Blink, and you’ll miss it: Nintendo’s April sale is in full swing
Once in a blue moon
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It’s that time of the year again; Nintendo has finally given fans some leeway and opened the gates to a Spring sale.
Fans of indie and first-party Nintendo titles alike have something to celebrate this week. After theIndie World Showcase, Nintendo announced a weeklong indie andMariogame sale. Starting April 19, the indie sale will continue until April 26 12am PT/ 3pm ET / 8pm BST / 5am ACT (Thursday, April 27). In contrast, the UK Super Mario sale will end on May 4.
While UK fans of Mario will be pleased to see titles likeMario Kart 8 DeluxeandNew Super Mario Bros. U Deluxego on sale for just $ £33.29, there are some even better deals for indie titles circulating the Nintendo eshop.
The mythic roguelikeHades,the 2D action-adventure gameHollow Knight, and the deckbuilding RPGSlay the Spireare all 50% off. Honestly, it’s an excellent time to be an indie fan.
Appropriately hyped
After seeing all the fantastic new indie games released in the Indie World Showcase, it’s hard not to want to run to yourNintendo Switchand pick up some of the masterful titles already out.
As a massive fan ofBlasphemousand its intricate story, beautiful dialogue, and jaw-dropping aesthetic, hearing that a sequel would be released made my week. However, hearing that I’ll have to wait until late 2023 for it means that I’ll have to find another way to fill my time. Luckily that’s where the indie sale comes in. I’ve never actually playedHollow Knight, and now it’s half-price. I feel there are no more excuses I can make to delay the inevitable.
Make the most of it
Another reason to get stuck into this spring sale is simply for the reason that Nintendo don’t often discount its games. In fact, retaining the value of Nintendo games was a stated goal by the late president and CEO Satoru Iwata in the bookAsk Iwata, so there is an active effort to ensure game prices won’t drop.
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You also can’t find Nintendo’s first-party games on other consoles, as it is both developer and publisher. Therefore, Nintendo prices games as a developer would and not a publisher likeSony, as all the revenue can only be generated by copies sold.
Even though these reasons make sense, it doesn’t make playing almost $50 for a Mario title any less painful. So if you’re in the market for something new to play while waiting for the next big release likeZelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the sales are just the place for you.
Elie is a Features Writer for TechRadar Gaming, here to write about anything new or slightly weird. Before writing for TRG, Elie studied for a Masters at Cardiff University JOMEC in International Journalism and Documentaries – spending their free time filming short docs or editing the gaming section for their student publications.
Elie’s first step into gaming was through Pokémon but they’ve taken the natural next step in the horror genre. Any and every game that would keep you up at night is on their list to play - despite the fact that one of Elie’s biggest fears is being chased.
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