Leave it to the maker of Mario and Zelda to turn a toy alarm clock into a must-have gadget. The company’s new Nintendo Alarmo might sound like an early April Fools joke, but apparently fans are already scrambling to get their hands on one. In Japan, the sales of Nintendo Alarmo via My Nintendo Store website have been halted due to the ‘extremely large number of orders.’
Because of the overwhelming Alarmo demand, in 24 hours since its announcement, Nintendo Japan said it’s changing the sales method to a lottery system. The lottery is also open exclusively for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers.
“Due to the extremely large number of orders, we are currently suspending sales at My Nintendo Store. We are preparing to change the My Nintendo Store sales method to a lottery for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers, so please wait for a while.”
Japan is no stranger to a lottery system, used to avoid long lines or scalping during high-demand periods. At its peak, major retailers sold PS5 and Nintendo Switch units through lotteries to handle staggering demand. Even for popular concerts like Taylor Swift and BTS, a lottery system was needed because ticket demand often far exceeded supply. This writer also had to enter a lottery just to watch a talk show between video game voice actresses!
For those not in Japan though, there’s good news as Nintendo Alarmo sales are still currently available in the US and Canada for Nintendo Online subscribers. If the idea of shelling out $100 for an alarm clock doesn’t scare you off, you’ll be treated to 35 iconic soundscapes. At launch, you’ll be treated to various sounds and music from Super Mario Odyssey, Breath of the Wild, Splatoon 3, Pikmin 4, and more.
The clock also offers a unique interactive experience; it tracks user movements, allowing alarms to be snoozed with gestures or getting out of bed. Nintendo promised that it’s going to add more sound updates for the Alarmo in the future.
While you wait for more updates on Nintendo Switch 2, you might want to grab one as soon as you can. Who knows how soon the Nintendo Alarmo sales will be suspended like in Japan.
