Club Nintendo Update! Good News!

[kupomogli]

I watched this video. Doesn't look very good, but better than anything else I could have got since it's atleast a new game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNv7MlJDgmo

[old_skoolin_jim]

So, how's everyone feeling about this year's Platinum/Gold status awards?
I think it's interesting they put a couple of full retail-ish value games (Game & Wario, DKCR 3D) in the mix of VC and indie downloads worth anywhere from $5-10... I'll definitely be getting DKCR, as I never got a physical copy, even on the Wii. Would've been nice to see more selection of "full-on" retail games in the mix; I would've also loved to have an option to download something like Mario Kart 7, Professor Layton, Animal Crossing, or Tomodachi Life.
Still, as far as freebies are go, I'm not complaining. Just musing.

[Tanooki]

Not a very good selection this year unless you're into one of those games and don't already own it. Last year technically was poorer but at least the cd and posters were tangible. This is a true sign of cheaping out.

I could only see snapping up Game & Wario or DKCR on this one, kind of at a loss which as I've had both. G&W got boring fast alone and the other gets infuriating to play. I'll probably get DK since it'll last longer.

I have a feeling we should never expect another trophy or other really cool item out of them again.

[Leo_A]

They're okay... assuming NES Remix 1 + 2 doesn't come out at retail in North America since NES Remix is what I'll be redeeming for.

If that happens, I'll be rather annoyed wasting this on a download I'll then own in retail form since I've been planning to download Zelda II and Kid Icarus since the first Virtual Console but something more intriguing always got to my points first.

And I wouldn't mind Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D which I haven't been able to justify buying another version of since I own the Wii original.

[JSoup]

Isn't amazing, but Wario Land II and Mario Land 2? Worth a download if you've never played them.

[Tanooki]

Exactly there's some nice games, but this just isn't amazing. It's like last year they were moving towards being uncool with just 2 tangible items and a bunch of downloads you can get with points anyways. Now it's just all downloads and it clearly saves them a lot not having to produce stuff, but also comes off as them being pretty cheap and snotty towards their most generous buyers who can get platinum and gold levels.

[mailman187666]

this is the first year they aren't offering physical items. This shows me that they aren't doing so hot, as far as money goes. Downloads don't cost them anything, but then again, they do have some great games up for grabs.

[Leo_A]

I knew it had no chance, but I was hoping they'd finally roll out the Super Nintendo inspired controller for the Wii.

Seems a shame that NOA passed on that one.

[megasdkirby]

Im very disappointed. I was hoping at least a calendar for my gold account and something somewhat neat on my platinum account. Not downloadable games, specially since I dont even have a Wii U.

Ugh, what a waste for me.

[Tanooki]

I wonder if there was more intent on this than just cheaping out on this year. I wonder if they're trying to get people to buy but just not enough they have to put out real money of their pocket on rewards. Doing this they don't have to create molds or statues or print up calendars and other creative time put in by workers. This, they just select existing old games that have been out for months or decades and just flip a switch to get you the stuff for free. No loss at all to their pockets and it demotivates people from trying to cash out more stuff too.

[megasdkirby]

I wonder if there was more intent on this than just cheaping out on this year. I wonder if they're trying to get people to buy but just not enough they have to put out real money of their pocket on rewards. Doing this they don't have to create molds or statues or print up calendars and other creative time put in by workers. This, they just select existing old games that have been out for months or decades and just flip a switch to get you the stuff for free. No loss at all to their pockets and it demotivates people from trying to cash out more stuff too.

Right now, the available redeemable physical items at Club Nintendo are sparse, and with little to no indication of being restocked. If more items become unavailable and either are not restocked or new items offered in their place, then for me its a clear indicative that they are trying to reduce cost and start to only offer digital stuff.

Which is a shame and doesnt really entice me to gather any more codes.

[Richter Belmount]

Buying all nintendo games just to qualify to download nintendo games you already own

[PreZZ]

Buying all nintendo games just to qualify to download nintendo games you already own

This. . I never registered my nintendo products before so I had a lot of points, 1600 points this year and I get a free download of mostly 15$ titles. SO FUCKING LAME i wont even bother to register them anymore, not worth the time to fill crappy surveys.

[JSoup]

Could always sell the codes. I them up all the time on eBay. I've even seen them included in Steam trades.

[Kiddo]

Am I the only one who DOESN'T own most of these? I'd be more than willing to accept some codes if anyone wants to offer me a deal.

[Nz17]

I was definitely upset. I wanted a palpable reward for my collectables' shelf after registering about $600 worth of Nintendo games in the last year and filling out countless surveys.

And what made it even worse is, this is the first year I'd gotten platinum status. The first two years of North American Club Nintendo, I didn't think I could ever get to Elite Status since there were so few products which qualified for the program. But as the selection expanded, I figured I should give it a try. The first year I didn't get to gold; the second year, I got gold and picked the paper calendar; the third year, I got gold and chose the Smash Bros. (N64) download because I didn't want to wait until December to get my reward and the only thing I qualified for tangible prize-wise was that year's paper calendar. Well this year, thanks to a lot of 3DS games, some DSi titles, a few Wii games, and some games given as gifts to me, I was able to make the coveted platinum status. And what's this year's offering? A bunch of Wii U titles (does no good for those of us without a Wii U like myself), DKCR3D (already have it), early NES games through Virtual Console (have most of them through the 3DS Ambassador program or from their original NES release), a few GB games (have half of them), and 3DSWare titles developed by third parties for Nintendo that weren't good enough for a brick-and-mortar retail release that cost ten to eleven bucks to buy... all of which can be bought directly by anyone without the rigamarole of dealing with Club Nintendo and its registrations and surveys. And none of the downloads are even in any way marked as special - no exclusives, timed exclusives, not even anything with its menu icon changed to indicate it was gotten from the Club as a reward only for the dedicated fans. And most of those games that I don't have for the 3DS are ones I'm not even interested in getting.

So I'm pretty disappointed. But what are you going to do? Therefore I picked "Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move" and redeemed that. Funny though: I have three of the games from this series (#1, #3, & #5) but I didn't buy any of them. #1 was a 3DS Ambassador program game, #3 was a Christmas gift, and of course #5 was via Club Nintendo as a reward.

I'm not a fan of the "Mario vs. Donkey Kong" series, but this 3DS one plays like "Pipe Mania"/"Pipe Dream" (or "EmPipe," for those that played that classic Windows 3.1 freeware game). I'm quite the fan of this style of game play, and though I don't like the presentation in Minis on the Move, the game play does provide a unique spin on the Pipe Mania formula that isn't just a cookie cutter copy. Plus it has a lot of content to it, and the option of playing user-generated levels which can be uploaded & downloaded from online. So Mario vs. Donkey Kong 5 is not too bad a package.

But like others, I see this as the beginning of the end of physical prizes from North American Club Nintendo. I believe they will distribute what they have left on offer and will not re-order or re-produce any additional merchandise - not what they already offer and definitely not new things. But I think this "cost savings" measure will return to bite Nintendo on the nose. Many people have been made disgruntled and will stop registering games and filling out their surveys, surveys which in aggregate provides useful information. And those who will continue to go through these steps will probably scale back on purchasing Nintendo-owned downloads - after all, why "waste" their money buying games they know will eventually be on offer as a redeemable reward on Club Nintendo for their virtual coins instead of real-world currency? Sure people will probably buy the "big games" in the same quantities, but the cheap download-only games might see a dip in sales as a result of all this.

[Tanooki]

I know I'm scaling back my buys. That said I am about to contradict that as I'm aware of a sale today where it's worth getting some first party games but still, I wouldn't buy them otherwise until the price was much better.

[JSoup]

That said I am about to contradict that as I'm aware of a sale today where it's worth getting some first party games but still, I wouldn't buy them otherwise until the price was much better.

This. Just got back from Best Buy with a couple things.

[Niku-Sama]

My beef is where'd all the physical rewards go? I have almost a thousand points and nothing cool to spend it on

[Daria]

I've been pissed with Club Nintendo since my points started expiring. I don't even bother registering my games anymore. At least now I know I'm not really missing out on anything good.