Patent shows new system for Club Nintendo inserts
When you purchase a Nintendo-published game (or a few select third-party releases), each product comes with a registration code for Club Nintendo. But a new patent may indicate that those cards could be phased out for a new system.
In place of the inserts, a code would instead be included on the box itself. This may make registration easier and consumers would be less likely to lose codes.
Naturally questions would arise about the possibility of fraud. However, a fairly in-depth system described in the patent includes preventative measures.
As described by NintendoWorldReport, the finder of the patent:
“While printing the code on the exterior could lead to fraud, Nintendo envisions a system where all registrations are tracked with purchase information. If an account has several duplicate registrations, the customer’s account is flagged and potentially revoked. An example is if a rogue store employee copied and registered serial numbers after selling an item to a customer, but before the customer had a chance to register it.
“The system would also tie in with retailers in an attempt to reduce fraud. Upon purchase, the code is scanned into a computer at the retailer. This tells Nintendo that the product was purchased legitimately, which is of special concern in regard to Nintendo point cards. If customers register a product on Club Nintendo but later return it, the Club Nintendo coins for that product are removed from the account. If a customer has already spent those points, he/she will be disallowed from returning the product. The system would require a computer at each retailer to handle scanning and reporting of the serial numbers.”
We should point out that the patent was published yesterday, but was filed in 2010. Make of that what you will.
