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Writer's pictureD2K Prime

Alarmo? I think NINTENDO needs to "Wake Up."


This post isn't going to be an expose' about the product itself. I will say briefly that it's a clever little device, I suppose. Not something I'm particularly interested in, but I can see avid Nintendo fans that are collectors finding interest for this device. I think $99 dollars is WAY too expensive though for what it does. There are a few things that come to mind here. One thing is that it seems like the mystery has been solved regarding the FCC patent filing model number CLO-001 by Nintendo for a device with a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio and a 24GHz mmWave sensor.


I mean, even the model number gives it away. "CLO"-001. The first letters in the word "clock" are "CLO." You see that they only showed the bottom of the device as if they showed it from the front or back, it would have given it away as a clock because Alarmo is a typical old-fashioned clock shape. The other thing that comes to mind here is timing. This seems to be a very odd time to announce such a device as this. Granted, you do want to start planting seeds now for the Holiday season, but you already know where I am going with this. The whole world is on edge with baited-breath waiting for Nintendo to give us something substantive regarding the successor to the Nintendo Switch. We are nearing the end of 2024 and quickly closing in on March of 2025 which will be a full 8 years that the Nintendo Switch has been on the market. We are in October of 2024 and we have not even heard a code-name for this blasted-device yet. This is ridiculous. Let me show you how unprecedented this is. In 1993, we first started hearing about 'Project Reality' and on June 23rd, 1994, they officially announced the console as the 'Ultra 64' which would eventually become the Nintendo 64 released in 1996. In 1998, we first started hearing about the 'Project Dolphin,' and Nintendo officially announced it on May 12th, 1999. That would eventually become the Nintendo GameCube in 2001. In 2001, Nintendo began working with Gyration, Inc. to leverage their motion-control technology. At E3 2004, then President Of Nintendo of Japan the late Saturo Iwata announced the 'Nintendo Revolution.' This would go on to become the Nintendo Wii in 2006. In regards to the Wii U, it is a little more complicated because management at Nintendo were too stubborn to admit that the motion-control bubble had burst, HARD, and they needed to move on. They were still trying to find ways to hang on to the Wii. So, no concrete announcement came from Nintendo regarding the rumored 'Project Cafe' until E3 2011 when the Wii U was unveiled. I think a lot of this indecision by Nintendo played a huge role in the lack of innovation and features for the console, but that is a different conversation. In 2013, we first heard from Saturo Iwata that Nintendo's next-generation device would be a family of devices sharing a common operating-system. 'Project NX' was first announced by Nintendo in 2015, and we got the Nintendo Switch in 2017. So, you see the trend here. This isn't just with Nintendo. Both Microsoft and Sony have done the same thing in regards to generational hardware. So, to be this far along and not to have ANYTHING concrete from Nintendo except a short announcement from current Nintendo of Japan President, Shuntaro Furukawa, stating that they will ANNOUNCE (not release) the successor to the Nintendo Switch before the end of the fiscal-year which is in March-April of 2025 for Nintendo. In a vacuum, as annoying as it is for them to keep us waiting this long with nothing to go on, it's not "wrong" from a business standpoint necessarily depending on what it is. If there is something that isn't ready, or something that they don't want competitors to know about the console until it is too late for them to respond, I guess I understand that strategy. What I DO NOT understand is the fact that you would announce a digital alarm clock right around the time people were expecting you to at least say SOMETHING about the Switch successor. I refuse to believe that Nintendo is that daft or dilapidated. They know what fans are saying online. This Alarmo device is something that could have waited. It would make more sense to announce this just before Black Friday. People already will have the money in hand ready to start buying gifts. Even though $99 is a little steep, I think more people would be willing to buy it then, because it would put the idea in people's minds for a perfect Christmas gift for someone they know that loves Nintendo. Even if you know officially from Nintendo when Switch 2 is coming by that point (hopefully,) this would be a nice present in the meantime. Now, people can still do that, and will do that. I'm just saying that this is pretty dense on their part at best, mean-spirited at worst to announce this thing, now. Nintendo needs to wake up, and grow up. If you are gonna be quiet, then STAY quiet until you are ready to talk about what your consumers actually WANT. They are getting dragged BIG TIME by major news outlets for doing this. When you combine this with the Nintendo attacking emulation, and with the lawsuit against Pocket Pair, they are not making the best decisions right now as a corporation. They seem to be consumed by their own arrogance and even greed. They'd better snap out of it quick.

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