This week Nintendo released the DSi and its accompanying application download service, the DSi Shop.  Akin to the Wii Shop Channel, consumers will be able to purchase and download software directly to their DSi systems with the price of the software ranging from free to 800+ DSi Points (800 points is roughly $8).  The first round of “DSi Ware” includes an opera-powered web browser (free) and 5 games with WarioWare: Stacked! (500 DSi Points) as the noticeable standout of the bunch.  With many thinking the new handheld platform is too pricey ($169.99), Nintendo is trying to sweeten the deal for the early adopters by giving owners 1,000 free DSi Points if you purchase one before October.

Conversely, Nintendo also released one Wii Ware title and one Virtual Console title on the Wii Shop Channel this Monday as they do like clockwork.  The two titles are being released for 500 and 800 Wii points, respectively.  That is Wii Points, not DSi Points.  You see, those are two separate entities.  To continue the confusion, the Big N is changing the previously entitled “Wii Points cards” that you could purchase in the brick and mortar stores to “Nintendo Points cards.”  You then take your purchased or received Nintendo Points card and enter the code into the console you wish to purchase downloads.  Once redeemed those points are converted to either DSi Points or Wii Points, never to be changed again.  It would be as if you purchased a white t-shirt and were told you can dye it red or dye it blue, that’s it.  As 21st century consumers, I say: what if we wanted it tie dyed?

Unfortunately, tie dyed benefits the consumer and not Nintendo.  By having two separate imaginary currencies Nintendo has placed itself in an excellent position to earn twice the amount of money you were previously spending to download software.  If you own a Wii and a DSi and wanted to purchase DSi Ware, Wii Ware and Virtual Console titles, you must purchase points for both systems and with 2,000 points (or $20) as the lowest denomination, that means you’ve immediately given Nintendo at least $40 and that does not include future point purchases based on leftovers.  Users find themselves stuck with small point denominations in their accounts.  For example, in the Wii Shop Channel, you add 2,000 points to your account.  You then purchase a NES game, a Turbografix16 game and a Genesis game.  Doing the math, that leaves you (2,000 – 500 – 600 – 800 =)  100 Wii points that you cannot spend left over in your account.  Now you purchase more points to utilize the left over 100 points and they have you.  Multiply those actions by two as each console has its own point system and you can clearly see why the Big N does not want consolidation.

The solution to this flawed system seems simple enough; especially with their release of Club Nintendo here in North America approximately six months ago.  Club Nintendo is a rewards system that awards participants “coins” based on purchases of Wii games (50 coins), DS games (30 coins) and Wii Ware games (10 coins).  Participants then are able to redeem their coins for prizes such as trading cards, DS covers or a DS game.  Club Nintendo keeps an awful lot of information about me in their database.  Console game purchases, channels and games downloaded from the Wii Shop channel, purchasing habits, the serial numbers to all my past and present consoles and my address.  With all that information, I see no reason why I could not have a universal wallet that I manage from my Club Nintendo account.  At the moment, I have to re-enter my credit card into the Wii Shop Channel to purchase more points.  They would be able to ease this repetitive burden by giving us the ability to use our universal Nintendo Points direct from our Club Nintendo accounts.   Nintendo can even help their bottom line by having an auto-replenish function that purchases Nintendo Points the moment the point total dips below 500 points.  Since the Club Nintendo account is already password protected, that would stop underage users from abusing the purchasing process on each console.

While understanding Nintendo’s position and the company’s past precedence, I know that this is only a pipe dream.  A pipe dream for Nintendo, that is.  The Sony Playstation®Network’s wallet can be used to purchase downloadable content for both the PS3 and the PSP, can be divided into sub-accounts that have monthly spending limits and parental controls and can be set up to automatically deduct money from a credit card to replenish the wallet.  Nintendo, the technology is available to help your brand-loyal consumers; please implement this soon, or at least sooner than the two and a half years it took you to provide a storage solution.

Ever think you’d be jealous of the PSN?