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Nintendo Hits Snooze On Sleep-Tracking Device (techcrunch.com)
In October 2014, Nintendo announced a plan to develop a sleep-tracking app and device. This device would use microwave sensors to monitor important sleep data throughout the night, to optimize users' slumber time and encourage a healthier rest cycle. Now, Nintendo has announced that the sleep app has been put to sleep indefinitely; the company is instead focusing on its new mobile games and next-generation console.
Didn't Sleep Number already do this? Move on...
They're just trying to throw us off the scent. Everybody knows dream product placement is the next big thing. I, for one, love alpha testing my DreamBoy Advance XL, and I can't even remember why.
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It didn't stop developing this. It never started.
The "Quality of Life" shit has been teased by Nintendo for years and nothing had ever come of it, and nothing ever will.
It was simply a buzzword bandied about to tease investors along with in order to prevent them from demanding that Iwata step down.
Iwata died, so it's not longer needed.
The mobile shit is going to be quarter-assed at best, as is their My Nintendo and Miitomo shit (register your account names if you give a shit on the 17th, but it's just another abortion of an account system to replace the existing abortions of Miis, Club Nintendo, NNID, etc.).
Nintendo's job right now is stringing along investors until they can reveal their next console, which is codenamed "NX". Nintendo swears up and down that this won't be a console/portable hybrid, so you can bet your ass it'll be exactly that. Nintendo is a very Japanese company and in Japan consoles are dead, dead, dead. Portables are dying as well. The only games that sell in the Japanese market today are trashy mobile games. Nintendo of America has absolutely zero say in what Nintendo does, so despite the western markets being where Nintendo can make money they will continue to chase after a market that has largely given up gaming.
I expect the NX to be nothing more than a handheld like the 3DS (dual screen or not, who knows, but probably without the 3D) that you can connect to your TV like the failed version of the Vita or the nVidia Shield things. Nintendo's mobile efforts will be side-games and shitty apps no one will care about. You won't be playing a proper mainline Pokemon on your phone unless you're emulating one of the classics, despite the fact that Nintendo would make obscene amounts of money if they let it happen (Pokemon is made by The Pokemon Company, but Nintendo has control and oversight). Instead you'll get an app where you can have your Mii store notes for you, you'll get a Pikachu-themed calendar that does 10% of what your current Google / Outlook shit already does, and you'll get a Pokemon-skinned game like Pokemon Shuffle.
I'd love for the "X" in "NX" to stand for x86, meaning that Nintendo is:
1 - Developing a traditional console based on x86 hardware
2 - Giving 3rd parties even less reason to not port to their platform
3 - Cutting off backwards compatibility with the Wii U / Wii / GameCube (yes, the Wii U can run GameCube games since it's inherently the same architecture as the 2001 console, it just lacks the controller ports and ability to load the smaller discs - homebrew lets you get around both limitations)
But I'm used to Nintendo's ways, and I know whatever they trot out will be a disappointment overall, but worth it for the few stellar IPs you can only get from Nintendo.
I wonder how much this sort of tracking app encroaches on the medical device domain. It could be that Nintendo just didn't want to get a cease and desist letter from the FDA.
Sleep studies appear to be one of the next big things in the medical business. Lots of sleep disorder labs are popping up and pushing their services through primary care physicians. My physician is pushing this stuff, even though I don't suffer from any symptoms that indicate sleep problems. There are big bucks to be made, paid physicians conferences in hot vacation spots and finders fees for referrals. So I'm certain that if some tech company comes up with an app and/or cheap hardware to screen for this, many people might feel threatened.
Have gnu, will travel.
Seriously guys, there was a sleep tracking application for the Nokia N900 not long after release.
You're right about stringing along, but they're just waiting for hardware prices to drop. Nintendo normally makes money on their hardware. Hardware sales for both the 3DS & 2DS are profitable for them. Even the WiiU has passed the break even point.
Nintendo can count on selling DSes and NX Consoles, so why collapse the two into one platform? They'll wait for Microsoft/Sony to drive down ram/cpu prices and crank out a decent box they can sell for $250 at launch with $200 worth of hardware in it.
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I guess that blows the video game tie-in "Super Mario Snooze."
The purpose of existence is to make money.
to optimize users' slumber time and encourage a healthier rest cycle
"We dropped the project when we realized every moment spent getting a restful and well-needed sleep was a moment not spent stressfully struggling with our handheld games."
Until you posted about hardware components the thread had nothing to do with hardware components - I mentioned applications FFS!
All in the summary and link.
You have provided nothing new - nothing but noise and no signal.
Total waste of time.
Why do you do this?
It's truly pathetic.