Nintendo puts "Quality of Life" sleep monitor to bed
"We do not have the conviction that the [device] can enter the phase of actually becoming a product"
Nintendo has shelved its plans to release a sleep monitor, which was intended to be the first launch as part of a "Quality of Life" initiative announced in 2014.
The device was first detailed by former president Satoru Iwata in October 2014. It would have contained, "non-contact sensor measurement technology and sleep condition estimation technology," which would record and analyse data as the user slept. Upon waking, they would be given feedback about ways they could improve their lifestyle.
Nintendo had tentative plans to launch the device this year, though industry analysts have been questioning whether it would ever reach the market since August last year. In this case, the doubters were correct.
In a meeting with investors following the publication of its financial results, Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima addressed the statues of the device even though he wasn't asked to do so.
"We do not have the conviction that the sleep-and-fatigue-themed [device] can enter the phase of actually becoming a product," Kimishima said, according to a translation from Wired. "We no longer have any plans to release it by the end of March 2016.
"On the other hand, we still believe there are things we can do in the general category of Quality of Life, and we will continue to study the possibility of expanding into this field."