Club Nintendo Shutting Down After Six Years

Nintendo has revealed that they are closing down the Club Nintendo incentive program. You can read the personal notice from Club Nintendo to its users, including a brief FAQ, here.

As of right now, the site is actually down from many users logging in, but if you are one such user, you can wait until next month to check.

The program has been active for six years, and was renowned for giving loyal Nintendo fans downloadable games, and even better, many prized physical rewards, including posters and character figures.

In a press release, Nintendo revealed that they will be announcing a new customer loyalty program on a later date. In the meantime, current members will still be able to earn points until the end of March, and redeem those rewards until June. It will no longer be possible to make new Club Nintendo accounts after March 31.

Nintendo also promises to offer a range of downloadable games and physical rewards in February. As an extra incentive, they will also offer Flipnote Studio 3D, just in time for the launch of New 3DS XL in the US. You need to only be a member to be eligible, and again, you can redeem the app until June.

In hindsight, the New 3DS being sold across different regions without Club Nintendo points was a sign. Aside from this, of course, no less than Nintendo’s president Satoru Iwata himself revealed plans to create a new incentive program January of 2014 in an investor’s meeting. Based on his statements then, this program may or may not be connected to their mobile strategy.

What would you like to see from Nintendo’s future customer loyalty program? What rewards do you want to see made available next month? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.