club-nintendoNintendo has announced that it will be closing down Club Nintendo on the 30th September 2015.

After this time, players will be unable to log in, earn or exchange stars for items in the Stars Catalogue.

The closure will be taking place in three stages. On the 1st April, Nintendo will no longer be including product registration cards with its packaged games. Games produced before then, of course, will still contain the cards.

The next step will be taken on the 20th April, when Nintendo will stop people registering products downloaded from the Nintendo eShop, before the final step on the 30th September ending the programme.

You can still register and spend stars until the end of September for any physical releases.

The new versions of the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 3DS XL consoles, which will be released on the 13th February in Europe, will not be eligible for registration in Club Nintendo, but the software included in bundles will still contain the registration cards.

Nintendo added that: “we’ll keep adding more over the coming months, so there’s plenty to spend your Stars on before September 30th 2015.”

Nintendo’s first loyalty programmes, VIP 24:7 and Club Nintendo, launched back in 2002 before being combined into Club Nintendo in 2007. It allowed players to earn and spend stars on exclusive rewards.

Nintendo are planning for a new scheme to replace Club Nintendo, however details are quite thin at the moment. Nintendo has announced though that those who sign up for the new programme during its launch period will be able to download Flipnote Studio 3D on their 3DS for free.

What are your thoughts on this closure?

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