By Noooo, please don’t let it end!
Nintendo has announced that it is terminating the My Nintendo Gold Points initiative, stating that it will be impossible to earn points from March 24, 2025 (or March 25 depending on your location). Conversely, Platinum Points will remain unaffected.
Gold Points were earned through the purchase of both digital and physical Switch games, allowing you to apply them to future digital acquisitions for a substantial discount. Even at a mere 5% of the purchase price (with occasional additional promotions), it was undeniably one of the most enticing rewards on the platform and a fantastic way to save a little extra cash for those upcoming major first-party titles.
Nintendo has noted that there are a few scenarios in which you may still be able to earn points after the cutoff date. The first is if you pre-order a digital game before March 24. Although the transaction occurs after this date, you can still earn the corresponding points.
The second scenario involves purchasing an eligible physical Switch game following the cutoff date, as long as the purchase is completed within the first year of the game’s initial release (and that release occurs before March 24, of course).
Nintendo has also clarified that Gold Points will be redeemable for up to 300 days after you earn them, even if this goes well beyond March 24. However, it is currently unclear if this will apply to purchases made on the forthcoming Switch 2.
Speaking of which, we are quite confident that Nintendo will likely replace the Gold Points program with a similar initiative once the Switch 2 establishes its presence. The company will undoubtedly want that extra 5% during the initial rush for the new console, but we wouldn’t be overly surprised if a new approach is revealed sometime in 2025 or 2026.
For now, though, this is rather disappointing.