Look, I get it: there’s not much else more special in the gaming or tech world than the smell of a new console freshly unboxed.
Add in that the new console of the moment is the Nintendo Switch 2, and with it all the promise of new exclusive games and hours, days, nights spent in Mario Kart World, and it’s not surprising that tracking down new stock of the Nintendo Switch 2 isn’t easy.
But I’m not fussed.
Well, okay, I’m a little fussed; I have a decent dose of FOMO tickling my gaming synapse as I see others on social media with their box-fresh Switch 2 consoles, while I remain flopped on my sofa with my aged original Nintendo Switch.
However, I’ve resisted the urge to splurge my hard-earned cash on the Switch 2. In part because I’m probably one of the few people who doesn’t get all giddy at Mario Kart (at least not since Mario Kart 64). On the other hand, there’s not yet a glut of big new first-party exclusive games for the console.
Yet my big reason to wait is all about bundles.
The wating game
Alongside looking after the phones and tablets vertical at TechRadar, I also manage the site’s deals team, so I spend a good bit of time tracking sales events and chewing over deals from the likes of Amazon, Best Buy, Currys, Argos, Walmart and more.
While I don’t expect the Switch 2 to drop in price in the next couple of years, let alone anytime soon, I think we could see some compelling Switch 2 bundles as the inevitable march towards the winter (at least in the Northern Hemisphere) holiday season.
With said season comes an Amazon October sales spree and Black Friday, which is far less of a day of sales and more like weeks of bargains for the discerning shopper to pursue. And a good suite of those deals falls on games and gaming hardware.
So I’m forecasting that come November time we’ll see more varied Nintendo Switch 2 bundles, specifically from major retailers; I doubt these will add up to a discounted Switch 2, but instead could bundle the console with a new game or two, or a Switch 2 Pro controller, all at a price that’s notably cheaper than buying each part separately.
I’m calling it now: there’ll be a Donkey Kong Bananza Switch 2 bundle.
As such, I think I’ll kick my FOMO to the curb for now and hold out for a handful of months before I seek out the new Switch.
I have previous form on this, as I remember holding out for an original Switch bundle, which I snapped up during the Black Friday period of 2017. I think this snagged me the console and Super Mario Odyssey for a decent price, leaving me with some change to snap up Breath of the Wild; don’t ask me for specifics as we’re talking the best part of a decade ago, though.
Now the gaming landscape has changed a little in that time, with the likes of the PS5 and Xbox Series X even increasing in price as they age. So compelling console bundles might be a thing of the past.
Yet I’m willing to cling to hope and wait for a Switch 2 bundle that catches my eye. If nothing else, there should be more exclusive games for the new console as 2025 marches on.
In the meantime, I’ll take the money I could have splurged on the Switch 2 and see if I can get any gaming bargains in the early Prime Day deals; wish me luck, or come and join me.
