Club Nintendo 3DS Game Card Case (Zelda & Animal Crossing)

[Iwatasan]

NoA tweeted (https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/423279382774292480) a couple hours ago about a new Club Nintendo reward they just put out. It's a game case that holds 18 DS/DSi/3DS game cartridges, and it comes in a Zelda flavor (https://club.nintendo.com/rewards-details/a/44002.do) and an Animal Crossing flavor (https://club.nintendo.com/rewards-details/a/44003.do). Either one you get will set you back 400 coins but the case will come with 3 reversible covers, including a 3DS-themed one and a Mario-themed one in addition to either the Zelda-themed one or the Animal Crossing-themed one.

https://club-catalog.nintendo.com/wcsstore/ClubNintendo/images/catalog/n3ds_game_card_case_zelda_big_2.jpg
https://club-catalog.nintendo.com/wcsstore/ClubNintendo/images/catalog/n3ds_game_card_case_ac_big_2.jpg
It may sell out fast, especially the Zelda one, so if you live in North America, get em while you still can. The recent A Link Between Worlds Poster set sold out pretty fast and so did the multicolored 3DSXL charging docks (although I think those are now available in NoE's Stars Catalogue).

[Matt16]

I really like that Zelda one, shame it's not coming to UK club Nintendo :(

[Platfus]

I really like that Zelda one, shame it's not coming to UK club Nintendo :(

At least you have something like club Nintendo there. Nothing here

[Cosmic_Link]

Oh joy! ^^ I look forward to having my wallet emptied by rip-off eBay sellers... -_-

[KnightOfTruth]

Yes! Now I have something to use my coins on! I was waiting for something like this. Watch them come out with something next month or so for 600 coins like a Zelda statue or something though :-/

Seeing how this'd be my first official CN purchase, are there any recommendations on whether this is a good buy or should I wait? How often does Nintendo release big ticket collection items?

[Platfus]

Why did you get coins? I wanted to redeem some Wii games but it dost work :(

[KnightOfTruth]

Why did you get coins? I wanted to redeem some Wii games but it dost work :(

I've had a ton of Nintendo games/systems over the years and not once did I ever even look up anything about registering or Club Nintendo or anything until someone posted that picture of the Club Nintendo Statue awhile back (which I now own).

So I dusted off all my wii/3ds/etc. games and registered enough of them to get me into the platinum club and was just gonna sit on the rest of them until next "year" (July) and register the rest of those too to ensure I get into Platinum again. Sorry it doesn't work for you though mate :(

I don't wanna use my coins on something that I can buy outright (especially E-shop things) so have just been saving them for something neat. I wasn't really feeling that Luigi statue so just wanna get some "expert advice" on whether I should use my coins on this or save them for some other statue/release thing. I'm just not sure how often they release those things?

[Matt16]

So I dusted off all my wii/3ds/etc. games and registered enough of them to get me into the platinum club and was just gonna sit on the rest of them until next "year" (July) and register the rest of those too to ensure I get into Platinum again. Sorry it doesn't work for you though mate :(


Make sure you register your oldest games first as the codes expire. I've had quite a few I've missed over the years because of this.

[Iwatasan]

I was doing the same thing Knight, what with the Zelda Wii U and 3DS XL and all the games I got for Christmas I'm sitting on a pile of points, but, I thought, why cash them in now when they can get me Platinum status next CN year. But then I was 30 coins short for this game case so I had to do a little more.

In addition to what Matt said about PINs expiring, watch out for Post Play Surveys sitting on your account which I believe will generally expire faster than PINs and you'll miss out on 10 coins per survey for those.

I've been with CN since the beginning and I can tell you that things worth buying, like the gold wii nunchuk for instance, used to pop up like once or twice a year maybe, but to me it seems like since toward the end of last year there's been new stuff I like popping up every few weeks or so. Who knows if that trend will continue, but it does seem like they're kinda trying harder. There was the ALBW poster set, the 3DS XL charging cradle, the Luigi statue you mentioned, and now this game case. I wouldn't hold your breath for a Zelda statue or anything.

Any advice I could give you would be hit or miss...I went for this game case and now have 20 coins in my account, and I'm gonna just wait till July for Platinum Status to reset before registering more PINs (none of which are old enough to worry about expiring). If something nice comes out between now and then I'll just have to buy it second hand. My strategy here is just to hope that 2015's elite status reward is as cool as the Majora's Mask soundtrack they had last year. Trouble is you just never know, and my strategy could be all wrong. Between now and July they could come out with another thing that sells out in a day and resells on eBay for $75. And 2015's Elite Status reward might be a crappy set of pencils or something, and then I would be regretting not spending my points on the $75 thing instead. It's a crapshoot. :lmao:

[Twisted]

I say go for this case...actual tangible "physical" items that are game related are rare on US club Nintendo..we get a lot of hand towels, pencil holders, shoe laces, posters, paper cards, more posters, more paper stuff etc...the game case is something you should definitely go for..400 coins is reasonable because otherwise you can get paper posters for around that as opposed to this actual item.

[KnightOfTruth]

Okay, thanks for the recommendation guys and the honest assessment Iwatasan! I can't see this thing being sold for more than $25 or so on Ebay when people start posting it more, especially since its not actually a zelda case, its just a case that has a paper print-out of Zelda-related stuff (among a few others) included with it. I had gotten all the way to the last "order now" button, but I'm just not going to have enough money this year to boost my coins back up if they do release something that'll cost more than $25. I think I'll take my chance that they release something a little better... particularly with the potential release of a new Zelda in 2014 and spend the $20 or so in cash after the fact. <so much pressure eeeeeeek>

There's no rush to spend these though right? Do they expire or something? I saw that they released that crazy limited Zelda thing way back when and it was like 10,000 coins/stars or whatever -- so you must be able to save 'em up across years right?

Thanks again for posting this on here though! These kind of updates here are super great, especially if we post them before they hit the Kotaku/Joystiq/IGN rounds as those Nintendo collectibles seem to fly away pretty fast once word gets out.

Edit: Also, does it cost coins to redeem for the Platinum prize? Or do you just pick one after you've reached 600 (even if you've spent them all already?)

[Matt16]

There's no rush to spend these though right? Do they expire or something? I saw that they released that crazy limited Zelda thing way back when and it was like 10,000 coins/stars or whatever -- so you must be able to save 'em up across years right?


Assuming the US site is like ours, the points expire after a year. At least I think its a year but they definitely do expire :(

[Twisted]

it maybe a little longer than a year, but YES USA points expire as well.

[Iwatasan]

I just checked on eBay, and at least for the Japanese version of these, prices are a little under $25. I just got an e-mail from Nintendo that mine had been shipped today, so we should see the North American version popping up on eBay soon too. I did see one already for $28. Wait another week or so until eBay gets flooded with these and the price might go down to $20 or less.

That crazy limited Zelda thing you're talking about is the fully gold painted (and, I think, pretty damn ugly to be honest) Twilight Princess statue. That was CN of Europe exclusive, for 15,000 stars. There is a difference in exchange value, if you will, between stars and coins. You generally get 40 to 60 coins per game here whereas you generally get 250 stars per game in Europe. Still, that would have been something like at least 3,000 coins if it had ever been featured in the North American catalog. A couple ideas for you to earn coins faster: register for a family account, which allows you to register more than one copy of the same game if you have multiples; and buy points directly from eBay for cheap.

The Platinum Elite Status is achieved by earning a cumulative total of 600 coins in one CN year, even if you spend some or all of them over the course of that year. So for example, if you earn 200 coins, spend 150, earn 300 more, spend 250, earn 100 more, and spend 200 in the course of a CN year, you end up with zero coins in your account come July, and at no point did you ever actually have a full 600 coins in your account, but you will have earned Platinum Status by achieving a cumulative total of 600 coins year-to-date. And you don't spend any coins on the reward you get for that, just go and pick which one you want and it's free. They ship the following December.

[Matt16]

That crazy limited Zelda thing you're talking about is the fully gold painted (and, I think, pretty damn ugly to be honest) Twilight Princess statue.

I like my Zelda statue :(

Each to their own though ;)

[Iwatasan]

Haha, sorry. I kinda figured somebody would say that. It probably looks better in person. And no question it's very rare and valuable, a true collector's piece. I just think they should have colored it. Too much gold for my taste. :D

[KnightOfTruth]

Haha, sorry. I kinda figured somebody would say that. It probably looks better in person. And no question it's very rare and valuable, a true collector's piece. I just think they should have colored it. Too much gold for my taste. :D

Awesome, thanks! That answered all my questions! And yeah, since I just signed up for CN I missed the soundtrack too, but Ebay is flooded with them, so I'll pick one up in the next month or so.

Also, I didn't mean the gold statue (which I'm not a fan of either unless someone was gonna sell it to me cheap) but I think it was Zelda:MM or ST or one of those extremely limited editions that they released only through CN (or so I recall).

I love that there are so many Zelda collectors/experts on here though! You all rock!

[Iwatasan]

Awesome, thanks! That answered all my questions! And yeah, since I just signed up for CN I missed the soundtrack too, but Ebay is flooded with them, so I'll pick one up in the next month or so.

Also, I didn't mean the gold statue (which I'm not a fan of either unless someone was gonna sell it to me cheap) but I think it was Zelda:MM or ST or one of those extremely limited editions that they released only through CN (or so I recall).

I love that there are so many Zelda collectors/experts on here though! You all rock!
I just bought myself a couple of the MM OST's last week, one for $28 and one for $30. One arrived yesterday. :) When I get the second one, I'll keep the mintier one sealed and open the other. So if you care more about the music than the CD itself and you want to save your money...or if you care about both but want to keep your copy sealed and don't want to buy two copies like I did...let me know and I'll get you a nice clean rip (unless I'm breaking forum rules here, in which case forget I said anything!). :D

Now, what in the world are you referring to if not the gold statue? As far as I know, the only games they've had in the catalog, at least in North America, are the rotating selection of regular Wii/3DS eShop titles you can buy with coins, and a few Game & Watch Collection games. Oh yeah, and "Grill-off with Ultra Hand". :P But no "extremely limited editions" of anything as far as I know, definitely not of Zelda. Oh wait, there was a special edition of Punch Out they made specially for Wii as a Platinum Reward back in 2009 I think it was. If anyone has a soft-modded Wii and wants the .WAD for that let me know (again, unless I'm breaking forum rules, in which case forget I said anything!). :D So please do share what you know, because if I missed something Zelda from Club Nintendo I definitely want to know about it! :thumb:

[KnightOfTruth]

Thanks for the offer, but I'll be looking for my own original copy w/Club Nintendo card for the collection :)

I'll have to look back to find out which Zelda thing it was, but it wasn't on the US site anyway -- I think it was only on the UK site. I could be totally mis-remembering here as I've been doing a lot of Zelda research lately-- but I recall someone saying somewhere that they got one of those super rare limited Big-Box edition Zelda games from Nintendo for a kajillion stars or something. Maybe it was the Ages/Seasons one? I'll see if I can find that info again.

[Cosmic_Link]

He's referring to the Minish Cap Big Box set which was given away on CN in Europe back when Minish Cap and the GBA SP came out. It was 15,000 star value and you also had to pay 100GBP cash if memory serves.

[Iwatasan]

Ah, I didn't know that thing was from Club Nintendo, good info!

[Iwatasan]

Well here it is. I got the Zelda one obviously, not the Animal Crossing one. It came in an unpadded shipping bag with the little Toad card you see below which is just blank white on the back. All three interchangeable cover art inserts came inserted in the case (3DS Art on the outside, Mario in the middle, and Zelda on the inside), and the case was sealed with a cheap "resealable" polybag (the adhesive was stronger than the plastic so mine ripped trying to get it open :().

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7449/12265645143_afac73b97c_o.jpg
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3687/12265644733_d7113804a3_o.jpg
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3769/12265926734_9e9055e7cb_o.jpg
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2875/12265492395_900bddecae_o.jpg
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3823/12265926024_326f2bee78_o.jpg
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3715/12265925514_287a1fe358_o.jpg
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3813/12265643003_7004124ca5_o.jpg
Pretty sturdy little case and definitely has functional value. Looks like as of now the Zelda one is sold out on Club Nintendo but you can still buy the Animal Crossing one. These have sold on eBay from $8.50 for a broken one all the way up to $29.00, so your prediction was spot on, Knight.

While searching eBay for this, another card case set kept popping up in my results. I thought maybe it was Japanese or European at first, but no, this one is North American too. Released in February 2012, and yes it has Zelda. Damn, no idea how I missed this. It's selling for the same and a little more than the one we've been discussing here. A little research (http://nintendoeverything.com/new-digital-download-rewards-3ds-game-card-case-added-to-club-nintendo/) shows it only cost 250 coins at the time AND it came with 4 cover art inserts instead of 3. Go figure. I'm thinking you made the right choice holding your coins Knight! :banghead:

http://nintendoeverything.com/wp-content/gallery/3ds-game-card-case-club-nintendo/3ds_game_case_club_nintendo-2.jpg

Edit: Oh yeah and since we were talking about it here I got the other Majora's Mask OST I was expecting so PM me if you want a rip.

[Platfus]

I wish sony would do similar thing for purchasing games and maybe earning trophies.

[Cosmic_Link]

Well here it is. I got the Zelda one obviously, not the Animal Crossing one. It came in an unpadded shipping bag with the little Toad card you see below which is just blank white on the back. All three interchangeable cover art inserts came inserted in the case (3DS Art on the outside, Mario in the middle, and Zelda on the inside), and the case was sealed with a cheap "resealable" polybag (the adhesive was stronger than the plastic so mine ripped trying to get it open :().

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7449/12265645143_afac73b97c_o.jpg
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3687/12265644733_d7113804a3_o.jpg
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3769/12265926734_9e9055e7cb_o.jpg
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2875/12265492395_900bddecae_o.jpg
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3823/12265926024_326f2bee78_o.jpg
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3715/12265925514_287a1fe358_o.jpg
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3813/12265643003_7004124ca5_o.jpg
Pretty sturdy little case and definitely has functional value. Looks like as of now the Zelda one is sold out on Club Nintendo but you can still buy the Animal Crossing one. These have sold on eBay from $8.50 for a broken one all the way up to $29.00, so your prediction was spot on, Knight.

While searching eBay for this, another card case set kept popping up in my results. I thought maybe it was Japanese or European at first, but no, this one is North American too. Released in February 2012, and yes it has Zelda. Damn, no idea how I missed this. It's selling for the same and a little more than the one we've been discussing here. A little research (http://nintendoeverything.com/new-digital-download-rewards-3ds-game-card-case-added-to-club-nintendo/) shows it only cost 250 coins at the time AND it came with 4 cover art inserts instead of 3. Go figure. I'm thinking you made the right choice holding your coins Knight! :banghead:

http://nintendoeverything.com/wp-content/gallery/3ds-game-card-case-club-nintendo/3ds_game_case_club_nintendo-2.jpg

Edit: Oh yeah and since we were talking about it here I got the other Majora's Mask OST I was expecting so PM me if you want a rip.

Yeah, we had a case like that on Euro CN, which came with Mario inserts. Might just try and snag a cheap broken one since all I want is the inserts. :D

Cheers for the pics! ^^

[Twisted]

SONY has a program,..but you earn points towards general sony products..not special items like club Nintendo...I am not sure about the current status of "club sony" USA..but it was announced with a splash in late 2012/2013?..and then the buzz on the internet died down..but basically you registered points from PS3 games and you could redeem them for sony headsets, and tvs, and other PS3 games.etc.but they required a lot of points..and nothing was really exclusive..not sure of the status of it now though.

[Platfus]

It wouldn't work here in CZ though. Even ni tendo had problems with us.

[KnightOfTruth]

Anyone know what the difference in the "thank you" card is about? It seems some people got the Mario one, others the Luigi one, and obviously the Toad one shown above? Is it by region or just random?

Also, why do I have this huge desire to collect all of those?? :(

[Iwatasan]

Ah yeah, I saw that too on eBay. There's a Peach one too. Total guess here but I'd say it's random, not by region or anything. Hard to say if any of them is more rare than the others. But I can say this card case is the first thing I've ordered from the catalog that came with one of these cards, and unlike the Mario one that came with the Majora's Mask soundtrack (and apparently the 2014 calendar (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Club-Nintendo-2014-Calendar-Elite-Gold-Status-Gift-Brand-New-SEALED-/231148504405?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35d1864555))?which says "Congratulations on Achieving Elite Status!"?these Mario/Luigi/Peach/Toad cards say "Thank you from Club Nintendo. We appreciate your continued feedback & loyalty. We hope you enjoy your [nonspecific] Club Nintendo Reward." And it looks like they are now being included with just about any reward you can order from the catalog (Cleaning Cloth (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Club-Nintendo-YOSHI-CLEANING-CLOTH-Exclusive-New-Rare-HTF-/131108772755?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e86b11b93), Wii Remote Holder (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wii-Remote-Holder-Club-Nintendo-/171234665272?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27de61a338), Pen Case (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Club-Nintendo-Pen-Case-Brand-New-/271384705035?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f2fc9f80b), Luigi Pouch (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Luigi-3DS-Carrying-Pouch-Club-Nintendo-/181315049115?pt=US_Video_Game_Cases_Bags&hash=item2a3738169b), Mario Pouch (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Club-Nintendo-3DS-Pouch-Mario-Edition-/201010434354?pt=US_Video_Game_Cases_Bags&hash=item2ecd27d132), etc). I got one of the Wii Remote Holders back in June 2011 and I'm 100% sure it did not come with one of these cards or anything else, but it does now apparently.

[KnightOfTruth]

Just saw that the Link Between Worlds Poster set is back up for 500 coins!! Does anyone know If the poster from the Game UK CE is one of the ones included or are these all different?

[Likey]

The poster is the same design. So for 500 coins you get 3 separate posters?

Thanks for reminding me about 3DS, I still had to claim my free Super Mario 3D Land so I'm doing it right now. :)

The code would have expired on 14th March! :/

[Cosmic_Link]

Speaking of 3DS, USA get Pokemans X or Y when registering a console this month. That's pretty cool. :D

http://club2.nintendo.com/3ds-pokemon-promo/

[KnightOfTruth]

Speaking of 3DS, USA get Pokemans X or Y when registering a console this month. That's pretty cool. :D

http://club2.nintendo.com/3ds-pokemon-promo/

Yeah, unfortunately I registered my 3DS a month or two early :(

Also, Cosmic, can you verify that the poster included with Game UK's CE is the same offered in the 3-set Link To The Past poster offer by CN? Just wanted to verify if that one is the same exact poster or a different size etc.

[Cosmic_Link]

The poster image is the same, but the GAME UK poster is larger with it being A0 size, it is roughly 33 x 46 inches.

The CN posters are 22 x 28.

[Likey]

Just wondering, how hard is it to save up 500 coins to get the posters?

In the UK, each game is worth 250 points and if you do the survey you get another 250. I'm pretty new to Nintendo Club so I can't say much more.

[Cosmic_Link]

Just wondering, how hard is it to save up 500 coins to get the posters?

In the UK, each game is worth 250 points and if you do the survey you get another 250. I'm pretty new to Nintendo Club so I can't say much more.

Well going by the front page on Nintendo.com CN catalogue, I'd say it's a fair challenge. Systems net you 120 coins each. I assume that games are about 30-50.

[KnightOfTruth]

Well going by the front page on Nintendo.com CN catalogue, I'd say it's a fair challenge. Systems net you 120 coins each. I assume that games are about 30-50.

Indeed. Depending on the game, its anywhere between 10-40 usually. Then you can get another 10 coins for doing the survey. And sometimes another 10 if you do a pre-buy survey (which is more time limited). They gave more for bundles such as the Wii Fit bundle (which was 100 coins I believe) etc.

So 500 can take quite awhile. For whatever reason I didn't get any points with the Wii itself which is sad, cuz I could've used that extra 120 :(

[KnightOfTruth]

Well didn't really feel like starting a new thread (unless a mod thinks we should) but looks like this years CN rewards are out... And I'm very disappointed in the freebies we get here in the states... Just game downloads, and most (if not all) appear to not even be unique :-/ what's everyone else's thoughts? I've already got Earthbound for the snes, and seems like the only platinum game I'd even be interested in :(

[Iwatasan]

This is bullshit

[Twisted]

I was pretty pissed off myself!!!..I was rather excited and looking forward to it..something physical that is,..maybe a new smash brothers diorama?..or maybe a special swag item with the club Nintendo logo on it celebrating the triumph of Mario kart 8 or a nice complimentary item to the 2DS...But instead we get washed up has been fairly common digital games,..or games that are easily obtainable from the eshops..,..to me, with the current items available at US club Nintendo, and the annual reward offerings, I say club Nintendo US hit rock bottom right now,..i was expecting much more, especially after there much celebrated E3 showings.

[KnightOfTruth]

I know I really shouldn't complain because technically its free (save the time spent on surveys), but I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who is severely disappointed. What am I suppose to put on my shelf next to all my other platinum award "thank you cards" and paraphernalia?

Has anything from other regions been announced yet?

[Iwatasan]

...to me, with the current items available at US club Nintendo, and the annual reward offerings, I say club Nintendo US hit rock bottom right now,..i was expecting much more, especially after there much celebrated E3 showings.
I just noticed this, lol. There's two sets of greeting cards, one poster set, those old Kirby patches, and a 3DS pouch. The rest is digital game downloads, and not very many of those either. Looks as if they might be dumping their physical product inventory and going all-digital with their rewards. :rant:

By the way, I chose Game & Wario as my reward, which is a $29.99 value (from the eShop) and worth another 50 coins. Already have EarthBound but that would be another good choice. Anyone tried NES Remix to know if it's any fun? I hear there's a retail release of NES Remix 1 & 2 coming for Christmas so I'll probably hold out for that.

If you have an extra 250 coins in your account the original Paper Mario (N64 version) can be bought from the Rewards Catalog until tomorrow. $10 value, for Wii or "Wii mode" on Wii U.