The Nintendo Alarmo Smart Clock Makes Waking Up Feel Like You’re in a Video Game

By Danial Martinus  •  17 Feb 2025 in Gear

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Ever wondered what it would feel like to really immerse yourself in your favourite video game? Of course, in this reality, that’s not possible. But perhaps there’s a consolation prize we can all get on board with: The Nintendo Alarmo smart clock.

Originally released in October last year as an exclusive for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers in the US and Canada, Malaysians will soon be able to get their hands on one this year.

Not just a cute digital clock

While the Nintendo Alarmo might just look like a cute nightstand accessory, it’s more than what its official name—Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarmo—might imply.

First, let’s look at the most tangible offerings. As its name implies, the Nintendo Alarmo acts as your modern day alarm clock, with the addition of various tunes and sound effects from your favourite Nintendo titles, including Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Splatoon 3, Pikmin 4, Ring Fit Adventure, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

The way it works is simple in principle. Choose from 42 different ‘scenes’ across the different games mentioned previously to be your alarm. When it’s time to wake up, gentle sounds from the scene you’ve chosen will start to play. After a few seconds, someone (or something) will appear.

To make the clock quieter (snooze), all you need to do is wave your hand or move your body. You might hear coins or other familiar game sounds when doing this. Eventually the sounds will disappear and the cycle will repeat a few times if you don’t get out of bed (more on this later).

But if you happen to be a heavy sleeper and manage to ignore the alarm, it’ll emit more intense sounds and well, let’s just say you’ll get a visit from a game character that’s more persuasive. Imagine being woken up by Bowser.

What’s so smart about that, you ask? Well, nothing really.

The intelligence comes in the form of a built-in motion sensor. When the Nintendo Alarmo is angled correctly (facing the centre of the bed, within arm’s reach, and no higher than eight inches above the sleeper), you won’t even have to press any button to snooze or turn off the alarm.

To snooze, you just have to wave your hand or move your body (while still in bed), as mentioned previously. To turn the alarm off, you just need to get up and get out of bed. It’s really as simple as that, and it’s all thanks to the motion sensor.

Of course, if you’re sharing a bed with somebody else, it’s best to stick to Button Mode, which deactivates the alarm with a press of the big-ass white button on top.

And if you’re really inclined, the Nintendo Alarmo even offers sleep-tracking and ambient sounds as it senses you getting ready for bed at night. So cosy.

The Nintendo Alarmo will officially launch in Malaysia on 10 March 2025. Its local retail price hasn’t been announced yet, but we can safely assume it’ll cost much less than the units offered by third-party sellers (upwards of RM900)—who probably got the alarm through grey market imports.

To learn more about the Nintendo Alarmo, click here.

For more tech, head to JUICE Malaysia.