Nintendo Uses Mario Kart World Bundles to Boost Switch 2 Sales

Mario Kart World and Switch Sports Resort bundles could help Nintendo sell the console as prices climb.

Nintendo is about to make the Switch 2 more expensive, so naturally, the company needs to find ways to make the console feel like a better deal. Its answer is simple: throw a popular game into the box and make the whole package look harder to resist. According to the sources, Nintendo is bringing back the Switch 2 and Mario Kart World bundle in late September.

The $550 package includes the Switch 2, a digital copy of Mario Kart World, and a 90-day Nintendo Switch Online individual membership. At first glance, $550 is still a lot of money for a console. But Mario Kart World normally costs $80, so buyers get some value back instead of paying full price for the system and then immediately having to buy a game. Nintendo has been down this road before.

The original Switch was regularly sold with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, especially during Black Friday and the holiday shopping season. Those bundles became an easy choice for families and newcomers because everything needed to start playing was already in the box. Mario Kart World looks set to take over that role for the Switch 2. It is one of Nintendo's biggest games, and bundling an $80 title with the console makes the savings feel more meaningful.

And Nintendo is already preparing another bundle.

Switch Sports Resort is coming exclusively to Switch 2 on October 22, and a Switch 2 bundle featuring the game will launch on the same day. The package will cost $530 and include the console, a digital copy of the game, and three months of Nintendo Switch Online.

Again, the discount is not massive. But Nintendo may not be trying to give away the farm here. The bigger goal could be getting new owners into its ecosystem. Once someone activates Nintendo Switch Online, creates a Nintendo account, and starts buying digital games, Nintendo has another customer who is already plugged into its services.

A free or discounted game can be the little push that gets someone through the door. A bigger problem sits behind all of this: rising hardware costs. According to the sources, the ongoing memory supply crunch could remain a headache through 2027, with the situation potentially improving toward the end of 2028 as more manufacturers increase production.

That means Nintendo may have to deal with higher costs at exactly the time it wants to expand the Switch 2's audience. Normally, consoles get cheaper as they age. Nintendo may have to take a different route if component prices keep pressuring the hardware.

That makes bundles especially useful.

Instead of cutting the Switch 2's price, Nintendo can make the package more attractive by including major games. A future Pokémon title could get its own bundle. A new 3D Mario game could do the same. Even major releases such as Ocarina of Time or the next Splatoon could potentially become part of the strategy.

The question is whether Nintendo will eventually have several Switch 2 bundles competing for attention at the same time. If the company follows the playbook that worked so well with the original Switch, shoppers may soon have plenty of colorful boxes to choose from. And if the Switch 2 keeps getting more expensive, could these bundles become Nintendo's most important weapon for keeping sales moving?