Club Nintendo Reward Makes Me Insane With Jealousy

I had long envied the Japanese Club Nintendo by the time it finally launched here in the US late last year, and to be honest, I was initially a little disappointed by the so-called exclusive goods being offered by the US club. Still, that didn't stop me from signing up day-one and digging out the serial numbers and registration codes for all the various Nintendo products I had accumulated to accrue precious " coins," hoping that someday there'd be something worth having.

And finally, there is, though sure enough, I haven't purchased enough Nintendo products to get it. Club Nintendo assigns status levels based on how many coins you earn, and at the end of a year (which, inexplicably, ended on June 30th) it offers members cool little extras based on their status. I had made it to gold status, which means I get a Club Nintendo wall calendar. (Please note the sarcastic quotes when I say "yay.") Had I made it to platinum status, I would've got to choose between a pretty legit-looking Mario hat, and Doc Louis's Punch-Out!!, a standalone Wiiware game that pits you as Little Mac against your trainer Doc.

Nintendo's saying that this is the only way you can get Doc Louis's Punch-Out!!, which means that if you're reading this, and you didn't already hit platinum status on your Club Nintendo account, you are SOL. Here's my hypocrisy laid out bare: If I had made it to platinum status, I'd relish the fact that this is the only way to get the game. But, since I didn't, I find myself rationalizing how it would only make sense for Nintendo to release Doc Louis's Punch-Out!! to the general public, and that they are fools for limiting the reach of what is, really, a pretty inconsequential little gimme. Check out the first screenshots and join in my fuming petty jealousy.