Nintendo is trying to move their older stock of Nintendo Switches with shorter battery lives. Here’s how you can avoid them.
This news comes from a GameStop employee who helpfully told us that Nintendo is trying to get rid of their older-model Switches. These first-gen versions have shorter battery lives and worse CPUs, so if you’re paying full price anyway, you might as well get the second-gen model.
Twitter user @Remnoct is a self-proclaimed GameStop employee with inside info. They say that GameStop doesn't normally sell the older-model Switches and that these first-gen models are being bundled with Mario Kart 8 for Black Friday.
Other retailers might be pulling the same move with this Mario Kart bundle, so be on the lookout.
The only problem is, how can you tell the difference between a new Switch and an old Switch? For that, it’s all in the box.
Unlike some console makers that try to sneak in their mid-cycle refreshes in the same packaging as the old models, Nintendo at least gave the new Switch a fancy new package. Look for the red motif on newer Switch models. This will let you know that it’s a new Switch with a longer battery life.
Here are the boxes you want to avoid. Note the mostly-white box with the docking station and controlled in swapped positions. Also, keep an eye out for this Mario Kart 8 bundle box which also contains the older-model Switch.
According to Forbes, Mario Kart 8 is Nintendo’s flagship bundle to be offered at this year’s Black Friday sales. You’ll likely see a lot of these boxes, and they all contain older Switch models. It’s a bit of a dastardly trick, but how else is Nintendo going to get rid of these Switches?
Then again, if you don’t care too much about battery life (either because you will only play at home or just don’t have a long commute) then maybe the older-style Switches will work for you just fine. But be sure you’re at least getting a discount. There’s no sense in paying full price for a lesser product when you can get a faster, longer-lasting Switch for the same amount of money.