End of an Era: Nintendo's Long-Running Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Black Friday Bundle Is No More

After 7 consecutive years of providing the astir accordant bully woody connected a marque caller Nintendo Switch strategy annually astir Black Friday, Nintendo appears to person yet discontinued its accepted vacation bundle of a Nintendo Switch 1 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for $299.99.

No Nintendo Switch Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Black Friday bundle this year, the extremity of an era. https://t.co/jLcw3Rupku pic.twitter.com/bhYAvFLTrQ

This comes from the announcement of Nintendo's Black Friday deals today, which see assorted Nintendo games marked down to $30 and a $20 Cyber Monday discount connected a microSD Express paper for Nintendo Switch 2, but notably nary discounts connected immoderate consoles.

The Mario Kart 8 Nintendo Switch bundle has been a staple of Nintendo's Black Friday offerings for 7 years running, opening successful 2018, the 2nd twelvemonth of the Nintendo Switch's life, and reappearing annually ever since.

Its disappearance from this year's lineup is indicative of respective caller trends. Most evident is conscionable that this is the archetypal vacation for the Nintendo Switch 2, and Nintendo understandably wants to merchantability tons of those alternatively than nonstop radical to a cheaper mentation of a strategy that's rapidly becoming obsolete.

On apical of that, there's besides caller Mario Kart successful town: Mario Kart World. If Nintendo isn't funny successful inadvertently cannibalizing Switch 2 sales, it's decidedly not into the thought of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe stealing income of Mario Kart World. And fixed that the Switch 2 conscionable released a fewer months ago, it's acold excessively aboriginal to expect to spot a Switch 2 + Mario Kart World bundle astatine a discount this holiday. Sorry, possibly adjacent year.

It's besides existent that Nintendo conscionable raised the terms of a retail Nintendo Switch 1 to $339.99 from $299.99 successful the U.S., arsenic good arsenic prices connected its OLED and Lite variations, the Alarmo, and Joy-Con 2 controllers. The institution warned astatine the clip that terms hikes connected the Nintendo Switch 2, carnal and integer games, and Nintendo Switch Online memberships "could beryllium indispensable successful the future."

Though Nintendo didn't explicitly telephone retired tariffs arsenic the reason, aggregate analysts IGN has spoken to passim the twelvemonth person pointed straight astatine ongoing accrued U.S. tariffs connected countries that Nintendo uses for hardware accumulation arsenic a apt crushed for this choice. Which could besides explicate wherefore Nintendo isn't funny successful discounting its hardware astir the vacation this clip around.

All that unneurotic makes cleanable consciousness of the thought that Nintendo has officially retired its ever-popular vacation bundle. Will we spot a Nintendo Switch 2 saltation connected this bundle successful aboriginal years? With games and systems getting progressively expensive, 1 tin lone anticipation so.

Keep an oculus connected IGN for each our Black Friday 2025 coverage, including the champion discounts connected games, systems, and fundamentally everything.

Rebekah Valentine is simply a elder newsman for IGN. You tin find her posting connected BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a communicative tip? Send it to [email protected].