Nintendo’s new Switch bundle is here. The seven-year-old console triumphs ahead of the Switch 2, with the standard Switch and OLED models now available in a new bundle announced in September. Each system comes with a 12-month Switch Online membership and a Mario Kart 8 Deluxe redemption code. The standard bundle costs $300, and the OLED version costs $350.
nintendo
This bundle gets you a digital copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and a 12-month Switch Online membership.
$349 at Walmart
nintendo
This bundle gets you a digital copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and a 12-month Switch Online membership.
$299 at Walmart
The baseline bundle includes a standard Switch with a 6.2-inch LCD and red and blue Joy-Cons. Meanwhile, the OLED console features a 7-inch OLED display and white Joy-Cons. The latter is only $50 more and offers additional screen real estate along with the richer colors and deeper blacks of OLED. The standard model still looks great, but in a side-by-side comparison, it’s hard to turn down the $50 more expensive OLED model.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has been one of the console’s flagship titles since it was released shortly after the console itself launched in 2017. Originally released for the Wii U, the Switch revamp of the racing classic adapts its controls nicely to the portable system. The game’s optional Smart Steering feature helps make the game more fun for those who frequently drive off course and spend 30 seconds getting back on track when competitors are circling. (Raise your hand) This game looks great on the Switch’s screen, especially OLED, and runs in enhanced 1080p mode when docked.
nintendo
Switch Online, on the other hand, allows for online play in Mario Kart 8 and many other titles, as well as cloud-based saves. You also have access to hundreds of classic games from the NES, SNES, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, N64, and Sega Genesis (Mega Drive) eras. In addition to Nintendo’s own Mario, Zelda, and Metroid classics, there are plenty of third-party titles to keep you entertained.
The biggest takeaway from this bundle is that the Switch 2 (or whatever Nintendo calls its successor) is coming. Nintendo has not announced a successor yet, but it is rumored that they will do so at any time. The sequel is expected to feature a more powerful processor, more RAM and storage, and support for NVIDIA’s DLSS upscaling technology. But even if Nintendo announces this console soon, it’s not expected to arrive until sometime in 2025, so it won’t be an option this holiday season anyway.
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