Nintendo Cancels Bedside Sleep Tracking Device

Way back in October 2014, Nintendo announced a bedside sleep tracking device that would record your body movements and heart rate over radio waves while you slept. The information gathered from the device would then be processed and used to give the user personalized recommendations on how to get a better night’s sleep.

The device never came to fruition and now, over a year later, Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima has confirmed during an investor briefing that the product has been cancelled.

As far as everyone knows, Nintendo is still pursuing other “Quality of Life” products. Anyone familiar with the Wii Fit series knows that Nintendo has taken an interest in the personal health of its consumers and that interest doesn’t seem to have waned much. However, if you think back to the ill-fated Wii Vitality Sensor, you know that the sleep tracker isn’t the only health peripheral that didn’t work out in the end.

I have the utmost respect for Nintendo caring about the health and well-being of its consumers, but as a lifelong fan of the company I can’t help but wonder if their focus being split between health and fun is hurting their bottom line. I know I’m not the only one that pines for Nintendo’s glory days. As much as I admire their ambition and recognize that its led to some of their more successful ventures, I feel like recently it’s been getting in the way more than anything.