The Alarmo alarm clock is one of Nintendo’s most unique accessories, but beyond waking up players it doesn’t offer much interaction with Switch or Switch 2 games.
However, these limits may soon change, as a new patent indicates that the alarm could trigger real-time notifications related to games, so that sounds would surprise players based on events within the game itself.
The Nintendo Patents Watch account on Bluesky noticed an update to a patent application dating back to 2021 in Japan, which was also published in the US in 2023. Recent activity on the Japanese patent site seems to suggest that this technology is close to real-world application.
The English version of the document explains that traditional alarm clocks work by playing pre-stored sounds, but those sounds are activated according to a fixed internal schedule. While Nintendo suggests linking an alarm like the Alarmo to other devices to receive push notifications, it would make sense for those devices to be Switch or Switch 2 consoles with compatible games.
So, exciting scenarios can be imagined: when you achieve first place in Mario Kart World, the alarm might celebrate with a special tune, or the sounds might change to reflect seasonal events within Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Since there’s no Bluetooth, it’s expected that the Alarmo will rely on a Wi-Fi connection to receive those notifications.
Currently, the alarm clock focuses on waking players up with loud alarms and allows up to 60 scenes inspired by Nintendo games to be uploaded. Current notifications are limited to alerts for updates or new content, which makes the device seem relatively limited compared to its high price.
Although it contains some modern features such as simplified sleep tracking, it still lacks integration with smart applications, which prevents it from competing with devices such as the Amazon Echo Spot.
But if the latest patent turns into an actual product, gamers may finally have a good reason to move Alarmo from the bedroom to the living room.
