here’s the official blurb from Nintendo:
In the morning you’ll experience immersive sounds and music from the scene you picked. Rise to sounds of the Mushroom Kingdom with Mario and friends, begin your day’s adventure with Link and Princess Zelda, or start fresh with the Inklings from Splatoon 3. And those are just some of the experiences you can wake up to!
That’s not all – you can also check Records to see how much you move around in your sleep, set an hourly chime themed to your chosen title, and change between Steady or Gentle Modes for your morning alarm. In Steady Mode, the alarm will gradually get more intense the longer you stay in bed, whereas Gentle Mode offers a more consistent intensity level. There’s also Button Mode for a more traditional, tactile “hit the snooze button” alarm clock experience. You can even use sleepy sounds to wind down with soothing music and sounds at your set bedtime.
Here’s how it works. Before the alarm, a character from the title you selected waits patiently on screen. When the alarm begins, gentle sounds unique to the scene you’ve chosen begin to play. Then, a visitor arrives. After a few seconds, someone (or some thing!) from the scene you picked will appear. You can then wave your hand or move your body to make the clock quieter. Depending on the title you’ve choosen, you might also hear coins or other familiar game sounds when you interact with Alarmo.
Eventually, your visit will end and gentle sounds will play again until your visitor returns. (This will repeat a number of times if you stay in bed.) If you stay in bed too long, your alarm will get more intense and you’ll get a visit from someone “more persuasive,” Nintendo warned. (Yes, it’s Bowser.) When you get all the way out of bed, the alarm will stop and you’ll be treated to a brief victory fanfare.
Like releasing patches for its video games, Nintendo will update Alarmo with scenes from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Animal Crossing: New Horizons for free when they become available.
It’s worth noting that Alarmo is only compatible with twin to king-sized beds, so it won’t work with a single. It should be placed facing the center of the bed, within arm’s reach, and no higher than eight inches above the sleeper, Nintendo said. If there is more than one sleeper in the bed, Nintendo recommends using Button Mode for “the best experience.”
And if you’re worried about Alarmo spying on you in your sleep and telling Nintendo how much you toss and turn, the company insisted the device “does not communicate any information” to the Mario maker.
It’s not the expected Switch 2 announce, but Alarmo is new hardware from Nintendo, which is always worth getting out of bed for.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.