Reader Reviews

Nintendo STARS Catalogue (er, a website)

by Kami

It's not a game. Not hardware. But it is computer-related and I feel it's time someone had the guts to say what most of us have been grumbling about deep inside some of these [discussion] topics for a long, long time.

For those unfamiliar with Nintendo's STARS scheme, here's the deal. When you buy a Cube exclusive product, or a piece of Nintendo hardware, you'll find a small VIP voucher with a code on it. It will have a STARS value (For games it's usually 250 STARS), and you also get them for getting friends to sign up, completing infrequent surveys, and repeat visits to Nintendo's website. Sign up, add the code and watch as your account gets credited with STARS.

But why save them up? Well, you then get to spend them on some of the products featured in the STARS Catalogue. From games to wallpapers, there's a lot on offer. Well, that's the theory.

This excellent idea has some massive drawbacks though. First up, it's the fact that everything of some value is taken in an instant - you just need to trawl a few pages to see the sheer number of "Sold Out" signs. This is sickening as it's a race against the clock (And connection speed, providing it doesn't freeze. Nintendo's site has a really bad habit of seizing up and displaying blank screens... failing to load what you want to load) to get yourself in there to grab what you want. And if you're too late, it's often months before anything gets restocked. Nintendo really has to start addressing that problem. As soon as it can.

The second issue is what is left - i.e. PC stuff - is uninspired, bland, boring and not worth wasting STARS on. 500 STARS for a wallpaper? 5,000 STARS for a Game Boy Player? The balance there is way off, and it shows. No one I have spoken too spends their STARS on any of the PC-related junk. It's just not worth it, when there's plenty of themes, skins and wallpapers out there of much higher quality for absolutely nothing. It's just not right. Not right at all...

And the biggest problem is the inconsistency of service. I got my Zelda Collector's Edition disc in a few weeks, which was cool (Actually, no it wasn't because the collectors edition is rubbish, but that's another review I think!). But I am still waiting for my T-Shirt and Metroid Prime nameplate. And Nintendo won't tell you what's going on. They just won't. So, my STARS have been taken and I face the very real prospect that I'm getting nothing in return. That isn't just frustrating - it's bad customer service and Nintendo should be ashamed. [Speaking from personal experience here, things do take a while to turn up, but my Zelda soundtrack CD did get here eventually. -Ed]

Yeah. The STARS catalogue is a wonderful idea. It's a loyalty scheme which, on the surface, seems sound and reasonable - gives you an excuse to buy Nintendo products really. Save up your STARS, hit the Nintendo site every day or two for 5 STARS a pop, get a few friends to sign up to get more STARS... Rack them up and then watch as they burn a hole through your virtual STARS wallet. But it is marred to the point of oblivion by long delivery times, an at times oddly temperamental website system, very infrequent restocking, bad customer service and some of the worst quality products that you'll ever have the (mis)fortune of setting your eyes on.

When Nintendo get this right, it should be a breakthrough in console marketing, rewarding loyalty with items that make you feel special; games, clothing, branded goods that you can be proud of. It's a great idea. Really. Just, as it stands now, it's not worth it. There's nothing of worth to purchase with your STARS, and no way of being guaranteed you'll get what you ask for when you do get to splash out.