In November of 2009 Nintendo of Japan announced that members of Club Nintendo would be eligible to receive Ball as a prize. The unit looks nearly identical to the original, though features the Club Nintendo logo on it and features a toggle that allows the user to increase or decrease the volume. This prize was only available to Club Nintendo members in Japan and was sent out in April of 2010 to those who accumulated enough points to reach Platinum Status. Unlike Nintendo of America, Nintendo automatically sent these units out to players who were eligible without the need for the user to register for it online.
Game & Watch: Ball was later released on Nintendo of America’s Club Nintendo service, making it available to fans in the United States. Upon its release it was required more coins than any other product: 1200. A pre-installed battery comes with every unit.
The developers of the Club Nintendo version noted that it was challenging re-releasing Ball because none of the original documents existed anymore. Nevertheless, the developers tried to make it as faithful as possible, making very few alterations. One of the changes the developers did make was a bit of wiring that stuck out of the original Ball that was hidden by a black strip. Even though the black strip is there (in an attempt to make it look as close to the original as possible) the wiring is no longer present. Another change is the addition of an option to turn the sound off, which was a luxury not available on the original unit.
Ball (Club Nintendo)
