Nintendo’s excellent Gold Points reward program is going the way of Ultima on March 24. The program first launched in March 2016 and allowed customers to earn points for purchasing both physical and digital games, and those points could be used toward future purchases. Earned points were equivalent to roughly 5% of the price, so a $60 purchase would give the shopper around $3.
That said, you can still use any Gold Points you have saved up, and you can continue to earn them until March 24. After that, you won’t be able to earn additional points, but any existing points will remain valid for 12 months after you received them. There’s another caveat: any physical game purchases can still be redeemed for points, even after the cutoff date.
The reasoning behind Nintendo’s decision isn’t clear. The company issued a statement, but it provided no information beyond boilerplate comments. “We thank you for supporting the My Nintendo Rewards program, and hope you will continue to enjoy the other features of the program.”
The timing of the decision is also suspect, falling ahead of the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct on April 2. Although the company has not explicitly stated the discontinuation is related to the launch of the Switch 2, it’s difficult not to suspect otherwise. However, it’s also likely that Nintendo plans to introduce a new or re-structured loyalty program with the announcement of the console.
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If you have physical games that you haven’t redeemed yet, now is a great time to do so. The Nintendo eShop holds regular sales, and using your Gold Points is a great way to stock up on low-cost indie titles for next to nothing.
The sudden announcement isn’t out of the ordinary for Nintendo. The company has a history of axing existing programs, often with next to no warning ahead of time. A similar situation occurred with the closure of the Wii U and 3DS eShops in 2023.
