If you've been debating the merits of joining the Nintendo VIP club, this may be the clincher. Nintendo have
announced that, from next Monday, they'll be offering game themes as ringtone downloads so that you'll be able to
really annoy everyone else on your preferred means of public transport. (At least it's not the
Crazy Frog.)
The means to pay for these downloads is the VIP club's currency, stars, which are obtained by purchasing Nintendo
goods. It's almost a reversing of the micropayment idea, where you get microrewards and are encouraged to buy more
Nintendo products to gain more stars. However, the exchange rate isn't too bad—registering a single copy of Mario
Kart DS netted 455 points, and a downloaded ringtone only costs 350.
All together now: "Bip bip bip bi-bi-bi-bip…"
