Club Nintendo’s Digital Only 2014 Platinum Rewards

Club Nintendo is a great program for Nintendo to get feedback from its fans and for fans to get little limited edition goodies.  Over the years, I’ve picked up a Mario Hat, a pin collection, some fans, cases, posters, etc.  Nintendo sure knew how to keep loyal customers.

That said, this year’s Platinum rewards had quite a backlash from Nintendo’s loyal legions.  People went on Twitter, Reddit and other forms of social media to complain about this year’s set of rewards.  To be a Club Nintendo Elite member means you’ve amassed 300 coins for gold or 600 coins for platinum levels.  Each coin corresponds to one dollar, meaning Platinum members have spent $600 in the Club Nintendo Year (June to July of each year).  It also means that after buying each game or console, they took the time to fill out short surveys to let Nintendo know when and why they bought the game, how much they’ve enjoyed it, and other invaluable data.

Normally, Elite members are rewarded with a limited edition gift.  It’s not a solid gold statue, but it’s a little something to let gamers know that Nintendo appreciates their input.  It’s a limited edition run of some cool memorabilia that cannot be gotten anywhere else.  This year, they’ve overturned the tradition by giving away codes for digital games.

I’m not particularly happy with the situation, none of the games appeal to me.  The doom and gloom some people are feeling is a bit over the top, but I agree it doesn’t seem like Nintendo.  The games are not particularly good or valuable, and certainly not a limited run.  Nintendo has also failed to restock on other items in the Club Nintendo redemption service and opted for digital goods as well.  It really seems like they’re phasing out cool figurines and posters in favor of digital games that nobody really wants.  Nintendo is tightening its belts because of the WiiU, but I hope they don’t make the mistake of hurting their most loyal fans.