Sunday 2 March 2008

How long does it take to get a replacement "Super Paper Mario"?

This blog is now turning into a list of my bug-bears, which is a shame, but it's a way to get things off my chest!

There is a bug with the European (PAL) version of Super Paper Mario for the Wii. At a certain point in the game, if you fail to perform steps in a certain way, the game crashes and you lose any unsaved progress.

Nintendo announced a disk replacement scheme.
I emailed the address given, and received a reply from "Mike Rawlings" asking for me to send my copy back and "we will attempt to replace your copy as soon as possible and within 15 working days if stock levels allow". I queried that I would be out of pocket for the postage costs and they sent me a postage-paid label.

I sent my disc off on December 18th. It was received and signed for on December 19th. I was concerned I hadn't heard anything a month later, so emailed them again on January 18th. They said they had received my disk and were awaiting stock.

I have since emailed twice, asking for an update, but have had no reply. So far, I've been without my copy of the game for about 9 weeks - 45 working days. I would be happy with a refund at this stage.

Poor show, Nintendo, poor show.

Update: Super Paper Mario turned up about 3 days after this blog post. No note of apology, no free gift, nothing. I'm still not pleased with Nintendo.
Guitar Hero 3 (PAL) owners were treated to better customer service when they had to return buggy discs and were given free faceplates!