Link83

Yes, but it came up with an error screen with Waluigi on it.

Thanks, I kept trying but the banner never appeared, and the offer has now finished I have sent Nintendo an email and I just hope they can sort it out.

Thanks but unfortunately I think that link is just the standard login page? Also I have tried logging in and out a number of times and still no sign of a banner

Anybody? I still havent received an email and cant seeing any banner, and there is less than 6 hours left till its over

Hmm, I am not seeing any image at the top Any chance somebody could post a link? (If using firefox just right click on the offer image/banner, click 'copy link location' and then right click and paste the link) Actually the deal is still available For anyone interested see here for details:- http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/legend-zelda-ocarina-time-nintendo-3ds-19-99-gzoop-priceminister/963084 Direct link to offer:- http://www.priceminister.co.uk/offer?action=desc&aid=229412193 Dont forget Quidco/Topcashback for even more savings!

Sorry to hear about all your problems Mokong X-C I realise this is probably not very helpful now...but...if you already had the homebrew channel installed why didnt you use a homebrew save file manager to backup the 'uncopyable' save files?

Thats another sticking point for me - its a 1 hour bus journey each way Still kind of want to go though!

I was planning to go tomorrow, however now im not so sure its worth it Considering that you have to be over 18, book tickets in advance, and bring photo ID just to get into the venue in the first place it seems like a lot of work for just 20 minutes playing a 3DS (10 minutes in each room)...were there any freebies?

Yes they could just repeat the text on the base piece as well (My third possible explanation) it just seems unusual to do that because it would cost Nintendo more money to have the text printed twice, and one lot of text would be completely covered up - plus no other Nintendo console has done this. It almost sounds like the base piece might be 'user replaceable' which would mean the text would need to be printed twice like this to make sure one set of text was always visable on the console. The only reason I can think Nintendo would do this is if they were going to have a replaceable bottom piece, one made of solid plastic and one with the induction charging coil to be used with the charging cradle. I guess this is possible if Nintendo wanted to sell the charging cradle separately (eg. sell the cradle and replacement back piece with small screwdriver) but it would be an unusual move by Nintendo who usually prefer simplicity (Hence why it was romoured that the charge cradle would be bundled with the 3DS) Anyway I have waffled on long enough!...I'm sure its just some mundane reason.

Having thought about this some more there is another possible explanation. If you look at this picture:- http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/9/2011/01/in2ioezk.jpg You can see that the bottom is indented/recessed and thats why I think its missing a plastic piece, and I guessed it would be made of transparent/clear plastic because otherwise you could not read the text printed on the base. However then I remembered that Nintendo announced an induction charger for the 3DS:- http://tinycartridge.com/post/704438650/nintendo-3ds-charging-dock-i-mentioned-this So it seems likely that the base piece will be made of plastic but with an induction charging coil built into it:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inductive_charging and the rectangular hole/slot on the bottom is probably for the eletrical connection to the internal charging contacts on the main 3DS PCB. One thing I cant explain is why the text would be printed underneath this missing 'base piece' - I can only come up with three possible explanations:- - The bottom piece will be transparent/clear so you can read the text, but this doesnt seem likely if it contains an induction charging coil. - This is a development/pre-production model and the final model will have the text printed on the bottom piece instead of inside as on this model. - The bottom piece will be colored like the rest of the console (Black, Blue, Red etc) and will have the text printed on it aswell. Can anybody come up with another explanation? It does relate to an internal codename, heres a list of some of the known ones for Nintendo handhelds:- DMG - Dot Matrix Game (Game Boy) MGB - Mini Game Boy (Game Boy Pocket) CGB - Color Game Boy (Game Boy Color) AGB - Advanced Game Boy (Game Boy Advance) AGS - Advanced Game Boy Special (Game Boy Advance SP) OXY - ? (Game Boy Micro) NTR - Nitro (Nintendo DS) USG - Usugata "Thin Model" (Nintendo DS Lite) TWL - Twelve (Nintendo DSi) UTL - ? (Nintendo DSi XL) CTR - ? (Nintendo 3DS)

If you look at the photos carefully the console itself does have the model number CTR-001, the CTR-003 code you saw is for the 3DS battery and is printed on the battery itself, just like the DSi battery is model number TWL-003. ...Shame this mistake is also in the n-europe news post. It also looks like the base is unfinished and still has production moulding idents etc so I would imagine it probably should have a clear acrylic/plastic sheet fitted along with a battery cover and small rubber feet, I guess this might give Nintendo clues as to which point this console was taken off the production line.

Is it just me who thinks Link's face now looks like Michael Jackson?

I dont think your greedy at all Gentleben, I think the most you could say is that your good at "using the system", but thats no bad thing! There is/was nothing to stop anybody else from doing what you've done, it just takes dedication

Its £14.99 at HMV:- http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=759075

You might want to add to the 'Broken Disks' list:- Super Paper Mario - Bug Edition See here for more info:- http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/news/2007/super_paper_mario_announcement_6497.html

Glad I could help Regarding the prices, unfortunately its a case of 'supply and demand'. There is simply not a massive demand for this sort of thing, so they end up costing quite a bit more than similar devices for more modern systems like the GBA etc.

I have just recently been looking into this for the same reason as the OP, only I wanted to use LSDJ on an original Game Boy and Game Boy Color:- http://www.littlesounddj.com/lsd/ At present there seems to be four main 'modern' choices of cartridge for the original Game Boy/Game Boy Color that all transfer files over USB (There are older cartridge models but they need a Parallel port/cable, and my PC does not even have a Parallel port! ) BleepBloop Cartridge and USB Programmer - This has 16Mbit of storage. It seems to be discontinued but might still be available in some places. You plug the cartridge into a separate USB programmer to transfer files. http://8bitcollective.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=1916 It used to be available from 'nonfinite's shop, but I cant find it on there at the moment:- http://www.nonelectronics.com/index.php BleepBloop USB Cartridge - This has 16Mbit of storage and uses a standard USB to 'Mini B' USB cable to connect the cartridge directly to the PC. Basically the USB Programmer has now been built inside the cartridge instead of being separate. Its usually available from nonfinite in three colors, but its out of stock at the moment and it only seems to come in stock randomly (Top three products):- http://www.nonelectronics.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2&zenid=77c2150bc6326a9600d7b46f532efe90 Smartboy 32M Cartridge with USB Programmer - This has 32Mbit of storage. It is almost identical to the BleepBloop Cartridge with a separate USB Programmer, only this cartridge has 32Mbit of storage space instead of 16Mbit. Its usually available at kitsch-bent's store, but is sold out at the moment:- http://store.kitsch-bent.com/product/smartboy-32m-cartridge-programmer-bundle Also available direct from the manufacturer here (Half way down the page) http://www.smartboy.ugu.pl/ EMS GB Smart Card 64M USB Cartridge - This has 64Mbit of storage. It is similar to the Bleepbloop USB Cartridge and uses a standard USB to 'Mini B' USB cable (Cable not usually included) to connect the cartridge directly to the PC. Its usually available at kitsch-bent's store:- http://store.kitsch-bent.com/product/usb-64m-smart-card Also available at consolegoods in the UK:- http://www.robwebb1.plus.com/copiers/copiers.htm Note that all of these cartridges require you to use their own custom software to transfer files over to the cartridge. Also, only the 'GB Smart Card 64M' can support multiple homebrew files (Or so I have read) although it can only have one save file at any given time. The other cartridges only support one homebrew file at a time. I think the best choices are either the 'Smartboy' or the 'GB Smart Card 64M', because the 'BleepBloop' cartridges are hard to find, expensive, and have apparently had quite a few manufacturing defects recently. I personally went for the Smartboy as I really wanted the USB Programmer it comes with, because it also allows you to backup the save files on original Game Boy and Game Boy Color games. This was an important factor to me because original Game Boy/Game Boy Color games all use a small battery to power the SRAM chip inside them used for saving:- http://www.pokemasters.net/forums/showthread.php?t=15464 So when that battery dies (And they will all die over the next few years, if they haven't already) You lose all your save files (Lose all my level 100 Pokemon? Noooo! ) With the Smartboy's USB Programmer I can backup my game saves and keep a copy on my PC, so even if the cartridge battery dies I will not loose my save file So, if you want to backup the save files from original Game Boy games, get a Smartboy which comes with a USB Programmer, if you want to play multiple homebrew files get the GB Smart Card 64M. Sorry for waffling so long, and I hope I helped somewhat.

Nintendo updated the terms and conditions a couple of years ago and added something about most GameCube/Game Boy Advance stars leaflets expiring after 22nd March 2009. The old stars leaflets are now only good for collectors who want a complete game. You can see the small list of GameCube/Game Boy Advance games that were still valid after 22nd March 2009 at this link under "Can I still register Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance games?":- http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/support/website_support_2561_2569.html Theres only one GameCube game left that still has valid stars - Zelda Twilight Princess - and even that expires tomorrow!

Just to update, I managed to spend most of my 4500 expiring stars on the 1 CD Mario Galaxy Soundtrack, it wasn't my first choice of item but it seemed to be the best thing I could afford with my stars. ...However, now that I only have just over 1500 stars left Nintendo have decided to add a new item to the UK Stars Catalogue:- I was thinking even before my stars expired that Nintendo might do something like this (Add a good item just after my stars expire) but thought I was probably just being too cynical, I guess not It doesnt explain why the UK Game & Watch Collection is twice the star price of the Australian version - both our stars are worth the same (They get the same amount of stars per game purchase/value as we do) Lastly, just to rub salt into the wound, another 550 stars of mine are expiring at the end of this month

I really wanted one of those, I even emailed Nintendo to ask if they would be getting any more in stock (If you ever consider selling it please let me know ) One of the worst things about the old stars catalogue is how Nintendo used to email everyone to let you know when new items would be added, but their website couldnt handle all the traffic and it crashed almost every time. In the end instead of improving their website Nintendo just added items randomly, which is why I never got the Mario GameCube controller

Just a quick reminder - only two weeks left of November for people with expiring Stars Yeah, they really are much more reasonably priced, especially when you consider that Australia's 'Game & Watch Collection' costs just 2500 stars, and the only thing we can get for the same price are some small plastic 'Hanging Boxing Gloves'! Even the 'Super Smash Bros. Brawl Notepad' is 3000 stars on our catalogue. Oh, and in case anyone is wondering - it is a fair comparison as Australia gets the same amount of stars points per game as we do. Good idea and I had the same thought, but theres one slight problem - star code leaflets expire now so it doesn't make much difference if you register them or not, you cant even register GC/GBA games codes anymore Does anyone know exactly how long it is after a games release before the star code leaflet expires, or is it different for every game? Is there a list of Wii/DS game star leaflet expiry dates? It would be good to know what the maximum amount of time you can keep/use stars for with the 'leaflet expiry date' and '2 years once redeemed to account' dates added together, if that makes sense. I agree that they are quite good, but they are basically the only two items worth getting, and the Zelda statue is very expensive now considering that a lot of peoples stars have expired. Even if you bought all Nintendo games that include stars leaflets released in the last 2 years I think it would be extremely difficult to raise the 15000 stars needed for the Zelda statue before they would start to expire. Also, I cannot understand why the 2CD Mario Galaxy Platinum Soundtrack is out of stock on the UK Stars Catalogue. When you consider how cheap CD's are to manufacture it should be easy to keep it in stock all the time. Whats most annoying is that all the other European Star Catalogue's still have the 2CD Mario Galaxy Platinum Soundtrack available ...and then you compare our Stars Catalogue to the Japanese Club Nintendo:- http://club.nintendo.jp/member/exec/entranceNaviPrivilege and a quick look at the USA Club Nintendo:- https://club.nintendo.com/rewards.do Need I say more? Anyway, it looks like I will be buying the normal 1CD Mario Galaxy Soundtrack with my expiring stars points as thats the only thing im even remotely interested in ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Forgive me if I sound like im ranting, its just having stuck with the Stars Catalogue since it was first introduced with the GameCube and having seen all the promises for real 'exclusive Nintendo items' being added I do feel let down. I remember waiting for Nintendo to add Wavebird controllers to the Stars Catalogue in 2002, refreshing the page all day to find that only 25 were available and the website crashed before I was able to buy one. The same thing happened to me when I tried to purchase the Zelda Collectors Edition, and the Mario GameCube controller was sold out within 10 minutes before I even had a chance. Then Nintendo changed the terms and conditions and said stars would be expiring - they set a date for this but then changed it again, and again. The only thing available on the Stars Catalogue at the time were wallpapers and ringtones - and then without warning 11000 of my stars expired just before the new catalogue launch. I'm sure I cant be the only person all this happened to. So much for being a "Nintendo VIP" Glad to get that of my chest!

Nintendo Umbrella for 3000 stars was added the other day. Also just a heads-up, my Nintendo newsletter this month says 4500 of my 6000 stars are expiring at the end of November, so I imagine it might be a similar situation for some other people. I guess I will have have to order something now instead of waiting/hoping for a SNES classic controller to be added What I don't understand is how Japan's Club Nintendo is still SO much better than our Stars Catalogue. In fact even Australia's Stars Catalogue seems better despite launching just 8 months ago and still having only 5 items:- http://club.nintendo.com.au/NOE/en_AU/club_nintendo/stars_catalogue_320.html Game & Watch Collection for 2500 stars, yes please! Come on Nintendo Europe, I dont want Wii Fit Flip-Flops, a Pokemon Postcard, or a SSBB Notepad (All of which are probably left over retailer promotional items from the game launches) I want real unique Nintendo items (That can't be bought from shops) for a fair 'Star' price, and for them to be kept 'in stock' for a reasonable period of time

I wasnt trying to start an arguement or anything - just expressing my opinion. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on this. Thanks for the pic though.

Gentleben, thanks for the email address, I will give it a go - I know im unlikely to hear anything back but its got to be worth a try. In regards to your other post - I know your a fan of the Stars Catalogue, and im not saying it isnt a good idea - and I do realise its free. All im saying is that Nintendo Europe have implimented the whole Stars Catalogue/Nintendo V.I.P scheme very badly - they could have done it a whole lot better from the start - surely we can agree on that? I registered my Gamecube console on 3rd May 2002. For many years I read their newsletters about how they would add real items 'soon' only to be left dissappointed. I still have those emails with the pictures of all the games and nintendo goodies you would soon be able to purchase with your stars. They even set dates for when these items would be added to the catalogue, but half they time they never even added anything! (Usually due to 'technical problems') There have been some real items on the Stars Catalogue - I wont deny that - but everytime I checked it (which was religiously every day when you used to get 5 points for logging in) everything sold out so rediculously fast that I and many others never stood a chance of getting anything The one time I was online when they had a significant update of real items I couldnt get onto the site due to 'heavy traffic' - to me thats just not good enough. Of course once I finally got on to the site everything had sold out The idea for Club Nintendo in Japan came from Nintendo of Europe - I remember reading an article/interview many years ago with Nintendo Europes marketing department about how some people from Nintendo of Japan had come over to Europe in 2002 to see how they were marketing the Gamecube. They were so impressed with the 'Stars Catalogue' idea that they took it back to Japan with them and came up with 'Club Nintendo'. How come Nintendo Japan can get it so right? All I am saying is - the people most likely to have used the Stars Catalogue from the very beginning are their most loyal fans. We have had to put up with Nintendo of Europe's 'Price Fixing' (which they were fined millions for) '50hz conversions' and late/none releases. Why would they want to upset us even more! We are the very people who have supported them all these years - through thick and thin. If I had been aware that my points were about to expire I would have tried to convert them to Wii Points (Although even that seems to be nigh on impossible) I had been saving my stars for years, as im sure many people have been. They did say in the new terms and conditions that I signed up to last year, that any stars that would be expiring would expire in December07/January08 so surely you can understand that when they didnt expire I thought I was 'safe' As Nintendo Europe said in my original sign-up email - "Your now a Nintendo V.I.P!" - a V.I.P or Very Important Person! How come they dont treat you like one then.... Phew! Sorry for such a long post/rant, and thanks for reading