At the moment, Nintendo fans’ priorities are on the recent addition of the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. For an extra price, fans can gain access to a library of Nintendo 64 games (something that was hotly demanded for ages) and Sega Mega Drive games. However, coincidentally, it’s been discovered that My Nintendo has received an update too, although arguably not for the better.
For anyone unfamiliar with it, My Nintendo is a website where people can earn and spend the Nintendo Points they earn from either purchasing games or completing certain missions in mobile titles like Fire Emblem Heroes, Super Mario Run, and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. Aside from rewards for content in those aforementioned games, Nintendo fans can download themed wallpapers for their PC or mobile phone and even buy special physical goods like notepads and postcards.
Or at least they could, as the My Nintendo update, as spotted by Nintendo Life, has removed the option to purchase physical rewards. All that’s left are the in-game rewards for the mobile titles, the wallpapers, and select Nintendo 3DS software, which even then is limited to 3DS themes, Flipnote 3D, and the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Picross game.
Nintendo has not made an official statement regarding their removal, but the timing seems odd since it had only recently added new Metroid Dread posters to accompany the game’s release on October 8. Curiously, the European version of My Nintendo appears to be unaffected and is still offering physical rewards, raising the possibility that their removal on the American version is simply a mistake that requires fixing.
Some might say that My Nintendo is in dire need of an update, but instead of removing rewards, Nintendo should be adding more. As it stands, there isn’t really much on offer. While My Nintendo Points can be used to get discounts on digital Nintendo Switch purchases, those can only be done on the console, with no option to do so on the website. The range of physical goods is arguably limited as well. Nintendo used to offer physical CDs for game soundtracks through My Nintendo, which is something almost every Nintendo fan would happily spend real money on.
If Nintendo has decided to stop selling physical goods through My Nintendo, it would be disappointing news, but most fans would probably be more concerned with the current drama surrounding the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. Not only has it received criticism for being twice as expensive as a regular online subscription, but issues have also arisen with the N64 games, with many citing instances of poor frame rates, input lag, and texture issues.
Source: Nintendo Life