Over the past several months most of Japan has gone crazy for Nintendo's virtual dog experience for the Nintendo DS, Nintendogs.  Now that the portable pooches are set to debut in North America, Nintendo is pulling out all the stops to promote the game and spark word of mouth among the gaming community.  One way that they're doing this is by giving out free copies of the game.  Here's the catch though: only certain people on Nintendo's mailing list / fan club roster are scoring the free puppies.

When word of this promotion hit the Internet, many people figured they were in for a free game.  Then came the news that people who had "only" registered ten games with Nintendo were getting the Nintendogs nod over those with twice that amount registered.  You can fill in the gaps with your own greedy "I deserve free games!" rant if you like; I'm tired of reading them and I'm certainly not up for writing one.

Showing that no good deed goes unpunished, Nintendo is taking a little heat over - here we go now - not giving away enough free games.  Come on, people, it's a marketing promotion.  Being passed over for a free game does not mean that Nintendo loves someone else more than you.  They're trying to sell games and if their marketing data indicates that you aren't someone who will help with that, then you're not getting a free game.  You can still buy the game when it hits stores next month if you really want a virtual dog to love and pet and call George.