Way back in 2015 it was suggested that Nintendo's Quality of Life initiative had been put on the back burner following the untimely passing of company president Satoru Iwata. Given that not much has been said about QOL, you'd be forgiven for assuming that Nintendo had quietly axed the project in favour of making its money with the Switch, smartphone games, merchandising and theme parks.
However, in the recently published official english translation of Nintendo's Annual Report for 2017, this statement on QOL was tucked away on page 12:
Moreover, we are working on the development of a new product that improves people’s QOL (Quality of Life) in enjoyable ways. Our aim is to enable consumers to make daily efforts to improve their QOL in a fun manner by making sleep and fatigue status visible and offering various services based on this information.
Nintendo continues to engage in the development of new products for the future.
It's intriguing that Nintendo still hasn't given up on the idea of developing its own QOL sleep tracker. Last year we took a look at Hello Sense, which was one of the big players in the market at the time; in the span of only one year the tracker maker Hello is shutting down.
However that's not to say that the idea of sleep tracking is dead in the water, far from it. Apple recently acquired a company called Beddit which produces a sleep monitor that slides under a bedsheet to monitor sleep quality. Nokia recently acquired health electronics company Withings, which produced the Aura Sleep Monitor, so it probably does give us a hint why Nintendo might not have dismissed the QOL idea entirely.
Let us know what you think about Nintendo's determination to see these products through to completion, at some unspecified date, with a comment below.
[source nintendo.co.jp, via motherboard.vice.com]
Comments 77
I'm still confused by this. Is Nintendo entering the medical field?
@MrGamerClock64 No. But the data mining field.
This is such a waste of resources on Nintendo's part. This is not their game (pun intended). Let the Googles, Amazons and the Fit Bits of the world worry about folks' quality of life.
I don't need a machine to tell me my sleep habits suck.
I feel like Nintendo have lost their place in the market where health/wellbeing products are concerned after so many products similar to what they have been proposing have been released since their announcement of the QoL initiative (and following the catastrophic failure of Wii Fit U, whose ghosts continue to possess retail space, possibly forever).
This product will be like the Vitality Sensor in more ways than one.
Wouldn't hurt Nintendo to branch out. Sony and Microsoft have a non-gaming sides to their businesses.
Who's to know what Nintendo is thinking here, but I don't think it's a worthwhile path to go down at this point. There's so many apps and methods for recording how you sleep. Maybe in 2015 it would have been a more meaningful step, but at this point there's a lot of competition in that area. By the time Nintendo has a product for the market, the fad might be over.
Coming soon "Joycon Plus" with built in pedometer and movement data save that automatically sends data to your bedside docked Switch...
@gatorboi352 It wasn't Google's or Amazon's "game" either... until it was. Nintendo's "game" used to not be video games. They're a business - if they think they can be profitable here, or use the tech elsewhere that may benefit them, have at it. Diversification is pretty common, and this isn't really that far out there considering they've shown an interest in the past, and Wii Fit was fairly successful.
EDIT: Not that it is either Google or Amazon's core business either.
They should just let it go and concentrate on games
So first they sell me the Switch and BotW, which I take to bed with me, completely destroying my sleep habits... Then they sell me a sleep tracker, to help improve my sleep habits. Very sneaky, Nintendo....
And, if course, I'm going to buy it, because I'm a man-child consumer with access to credit cards who will buy anything with a Nintendo logo. sigh
I'm kinda more interested than ever to see what actually comes of this.
@gatorboi352
You again !
Just let Nintendo do their wacky job yet entertaining.
@roadrunner343 while 'video' games weren't always Nintendo's schtick, gaming a.k.a. entertainment always has been. Quality of life, especially what's being proposed here, is not something a company as small as (and resource strapped as) Nintendo needs to be invested in.
Google and Amazon are both multibillion-dollar conglomerates.
Not interested. Show me an update on the Wii Vitality Sensor and then we'll talk.
@Spoony_Tech I don't either, but I like the idea that Nintendo would offer one since they've played a role in developing those poor habits. I know I've played Nintendo far too late in the evening and lost track of many hours.
Yeah...no...
QoL only exists because Nintendo needed to assure investors' confidence with some high-concept product after the failure of the Wii U and the underperformance of the 3DS. Now that the Switch is a hit, I don't see why QoL needs to exist as its own platform. It could probably exist as a successful Switch accessory, but not as a standalone product.
@gatorboi352 I understand your point, it is a bit out of their wheelhouse, but Nintendo is certainly not a small company. They were in a tight spot should the Switch bomb, but they aren't resource strapped either. See the 2016 annual report: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2016/annual1603e.pdf
Nintendo was profitable in 2015 and 2016 (Not hugely so, but still profitable) and they have over $2 billion cash on hand. Considering their largest loss reported on the 2016 report was back in 2012 (I didn't dig up older reports, I don't care enough) and that was just shy of $3 million, Nintendo can afford losses like that for a very, very long time to come. But again, they are profitable now, so it's somewhat of a moot point.
EDIT: I just completed my MBA last December at Penn State, and one of the companies I did a research project on was Nintendo. I'm not actually such a huge fanboy that I study Nintendo's annual reports just for fun =)
If I look at Nintendo as a videogame company, then I can see why this wouldn't make sense to people. If I look at Nintendo as a company that has dabbled in cards, toys, games, etc., then it doesn't sound so far fetched that they'd reach for a new "business". I'm literally indifferent on the subject.
"Going to bed? You are not tired enough to sleep yet. Play some Zelda".
"You need to expend more energy. Play some ARMS".
"Wanna play some Sega? You need sleep".
@roadrunner343 forgive me, when I say resource strapped I'm not necessarily referring to finances specifically. Moreso like the developers and folks generally being spread thin across multiple projects. Also, in comparison to the Googles and Amazons, Nintendo certainly is a small company.
@NewAdvent Wii fit sold 30million wii fit boards. .......
@NewAdvent Wii fit sold 30million wii fit boards. .......
This is kind of funny coming from Nintendo. As much as their games keep us happy, their business practices are causing more distress to their fan base. NES Mini stock. Switch stock. Killed the Wii U after 3 1/2 years. What is sure to be SNES Mini stock issues. amiibo stock shortages.
A whole lot of peoples QoL would improve if Nintendo simply made more of what they make. Don't make a QoL, make more NES Mini and Switch.
@gatorboi352 Fair enough on being resource strapped. However, if you are comparing to Google, Amazon, Walmart, Apple... everyone is a small company =) But at least I understand your point of view now. Thanks for clarification.
Personally, I am still interested in seeing what they have up their sleeve, and you never know where technology/programs can be reused in future projects.
If there's no Switch Fit then they have to shoe horn them ideas somewhere.
Introducing the Nintendo Fitness Informer! The Nintendo Fitness Informer will carefully monitor your levels of rest, energy, and fitness for any task, as well as issuing reminders for important tasks you need to manage throughout your day. Nintendo Fitness Informer can be configured to alert you every 30, 60, or 90 seconds with a complete update on your current condition. If you need rest, it will remind you it is time to rest. If you need eat, it will remind you to eat, and the location of the nearest restaurant. If you need to pick up household items, it will remind you to pick up the items, and the approximate location, at up to 30 second intervals. With Nintendo Fitness Informer, you will never forget any important tasks, or neglect your health condition ever again. It simply won't let you. Stay FIT, with Nintendo F.I.!
Day 1!
Nintendo making Sleeping Great Again!
The real reason for the infrared sensor in the R joycon, lol.
@gcunit
"Wanna play some Sony / Xbox games ? I will disconnect those machines."
Nintendo Watch is going to compete with Apple Watch.
Also, Nintendo will integrate your bio feedback (pulse) into their games. Gameplay will change dynamically based on your health data. When wirelessly linked, the Watch can also be use as a special game controller.
@gatorboi352
Nintendo is a BIG Company !
@Nintendian
Wait, what if the player suddenly collapsed or died after playing ??
@roadrunner343 my issue with Nintendo, especially on ventures like this one, is how long things take to come to fruition. This goes back to the whole being resource strapped, however. Then again, it's also possible Nintendo's draconian hierarchy has this whole deal dragging its feet too.
@Anti-Matter dude give it a rest.
@Anti-Matter Game Over.
This will be one Nintendo product I don't buy. I have an Apple Watch & there's plenty of free apps on the App Store that monitor sleep. I've used one before but just as an experiment, I don't use it enough. Still, most people with smart watches won't need this.
@Wichtel,
You may be on to something. What is it called, Meta-data? Its evil!
@rjejr best answer. I like
@TruenoGT
Don´t kid, I my quality of life depends on a new F-Zero.
Everyone here is stupid.
This is what Iwata would have wanted. This was his final venture.
Maybe the QOL wouldn't appeal to you people, but it would still sell millions across the world. As we've seen with the Wii, Switch, NES mini, SNES mini, etc., Nintendo is a powerful brand and they make good products.
At the very least, nobody around today selling sleep sensors does it quite like Nintendo does it. I know they will go above and beyond, because they always have.
The QoL thing should of happened back when Nintendo were pushing their Wii Fit and Brain Training games, or atleast kept those franchises going while the QoL was being developed.
I kinda miss playing Big Brain Acadamy on my Wii, I may have to pick it up again at some point.
@ProjectCafe Personally I'm still convinced that "QOL" was never really anything more than a shiny to placate investors during the WiiU crisis. It was a trending thing in industry at the time so it was a good project to conjure to keep them busy and guessing. Not that they haven't actually looked into it, the same way they've been "looking into VR" for thee past 3 generations
"Lets not do that today. You should get some sleep for tomorrow. "
As someone who works in the industry, a QOL product most likely won't need to be bought by a typical consumer. All you'll need is a polysomnogram with results suggesting you'd benefit from their device, and bam, your insurance covers it.
So yes, if they have something useful here, you can bet this will be highly profitable for the company.
@ProjectCafe Opening with an insult doesn't help you or your argument sound any more intelligent or credible. Second, it doesn't matter what Iwata would have wanted - Nintendo is a publicly traded company, and their responsibility is to investors. If they can follow through with Iwata's vision, awesome, but in no way should they be obligated to follow through on every single one of Iwata's ideas. Third, you conveniently leave out the parts that Nintendo screwed up in the past - Gamecube, N64, Wii U, early days of the 3DS - all performed for more poorly than they anticipated. I love Nintendo, and if you read my previous posts, you'll see I support this endeavor, but let's not pretend that Nintendo isn't capable of putting out a poor product. Even the NES Classic you cited as a success story was plagued by supply chain issues, and it seems the SNES Classic is following the same trajectory. Until we actually see more of the product, we can't be certain it would be successful in any way.
@gatorboi352 "while 'video' games weren't always Nintendo's schtick, gaming a.k.a. entertainment always has been."
Although I'm certain a smart lawyer could spin the truth in such a manner that it would apply, I'd hardly consider Love Hotels to be gaming, but the aforementioned lawyers might be able to file it under "entertainment", albeit adult...
And technically, hanafuda cards aren't seen as a game either, since they were and are mostly used for gambling, so in that sense, that's not gaming either, although again entertainment in some ways.
The point is, that it isn't as black and white as it might seem and they haven't gone full-on into (video)gaming until the release of the Color TV-Game in 1977.
@roadrunner343
I'm not making an argument. I'm stating my opinion. I'm not trying to change anyone. And what I decide to throw out to the internet doesn't dictate my intelligence, just the same as it doesn't dictate yours.
I "conveniently" left out their failures because they were failures. What do you expect?
I never said Nintendo didn't have problems. They've got loads.
QOL is what Iwata was investing in, it's not necessarily a bad idea for Nintendo, and next to all of America and a lot of Europe need more sleep, and sometimes it takes someone telling them to go to sleep for them to go to sleep.
...Yeah, but the NES Classic still flew off shelves... Whenever it was present on shelves. It was plauged by bad supply, sure. But it was still a success because it only stayed in stock for a maximum of 5 minutes.
I never stated they should follow each and every one of Iwata's past ideas. I only cited one, and that one proved to be a good investment (from my view) based upon the documentation.
Nice job analyzing every last bit of my comment, by the way.
@NEStalgia Considering the amount of research they've done and the number of times it is mentioned in their annual and quarterly reports, I'd definitely consider QoL something more real than their efforts of looking into VR, which was only ever mentioned once in a quarterly report, and then afterwards rehashed a couple of times in various interviews, not because Nintendo wanted to talk about it, but because people asked them about it, but it was never an actual point on their own agenda, contrary to QoL.
@ThanosReXXX Maybe more real, and I'm sure they've done some actual R&D on it, but I'm still unconvinced they've ever come close to arriving at a salable product or ever really too focused on doing so. From the start it seemed like a "lets do something to placate investors while our core business is swirling down" venture.
That said, if it turned out to be real, I strongly suspect it's just a Japan or Asia-market thing. There's a lot of "QoL type products" that are all the faddish rage, or were 8 years ago, in Asia that never make it or just flop hard in the West.
@ProjectCafe Perhaps basic English comprehension escapes you - but not every argument has to be petty bickering/fighting. It can refer to friendly discussion, reasoning, etc... The fact that you stated an opinion, which others may or may not agree with, makes that your argument. My opinion happens to differ.
You ended your argument with you believe it will be a good product, because "they always have" - which is why I brought up products that were not always successful. Not sure why you felt it necessary to take such an aggressive response, but that's your prerogative I suppose.
Finally, is your last comment to be an insult of some sort? Yes, I did read you entire comment. Yes, I did try to fully take everything you said into consideration when crafting my reply to you. Would you rather I spit out some unintelligible nonsense that wasn't relevant to your post?
@NewAdvent they didn't abandon wii fit... the Wii u just didn't sell enough units for reasons that we all know..... They have been working on is successor and Utilising the new technology.
@ThanosReXXX Actually we're the ones using the wrong terminology and @gatorboi is technically right (albeit, purely by accident ). The "gambling" industry isn't called the "gambling industry", it's called the "gaming industry". Thus why what we call the "gaming industry" is only a colloquial term. Officially it's the "electronic entertainment" industry. "gaming" would be hanafuda....
Of course, hanafuda is not really used for gambling. That's not possible because that would be illegal. It's just for friendly local multiplayer, dontcha' know.
Edit: The love motels on the other hand.....not quite gaming, but it still demonstrates Nintendo's commitment to family friendly entertainment.
@NEStalgia Yeah, you see: that's the thing. I don't agree at ALL that QoL was just something to placate investors. You don't mention vaporware in multiple reports, and unless it is just a prototype and part of the designed tech has already been used in current devices, it is actually quite likely that something will come of it, one way or the other.
P.S.
Love Hotels and family friendly... hm... (scratches head)
Maybe sometimes, the end result of a stay there was an actual family, but it most certainly wasn't family friendly.
As for the whole gaming/gambling thing: I meant that to be read as in the way that WE understand gaming, so obviously I'm right...
But all joking aside, although it's true that gambling is "officially" called gaming in some regions, that is only because of the industry itself, which doesn't like the term "gambling", because it has a negative connotation. And because of governmental rules and legislation, they were eventually "allowed" to call it gaming, although for obvious reasons, it is still a considerably grey area...
For me and the rest of the intelligent world, it'll always be gambling. You go to the casino to bet or play with money, hence it's gambling, not gaming.
Here's some interesting articles on that:
http://www.australiangambling.com.au/gaming
http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2013/10/how-you-name-it-matters-gambling-vs-gaming
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambling
@NEStalgia And here's a particularly outspoken supporter of my point of view:
https://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/2103102-big-difference-between-gambling-and-gaming-/
@ProjectCafe Oh, the classic "I'm not trying to convince you" when you make an unconvincing argument. Priceless.
@ThanosReXXX eyeroll.gif
@NEStalgia Hardly "by accident" my friend.
@gatorboi352 #what_a_great_and_eloquent_reply_to_a_factually_correct_comment
@ThanosReXXX there's no room for feelings on the internet, man.
Nothing you stated was fact. It was, instead, your understanding of differing terminology. You even later call it your "point of view" in a reply to @nestalgia
@gatorboi352 Feelings aside (because that is another discussion), everything I said IS factual. No feeling or misreading my comments changes a single thing about that.
Nintendo wasn't always all about gaming, and gambling isn't gaming. Especially the latter is supported by the links I provided in my comment to @NEStalgia.
And the point of view comment to him was also meant in jest, therefore the smiley... (I could have put point of view in quotes, but I thought the smiley was already clear enough, my bad)
But more importantly, my initial comment to you was only half serious, once again clearly implied by the smiley and the mentioning of the Love Hotels, but apparently, that didn't come across to you as such.
It would seem that you let your "feelings" get in the way there, and according to you, there's no room for that on the internet...
@ProjectCafe First, my reply was in no way "intellectually superior." I remained friendly, other than calling you out for opening your post with an insult to the entire community, and presented my counterpoints. Nothing rude or intellectually superior about that.
Next, you complain about replies looking down on your original comment - perhaps you shouldn't have opened the original comment with an insult to the community? Even still, I challenge you to go back to my original post and point out one thing that I said that was out of line. I'll wait.
And way to end your post (again) with an insult directed at an entire generation. Do you really wonder why someone would respond to your post negatively? If you truly are abandoning this community, we'll never be the same without you...
K
Kotaku Headline tomorrow
"NINTENDO SPIES YOU WHILE YOU SLEEP!"
@ProjectCafe
It's not smart to call yourself stupid.
Not a bad idea. The Wii Fit was very successful as a fitness tool. I can see Nintendo doing something that great again.
@ProjectCafe Please tell me you're kidding. Please.
@MrGamerClock64 yeah I felt the brain training games helped with this though none of them continuously updated like elevate. I also preferred elevate's randomness as doin the same minigames got old. Not sure what Nintendo is trying to do.
maybe this is hinting that Nintendo is planning on bring Wii Sports and Wii Fit to the Nintendo Switch. with updates to it of course....
@NewAdvent What do you mean they abandoned it? Wii Fit U is a great game, and a nice improvement over the Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus, and the Fit Meter was a good addition. The Switch hasn't even been out for a year; it's rather premature to call Wii Fit abandoned. If you're going to go that far, you might as well call Smash Bros. abandoned as well, since we don't have another entry in that series either.
@ZurapiiYohane I wanna dream of electric Metroids
This comment section is hilarious
But I'd like to see what they'd do with the QOL. Let's not forget that Nintendo wasn't traditionally a video game company, they tried lots of different stuff and then got into video games so I s'pose they should have at least this much freedom to try something new and different from games. But only if the QOL has a Link version!
@ThanosReXXX nothing of what you just said is based in reality. Aside from the over explanation of why you wrote from your 'point of view'.
@gatorboi352 Look, I don't mind the discussion, but if you claim or propose things, then you might just as well back them up with proof.
I gave proof and links to support the statements I made, and once again, the whole Love Hotel comment was made in jest, so why the heck you want to over-analyze that while it wasn't even that important to begin with, is beyond me.
Besides the facts we mentioned/exchanged, we simply have a difference of opinion on things, and that's okay. No need to keep rehashing the same answer without ever making a decent point out of it. It doesn't really do anything to further the discussion...
@ThanosReXXX what am i over analyzing exactly?
@gatorboi352 Well, just about my entire first comment to you. It was meant as an (admittedly bad) joke, and you just kept going on, as if dissecting it word for word to "prove" me wrong, when nothing of what I said was besides the truth.
I reacted to your comment mentioning that Nintendo has always been in gaming/entertainment as follows:
"Although I'm certain a smart lawyer could spin the truth in such a manner that it would apply, I'd hardly consider Love Hotels to be gaming, but the aforementioned lawyers might be able to file it under "entertainment", albeit adult..."
That's true.
"And technically, hanafuda cards aren't seen as a game either, since they were and are mostly used for gambling, so in that sense, that's not gaming either, although again entertainment in some ways."
That's true as well.
"The point is, that it isn't as black and white as it might seem and they haven't gone full-on into (video)gaming until the release of the Color TV-Game in 1977."
And that's another statement that is undeniably true...
So, I honestly have no idea how you could come to the conclusion that none of what I said was true, and sorry in advance, but I'm not going to go over this again and again, especially since we're now several days further, so this will be my last comment on this topic.
I wish you a good day.
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