Club Nintendo of America Launches

Last week the highly anticipated Club Nintendo of America officially launched. Nintendo gamers can sign up by visiting Club.Nintendo.com. After joining, members can register select Nintendo hardware and Nintendo-published games in exchange for Nintendo Coins, which can then be redeemed for limited-edition Nintendo rewards available only to Club Nintendo members.  Some of the exclusive rewards include the Game & Watch™ Collection for the Nintendo DS™ and a set of traditional Hanafuda cards printed with Nintendo characters. Members must earn coins by registering their games and completing a corresponding survey. The amount of coins earned by games varies by game type: Wii (50 coins), DS (30 coins), WiiWare (10 coins), and Virtual Console (10 coins). In addition, the Wii Fit can be registered and earn members 80 coins.

There are also three ways to increase the Club Nintendo coin total. First, members can let Nintendo know of their “intention to buy” a particular game. After buying the game and completing a survey, members will earn ten extra coins. Next, an additional ten coins can be earned by purchasing a game and completing a survey within the first four weeks of its launch…a little Nintendo incentive to buy early and buy often ;-). Finally, members can earn an another ten coins by participating in a “post play survey” that is available shortly after the game launches.

Nintendo has stated that games released during December 2008 or later can be registered, but you can only register select titles that were released prior to December. Unredeemed coins expire two years from issue if unused. Reports from early participants say that the system is slow due to high traffic and a few bugs have been identified, so you may want to wait a few days before trying to register.

Nintendo DS Lite Limited Mario Edition $134.99 @ Amazon.com

If you’re shopping for a DS this holiday season, Amazon is currently offering the Nintendo DS Lite Limited Edition Red Mario with New Super Mario Bros. Bundle and the Nintendo DS Lite Limited Edition Ice Blue with Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! and Carrying Case Bundle each for $134.99. Note that these are “pre-orders,” and they would not be processed and shipped until Friday, November 28th.

For the limited edition DS, this is a good deal. The next lowest Black Friday price I’ve seen is Walmart’s. They are offering the same bundle for during their Black Friday sale for $136. The benefit of the Amazon deal is that you can avoid the sales tax and get free super saver shipping. An added bonus – you don’t have to get up at 3 am and wait in line on Friday!