We are gathered here not to eulogise Club Nintendo, but to celebrate it.
Last week marked the closure of Nintendo of Europe’s Club Nintendo, and for those who were unaware, it was a loyalty rewards scheme offered by Nintendo, where consumers would redeem codes included with selected Nintendo games and hardware, in return for Star Points that could be used to purchase digital and physical items – The draw being that many of these rewards were exclusive to the service and could not be found anywhere else.
Club Nintendo Rewards History
Launching as Nintendo VIP 24:7 in 2002 alongside the Nintendo Gamecube, its initial rewards were rather paltry, mainly limited to mobile phone ringtones and computer desktops – However as it morphed into the Club Nintendo scheme around the same time as the original’s Wii launch, the rewards offered became far more valuable and desired as unique physical items were added to the catalogue. As the service closes, I thought it would be the perfect time to show you my Top 5 Club Nintendo rewards.
At number five is my most recent purchase, the very last thing I ordered from Club Nintendo, alongside the rather lovely Goodbye Club Nintendo commemorative coin. This set of Question Block coasters cost 2500 Stars and are not only iconic, but they are also bloody useful, protecting my cheap Ikea desk from the various liquids I consume while editing Pug Hoof Gaming’s videos.
Club Nintendo Rewards wasn’t always about Stars, sometimes you got cool rewards for registering certain games. Number four is a rather nice bonus for those who purchased and registered the trio of late lifespan Nintendo Wii JRPGs – The Last Story, Pandora’s Tower and of course, Xenoblade Chronicles. This set of commemorative coins came in a classy felt case, while each coin is itself enveloped in a protective plastic case. It was a great way to reward loyal Wii fans and a treasured item in my collection.
An exclusive physical Nintendo DS version of Game & Watch Gallery, a collection of some of Nintendo’s early LCD games, was occasionally available on Club Nintendo. However, they also offered a reproduction of Ball, the very first game in the Game & Watch series, which makes number three on my list. While it’s incredibly simplistic and won’t exactly keep you glued to the screen, it’s an interesting playable piece of Nintendo history. It’s also the most expensive item on this list, costing a massive 7500 Stars.
If you’ve been a subscriber to Pug Hoof Gaming since the beginning (and you really should be by now), you’ll recognise this Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask light that I unboxed in one of my early videos. This small reproduction of Majora’s Mask looks cool and is simply a must-have for any Zelda fan that was well worth the 6000 stars, and you guys must have agreed considering that my original unboxing video is still one of my most viewed pieces of content so far. But at number two on this list, it’s not my favourite item on this list – Number one in my affections goes to this awesome item.
7000 Stars is a lot to spend, but it was incredibly good value when it involves this superb reproduction of the classic Super NES controller that works as a Classic Controller for the original Wii. It’s packaging mimics that of the original PAL hardware, and while the controller itself has to be plugged into the Wii remote like the other Classic Controllers, it’s a very accurate reproduction of one of the best game console pads ever made and makes Virtual Console games even more enjoyable. It’s comfortable, looks fantastic and is so cool that I couldn’t not put it at the top of my list.
I hope you enjoyed this little list – I’d love to know what your favourite Club Nintendo rewards were. Maybe there were some rewards you regret missing out on – I know I really wanted the Captain Toad lamp, as well as that gorgeous Luigi’s Mansion diorama.
If you enjoyed this video, please subscribe or even share this with your friends, as I would appreciate it so very much. Thank you very much for taking the time to watch this, and until next time: Keep gaming positive.
