Nintendohas just announced the discontinuation of Gold Points, a much-loved system for fans to earn free points with their purchases.Previously, players could earn points through buying both physical or online games, granting them a discount on future purchases. While these points usually only give a small amount per game, players could save up to use them however they please, incentivizing many to buy more and make the most of them.
Unfortunately,Nintendohas confirmed thattheir Gold Point system is set to be discontinued from June 18, 2025, leaving players bewildered. As one gamer comments, ‘Well that was certainly unexpected’, it definitely seems strange for Nintendo to be making this move so close to the launch of the Switch 2. Another adds ‘I hope they make a similar system in the future’, suggesting that players will miss this service greatly.
What’s Happening To Nintendo Gold Points?
Nintendo Are Ending The Gold Point System
Just next month,on March 25th, 2025, Nintendo will be ending the Gold Point system on their Nintendo eShop, making the serviceeven less appealing to players. This means that purchases will no longer give out free points unless a game was pre-ordered before then. Physical games can still be used to redeem Gold Points after this date though, so long as they are released before the deadline of March 25th.
Nintendo’s 3DS, Wii U Store Closures Hurt Game Preservation & Trust
Nintendo is closing its 3DS and Wii U eShops. The handling of Virtual Console backward compatibility damages game preservation and consumer trust.
With this in mind,players should look to start spending their Gold Points within the next 12 months or so, as the ways to stock up become much more limited. Though the points will still be available for a year after the date of being earned, it’ll be much harder to consistently buy physical releases to amass points than the previous eShop sales that many took advantage of. Without this system, there wouldn’t be a way for anyone to get a little money off their purchases just for making purchases.
Will Nintendo Replace Gold Points?
The Switch 2 Is A Great Reason For Something New To Be Coming
After therecent announcement of the Nintendo Switch 2,it seems incredibly strange for Nintendo to be removing the Gold Point system entirely.With the console set for release sometime in 2025, it certainly leaves many questioning whether something new is coming alongside it to excite players about the launch, perhaps redesigning the system completely. It’s hard to know for sure though, as discontinuing Gold Points seems like a very final decision when Nintendo could’ve gone through other routes.
Witha lot of games anticipated for the new Switch 2, a points system would’ve certainly been a great incentive for many to pick up plentiful games on the console’s launch. Without it, some players might be more hesitant to make purchases on the platform, especially as other platforms do give gamers these rewards. While it’s impossible to know whatNintendois scheming, we can only hope it’s something bigger and better.
