Nintendo will no longer launch its Alarmo alarm clock to the general public this January within Japan, the company has said, blaming its “production and inventory situation”.
Alarmo has been available for several months here in Europe, and in America, but only to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. In Japan, the popularity of the product – and the lack of stock – led Nintendo to open a lottery for subscribers to get a chance of obtaining one.
A wider launch for Alarmo had been set for January worldwide, but Nintendo has now said this won’t happen – at least in Japan. Eurogamer has asked Nintendo UK whether there has been any similar impact to the company’s European plans.
There’s no word yet on when Alarmo’s postponed public launch will actually occur in Japan. As it is, Nintendo Switch Online subscribers in the country who pre-order an Alarmo from mid-December face a wait for delivery until February 2025.
Nintendo’s stock issues come as the company quietly prepares for the launch of Switch 2. Nintendo is yet to make any comment on the device’s manufacturing or production schedule, but has said it will publicly unveil the console before the end of March 2025. Last month, an analyst told Eurogamer the “ship had sailed” on Nintendo lifting the lid this year.
After a couple of weeks waking up to Alarmo each morning, I ultimately decided its fun probably wasn’t worth the £99 price tag, despite an array of tunes themed around Pikmin, Mario, Zelda and other top franchises.
“Alarmo’s clever motion sensor is the star of the show in this pricey Nintendo-coated lifestyle gadget that otherwise skimps on the fun,” I wrote in Eurogamer’s Nintendo Alarmo review.
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