Nintendo recently filed a new patent for a strange Super Mario-themed health app and device. The new patent by Nintendo appears to share similar features with an upcoming mobile title from The Pokemon Company, and Mario fans will be able to reap similar health benefits if the patented app comes to fruition.
The Nintendo Switch ushered a new era for Nintendo after the dismal Wii U generation, and the company began to expand its efforts outside of console gaming around the same time. Nintendo released various mobile games for Android and iOS over the years, including Fire Emblem Heroes and Mario Kart Tour. Moreover, Nintendo would open Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan and Universal Studios Hollywood in March 2021 and February 2023 respectively, allowing Nintendo fans to experience iconic franchises with various attractions. Nintendo often files patents for new ideas involving the Switch, mobile games, and even entirely new devices.
A new patent filed by Nintendo details a Super Mario-themed health app and device that monitors sleep patterns and other information pertaining to the user's health. The app will calculate the user's health information based on feedback given through a tablet-like device, which may be placed in a dock with speakers. Fatigue is another health factor that the new app will gauge, and suggestions about improving sleep may be given over time. Additionally, users may play a Super Mario game after waking up with sleep performance playing a crucial role in making sufficient progress.
After waking up, the user may view details about their sleep depth and quality or play a "wake-up" Super Mario game in the app. In this new game, Mario enters a boss battle against Bowser with sleep performance determining Mario's overall damage output. For example, one of the patent's drawings shows Mario inflicting 80 damage points against Bowser and receiving 10 coins in return. The use of these in-game coins is currently unknown, however.
The new patent for the Super Mario app and device state that it's a derivative of various Nintendo patents from 2014 and a continuation of an updated patent from 2017. Nintendo last spoke about a potential sleep monitoring device in 2014, and the new Super Mario-themed patent may imply that Nintendo is preparing an official product based on the company's research over the years. Nintendo often experiments with Mario games, so the new app may have additional gameplay features that were not detailed in the patent as well.
The new Super Mario app shares very similar functionality and features with The Pokemon Company and Niantic's Pokemon Sleep mobile game. In Pokemon Sleep, game progression is also tied to sleep performance and data gathered over time. Nintendo appears to have taken cues from Pokemon Sleep, but the company has not officially announced a new Super Mario app yet.