Club Nintendo's final rewards and the next Club

[Hairless Mammoth]

In case you haven't heard, the North American Club Nintendo is circling the drain [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/139531-Nintendo-To-End-Club-Nintendo-Loyalty-Program]. Coins can only be earned until the end of this month and must be redeemed by June 30. Then, the plug will be pulled. Nintendo says they are working on a new program, but haven't released any details.

I only joined maybe a month ago (when the Escapist ran the story with the final rewards) and just couple days ago got enough coins to get that sweet Fierce Deity Link jigsaw puzzle. (I would have gotten the Majora messenger bag, but I know that would get beat up with my lifestyle.) But, I've noticed the game rewards and other physical rewards are kinda weak for their coin value. The posters don't look too exciting. The greeting cards and everything else are meh. I know you are getting free stuff back, but all besides the two Majora rewards seem cheap (to make, not to redeem) to me

The games are especially weak in both selection and considering they are 200 coins for SNES VC titles on Wii U, 250 coins for N64 and SNES games on the Wii, and 150 coins for Game Boy VC titles for 3DS. It just seems like a lot for games that are at least 15, if not 20, years old. There are also some expensive eShop games, but those came out within the last 3 or so years.

I never joined before because I heard for years the rewards weren't great and I didn't buy a lot of Nintendo stuff to see the point of registering them. (It didn't help that my Wii was my Metroid Prime Trilogy machine for about 3 years.) Really, I feel I'm lucky I had a (year old) 3DS, Wii U, and enough games to register to be reasonably close to what I wanted. This certainly isn't the worst rewards/loyalty program I've heard of, but it could have been better. (Maybe that is why Ninty is redoing it?)

I'd just like to know what other newbies and veterans feel about the last round of rewards. Also, does anyone have any ideas on how the new program could be better. (Mine, or course, is better rewards and possibly making VC games they've sold millions of times a little cheaper. Also, it might be nice to turn coins (or whatever they will be) into eshop money, possibly with a higher conversion rate if you put them towards DLC or something. Also that would be great for if the coins were about to expire. The multiple choice survey questions also seem a little too generic per game.)

 

[Scarim Coral]

Yeah the UK version reward are also lackluster.

I had just logged in and the only new item they put out compared to the last logged in a month ago is a Mario hat which is cool but the problem is that if I get it, I won't get the 3DS pouch (hat is 4000 point and the pouch is 2500 but I only got 6300).

The main problem I have with the shop is that the reward is far apart from each other and no middle ground what so ever. Example- there are some MP3 ringtone for only 50 points and then the next higher point is some wallpaper for 2000 and the pouch at 2500. What? No item for from 100 to 1900?

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

Well, for me, the titles available from the Nintendo Club are like a throwback to simpler, albeit awesome, titles that I played, but never go to own.

I didn't really pay much attention to Nintendo Club until about a few months ago when I realized that I could register products and review them, receiver coins, and trade them for some actual rewards that, to me at least, didn't suck.

Up until now, I've been able to get:

* Super Mario Land 2
* Metroid 2: Return of Samus
* Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword
* Flipnote Studio 3D
* Legend of Zelda Game DS/3DS Cartrige Carrying Case
* Exclusive Demo Codes for Pokemon OR & AS and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate

I still have 30 Coins left, but I probably won't get anymore games that will garner enough Coins for another reward. So I'm hoping that the Platinum reward will be something just as cool.

 

[CrystalShadow]

I'm rather dissapointed by the current rewards. (UK), but I can't claim them anyway, since I no longer have a UK address.

There used to be some awesome stuff (though it was hellishly expensive), but... Now? All seems to be gone.

Still, I managed to save up 7000 stars somehow and get the snes style Wii Classic controller, so I'm happy enough with it...

 

[Random Encounter]

Australia's Club Nintendo rewards program has always had rather lackluster rewards, most of the items I hear other countries get sound much more impressive and worth saving up for. It almost never updates and on the rare occasion something worth purchasing does come up it sells out quite quickly and we still can't trade our "stars" for VC games like Club Nintendo America can and at this point I figure they never will give us the option.

Really looking forward to the new rewards programs, hoping that it's a huge improvement over the current one.

 

[Silvanus]

Wait, am I understanding this right? Americans can actually get games with their Coins, but we Europeans can only get stuff from this really limited catalogue [http://stars.nintendo-europe.com/] with our "Stars"? No games?

 

[sextus the crazy]

This just makes me wish I were back in America, so that I could actually find my codes and cash them in. *sigh*

Oh well, it's kinda sad to see another Nintendo staple go down the drain.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I thought the NA Club Nintendo wasn't that great, now the Australian and European Clubs sounds a little bit lamer.

I got a questions for everyone in those regions. How many stars do you get per game? NA's highest reward costs are 800 coins. We get 50 or 60 coins for Wii U games, 40 for 3DS games and 10 for the post-game surveys. (I think I got 160 coins each for the Wii U and 3DS.) Judging by the rewards being in the mid-1000s, I would think you guys get at least 300 stars per game. (I'm not holding my breath for it to be that high, though.)

Wait, am I understanding this right? Americans can actually get games with their Coins, but we Europeans can only get stuff from this really limited catalogue [http://stars.nintendo-europe.com/] with our "Stars"? No games?

Yes, we can choose from some games. It's not much of a selection [https://club.nintendo.com/rewards.do], though, but it certainly is better than nothing. If I couldn't earn enough to get the puzzle, I was just going to get a couple VC games. At least they are there, for anyone who can't afford something they want from the "feelies" section.

I looked through the Stars Catalogue. (That name makes me think I'm looking at Racoon City Police Department merchandise.) It is really weak, with ringtones, digital wallpapers,[footnote]Really, NoE? Better fan versions of both the ringtones and wallpapers can be found online for free. I guess if you have a few stars left they're worth something. NoA's wants 150 coins for their cheapest reward.[/footnote] sleep masks and blankets, and a few other things. The last thing I noticed is the real kicker. I saw them and though "Oh, those are eShop carr... *in low grumble* Those are the old Nintendo points cards." They are selling you antiques, instead of the cards that work on the new systems. The sad thing is they still might be the best bet, if one has a Wii/DSi and nothing else looks appealing. I'm sorry I though my Club Nintendo was bad.

 

[FPLOON]

My indifference to Club Nintendo in general continues as I cashed in my last set of coins on Super Mario Land and the 2015 Edition of the 3DS game case... Basically, I could never make enough coinage to get the stuff I really wanted and, as the final rewards rolled in, I only had enough coinage to get a nostalgic game as well as a case...

Moral of the Story: Should have bought more Nintendo-based products?

 

[go-10]

I had 800 points last week but I didn't get anything just in case they added anything else in March. So I waited, I logged in this morning and all my points had expired, I'm now down to 0 points and can't get anything. I'm really angry and couldn't be happier that this dumb program is going away for good

 

[DrOswald]

The Nintendo Club reward program has always been a minor bonus at most. Buy a bunch of Nintendo stuff and you might have enough points to get a free $10 game. You know, like reward programs always are? Rewards programs are intended to give the person a tiny bonus for their loyalty, not to be a driving force (or even an influence) behind their purchase decisions. This reward program in particular was meant to get people participating in their online surveys.

I think that expecting some major reward is a bit silly, and a bit telling of the overblown sense of entitlement many gamers have. Now, I am not saying the OP is like that, but I have seen people genuinely angry at Nintendo over the fact that the free stuff Nintendo is giving them is not awesome enough, and that Nintendo is full of greedy bastards trying to wring you dry because they don't give them good enough free stuff.