Japan’s Club Nintendo program has a new set of exclusive merchandise to reward their faithful fans with. Trading in points received from registering Nintendo products, members will be able to acquire limited edition items like themed hanafuda playing cards, stylish stylus and cart cases, and a Game & Watch Collection DS game (includes Donkey Kong, Oil Panic, and Greenhouse).

Unless some foolhardy miscreants decide to pull a Hong Kong shuffle and hijack Club Nintendo’s next shipment, don’t expect to see these prizes make their way to western shores. I suppose this is America’s punishment for not completing the switch over from the GBA to the DS yet. Iwata compared the dual screen’s success in Japan to our passable numbers in the states, and explained, “See. This is why you can’t have nice things.”

One can only hope that Nintendo of America’s recent promotions and revitalized ambition will bring about a reworked system for rewarding loyal customers. Comparing our current benefits with Club Nintendo’s leaves an emptiness in our hearts that three free issues of Nintendo Power does little to replace.

New Club Nintendo Presents (JP)

First 4 Figures hasn’t gotten the no-nice-things-for-North-America memo yet, and has been planning a Kanden collectible for fans of the Metroid Prime Hunters character. Scaled down to nine inches, the bounty hunter’s ability to pwn noobs will be dramatically decreased, but his size should still be enough to make your other figures feel inadequate. Neither the release date or price have been announced, but F4F has posted a model that you can check out and immaturely edit with Photoshop like we did.

Kanden Collectible