Developer Nintendo Website my.nintendo.com | Type Loyalty program | |
Launch date JP: March 17, 2016
EU: March 31, 2016
AU: March 31, 2016
NA: March 31, 2016
BR: March 31, 2016 | ||
My Nintendo (Japanese: マイニンテンドー, Hepburn: Mai Nintendō) is a loyalty program provided by Nintendo and the successor to Club Nintendo. The system rewards allows players to earn points from using software or purchasing games, which can then be spent on rewards such as digital games or discounts. The program launched on March 17, 2016, in Japan and on March 31, 2016, in the rest of the world, launching alongside Nintendo's first mobile app, Miitomo.
Contents
"My Nintendo" was also the name of a registration program provided by Nintendo of America that launched in 2002. It allowed users to register their games and consoles on Nintendo's website using a printed code included with the products, with no direct physical rewards or benefits for doing so. This service was replaced by a North American version of Club Nintendo in December 2008.
Features
Users can create or sign into My Nintendo with a Nintendo Account via Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or a Nintendo Network ID. By clearing various "missions", players earn three different kinds of currency; Gold Points, Platinum Points, and app-centric Platinum Points, which can be exchanged for rewards, including digital game downloads for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, discounts on software purchased from the Nintendo eShop or the official Nintendo online store, and downloadable themes for the Nintendo 3DS. Gold Points are earned by purchasing software digitally via the Nintendo eShop while Platinum Points are earned by performing actions such as linking with social media or signing into the Nintendo eShop or Miiverse weekly. App-centric Platinum Points are earned by clearing missions within Nintendo's mobile apps, such as Miitomo and Super Mario Run, and can either be used to purchase rewards within the app or combined with regular Platinum Points to be spent on the main rewards.
Development
In January 2015, Nintendo announced that Club Nintendo would be discontinued in all regions, with announcing a new loyalty program at a later date. Prior to his death in July 2015, then-Nintendo president Satoru Iwata secured a business alliance with Japanese mobile provider DeNA to develop mobile titles based on Nintendo's first-party franchises. During a presentation related to this business alliance on March 17, 2015, Iwata announced that a new membership program would be jointly developed by Nintendo and DeNA that encompasses the existing Nintendo 3DS and Wii U systems, the Nintendo Switch, which was referred to under the codename "NX" at this stage, and smart devices and PCs. According to Iwata, the new membership service would include multiple devices, and "create a connection between Nintendo and each individual consumer regardless of the device the consumer uses."
On June 30, 2015, Club Nintendo was discontinued in North America, with Nintendo stating "Our heartfelt thanks to our members for your support over the years. Please stay tuned for more information on our new loyalty program." On September 30, 2015, it was discontinued in all other regions.
In October 2015, during a Japanese shareholder's meeting, Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima announced that the new membership service would be known as My Nintendo, along with a new account system called "Nintendo Account", and Nintendo's first mobile app, Miitomo. Kimishima added that My Nintendo would work as a "bridge" between Nintendo's video game systems and smart devices. It was shown that users could connect their Nintendo Accounts with accounts from social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, as well as continue using their Nintendo Network IDs, or alternatively sign in using their email addresses and passwords. Users who purchase a game and register it can see their play time and related messages about the game posted by other users. Users can also receive points for buying and playing the game that can be used to receive rewards. Nintendo plans to allow game save data to be stored in its cloud system, so that users can use them both for games on Nintendo's video game systems and for its mobile apps, and it will also provide membership service benefits in real-life facilities such as theme parks and movie theaters.
On December 1, 2016, in addition to a new template and site navigation, My Nintendo added child account support, allowing users under 13 years to use the service with parental or guardian control. Adult user accounts can also add children between the age of 13 and 17 inclusively.
Availability
Pre-registration for a Nintendo Account began on February 17, 2016 in sixteen countries. A Nintendo Account is required to sign up on My Nintendo. As of March 31, 2016, the Nintendo Account, and consequently My Nintendo, became officially available in thirty-nine countries at launch. As of December 1, 2016, the number of countries increased to one hundred and fifty-three. The availability of content and methods of collecting points may vary a lot between different territories. As of January 1, 2017, the service became available in South Korea, making it the one hundred and fifty-fourth country that supports My Nintendo.
The following are the sixteen countries that were supported during the pre-registration period, and enjoy full services directly from Nintendo:
The following countries were added at the launch of the My Nintendo service, and may enjoy some services directly from Nintendo, such as a localized Nintendo eShop on the Nintendo 3DS or Wii U at least:
The following countries and self-governed territories were later added throughout 2016 (plus South Korea in January 2017), and most may enjoy little to no direct services from Nintendo, but all are able to connect to Nintendo's mobile apps starting with either Miitomo or Super Mario Run, depending on availability:
Similarly to predecessor Club Nintendo, as well as the Nintendo eShop and Nintendo Network ID, My Nintendo is not IP-restricted, and users from unlisted countries (as well as from listed countries with lesser services) can sign up for a Nintendo Account and use the service, in a country address different from their own without any known repercussions. However, persistent limits of the selected regional Nintendo eShop of choice applies. Regardless, My Nintendo is supported in far more countries than Club Nintendo was, and Nintendo is planning to expand the official roster of country support over time, albeit many of the countries added later may be limited to only Nintendo mobile app support.