Nintendo confuses me at times. On one hand, their studios are among the best. Nobody can deny that when an official Nintendo game is released, it will likely be a great title. On the other hand, some of their internal practices are questionable at best. Case in point: Nintendo of America’s handling of Club Nintendo. Many diehard fans (myself included) have been left scratching their heads at some of the Big N’s decisions. What started off as an amazing way to get Nintendo swag has devolved into a barren wasteland of repeating digital games and greeting cards.
That’s not to say it’s all bad. The digital offerings we get every month are appreciated (although I would like to have more third party Virtual Console titles), and they are reasonably priced. The limited-edition freebies, such as the Smash Bros. soundtrack and Hyrule Warriors DLC are a step in the right direction, but with Nintendo’s merchandising partners and deep pockets, one wonders why the physical rewards are near non-existent. Do they not feel physical rewards are economically viable? Are they just liquidating old inventory before bringing out a new wave of products? Did they run out of ideas, or do they just not care anymore? The truth is that we’ll never know why Nintendo is giving their North American fans the cold shoulder. We may never see an actual renaissance of Club Nintendo rewards, but here are a few ways Nintendo could fix Club Nintendo in the eyes of many gamers.
eShop Credit
Let’s get the easiest, most obvious reward out of the way first: eShop credit. I do enjoy the Virtual Console and eShop games. The only downside is that most of the games are all first party, and many titles have been repeated ad nauseum. The easy solution to this: offer eShop credit instead. Club Nintendo could offer members the chance to exchange their Coins for one-time-use eShop vouchers. Gamers then cash in their Coins, and the redemption code is generated. That way, the eShop game choice is up to the purchaser. In addition, this new method could potentially bring in extra profit for Nintendo. For example, after redeeming codes for eShop credit, you’re still a few dollars short of affording Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon. Odds are, you’ll head out and purchase another eShop card just to put you over that threshold – which equals more sales for Nintendo. And I feel pretty confident in asserting that a majority of gamers would rather have this system in place than having to choose between Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr..
More Posters
Posters have always been a Club Nintendo mainstay. Even now, the meager offerings on Club Nintendo’s site still include a set of Animal Crossing: New Leaf posters. But that’s not to say that more wouldn’t be welcome. Nintendo has shown that they can release some quality prints. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds poster set has some very nice art. The Mario / Link / Donkey Kong time charts are very creative. And that screenshot of the arcade version of Donkey Kong is currently looking pretty swank framed on my wall. Even though I currently have more posters than wall space in my basement, I wouldn’t turn down more posters if they were offered. Who wouldn’t love poster-sized NES box arts? Or a pixel-perfect reproduction of the Legend of Zelda map? How about reproductions of old Nintendo Power posters? The possibilities are endless.
Amiibos
Nintendo is banking on their answer to Skylanders and Disney Infinity figures, Amiibos, to be a huge hit. The figures, set to launch in November, interact with the Wii U and 3DS, and can be used in both Super Smash Bros. For Wii U and Mario Kart 8. Nintendo is hoping that Amiibos will have that collectable appeal, and fans will strive to own each and every one. What better way to get that collecting bug going than by offering an Amiibo or two as Club Nintendo rewards? Common sense dictates that Mario and Link figures will sell a lot more than, say, Wii Fit Trainer. Why not offer her as a Club Nintendo reward? Or better yet, make Club Nintendo-exclusive figures. All they need is a fresh coat of paint. Give Mario his Fire Flower-white overalls. Offer a myriad of Yoshi colors. Or blow the collective minds of hardcore Nintendo fans and offer Dark Link. Come on, Nintendo, we need Dark Link.
Digital Soundtracks
Back in their homeland, Club Nintendo Japan carries some amazing rewards. Like Nintendo of America and their love for posters, Japan’s NCL offers a boatload of CD soundtracks. Why wouldn’t Nintendo of America want to do the same and offer soundtracks to their most popular games? They have almost thirty years of video game music at their fingertips, and giving gamers the ability to purchase game soundtracks with their Club Nintendo Coins makes all the sense in the world. Nintendo has almost no cost in this situation: no CDs to press, jewel cases to buy, or art to print. Just MP3 versions of the songs we know and love. And music CDs aren’t region-specific, so Nintendo of Japan could always print up a bunch of extras and send them our way.
Downloadable Content
And speaking of digital, why not give gamers an opportunity to use Club Nintendo Coins to purchase DLC? Nintendo is finally embracing downloadable content, as evidenced by Fire Emblem Awakening, Pikmin 3, and most recently, the amazing add-ons for Mario Kart 8. And if the rumors are any indication, Smash Bros., too, will eventually have downloadable content. Furthermore, those who pre-ordered Hyrule Warriors can currently download some great skins for their characters. Those of us who didn’t pre-order or were hoping to get the game during the upcoming holidays are quite simply out of luck. If Nintendo made the DLC available for purchase on Club Nintendo, it’d be win-win. Those who pre-ordered get the DLC for free, and those who didn’t still have access to it. This is another idea that has virtually no out-of-pocket cost to Nintendo.
The Times They Are A Changin’
Club Nintendo was, for a time, an amazing rewards program. My Mario statue stands proudly alongside the rest of my video game memorabilia. I’m lucky to say I own of one of the rare, limited-to-one-thousand Kirby medals. And I still have my Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass stylus in its original packaging – for safekeeping, of course. Now, I struggle to find anything worthy of spending my 900+ Coins on. Seriously, greeting cards? I’m optimistically hoping that one day, Nintendo will surprise us and update the Club Nintendo site with a treasure trove of collectibles, giving fans of the Big N a reason to blow all their Coins, and the program will be returned to its former glory. Who knows? Maybe someone at Nintendo of America will one day come across this article and get inspired.
One can only hope.
