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Club Nintendo Elite Status Gifts Now Available

by Aaron R. Brown - July 16, 2014, 5:37 am EDT
Total comments: 73 Source: Nintendo

Pick one free downloadable game, please.

The 2014 Elite Status gifts have been revealed on Club Nintendo. Instead of any physical rewards like previous years, choices consist of sixteen different free downloadable titles, with Gold members' options being limited to Virtual Console games.

The following games will be claimable until 11:59 PM PT on August 15, 2014:

Platinum:

Game & Wario
NES Remix
EarthBound
Dr. Luigi
Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D
Fluidity: Spin Cycle
Dillon's Rolling Western
Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move

Gold/Platinum:

Ice Climber
Kid Icarus
Super Mario Bros.
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Donkey Kong 3
Wario Land 2
Metroid
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

Talkback

Best reward since the Mario family figurine in 2010, in that I will actually play Game and Wario for longer than five minutes. (Not much longer, granted.)

Still, I never use the cards and the soundtrack is for a bad game.

ejamerJuly 16, 2014

My expectations were pretty low, but finding no physical reward at all is still disappointing. 

There are only 2 games on the list that I have any interest in and don't already own, with 1 of those 2 already owned on a different platform.  My guess is that quite a few people are in the same position, some probably worse. It's a shame they couldn't have offered something exclusive like the previous Doc Louis's Punch-Out!! mini-game. Heck... they even could have re-offered that exclusive item for anyone who missed it.

Oh well. Gift horse and all that.  Makes me really glad that I didn't pay for NES Remix though. Lesson learned.

CericJuly 16, 2014

Well, do we still only get to pick one?  Platinum should be able to pick 1 Gold and 1 Platinum at minimum really.

nickmitchJuly 16, 2014

I kinda like this reward.  I wanted Game & Wario before the reviews and Fluidity is pretty renown, right?  I've also been wanting to try those Dillon games. . .

Decisions, decisions.

BlackNMild2k1July 16, 2014

Well... If I had made Platinum, I probably woulda got NES Remix.
possibly Earthbound, since I've never played that either.

But truth is, I probably wouldn't play the latter and would atleast give the former a try.

I only got gold this year... wish I had saved most of those last ditch effort points for this year though seeing that the prizes aren't really anything special.

I really like having digital rewards like this; still haven't taken some of my previous rewards out of the shipping envelopes they came in. It would be nice if there were more variety, though, with more games to choose from or something like MP3 downloads of sountracks.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorJuly 16, 2014

Wow.  This is super lame.

Hey Nintendo - I ALREADY HAVE ALL OF THOSE TITLES I WANTED.

You know, I've always somewhat defended the Elite awards.  I just can't do it this year.  This is disappointing on a whole new level.

CericJuly 16, 2014

The big problem with this reward is that all these games are available to purchase.  Which means that if you have Platinum or Gold Status.  There is a very good chance you have every one of those or all the ones you wanted anyway.

It be a whole other thing if it was an early release of about 2-3 games each tier that you can grab for free before the general public.

For these reason's this is lame.

Triforce HermitJuly 16, 2014

The Gold rewards really suck, but getting a retail title as a Platinum rewards are okay. Sucks there is no physical merchandise.

To make everyone happy, they should have just given Platinum members a "get any digital title for free" coupon and Gold members a "get any VC title for free" coupon. Give the coupon a month before expiration, everyone can be happy with what they got because it was what they wanted instead of being forced to choose from a list.

Evan_BJuly 16, 2014

Why doesn't Nintendo try to make their club members feel special for investing money in their games? Advance Wars: Days of Ruin is being offered in Japan, a title that was never released in the country. Man, what a reward! But we're getting a bunch of games that people potentially already HAVE? That just doesn't feel like a reward at all.

TheXenocideJuly 16, 2014

Gotta say I'm pretty disappointed. I have almost no interest in the ones I don't have. Honestly, I prefer the physical stuff; usually they have a pretty neat collectible. And they could have at least included more than two retail games, and Game and Wario barely counts as that. I'm probably going with Fluidity after hearing Jonny talk about how he liked it. After all, Dr. Metts, you are my spirit animal.

AdrockJuly 16, 2014

Quote from: Evan_B

Why doesn't Nintendo try to make their club members feel special for investing money in their games?

They already do. That's the entire point of Club Nintendo. You're getting free things for buying games you were already going to buy anyway. It boggles my mind that people keep acting like this isn't true. Was it so long ago that we used to buy games and there wasn't a prize attached to it? In fact, that still happens today with every other company that isn't Nintendo. With all the nickle and diming companies pull with DLC and whatnot, it's truly sad that people still can't appreciate a gesture like Club Nintendo. Before Wii, we all bought Nintendo games and were happy to get just that game. Everyone loves a good bargain, but cheese and rice, some of you are impossible to please.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorJuly 16, 2014

Adrock, I have to say, this is the first year I've really whined about the selection of Club Nintendo gifts though.  If you're a big enough Nintendo fan to have legitimately reach Platinum, there's a pretty good chance you own the vast majority of these titles (In fact, I have all of them but one in some form or another.  The one I don't have, Dillon's Rolling Western, I played on a friend's 3DS and I really, really didn't like it).  Sure, free is free and all - but man... Give me the Dinosaur Office or Kirby 3D downloads I didn't win.  Let folks choose from the GBA Ambassador titles they might have missed out on.  Hell, throw up the Wii VC copy of Donkey Kong Original Version that we never got in the states on the VC (and/or the 3DS version that was a limited time offer).  Or, even better, put up Super Mario Bros. Vs. (okay, granted, I complained about stuff I already had, then listed a bunch of stuff I already had... but I'm thinking beyond myself here).

I'm just disappointed that Club Nintendo advertises "exclusive rewards" and there was nothing exclusive about this.

They've definitely got exclusive rewards; where else are you going to get plastic boxes to hold your Wii remotes?

AVJuly 16, 2014

Wario will take up like 80% of the rest of my wii u space, I don't really care about anyting elese but I guess Donkey Kong Returns 3D but I never really liked the games before. Mario vs DK seems ok too but I worry that it will become tedious. Wario would give me some points. ugh the website isn't working so i guess I don't need to decide now.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorJuly 16, 2014

Quote from: NWR_insanolord

They've definitely got exclusive rewards; where else are you going to get plastic boxes to hold your Wii remotes?

I have 11 Wii Remotes... I need little plastic boxes to hold them all.

AdrockJuly 16, 2014

I suppose for people who can show Nintendo that they own every single one of the reward downloads, it would be nice if Nintendo offered eshop credit. Otherwise, free is free. None of us should have bought all these Nintendo games for the purpose of getting a yearly reward.

Also, isn't offering the GBA Ambassador games to more than the group of people the games were originally intended for the exact opposite point of the Ambassador program? I'm not even talking about people like myself who got the games off a loophole (I wouldn't be upset at all). Anyone who bought a 3DS before the price drop should be like, "Dude, for realsies?"

And if you don't want your Platinum Reward download code, I'll gladly take it off your hands. That goes for anyone who is disappointed in this year's rewards.

Retro DeckadesJuly 16, 2014

It seems like I'll be continuing my recently instituted trend of downloading remakes when Nintendo offers me a free digital game. I picked up The Wind Waker HD with the Mario Kart 8 free game download, and it looks like I'll be choosing Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D here.

mustbeburtJuly 16, 2014

I think this is great!  I hadn't picked up NES Remix yet... I was waiting for it to go on sale or something.  Well, here's the "something"!

Quote from: Adrock

I suppose for people who can show Nintendo that they own every single one of the reward downloads, it would be nice if Nintendo offered eshop credit. Otherwise, free is free. None of us should have bought all these Nintendo games for the purpose of getting a yearly reward.

Also, isn't offering the GBA Ambassador games to more than the group of people the games were originally intended for the exact opposite point of the Ambassador program? I'm not even talking about people like myself who got the games off a loophole (I wouldn't be upset at all). Anyone who bought a 3DS before the price drop should be like, "Dude, for realsies?"

And if you don't want your Platinum Reward download code, I'll gladly take it off your hands. That goes for anyone who is disappointed in this year's rewards.

It's not just eShop credit because that would cost Nintendo actual money if you spend it on something from a third party. And as someone who foolishly bought a 3DS at launch, I think three years of exclusivity on the GBA games is more than enough, especially if it would result in them doing more of them on the platform.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorJuly 16, 2014

Quote from: Adrock

Also, isn't offering the GBA Ambassador games to more than the group of people the games were originally intended for the exact opposite point of the Ambassador program?

A) Ambassadors would still have ten games, while those who picked that reward would only have one.
B) I have never thought (and still to this day am surprised) that the Ambassador GBA games would be *exclusive* to Ambassadors.  I expected (and it was worded as such) that they were just free games for now.  While Nintendo said there were "no plans" to release GBA games on the 3DS eShop, that's a whole world different than saying they're exclusive.

Quote:

And if you don't want your Platinum Reward download code, I'll gladly take it off your hands. That goes for anyone who is disappointed in this year's rewards.

Nada.  I don't know what triggers it, but giving/selling download codes is against the ToS of Club Nintendo and they've been known to deactivate Club Nintendo accounts that partake in it.  I'm guessing it's more for folks who rip codes out of GameStop copies and sell the Games of the Month on eBay - but not something I'm willing to risk. :D

Quote from: UncleBob

Nada.  I don't know what triggers it, but giving/selling download codes is against the ToS of Club Nintendo and they've been known to deactivate Club Nintendo accounts that partake in it.  I'm guessing it's more for folks who rip codes out of GameStop copies and sell the Games of the Month on eBay - but not something I'm willing to risk. :D

I would be extremely surprised if Nintendo's system were sophisticated enough to actually catch this kind of thing, at least on a small scale. That seems like the kind of thing that's mostly there to scare people.

AdrockJuly 16, 2014

I was joking about about the download code. I recall an issue a while back with the Fire Emblem Awakening/Shin Megami Tensei special offer that Nintendo was being all weird about. It was something like this girl had two 3DSesses and she bought two of the one game and one of the other and her friend gave her an extra code (since the friend didn't have a Club Nintendo account) and Nintendo brought the hammer down when she tried to redeem the eshop credit. I disagreed with the way Nintendo handled the situation, but I'm still not messing with any of that.

Triforce HermitJuly 16, 2014

Quote from: Adrock

Also, isn't offering the GBA Ambassador games to more than the group of people the games were originally intended for the exact opposite point of the Ambassador program? I'm not even talking about people like myself who got the games off a loophole (I wouldn't be upset at all). Anyone who bought a 3DS before the price drop should be like, "Dude, for realsies?"

As someone who bought a 3DS at full price (literally a week before they announced the price drop), I don't care if they were released to the CN members or the general public even. I would prefer they do release them because then they just might release more GBA titles on platform I would actually be happy to see them on.

BlackNMild2k1July 16, 2014

I love it when people say "you get if for free, what are you complaining about" but we actually work to earn these "rewards".

We provide marketing feedback through product registration and feedback surveys. For the reward of more points we tell them what games we plan on purchasing ahead of time, which I'm sure lets them know which games they should put the marketing budgets toward and which ones they should just let fly under the radar. And we do all this, not so much for the "prizes" they offer year round online, but to hit that Gold and Platinum status so that we can get that "exclusive reward" for being a loyal and productive Club Nintendo Member and customer.

Now you coudl argue that they don't have to offer the points and the prizes, and that's true, but then we also don't have to register and provide feedback.... and buy our games new and around launch.
If they are going to go through all the effort of offering something, then the least they could do is offer something worth the effort to those that choose to participate.

These digital prizes of already available games just aren't doing it for most enthusiast.
eShop credit, a free Amiibo (or discount coupon towards one), an exclusive item or unreleased game would always be something an enthusiast would find worthwhile.

VahneJuly 16, 2014

Considering there's largely no value difference between the Gold and Platinum selection, Platinum members should be allowed to choose two. Anyway, these rewards are terrible. Not a good way to reward your most faithful fans anyway Nintendo. Club Nintendo's shutting down soon folks. NoA was reluctant to bring this service to America in the first place. Now they figured out a good way to get rid of it.

ejamerJuly 16, 2014

Quote from: BlackNMild2k1

...
These digital prizes of already available games just aren't doing it for most enthusiast.
...

I think this is my complaint too. These rewards are considerably less impressive for enthusiasts than for people who just barely scrape into Platinum status. Nothing is exclusive (or even limited) and nothing is new.


Selection looks good on paper and the overall value on offer seems generous. But there are problems: when giving digital games as rewards for buying games, it creates an awkward catch-22. The more games you buy, the less likely you are to find any of the rewards useful. The most dedicated Nintendo fans end up getting nothing (ie: they already own the games being offered as rewards) while anyone that actively buys games probably finds the number of choices considerably reduced.


It's still a nice gesture though, and getting offered something for free is always good.
The disappointment comes from knowing that Nintendo could do better though, even if sticking with purely digital rewards.

Evan_BJuly 16, 2014

Excuse me, Adrock, for hearing my friend excitedly talk about getting the Majora's Mask OST for a Club reward and signing up for a Club account and being underwhelmed by a number of games that received middling reviews. Gold members pretty much get an "extended" month of Club rewards, because coins are not currency.

Call me insatiable or picky or whatever, but I already have Donkey Kong, and there's no way I will ever want Game and Wario, which are the two rewards that would give me the most bang for my buck. So now I'm forced to redeem a reward that's a lesser value, which feels cheap.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorJuly 16, 2014

Additionally, this actually rewards those who "cheat" the system (buying Club Nintendo codes via eBay, stealing them from GameStop, etc.) and buy few games vs. those who buy more games and earn the Elite status the legitimate way.

"Oh, you don't have this game? Here, have it for free!  Oh, you already have this game?  Here, have it for free again!"

AdrockJuly 16, 2014

Quote from: BlackNMild2k1

I love it when people say "you get if for free, what are you complaining about" but we actually work to earn these "rewards".

Calling product registration and survey participation "work" is absurd. You sit at a computer for a couple minutes and you don't even need to fill in the answers correctly if you can't be bothered to do so. I'm having a really hard time believing that the surveys are greatly affecting marketing budgets. I'm sure Nintendo looks at the results, but you're giving consumers way more credit than they deserve for this.

Honestly, I'm surprised and a little baffled that you still rush to register games at the deadline. Why are you doing this to yourself if you've been so disappointed? All this for not getting some trinket that you might glance at on your shelf once in a blue moon. Sure, fine.

Quote from: ejamer

The disappointment comes from knowing that Nintendo could do better though, even if sticking with purely digital rewards.

Where do they draw the line? Every year, regardless of the reward, someone somewhere is going to act like an entitled cry baby about what they didn't get. Ultimately, this is one of those no-win situations for Nintendo. This wasn't a problem when there was no Club Nintendo. Once Nintendo started offering rewards, people started complaining about them.

jglonekJuly 16, 2014

I'm more confused by the range of games than anything else. You can choose 1 game, from $5 VC games to $30 retail games? Weird. They should have done "Choose 1 Retail Game or 2 Virtual Console games" or something. And yes, something more than just an extra set of games to choose from for Platinum members.

Mop it upJuly 16, 2014

I have mixed feelings about this. I never felt like the physical rewards were terribly special, but I have used the playing cards, and all the other items make for a good display on my shelf and such. I can get these games anytime, but that stuff was exclusive.

Oh well, I guess I shouldn't complain about free stuff. For me, it's a choice between Dr. Luigi and NES Remix. I'm leaning towards NES Remix since Dr. Luigi doesn't seem much different from Dr. Mario games.

EiksirfJuly 16, 2014

I looked at the list and figured I'd try Earthbound for the first time. Or, if I didn't reach Platinum, I'd pick Wario Land 2 or maybe Ice Climber. And that'd be nice, because it's free.

To me, a free game is always the best prize because the thing I enjoy the most about video games are, get this, the games.

So count me out of the complaining group. I can see if you've already got these that it's disappointing, but then you could spend your rewards points on other prizes instead.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorJuly 16, 2014

Quote from: Adrock

I'm having a really hard time believing that the surveys are greatly affecting marketing budgets. I'm sure Nintendo looks at the results, but you're giving consumers way more credit than they deserve for this.

I have to say, this is more Nintendo's fault than anything.  The surveys are horribly generic and no where near giving them the amount of marketing data they could be getting.

Quick example: Asking me if I bought a 3DS just to play the specific 3DS game I'm registering.  Hey, Nintendo - I registered my 3DS YEARS ago.  It's unlikely that I bought my 3DS just to play CrossworDS Plus.

Another quick example: Asking how likely I'd be to recommend a game to friends, then asking if I already have recommended it to friends.  How about asking me if I've recommended it first, and if I say "Yes", then not asking me how likely it is that I'd recommend it. :D

Quote:

Where do they draw the line? Every year, regardless of the reward, someone somewhere is going to act like an entitled cry baby about what they didn't get. Ultimately, this is one of those no-win situations for Nintendo. This wasn't a problem when there was no Club Nintendo. Once Nintendo started offering rewards, people started complaining about them.

A.) That's blatantly untrue.  Before Club Nintendo opened in America, Americans were complaining about the lack of a rewards program on par with Japan's.
B.) Last year, Nintendo offered a selection of physical or digital rewards.  Sure, there were complaints about the choices - but I feel there was a lot less backlash last year than this.

Quote from: Eiksirf

I can see if you've already got these that it's disappointing, but then you could spend your rewards points on other prizes instead.

Err... I cannot spend my Elite coins on anything else?

AdrockJuly 16, 2014

Quote from: Mop

I have mixed feelings about this. I never felt like the physical rewards were terribly special, but I have used the playing cards, and all the other items make for a good display on my shelf and such. I can get these games anytime, but that stuff was exclusive.

I understand this sentiment. It's just disappointing seeing how many people are turning their nose up to something like this. Since the alternative was nothing, I'll keep taking these rewards as long as Nintendo keeps offering them.

Quote from: UncleBob

A.) That's blatantly untrue.  Before Club Nintendo opened in America, Americans were complaining about the lack of a rewards program on par with Japan's.
B.) Last year, Nintendo offered a selection of physical or digital rewards.  Sure, there were complaints about the choices - but I feel there was a lot less backlash last year than this.

A. How so? I was referring to the time before there was any rewards program anywhere. If there was never a rewards program, no one would be the wiser.
B. The point is that there always was and always will be backlash. Nintendo can't please everyone. They offer a rewards program no other video game company offers and people can't appreciate for what it is.

broodwarsJuly 16, 2014

On the one hand, these rewards are (as usual) incredibly lame and lazy compared to what Nintendo bestows upon their "chosen ones" in Japan.  I don't know why Nintendo seems to go out of their way to invite criticism.

On the other hand, I've always wanted to try Game & Wario, but I never wanted to spend my own money on it. Fair enough, Nintendo. At least I'll have some use for this reward, as opposed to the last few years.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorJuly 16, 2014

A) It's hard to remember back that far, since Club Nintendo started in 2003 in Japan and we didn't get it until five years later. :D  But sure, before Club Nintendo was a thing, people didn't complain about Club Nintendo.  That's like "Before indoor plumbing was a thing, people didn't complain about having to go to the outhouse to take a dump - they just did it."  Just because one option is better than the other option, it doesn't mean we can't dream and hope for a third option.  Even more so when it's something completely within Nintendo's power and would require virtually no additional effort (again, offering previously-released no-longer-offered rewards like Nintendo Video downloads, Donkey Kong: Original Edition, etc.)

B.) I've gotten 15 Mario Kart toys from Happy Meals.  When *I'M* complaining about free Nintendo stuff, something's wrong. ;)

This rewards program is supposed to be offering stuff to their biggest and most loyal fans.

This year's rewards don't do that.

If Nintendo wants to come out and say "You know what - it's just not cost-effective for Club Nintendo to offer physical rewards anymore.  From here on out, Club Nintendo will simply be a rewards program that offers digital downloads of previously released titles.", I'd be perfectly fine with that.  But don't promise me "members-only benefits" and give me stuff I already have and can be bought by anyone at any time.

If I promised you a free gourmet meal, then you drove over to my house and I sat down a plate with a half of a stale cookie manufactured by "Gourmet Brands, Inc.", would you thank me for the cookie or be bitter that I over-delivered my promise?

broodwarsJuly 16, 2014

The thing I find insulting about all this is that Nintendo continues to crap on their North American fans with Club Nintendo. When you look at the stuff that the Japanese Club Nintendo gets, it's clear we're barely even an afterthought, and that applies to more than just the Platinum rewards.  We're supposed to just accept it because it's "free", but it's clear that despite being Nintendo's biggest and most profitable market, Nintendo seems to go out of its way to show its contempt for us.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorJuly 16, 2014

Funny - they year they gave out virtually the exact same Pin collection that Japan got, didn't you even complain about that Broodwars? :D

broodwarsJuly 16, 2014

Quote from: UncleBob

Funny - they year they gave out virtually the exact same Pin collection that Japan got, didn't you even complain about that Broodwars? :D

Yeah, I did. I think I gave that pin collection away to charity the day it arrived.  IIRC, we got that pin collection the year after Japan got them, just like the figurine.  But Club Nintendo Japan routinely gets soundtracks, exclusive games, etc. that we never get.  Club Nintendo Japan recently got Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, a game Japan never got. How wild would it be if NoA put up Fatal Frame 2 Wii as the Platinum Reward to help drum up interest in the upcoming Wii U Fatal Frame? Or Disaster Day of Crisis? Or even that Tingle rupees game?  Hell, if NoA still wants to exhibit minimal effort, how about offering those goddamn GBA Ambassador games they just refuse to sell to people?

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorJuly 16, 2014

Oh, I don't disagree about offering the GBA Ambassador titles... but you've complained about the Elite reward virtually every year.  Have you ever been happy with it?

You're one of the people Adrock is talking about - the ones that will never be satisfied - so I don't think Nintendo should really even try.

I *can* be satisfied.  Hell, I flat out stated that I'd be happy with an exclusive offer to download a 3 minute video that I can watch on Youtube for free whenever I want.  I'm pretty easy to please.

Ian SaneJuly 16, 2014

My first thought was just "Donkey Kong 3?  Why does Nintendo think anyone would want that?" but I think the fact that to achieve platinum status one has to register a lot of the very games being offered for free is a legitimate complaint.  I didn't even think of it until others pointed it out since I'm pretty slack at registering Nintendo purchases.  Of course NOA probably didn't think of that either.

I don't think Nintendo is being lazy or screwing their American fans.  I think they're just being oblivious.  Offering the very games that someone would have registered and likely already own is just dumb.  It's "missing the point" dumb and that's pretty much the type of dumb Nintendo is really good at.

As for the idea that it's free and they don't have to offer it so we shouldn't complain... eh, if something is lame, it's lame.  Yeah if your Mom gets you a lousy Christmas present you don't want to hurt her feelings so you don't speak up but this is soulless corporation so there is no need for tact.  Obviously we want them to do Club Nintendo better, there's a huge flaw in their rewards here, so why not point it out and hope they improve it?  And they do offer better rewards in Japan and think NOA doing a shittier job than NCL at anything is a valid complaint.  Nintendo has rather stupidly offered an example of what Club Nintendo could be.  That's so embarassingly dumb I find it kind of amusing.  If I WANTED to craft a plan to screw up intentionally I couldn't come up with some of the things Nintendo actually does.  There's a part of me that's almost fascinated by it, like I'm getting some insight into the mind of crazy person.

broodwarsJuly 16, 2014

Quote from: UncleBob

Oh, I don't disagree about offering the GBA Ambassador titles... but you've complained about the Elite reward virtually every year.  Have you ever been happy with it?

1. I was very much satisfied with the Mario figurine, and I wanted the Doc Louis Punch Out but didn't reach Platinum status that year.

2. I just said in this very topic that Game & Wario for free was...acceptable, comparatively speaking.

Quote:

You're one of the people Adrock is talking about - the ones that will never be satisfied - so I don't think Nintendo should really even try.

By that logic, Nintendo should never do anything that might make its fans happy, because somwhere out there someone won't like it.

AdrockJuly 16, 2014

A. I think there's a distinct difference between wanting and hoping for a third option and the "This is bullshit" attitude most people seem to have. I'm not including you in that lot. Of course, I would like more options, but I still appreciate the gesture. While not a 1:1 comparison, I got Pikmin 3 for free with Mario Kart 8. I didn't even really want the game and would have bought Mario Kart 8 anyway. Fuck it, I downloaded it anyway because why not? I didn't have to spend money on it and I get to play it.

B. Well, Nintendo didn't promise a gourmet meal. "Members-only benefits" still applies. Not having to pay money for a download is one of the benefits. I suppose, as you've said many times, "manage your expectations." Nintendo has been offering fewer physical rewards over the years. I'm not especially surprised it's download-only now. Would it be nice if all the prizes were fucking fantastic? Of course, but let's not pretend that we're not getting something for our participation just because it isn't better than we expected.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorJuly 16, 2014

Quote from: broodwars

1. I was very much satisfied with the Mario figurine, and I wanted the Doc Louis Punch Out but didn't reach Platinum status that year.

Hm?

Quote from: broodwars

Not what I wanted from Club Nintendo this year (I already have tons of figurines I don't have space to display, and I'd actually use soundtrack CDs), but I'll definitely take it over the Mario hat from last year.

Doesn't sound much like "satisfied" - "not what I wanted".  Then, you mention soundtracks and I seem to recall you poo-poo'd the soundtrack when they did offer it. ;)

Quote:

By that logic, Nintendo should never do anything that might make its fans happy, because somwhere out there someone won't like it.

Not at all.  It's easy to recognize that you won't please all of the people all of the time - or even most of the people most of the time... but you can try to please the majority of the people the majority of the time.

In this case, offering a handful of games that a good chunk of Club Nintendo "Platinum" members either A.) Already Have or B.) Probably aren't interested in doesn't even come close to trying.

Quote from: Adrock

A. I think there's a distinct difference between wanting and hoping for a third option and the "This is bullshit" attitude most people seem to have. I'm not including you in that lot. Of course, I would like more options, but I still appreciate the gesture. While not a 1:1 comparison, I got Pikmin 3 for free with Mario Kart 8. I didn't even really want the game and would have bought Mario Kart 8 anyway. **** it, I downloaded it anyway because why not? I didn't have to spend money on it and I get to play it.

One could say that the difference between the Mario Kart 8 promo and this is that everyone had the ability to fully understand the offer being made with the Mario Kart promo: "Buy this game, get one of these games free!".  With the Club Nintendo promo, we have to do everything ahead of time and hope for the best (or, at least, *something*).  This goes to my earlier statement - if Nintendo wants to turn Club Nintendo into a program for nothing more than digital downloads of already offered titles - that's fine and dandy.  Just make it clear beforehand.

Quote:

B. Well, Nintendo didn't promise a gourmet meal. "Members-only benefits" still applies. Not having to pay money for a download is one of the benefits. I suppose, as you've said many times, "manage your expectations." Nintendo has been offering fewer physical rewards over the years. I'm not especially surprised it's download-only now. Would it be nice if all the prizes were fucking fantastic? Of course, but let's not pretend that we're not getting something for our participation just because it isn't better than we expected.

I can say, the digital-only was a complete and total surprise to me.  I was expecting a dumb little trinket that I'd go crazy over for no reason other than it had Mario on it.

broodwarsJuly 16, 2014

UncleBob, the post you cited was way back when they announced it. My impression of that figurine changed when it actually arrived and I saw how big and detailed it was.  As for the soundtrack CD comment, that was for the Majora's Mask soundtrack they put up last year...that I already owned because I got it as a Nintendo Power reward 15 years prior. I still chose that reward anyway just to get a more current printing of that soundtrack with a real jewel case. I still want soundtrack CDs up on the NoA CN. There's no reason Nintendo shouldn't let us use our coins on something like the 3D World Soundtrack, which they already printed for the Japanese Club Nintendo.

I'm not asking Nintendo for anything unreasonable, just stuff they already made. There's no reason in 2014 that there shouldn't be parity between the Club Nintendos except that Nintendo seems to think its Japanese fans are special little snowflakes.

Ian SaneJuly 16, 2014

Quote from: broodwars

There's no reason in 2014 that there shouldn't be parity between the Club Nintendos except that Nintendo seems to think its Japanese fans are special little snowflakes.

Considering that the console market in Japan is dying, maybe Japanese fans really are special.  A Japanese Wii U owner?  That's a dedicated fan.  ;)

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorJuly 16, 2014

Quote from: broodwars

UncleBob, the post you cited was way back when they announced it.

Which goes back to my original point - all you do is ***** about things.  I could be wrong though - perhaps you can show the post you made after the figure arrived in the mail where you praised the figure and thanked Nintendo for it?  I'll gladly read that post and rescind my comments about you just *****ing about things.

Quote:

There's no reason in 2014 that there shouldn't be parity between the Club Nintendos except that Nintendo seems to think its Japanese fans are special little snowflakes.

Or, you know, the cost of shipping to a potential 313.9 million people across 3.7 million square miles vs. the cost of shipping to a potential 127.6 million people across 152 thousand square miles.

I can see pretty large reason there.

broodwarsJuly 16, 2014

Quote from: UncleBob

Quote from: broodwars

UncleBob, the post you cited was way back when they announced it.

Which goes back to my original point - all you do is ***** about things.  I could be wrong though - perhaps you can show the post you made after the figure arrived in the mail where you praised the figure and thanked Nintendo for it?  I'll gladly read that post and rescind my comments about you just *****ing about things.

Not that I should be doing your homework for you, but here:

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/27047/club-nintendo-elite-rewards-revealed

Very first post. And that's after 5 seconds on google. I'm sure if I could find a news story on NWR talking about the figurine arriving, I'd find more.

Quote from: UncleBob

Quote from: broodwars

UncleBob, the post you cited was way back when they announced it.

Which goes back to my original point - all you do is ***** about things.  I could be wrong though - perhaps you can show the post you made after the figure arrived in the mail where you praised the figure and thanked Nintendo for it?  I'll gladly read that post and rescind my comments about you just *****ing about things.

Quote:

There's no reason in 2014 that there shouldn't be parity between the Club Nintendos except that Nintendo seems to think its Japanese fans are special little snowflakes.

Or, you know, the cost of shipping to a potential 313.9 million people across 3.7 million square miles vs. the cost of shipping to a potential 127.6 million people across 152 thousand square miles.

I can see pretty large reason there.

Yeah, Nintendo's reasoning for holding off on Club Nintendo in America as long as they did because of shipping and population weren't just bullshit; those were legitimate concerns. It's flat-out cheaper to run in Japan.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorJuly 16, 2014

Quote from: broodwars

Not that I should be doing your homework for you, but here:

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/27047/club-nintendo-elite-rewards-revealed

Very first post. And that's after 5 seconds on google. I'm sure if I could find a news story on NWR talking about the figurine arriving, I'd find more.

Close - but no cigar.  Granted, I didn't specify that it had to be immediately after the figure arrived in the mail - but waiting until the next year and only praising it as a way to ***** about the next year's prize hardly counts.  I'm asking for a post where you sincerely post something nice about the statue because you liked the statue, not because you hate everything else worse.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorJuly 16, 2014

Quote from: broodwars

I got my figure today.  Cool box.  If it weren't so huge, I'd be tempted to keep it.  I really like the figure: everything looks nice and on-model, something I can't say for every Nintendo figure I've seen.  My only issue with the figure is that everything's made out of rubber, which gives the figure a kind of strange look that's hard to describe.  The figure was about the size I thought it'd be given the size of the box.  If you guys think that box is disproportional to the size of its contents, you've never ordered a CD from Square-Enix (which they ship in these huge 8.5 " x 10 " x 2" boxes).  -_-'

Here you go.  It's actually surprisingly positive. :D

broodwarsJuly 16, 2014

Quote from: UncleBob

Quote from: broodwars

I got my figure today.  Cool box.  If it weren't so huge, I'd be tempted to keep it.  I really like the figure: everything looks nice and on-model, something I can't say for every Nintendo figure I've seen.  My only issue with the figure is that everything's made out of rubber, which gives the figure a kind of strange look that's hard to describe.  The figure was about the size I thought it'd be given the size of the box.  If you guys think that box is disproportional to the size of its contents, you've never ordered a CD from Square-Enix (which they ship in these huge 8.5 " x 10 " x 2" boxes).  -_-'

Here you go.  It's actually surprisingly positive. :D

Thank you. I appreciate the effort tracking that post down. I knew I had posted something nice about that figure when it came in. I just couldn't find it.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorJuly 16, 2014

I mean, you complain about the size of it and the material that it's made of, and include comments trashing all the previous Nintendo figures you've seen... then even take a stab at Squeenix for no apparent reason... but surprisingly positive for you. ;)

broodwarsJuly 16, 2014

Quote from: UncleBob

I mean, you complain about the size of it and the material that it's made of, and include comments trashing all the previous Nintendo figures you've seen... then even take a stab at Squeenix for no apparent reason... but surprisingly positive for you. ;)

IIRC, at the time of that post people were commenting on how huge the box was. Back then, I did a lot of CD importing from Japan, especially from Square-Enix. They always shipped these tiny CD jewel cases in these massive poster-sized boxes. So just sayin' that the box may have been huge, but I'd seen more impractical ones.

ejamerJuly 16, 2014

Want to point out that I've been pretty positive about Club Nintendo rewards every other year (well, except once when what they offered really wasn't appealing to me... but even then I wasn't down on the choices).


Looking at the prizes this year and saying they are less interesting than what was offered any other year isn't being "entitled" or "whining".  It's expressing a very real opinion that has been backed by some legitimate arguments in this thread.

CericJuly 16, 2014

Is this the point where I mention that I've been Vehemently mad at US Club Nintendo since almost its inception even skipping a whole gen?

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorJuly 16, 2014

Quote from: Ceric

Is this the point where I mention that I've been Vehemently mad at US Club Nintendo since almost its inception even skipping a whole gen?

No.  Because Club Nintendo has been awesome.  This is just an isolated, poorly managed incident. :(

This is all part of Nintendo's plan. Drive everyone away from the service, so when the 2017 Platinum award is amazing they don't have to send it to as many people, reducing costs.

PhilPhillip Stortzum, July 16, 2014

I got Game & Wario. My brother and I love playing the Sketch mini-game together.

MythtendoJuly 16, 2014

Quote from: ejamer

Looking at the prizes this year and saying they are less interesting than what was offered any other year

You think a free game is less interesting than the year where the "platinum" prize was a CD that had been released 15 years earlier and the gold prize were some lame posters? This is a much better prize (though I only got to Gold and wanted one of the Platinum games).

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorJuly 16, 2014

Is now a bad time to mention I have every set of Club Nintendo posters released so far and jump at the chance to order new posters whenever they're added?

KhushrenadaJuly 16, 2014

Ha ha ha. Oh man. As I mentioned elsewhere, I've never bothered with registering any of my stuff for Club Nintendo. For me, it is as though Club Nintendo doesn't exist. Thus, I don't have to go through the hassle of registering and taking surveys to keep up with different statuses nor do I have to worry, fret or be disappointed about what I would call rather useless prizes. Oh sure, you may have your objections about that but I never seen anything to entice to suddenly become a Club Nintendo member so that's my definition.

Thus, in the choice of getting nothing or something rather useless for free, I choose nothing. I don't have to then convince myself that somehow the reward is worth it or that I should be happy it is free. Nor do I have to be disappointed at the rewards offered. I can just buy my Nintendo products and enjoy them without having to bring in some outside factors to affect my viewpoint of them.

Plus, the reasons something is free is because it is relatively worthless or there is a catch to it. You could say the catch is having to spend hundreds of dollars before hand to get enough points to get a free item or the filling out of surveys and time it takes. Otherwise, most free things in life are of a pretty low quality and unless there is sentimental value, hardly worth keeping or cared about since they are of no cost to you.

Club Nintendo Platinum Reward acquired: Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D

I'm happy with it. The physical rewards were becoming less and less desirable. Putting retail games up for download is fine, I just feel bad for the people who already have the good games and are forced to nab Game & Wario.

Hey, at least we're giving Game and Wario what it's worth: $0.

broodwarsJuly 16, 2014

As if to add insult to injury, Club Nintendo Japan just put up this:

http://cdn.destructoid.com//ul/278228-h1.jpg

And that's a regular Club Nintendo reward in Japan. **** you too, Nintendo.

http://www.destructoid.com/cute-yoshi-plush-added-to-club-nintendo-in-japan-278228.phtml

BlackNMild2k1July 16, 2014

*RAGE JUSTIFIED*

BlackNMild2k1July 16, 2014

pokepal148Spencer Johnson, Contributing WriterJuly 16, 2014

Quote from: Halbred

Club Nintendo Platinum Reward acquired: Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D

I'm happy with it. The physical rewards were becoming less and less desirable. Putting retail games up for download is fine, I just feel bad for the people who already have the good games and are forced to nab Game & Wario.

Well you probably get ddp towards it which is what has me slightly gravitating towards that one.

pokepal148Spencer Johnson, Contributing WriterJuly 16, 2014

Quote from: Shaymin

Hey, at least we're giving Game and Wario what it's worth: $0.

If you get ddp for it then they're basically paying you to get it.

Since this makes me strongly suspect that Club Nintendo will shift to 100% digital rewards and won't restock anything physical... I just dropped 1500 coins to order 3 Pink Animal Crossing 3DS XL pouches.

CericJuly 18, 2014

Quote from: broodwars

As if to add insult to injury, Club Nintendo Japan just put up this:

http://cdn.destructoid.com//ul/278228-h1.jpg

And that's a regular Club Nintendo reward in Japan. **** you too, Nintendo.

http://www.destructoid.com/cute-yoshi-plush-added-to-club-nintendo-in-japan-278228.phtml

The only way to make that much Awesomer is if you could get a tongue to come out to make it look like he's eating the apple and put he apple in his tummy somehow.

CericJuly 18, 2014

Quote from: Ceric

Quote from: broodwars

As if to add insult to injury, Club Nintendo Japan just put up this:

http://cdn.destructoid.com//ul/278228-h1.jpg

And that's a regular Club Nintendo reward in Japan. **** you too, Nintendo.

http://www.destructoid.com/cute-yoshi-plush-added-to-club-nintendo-in-japan-278228.phtml

The only way to make that much Awesomer is if you could get a tongue to come out to make it look like he's eating the apple and put he apple in his tummy somehow.

Or the Apple Reversed to an Egg.

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