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Nintendo show their true colors when a fan loses everything in a fire photo

I've gotten comfortable with the fact that the Nintendo of today is not the same company I was once enamoured withas a child, and that's ok with me -- they're still changing the face of gaming, whether it appeals to my demograpic or not. Still, I'm a person who is always happy to hear a story about kindness, and Nintendo took part in just such a story recently.

GoNintendo brought us a story about a 21 year old Nintendo fan who lost the home he lived in with his parents to a disasterous fire on September 19th of last year. He lost a large Nintendo collection that included every console the company released plus lots of games and miscelleneous items.

He contacted Nintendo to inquire about suspending his WiiWare account since he planned to buy a new Wii and ended up sharing the story with them about what happened. About two weeks later, Nintendo's Customer Service department contacted him to ask how he and his family were faring and to tell him they would like to replace his Wii and Gameboy Advance SP -- for free.

Sure, it makes Nintendo look good, but it also goes above and beyond the call of duty, and that got a smile on my face today. Best of luck to GoNintendo reader PsyduckWarrior, and here's to hoping things get back to normal for you and your family soon.

 


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28 comments | showing # 1 to 28

Bigby's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/02/2009 11:05
Bigby
Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy....in my pants. Though I am surprised they didn't replace his NES, N64, Virtual Boy, Original Game Boy, DS, Super NES, and so on, with every game they ever made. EVER. Maybe that's asking too much.
MrSadistic's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/02/2009 11:06
MrSadistic
Heh, I was expecting some customer rep laughing in his face or something. Well good for them anyway.
coffeesash's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/02/2009 11:16
coffeesash
That is kind of nice of the original operator and team, I guess, but only replacing the Wii and the SP seems to benefit them a lot more from a PR standpoint than that poor guy.
Crunshii's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/02/2009 11:16
Crunshii
o well, least they did something with what they could.

Honestly Nintendo doesn't make those systems anymore, so that's probably why.
F Whipple's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/02/2009 11:17
F Whipple
Wow...way to go ninty!
megaStryke's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/02/2009 11:19
megaStryke
@coffeesash

They didn't HAVE to do that, you know. It's a kind gesture.
Emrah's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/02/2009 11:19
Emrah
Next week's headline:
Deranged gamer burns parents house for a free Wii, says he was inspired by last weeks events..
Blind assassin's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/02/2009 11:25
Blind assassin
@ people wondering why Nintendo only replaced two systems

Nintendo doesn't make the other systems anymore. They would have to go out and buy the systems from somewhere or dig through all their warehouses to see if there's a box covered in dust that might contain an old system.

And wasn't there another story like this that ran a few months back? Nintendo seems to do a decent job of handling their long-term fans even if they aren't making reams of hardcore games for them.
Char Aznable's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/02/2009 11:37
Char Aznable
That's cool, good to hear something positive.

Nobody has a "die in a fire" joke? Come on, people.
Amethystine's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/02/2009 11:38
Amethystine
That's pretty awesome. I half agree with the people who have said that it was sort of self serving for Nintendo to ensure brand loyalty and have that user continue to buy their games.

But it's still rather nice!
eternalplayer2345's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/02/2009 11:39
eternalplayer2345
I thought they were going to be major dicks from the title but it warms my heart what they did.
NotAZombie's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/02/2009 11:43
NotAZombie
@ Otomiruninja

Get the fuck out. We don't need dumb ass trolls like you here.
vApathyv's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/02/2009 11:47
vApathyv
I feel for the guy. Back when I was 15 I lost a good $4,000 worth of videogames myself, spanning from the SNES, Genesis, Game Gear, N64, PS2, Dreamcast, and 'Cube. strangely enough, the only thing that made it through was an SP and a copy of Golden Sun (Which I still have for sentimental reasons).

It's nice to see Nintendo show that they care, and having once been in the same situation as him, I hope everything turns out well for his family.
nelsondelmonte's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/02/2009 12:23
nelsondelmonte
@NotAZombie
Come on now, don't get your panties in a twist. It was slightly amusing.
JamnOnTheOne's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/02/2009 12:35
JamnOnTheOne
"the Nintendo of today is not the same company I was once enamoured withas a child"

Thank god they're not. They were the most heartless bastards of a corporation years ago.

Good on them for being nice to this guy.
Ragewaar's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/02/2009 13:11
Ragewaar
"That is kind of nice of the original operator and team, I guess, but only replacing the Wii and the SP seems to benefit them a lot more from a PR standpoint than that poor guy."

This.

The original operator in the call centre is the one with a heart, and possibly their area manager. Nintendo just see's free publicity.
pedrovay2003's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/02/2009 13:55
pedrovay2003
Wow, I can't believe people still come in here and say Nintendo is just in it for the exposure. Even if they were thinking of publicity, they took the time to replace his belongings. They could have easily ignored him.
John B's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/02/2009 14:08
John B
So let me get this straight...

Nintendo replaces Wiimote straps when they didn't have to because it was clear that people were being stupid.

Nintendo offers everyone Wiimote condoms when they didn't have to because it was clear that people were being stupid.

Back in October, Nintendo replaced 228 VC and 30 WiiWare games for free when someone's Wii was stolen.

And now Nintendo offers up new hardware that was lost in a fire ... but they're doing it for the publicity???

To the people who are calling this a publicity stunt: what are you smoking and why aren't you offering it to the rest of us?
SephirothX's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/02/2009 14:16
SephirothX
/applause
ZServ's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/02/2009 14:50
ZServ
john b; i think its a form of duck.
Holyetheline's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/02/2009 14:58
Holyetheline
I hear that Nintendo really has excellent customer service.
Mirax's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/02/2009 15:05
Mirax
That's pretty cool, Nintendo is not a heartless company after all.
falinter's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/02/2009 15:33
falinter
Now if they would only make the rest of their hardcore fans happy.
megaStryke's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/02/2009 16:21
megaStryke
Some people just can't accept charity without an ulterior motive. Or without asking for more.
Naim Master's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/02/2009 16:45
Naim Master
YOU GUYS FELL FOR IT !!! Guys , it's just free publicity , they're still the same heartless corporation that doesn't let you publish more than three cartridges ...
SetoChaos's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/02/2009 18:23
SetoChaos
Nintendo is really great :)

I wish other companies would have as good customer service as them.
AClockWorkMelon's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/02/2009 18:53
AClockWorkMelon
Even if it was just for publicity, I wish certain other companies had "publicity stunts" that benefit their consumers as much as this one.
RiotMonster's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/06/2009 14:34
RiotMonster
Leave it to Nintendo to do something amazing like this.
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