Author Topic: Club Nintendo Retrospective  (Read 8617 times)

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Offline ejamer

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Club Nintendo Retrospective
« on: January 16, 2020, 10:54:42 AM »
Yes, I know my.nintendo.com is still a thing.  I also know that it mostly sucks, offering meager discounts on select digital games (most of which are overpriced to start with or never see normal sale pricing take effect) and free 3DS themes.

But I'm talking about the real Club Nintendo that used to send out cool physical swag. Statues, little trophies, posters, bags and cases for your games, hats and shirts, controllers... the list goes on. In the heyday of Club Nintendo you'd even be given free once-a-year gifts that were surprisingly awesome, if you have managed to accumulate enough points by registering the games you'd bought.

I found a site that documents a bunch of the prizes that had been available:
https://www.mariowiki.com/Club_Nintendo_(rewards_program)

Looking back now, there are a handful of things I wish that I had ordered. The Super Mario Accessory Box would've been awesome, or the terrycloth towel collection, or even some of the posters.  Still, it was a good source of nice stuff.

My favorite items (that I still own and use today) include:
#1: 2-D Mario Reversible Pouches - These little pouches are really nice, and convenient for a whole bunch of storage/travel purposes; they've seen frequent and non-stop use since getting them!
#2: Nintendo 3DS Game Card Case - Invaluable! The many different custom covers are nice, and having several of these at home lets me store all the empty DS/3DS game cases in one location while still having a convenient way to carry all my games with me. Love them.
#3: Mario & Friends Pin Badge Collection - Although it's mostly just decoration, I still really like this "elite status gift"... people complained at the time, but the buttons are timely and nicely packaged for display while not being used. Big thumbs from me!
#4: Starman Messenger Bag - Honestly, the size and quality of this gift didn't overwhelm, but it's split time between being hung as decoration and actually being used to move stuff around, and is still kind of neat.

Were people here gaming at that point?  Did you get your own swag from Club Nintendo before it got shuttered and replace with the current all-digital alternative?  I'm curious to hear if anyone has fond memories - or maybe regrets about some of the limited availability items they missed.
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Offline lolmonade

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Re: Club Nintendo Retrospective
« Reply #1 on: January 16, 2020, 11:28:49 AM »
Club Nintendo was a mixed bag for me, but I did score on getting three of those DS game cases that had 18 different cartridge slots.  I would have liked to snag that gold nunchuck that matched the Skyward Sword one, but unfortunately that got scooped up really quick.


Offline nickmitch

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Re: Club Nintendo Retrospective
« Reply #2 on: January 16, 2020, 02:33:11 PM »
I got that Mario & Friends Pin Badge collection.  It's really nice, and it looks great as a decorative piece.  Haven't worn the pins, however.  I actually keep it next to the statue that was the elite prize from the year before, which I think is amazing.

The messenger and tote bags are really cool.  I was living in the DC area, where they charge per bag at grocery stores (except in VA), so having extra totes is always a plus.  Bonus if it's something neat and unique.  It's always cool when someone notices the Reading Rainbow tote I got from their kickstarter a few years back, so that would've been nice to add to the collection.

I don't remember ever seeing that accessory box.  I would love have something like that today.

I did get one of those t-shirts.  It's nice to have exclusive merch.

I kinda miss Club Nintendo.  I wish they'd bring it back, maybe as another perk for Nintendo Switch Online and a place to spend gold/silver coins.  I've been using my silver on backgrounds for my phone, but meh.  It's ok, just not exciting.  I also really liked the logo.  It's aesthetically pleasing and perfectly suited for what it was used for.
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Offline fawful

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Re: Club Nintendo Retrospective
« Reply #3 on: January 28, 2020, 04:40:44 PM »
The main thing I remember is how the survey they put out for Super Paper Mario was rigged AF and didn't let you check that you liked both the story and the 3D flip ability, leading to apparently less than 1% of players saying they liked the story, so they haven't bothered with story in the series since. To this day that salts me up, SPM story was godlike.

I know I bought a big lot of Nintendo stuff on eBay once, I think some of it came from Club Nintendo. There's a game rack with the Club Nintendo logo on each side, an 8-bit Mario plushie, a Super Mario Galaxy coin. I also bought the Year of Luigi soundtrack online, which was IIRC exclusive to Japanese Club Nintendo.

Offline ejamer

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Re: Club Nintendo Retrospective
« Reply #4 on: January 28, 2020, 07:46:41 PM »
The main thing I remember is how the survey they put out for Super Paper Mario was rigged AF ...

Hahaha... Yep, it was.

So even though I miss the (occasionally really cool) physical prizes, I don't miss the useless surveys they required you to fill out to get points.
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Offline RyanMurray

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Re: Club Nintendo Retrospective
« Reply #5 on: March 24, 2020, 01:26:46 PM »
Haha, thanks everyone
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Offline Khushrenada

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Re: Club Nintendo Retrospective
« Reply #6 on: March 24, 2020, 02:09:45 PM »
Hahaha! You're welcome, obvious spambot.
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