Rewards included objects such as playing cards, tote bags, controllers, downloadable content, and warranty extensions on select Nintendo products.
On January 20, 2015, it was announced that Club Nintendo would be discontinued in North America on June 30, 2015, and in Europe and Japan on September 30, 2015, due to an upcoming new loyalty program.
The European version was published in several languages, and there were separate publications for Germany, Spain, Greece, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands,[5] Portugal,[6] Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Italy, Hungary,[7] Slovenia, Czech Republic, Slovakia[8] and South Africa.
Points are also awarded for the purchase of select third-party titles, and can also be obtained by participating in surveys, inviting others to become a Club Nintendo member or even simply visiting a web site.
Premium rewards included Club Nintendo exclusive video games, offered as either digital content (WiiWare, DSiWare) or a physical item (Wii, DS).
However, because released titles are often delayed in European countries (usually due to localization), the exclusive features could be often found elsewhere on the Internet.
[17] Starting in September 2008, stars could also be used to buy singles and albums at the music online store, emusu.com, a website of which has shutdown.
Members enter PIN codes found on inserts included with certain games and hardware to earn stars.
It allowed consumers to register their games and consoles online using a printed code included with the products, with no direct physical rewards or benefits for doing so.
Kaplan also said that the company considered the pre-order bonuses and game registration promos it offered were an alternative to Club Nintendo.
[23] The site experienced high traffic at its initial launch, resulting in login problems and slow load times for users.
The North America catalog was developed in conjunction with Nintendo Australia[citation needed] and uses Coins instead of Stars.
Program participants who meet 300-Coin "Gold" or 600-Coin "Platinum" benchmarks within the Club Nintendo year (July 1–June 30) also receive exclusive items.
Players buying a console, a video game or an accessory were able to fill a form and send it to Nintendo's headquarters in the country by mail.
[9][31][32] Some criticism came from the fact that the Nintendo of Europe Stars Catalogue was only available to members in the United Kingdom and Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy and later Portugal and Russia.
Bergsala, which was responsible for all Nintendo-related distribution in Scandinavia, closed down Club Nintendo in the region at the end of the year 2006 because it was not economically viable to keep it going.
During the same timeframe, news sites repeatedly pointed out that Nintendo of America's offerings were much smaller than those of Europe and Japan.
[36] Throughout 2014, the North American Club Nintendo was experiencing a great lack of physical rewards compared to other regions.