Nintendo's 'smart' Talking Flower is the most ludicrous piece of tat I've ever wanted so badly – and yes, I have already placed my preorder

If you thought the Alarmo clock was a strange device for Nintendo to make, just take a look at its latest. The Talking Flower is a "smart" speaking ornament with the potential to annoy you all day.

But even considering that, I still want one. In fact, I've already preordered mine – with preorders and pre-registration open on Nintendo UK and Nintendo US as I write.

In all fairness, at £24.99 / $34.99 respectively, it's hardly going to break the bank. However, although it can talk and even tell you the weather (of sorts), it's no replacement for a smart speaker – such as an Amazon Echo device.

That's because you can't actually talk to it. Instead, the Talking Flower is designed to simply bark out quips and comments all day, or whenever you press the large button on its base.

Talking Flower – Coming March 12th - YouTube

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It'll tell you what hour it is (which it can – hilariously – get wrong at times), and it can inform you of your room temperature thanks to a built in sensor. However, there's no internet connection, so you can't get any other useful information.

An internal clock will enable it to clam up at night though, so you won't hear it jabbering away while you try to sleep. And you can set your bed and wake up times, to have it wish you good night or morning.

It'll also tell you when its battery is running low.

The Flower can speak in multiple languages – English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Italian, Dutch, Japanese, Chinese and Korean. While a long button press can even set it into mute mode.

It's a pretty niche product really, considering the character has only appeared in one game so far – but it's something I'm planning to add to the other game-related ephemera gracing my shelves. It should sit next to my Crash Bandicoot Lego build and Fallout Funko Pops, which reminds me – where did I put my life again?