Clubbed to death

Looking at my shelves, I see a lot of Nintendo games, just sitting there doing nothing. Some have been there for a number of years, having out-lived their usefulness and been condemned to a life as part of a collection. Well, they finally have a chance to give me another dose of joy, as the registration codes inside their boxes can now be put to use, thanks to Club Nintendo.

Yes, Club Nintendo US is up and running, after having been promised a few months ago. Or is it? The site was activated last week, only to be taken down again. This was soon rectified, and I had a chance to register a few games to test the service, but now it's been taken down again (this time for maintenance). What exactly is going on? They must have assumed that millions of people would be visiting Club Nintendo to get started on the registration process, but then again, it wouldn't be very Nintendo-like for them to actually keep up with public demand, would it?

So when the site is up and running again, what will be offered? Well, it gives you points for every Nintendo system or game you register; points that can be redeemed for prizes. Prizes include DS and Wii accessories, like stylus sets and carrying cases, but saving up more points gets you access to better stuff, like the DS Game & Watch Collection (which is the one I want). Unfortunately, only games published by Nintendo contain the registration codes, or else I'd probably have enough points to get every prize I want, immediately. However, even games released at the start of the DS's life have the codes inside, so your already-established collection doesn't have to go to waste.

Every DS game you register gets you 30 points; every Wii game gets you 40. You can get another 10 points by either registering a game within 30 days of release, or by telling Club Nintendo which games you plan on buying in the future (assuming you do actually buy them, of course). Consoles also have a point value attached to them, but unfortunately I can't tell you how many, as the site is down right now. After typing the code into Club Nintendo, you will then be asked to complete a brief survey concerning how you heard about the game and what influenced you to buy it. The survey is actually really stupid as it contains virtually the same question 3 times in a row, and not much else. Oh well, it only takes a minute to fill out per game.

Looking through my collection and making note of which games are published by Nintendo, I count at least 670 points I can redeem once the site is up and running again. I also have a Wii system and two DSs to register (because my girlfriend has allowed me to merge our collections together for this purpose), so this will hopefully put me over the 800 point mark required to get the good prizes. I guess I'll find out once site maintenance is complete.

So don't let your collection go to waste; head on over to Club Nintendo and start earning points yourself. What's that you say? You don't have a collection because you just trade in games once you've finished with them? Well, sucks to be you!