Nintendo almost never gives away free games outside of its holiday console bundles - but Walmart has been known to. If you’re on the hunt for a new set of Joy-Con or a copy of Super Mario Party you’re in for a real treat this week.
The official Super Mario Party bundle, featuring both a copy of the game and a set of limited edition Joy-Con, is now down to just $79 at Walmart (was $99) - the regular price of a set of controllers by themselves. That means you’re paying nothing for the $59.99 game - that’s a win considering it’s still regularly found for full price. We rarely see Nintendo Switch deals offering free games like this - you’ll normally pay between $20 and $30 for a title on top of another bundled item.
This is only the second time we’ve seen this $20 discount on the already reduced bundle price, the first being back in February. Back then this offer only stuck around for a couple of days, so we wouldn’t take this price for granted. You’ll be heading straight to Walmart for this one as other retailers are still stuck at that $99.99 MSRP.
Should you buy the Super Mario Party Joy-Con bundle?
If you’re after a new set of Joy-Con, then this is a no-brainer. You’re spending exactly what you would on the controllers alone but picking up a freebie in the process. Plus, you’re getting a rarer set of colors from that limited edition Mario design. Of course, that’s assuming you want official Ninty controllers.
Joy-Con are great for first-party titles - they have all the features Nintendo wants to use baked straight in, with no compromises on the quality of your rumble, NFC communications, and motion controls. However, they’re not without their faults. Joy-Con are renowned for their drifting issues, and they’re not exactly the most comfortable options on the market.
If you want to future-proof yourself and pick up a more ergonomic design (albeit while dropping several features), we’d recommend checking out either the Hori Split Pad Pro or the CRKD Nitro Deck. Neither will set you up for multiplayer in quite the same way, and you’re not getting a free game here, but they’re both excellent alternatives for those who need a new Nintendo Switch controller but want a different feature set than Ninty provides.
We’re also rounding up plenty more of the best Nintendo Switch accessories, including all the best Nintendo Switch cases and the best Nintendo Switch chargers to take your handheld gaming further.
