Mario Day sale: The best Nintendo Switch and Mario game deals still available – CNET

Nintendo has been offering bundles and discounts on the Switch game console and five Mario games — including Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Mario Odyssey since Sunday, March 10 to celebrate Mario Day. (March 10 is “MAR10” — get it? It’s not unlike the way “May the 4th” is Star Wars Day.)

The sale details: 

From March 10 to 16, select games featuring Mario receive a 50 percent discount ($30 off) when bought with a bundled Switch. The bundles cost $330 and could originally be purchased from Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart and Target. (GameStop had the same promotion, but only on March 10.)

Those same five Mario games are were discounted by $20 (33 percent). The titles in question are:

However, as with many Nintendo deals, the hardware and software has been selling out — and then sometimes reappearing hours or days later at the same retailers. That includes digital versions of the games — which likely means that Nintendo was rationing out limited quantities. 

As of Wednesday, March 13, we’ve updated this story to focus on deals that are still available. Note that CNET may get a share of revenue from the sale of products featured on this page.

Switch bundle deals: Switch console + Mario game for $330

As mentioned above, several major retailers are still offering the bundle, but the details have changed since Sunday. Right now, Best Buy appears to have the best option, followed by Walmart.

Best Buy has a guided page that lets you choose which Switch color you want (gray or blue/red) and which game to add. But here’s the kicker: Best Buy seems to be the only retailer that lets you also choose the Switch bundled with a $35 Nintendo eShop credit, too. So, you’re getting the Switch, a half-price Mario game and $35 to spend on any Switch digital game at a later date. 

See Switch bundle at Best Buy

Walmart also has a special page that lets you choose which Switch color you want and which game to add. While Walmart doesn’t offer the $35 eShop credit, it does throw in some Nintendo pins and even a wired controller at no extra charge. 

See Switch bundle at Walmart

Target is a bit more self-service, but it works: Just add the Switch console and one of the games above to your cart. When you prepare to checkout, you’ll see the discount applied to the game to get the whole order to $330. (There appears to be no eShop credit, nor any extras.)

See Switch deals at Target

Amazon, by contrast, is a mess. It also has the products on a single page, but you need to add the console to your cart, then back up and add a game. But, as of Wednesday, doing so did not get us a discount in our cart, even though it had been working earlier in the week. Bottom line: This deal seems dead at Amazon.

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$20 off Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe at Target

When the Mario Day sales started on Sunday, many of the same retailers above had the digital versions of the five Mario games on sale for $40, of $20 off. But it appears that most retailers only had a limited number of digital codes available before they “sold out” of them. As far as we can tell, they’re gone from Amazon, Walmart and Best Buy. And while Target’s digital inventory seems spotty, that retailer does seem to have Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe available for $20 off. 

See Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe at Target

This story was originally posted on March 9, and was updated extensively with related links once the sale started. Sale prices and availability verified Wednesday, March 13 at 8:47 a.m. PT.