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I think I'm destined to never have a large collection of red Switch boxes on the shelf, as even with the upcoming arrival of Super Mario Bros Wonder Switch 2 Edition, it's still cheaper to stick with an original copy.
Today, I can pick up the older Switch game for $51.88 at Amazon, saving a little over $8 off its full price. Normally, I wouldn't bother with such a small deal, but it feels as necessary as ever before with Super Mario Bros Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park on the way. The Switch 2 version arrives on March 26 with an $79.99 MSRP, but sticking with the original copy and the $19.99 upgrade pack is the cheaper way to go and keeps $8 in my pocket to keep for a rainy day (or to spend towards more Switch 2 games).
This has happened time and time again with these Switch 2 Editions. Due to the age of these Switch games, which are getting the update treatment, they tend to be prone to deals of some kind. Those deals mean that adding the total price of the game and the new upgrade packs is cheaper than grabbing that new physical Switch 2 copy.
Take Animal Crossing New Horizons, which finally got a Switch 2 version of its own last month. At the time of launch, you could grab the physical older Switch game for as cheap as $44.99 at the US retailer Woot. The New Horizons upgrade pack was only $4.99, and so the combined $49.98 cost was still lower than that of the newly released $64.99 (Best Buy) Switch 2 Edition.
In Animal Crossing's case, the saving was a bit more significant. Yet, with how pricey brand-new Switch 2 games are, even the $8 you save with grabbing the older Super Mario Bros Wonder copy feels important. That's $8 you could put towards future new Switch 2 releases, especially as Pokemon Pokopia pre-orders are available and its Switch 2 exclusivity means there's no cheaper older version to grab instead.
The Switch 2 version of Super Mario Bros Wonder even includes the original Switch game in its box, with a redeemable upgrade pack inside. It could be worse, and it could be a game key card, but you aren't even getting all the new content on the cart with this upcoming release. If you're desperate for that shiny red box as a collector, but all means spend that extra $8.
Yet for anyone else, it's cheaper to grab a discounted copy of the original game and pre-order the upgrade pack via your console's eShop or the Nintendo US store. Remember, there's a series of Super Mario Wonder amiibo coming, and that $8 could be ideal to save some cash off that adorable Captain Toad if you care about collecting.
I've also rounded up the best Nintendo Switch 2 accessories, which include some of the best Nintendo Switch 2 controllers and the best Nintendo Switch headsets that can aid you on your return to the Flower Kingdom.
