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Nintendo Launching Switch Game Starter Packs Sept. 28

Sometimes buying a game isn't enough and you want a guide, too. So Nintendo is launching Mario, Zelda, and Splatoon 2 Starter Packs including the game and a guide for $60. It's just a shame Switch owners probably already have these games in their collection.

 & Matthew Humphries Former Senior Editor

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No video game should require a guide to play it, but with the amount of content games now contain it's easy to miss things and a guide can help. Clearly, Nintendo has realized this and turned it into a opportunity to sell some of its most successful games to a few more people on Switch.

With that in mind, on Sept. 28 we'll see the release of three Switch game Starter Packs from Nintendo. As Siliconera reports, each one bundles together a physical copy of a Switch game with a printed game guide and packages it in a cardboard sleeve. The three Starter Packs on offer will be for Super Mario Odyssey, Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Splatoon 2.

It's a clever move by Nintendo to not only re-highlight some of the older, most successful games on the Switch, but also to keep the price of buying them high. The Start Packs will each cost $59.99, with the addition of the game guide and sleeve not costing Nintendo that much to produce meaning a healthy profit margin remains while the value proposition to consumers goes up.

Parents will surely appreciate the Starter Packs this Christmas if they have younger children they intend to buy a Switch for. They can keep the guide handy for when their kids inevitably get stuck (or to impress their children by knowing what to do after a quick, secret read).

If you already purchased these games, then there's really no reason to pay for them again to just get the guide. In fact, if you bought Breath of the Wild Explorer's Edition you already have the Explorer's Guide this new pack includes. The same may also be true of Splatoon 2, which has bundled its Strategy Guide before. It's also worth pointing out guides for Odyssey, Breath of the Wild, and Splatoon 2 are all available separately already.

About Our Expert

Matthew Humphries

Matthew Humphries

Former Senior Editor

My Experience

I started working at PCMag in November 2016, covering all areas of technology and video game news. Before that I spent nearly 15 years working at Geek.com as a writer and editor. I also spent the first six years after leaving university as a professional game designer working with Disney, Games Workshop, 20th Century Fox, and Vivendi.

I hold two degrees: a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and a Master's degree in Games Development. My first book, Make Your Own Pixel Art, is available from all good book shops.

My Areas of Expertise

  • PC components and system building
  • Raspberry Pi
  • Software development
  • Storage technology
  • Video games and gaming hardware

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