My Nintendo

My Nintendo

Developer	Nintendo
Type	Loyalty program
Launch date	JP: March 17, 2016 WW: March 31, 2016
Website	my.nintendo.com

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 worldwide in March 2016, releasing alongside Nintendo's first mobile app, Miitomo.

"My Nintendo" was also the name of a registration program provided by Nintendo of America that launched in 2002.^[1] 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.^[2] This service was replaced by a North American version of Club Nintendo in December 2008.^[3]

Features

A Nintendo Account is required to benefit from My Nintendo; a My Nintendo profile is automatically granted to all Nintendo Account users after signing up. Users can then log in into My Nintendo using said Nintendo Account or via a linked Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or a Nintendo Network ID (NNID) account. (Users who sign up for a Nintendo Account via their social media or NNID account are still required to verify an E-mail address to their Nintendo Account.) A Nintendo Account can be created via web browser or on a Nintendo Switch.

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 other digital items such as 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 (formerly) Miiverse weekly. App-centric Platinum Points are earned by clearing missions within Nintendo's mobile apps, such as (formerly) 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.^[4] On March 6, 2018, the ability to use Gold Points in the Nintendo Switch eShop became available.^[5]

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.^[6] 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, 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."^[7]

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."^[8] On September 30, 2015, it was discontinued in all other regions.^[9][10]

In October 2015, during a Japanese shareholder's meeting, then-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.^[11] 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.^[12][13][14] 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.^[11]

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.^[15]

Availability

Pre-registration for a Nintendo Account began on February 17, 2016 in 16 territories. 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 39 territories at launch. As of November 1, 2016, the number of territories increased to 60. As of December 1, 2016, the number of territories increased to 153. As of January 1, 2017, the service became available in South Korea, making it the one hundred and fifty-fourth territory that supports My Nintendo. As of March 22, 2017, the number of territories supported increased to 165. The availability of reward content and methods of collecting points may vary a lot between different territories.

The following are the 16 territories that were supported during the pre-registration period, and enjoy full services directly from Nintendo:

The following territories 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 at least:

The following territories were later added throughout 2016, 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:

The following territories were added throughout 2017. These later additions were initially implemented to officially support an increased global reach of Super Mario Run:

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 territories (as well as from listed territories 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 territories than Club Nintendo was, and Nintendo is planning to expand the official roster of territory support over time, albeit many of the territories added later may be limited to only Nintendo mobile app support.

References

External links

• Official website