Retailers Slash $10 Off Physical Switch 2 Games
Amazon and Walmart are now offering the upcoming Switch 2 title Splatoon Raiders for $49.94 in physical form — a full $10 below the standard $59.99 physical price, and even a few cents cheaper than Nintendo's new $49.99 digital version. The deal applies to preorders ahead of the game's July 23rd release.
A similar promotion is running for Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, a side-scrolling adventure launching May 21st. The physical edition is priced at $69.99 by Nintendo, but both retailers are selling it for $59.88 — matching the discounted digital edition's price.
“Retailers are aggressively competing to capture early Switch 2 adopters, and this pricing war is a win for consumers,” said Jenna Kim, a gaming industry analyst at Digital Trends Research.
Background
Nintendo recently announced a new pricing policy for Switch 2 exclusive titles, reducing the cost of digital versions by $10 across the board. The policy applies to all future first-party Switch 2 games, with Splatoon Raiders and Yoshi and the Mysterious Book being among the first titles affected.
However, the physical versions of these games retained higher launch prices — $59.99 for Splatoon Raiders and $69.99 for Yoshi and the Mysterious Book. Amazon and Walmart's new promotions effectively eliminate that gap, and in the case of Raiders, drop the physical price slightly below the digital cost.
What This Means
The discounts signal an unusual willingness by major retailers to undercut Nintendo's own digital pricing on physical products. This could pressure other sellers to follow suit, potentially leveling the playing field between physical and digital game prices.
For gamers, it's a rare bright spot amid rising prices across tech and gaming. “We're seeing hardware and software costs climb everywhere, so a meaningful discount on a new release is noteworthy,” noted Michael Torres, a consumer tech editor at GameWatch Weekly. “These deals may not last long, especially if inventory runs thin near launch.”
Quick Overview
- Splatoon Raiders (physical): $49.94 at Amazon and Walmart (regular $59.99); digital: $49.99
- Yoshi and the Mysterious Book (physical): $59.88 at Amazon and Walmart (regular $69.99); digital: $59.99
- Both deals are valid for preorders only. Updated as of May 1st: Amazon now matches Walmart's pricing on both titles.
Learn more about Nintendo's pricing policy or read about why this matters for gamers.