Category: Video Games

Like many video games, ones from Nintendo don’t come cheap. This was especially true when The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was revealed to be $69.99 on release, a whole $10 more expensive than other Switch titles. However, this doesn’t mean there aren’t deals to be had for Nintendo fans. In fact, there are plenty of sales on games, Switch consoles, and various accessories that are worth checking out throughout the year, and we’ve made sure to gather the very best going on at the moment below.

TL;DR – Best Switch Deals

You can also follow @IGNDeals on Twitter or Threads for even more updates on the latest discounts, or check out all our handpicked Switch deals just below.

The Best Nintendo Switch Deals – Navigate to:

• Switch OLED Model Deals
• Pokémon Game Deals
• Switch Video Game Deals
• Switch SD Card Deals
• Nintendo Switch: Budget to Best
• Zelda Official Guides
• When Should You Buy a Nintendo Switch?

Save On Nintendo Switch OLED Models at Walmart

Walmart’s offering some great discounts on Nintendo Switch OLED models. Right now, you can save on the Mario Red OLED model, the White OLED model, the OLED model with Neon Red and Neon Blue Joy-Cons, and on a White OLED model that comes bundled with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Keep in mind, though, that the bundle is an imported model, so make sure to check the shipping time. This model also ships with a US plug and Switches aren’t region locked, so it’ll boot up your games just fine, including your brand-new copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe!

Celebrate International Pokémon Day with These Game Deals

International Pokémon Day landed on February 27, but there’s still plenty of deals leftover that are worth checking out. In particular, in the world of Pokémon video games, there are a few marked down to $40 at Walmart. You can check out these excellent game deals below, and to see even more Pokémon deals outside of games, check out our roundup of the best Pokémon deals today.

The Best Nintendo Switch Game Deals

Outside of the Pokémon game deals listed above, there are still quite a few Switch games discounted right now that are worth adding to your collection. Our favorite deal is on The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which you can get for $20 off at Walmart right now for $49.90. You can save on other big hits from last year as well, like Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Super Mario RPG, which we’ve listed below alongside some more game deals.

More Switch Video Game Deals

• Super Mario Bros. Wonder for $48.45 (Save $11.54)
• Super Mario RPG for $47.99 (Save $12)
• Super Mario Maker 2 for $44.99 (Save $15)
• Yoshi’s Crafted World for $42.99 (Save $17)
• Sonic Origins Plus for $29.49 (Save $10.50)
• Shin Megami Tensei V: Standard Edition for $27.00 (Save $32.99)
• Metroid Dread (Preowned) for $44.99 (Save $10)
• Zelda: Skyward Sword HD (Preowned) for $49.99 (Save $10)

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Perfect Switch SD Card for $25.99 (and More Deals)

The best Switch SD card should be fast, reliable, and as future-proof as possible. That last one is important, as it’s quite likely we’ll be getting a Switch successor / the next Nintendo console within the next year or so (if rumors are to be believed). Therefore, you’re going to want to opt for the latest in SD card tech, which is a micro SDXC UHS-I U3 A2 V30 memory card. That’s a lot of random letters, so to save you a bit of time we’ve left our top suggestions and deals just below for your convenience. To see even more SD card deals, make sure to check out our roundup of the best SD card deals.

More Switch Micro SD Card Deals

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Nintendo Switch: Budget to Best

While an outstanding deal might not always be available at the time of searching, there are still some incredibly affordable Switch-related products out there if you look hard enough. You can see our favorite budget to best items here, including deals on the best Switch micro SD Card, power banks, and an affordable Switch Pro controller alternative.

More Switch Budget to Best Picks

• Official Switch OLED Carrying Case & Screen Protector for $19.99
• dbrand Switch OLED Tempered Glass Screen Protector for $19.95
• Anker 335 Power Bank for $39.99
• Switch Pro Controller for $69.99

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Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Official Guide for $27 (Save $18)

With these, you’ll have a detailed overview of Hyrule, a helpful walkthrough to get you through the game, and much more. Not only that, but they have gorgeous covers as well, especially the Collector’s Edition. The Standard Edition has an MSRP of $29.99 but is on sale for $18.74, and the Collector’s Edition normally runs for $44.99, but you can get it for $26.85. Plus, if you want to complete the set, the Breath of the Wild guidebook is also down to $22.38 right now as well.

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When Should You Buy a Nintendo Switch?

The short answer is that you should buy a Nintendo Switch whenever there’s any kind of sale, regardless of the time of year. Amazon will likely offer the same console bundles on any other sale as it will on Black Friday, so there’s no real reason to wait if you’re in need of a Nintendo Switch.

That being said, there are sometimes some unique bundles and promotions during Black Friday that you won’t find any other time of the year. They usually includes additional games (like the infamous Mario Kart 8 bundle) or accessories for free, but quantities tend to be limited. As always, do your research into the seller before you make a purchase.

Where to Buy a Nintendo Switch in 2024

• Nintendo Switch Console for $299.00
• Nintendo Switch Lite Console for $199.00

With how expensive gaming is getting in 2024, we’re trying to save you as much money as possible on the games and other tech you actually want to buy. We’ve got great deal roundups available for all major platforms such as PlayStation and Xbox, and keep these updated daily with brand-new offers. If you’re trying to keep costs down while maintaining your favorite hobby, stay tuned for more incredible discounts.

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Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

Days before the release of Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, Square Enix unveiled an update making several tweaks to its predecessor, Final Fantasy 7: Remake. The change most noticeably impacts one of Tifa’s outfits, though there are a few other tweaks. But one other major change we haven’t written about yet is the change to Aerith’s final line in the script of Final Fantasy 7: Remake in the English translation of the game.

Unsurprisingly, a lot of people got upset about the line change. Without digging into the specifics of it, on the surface, the change appears to turn a line that previously hit a very specific emotional beat for the character into something a little less…poetic. It also seemed like a weird change to make now, of all times. The game’s been out for several years at this point! What gives!

Well, we think we have a pretty good idea why the change was made. The most I can say right off the bat is that it has to do with some plot events that take place in Rebirth, so if you’re planning to play Rebirth, just go do that and then come back later.

Because in order to talk about what’s going on here, we’re going to have to spoil the heck out of both Final Fantasy 7: Remake and Rebirth.

ONE MORE TIME: MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THE ENDINGS OF FINAL FANTASY 7 REMAKE AND REBIRTH ARE AHEAD. Read onward at your own risk! We’re talking about the LAST SCENES OF BOTH GAMES! The endings! Don’t say I didn’t warn you! I’m even putting a video in the way of the spoilers!

Okay, phew. That’s out of the way.

The line in question in Final Fantasy 7: Remake previously read “I miss it. The steel sky.” It’s said by Aerith after the group flees Midgar and finds themselves no longer under a giant metal plate, but under an open sky. It’s a beautiful line, referencing Aerith’s genuine love for the complicated, imperfect place she calls home and her grief in the wake of the Sector 7 plate falling. The new line read is far less emotive: “This sky…I don’t like it.” Yeah! I can see why people think that’s a worse version.

Notably, though, the original Japanese version of the line (which resembles the new English translation) hasn’t changed in the update. That’s almost certainly because the line was always intended to be closer to the new version. Why? Because Aerith is, from this moment in the story onward, looking at a very different sky than everyone else in the party. And she’s not too thrilled about what it means.

Okay really and truly, one final time, I am about to just spoil the bejeezus out of Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, including literally the last scene. Please go away if you don’t want to read that!!!

In Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, we eventually see what Aerith is looking at above her head through a series of strange, dream-like interstitial scenes that appear to take place in an alternate universe where Aerith’s old boyfriend and Cloud’s old best friend, Zack Fair, never died. We see Zack waiting in Aerith’s house, presiding over a comatose Aerith and Cloud, and interacting with Biggs, who in the original FF7 dies when the Sector 7 plate collapses but whose fate seems a little more ambiguous in the FF7 Remake trilogy. And when Zack goes outside, the sky is noticeably messed up – there’s a giant rift running through the whole thing.

Much later in the game, following the events at Temple of the Ancients, Aerith and Cloud find themselves falling together from a great height. Cloud appears to pass out, and we once again see a scene from this strange, alternate world. Except now, Cloud and Aerith have both woken up. Zack is out, so the two go out on a date, during which Aerith warns Cloud not to look up. He does, and lo and behold, the sky rift. Cloud has little time to ponder the meaning of this as Aerith drags him around town, and eventually, he snaps back out of it and into the “real” world, where the sky isn’t messed up and the party has found him, gravely injured but alive after his fall.

The torn apart sky comes back in the final chapter of the game, present throughout a series of battles where the idea of alternate realities is explored and confused even further. And it’s brought home in the final scene of the game, where the party seems to believe Aerith died at Sephiroth’s hands. But Cloud can see her, and even speak with her, implying he’s crossed over into a reality where he saved her. In a poignant moment, he tells his teammates not to look up – referencing Aerith’s advice from the date before. We, the player, see the sky blue and normal, but it’s clear in this moment that Cloud now sees the same torn sky he saw in the alternate reality – the same torn sky it’s now apparent Aerith saw at the end of Final Fantasy 7: Remake, when she remarked, “This sky…I don’t like it.”

Having only just digesting all of this, I’m still at a bit of a loss as to what all this actually means. It’s apparent that the torn sky comes packaged in with the weird, alternate reality stuff Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth are playing with, and that characters get pulled into these weird, converging planes of existence with messed up skies every time they defy fate. Aerith sees it at the end of Remake, and Cloud is looped in at the end of Rebirth. And as my colleague and reviewer Nick Limon pointed out, it’s possible the rift is connected to something called the “universe of death” mentioned in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake Materials Ultimania book.

What likely happened with the line change is that the localizers didn’t know the context of Rebirth at the time Remake was released, and interpreted Aerith’s line in Japanese as grief about the events that had just taken place. Nomura even validated this reading of the line in an interview. And Aerith, canonically, seems to hate the sky just generally – she brings it up repeatedly in Crisis Core. But the reflective “I miss it. The steel sky” line, beautiful as it is, is only able to hold the one meaning, that of grief. The new version, even if it is a bit more straightforward, is quietly carrying a double meaning. The sky is both symbolic of Aerith’s sorrow, and it’s also quite literally messed the heck up. In that light, the line change makes a whole lot more sense.

With Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth out today, I cannot wait for lore experts to dig into all this deeper and explain what it means, because that entire game was a wild ride. If you for some reason read to the end of this without having finished it, get yourself back to our Wiki guide for some helping wrapping it all up (or doing the tens of hours of extra side content).

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Developers at Rockstar Games have hit out at the company’s decision to force staff to return to the office five days a week to close out work on GTA 6.

This week, Rockstar notified staff of its return-to-office order, due to start in April, which it said had to do with completing development on GTA 6 “at the level of quality and polish we know it requires”, and to mitigate security breaches. GTA 6 is developed primarily at Rockstar North in Edinburgh, Scotland, although support comes from a number of other Rockstar studios across the UK and the world.

Now, the Independent Workers’ union of Great Britain, which represents video game developers in the UK, has publicly criticized Rockstar for the move, and published testimony from current developers who warn it will significantly affect their well-being.

According to the IWGB, last year 170 Rockstar Games workers in the UK signed a petition opposing mandatory three-day office work. Now, workers accuse Rockstar of “broken promises”, and have expressed concern about health, caring responsibilities, living arrangements, and a heightened risk of overwork (crunch). Some workers have said they moved their lives further away from studio locations that would now need to be reversed in under six weeks to comply with Rockstar’s demands. Rockstar is yet to comment.

The IWGB also alleges Rockstar had insisted flexible work options would remain available in an employee-wide email that said: “This isn’t our first step to five days a week. No one wants to go back to the old way of working.” The IWGB went on to claim Rockstar management has so-far refused to engage with workers on the issue, and will “pull the plug” on remote access to technology on April 15.

An anonymous Rockstar worker is quoted as saying: “Working from home has been a lifeline for many of us at Rockstar, allowing us to balance care responsibilities, manage disabilities, and relocate as we need. Now, Rockstar is snatching away that lifeline without a second thought for the workers who’ll be impacted most. After so many broken promises we now fear management may even be paving the way for a return to toxic ‘crunch’ practices. Senior leadership need to rethink their reckless decision making and engage with their staff to find an arrangement that works for everyone.”

Another said: “As usual, there has been zero consultation with us: the people who these policy changes most affect. Just one of my concerns is being forced to work late hours in the office to maintain contact with global teams when before we could log on from home to attend late meetings. This will mean missing out on spending time with our families. I am also aware of colleagues who have health issues preventing full time office work who are now left in limbo.”

And here’s another member of staff: “We the staff care greatly about the games we make and our passion, skill, and talent should never be taken for granted by studio management. It is together, through collaboration and a healthy work life balance and workplace culture that we continue making some of the most beloved and spectacular games in our industry.”

For years, Rockstar had a notorious reputation within the video game industry for brutal crunch in the making of Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead games. However, following the release of Red Dead Redemption 2 in 2018 and the shocking stories about the human cost of its development, media reports suggested changes were made to the company’s culture to avoid the same thing happening during the development of GTA 6.

Austin Kelmore, IWGB Game Workers Chair also hit out at Rockstar: “The workers in the IWGB Game Workers Union at Rockstar are pushing for transparency over pay and promotions, a healthy and inclusive workplace culture, and work life balance centred around what each worker needs. It is unacceptable that Rockstar leadership have gone back on their word time and time again and have ignored the workers’ requests for basic working conditions.

“Workers across the industry are done with letting executives make reckless and harmful decisions and the Rockstar workers are showing us the start of what’s to come if they’re continually ignored. There’s no better time than now to join our union and push for this to be the healthy and sustainable games industry we know it can be.”

The video game development industry has wrestled with an increasing call from executives to return to the office following the sea-change sparked by the pandemic. Last year, IGN revealed Ubisoft Montreal employees were left fuming over what they called broken promises in regards to the studio’s return-to-office mandate. And, more recently, Star Citizen developers criticized a relocation plan at developer Cloud Imperium Games.

GTA 6, meanwhile, is expected to launch at some point in 2025 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S. Some predict it will become the best-selling video game of all time after its debut trailer set viewership records.

Image credit: Ken Jack/Getty Images

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

A series of Helldivers 2 gameplay leaks have revealed a look at the upcoming mech vehicle type.

One snippet of gameplay, revealed by redditor fozzye18, shows a player exit and then enter a mech before stomping around a battlefield firing what looks like an auto cannon.

Take a look at this leaked mech gameplay from helldivers 2 @HelldiversAlert #HELLDIVER2 #mech #leak pic.twitter.com/Fz2KQxeZY1

— Kyudiepie (@Kyudiepie_) February 28, 2024

Since that initial post, more mech gameplay has emerged showing what looks like a datamined stratagem explainer video. In the clip we see a dropship set the mech down on the battlefield for the Helldiver to jump into. This mech, though, fires what looks like a machine gun on one side and a rocket launcher on the other.

And, even more recently, Helldivers 2 mech gameplay is popping across social media, giving us another look at the mechs.

More mech gameplay starting to show up on social media. #helldivers2 pic.twitter.com/2Wz2D3iglv

— Ulongtea 🇳🇬 (@ulongteagaming) February 29, 2024

The addition of mechs to Helldivers 2 would come as little surprise, and not just because of these leaks. Mechs were shown in an official Helldivers 2 trailer released on the PlayStation YouTube channel a month ago. Alongside the first look, mechs were said to be coming “soon after launch”.

The best PS5 deal we’ve ever seen has just got a lot better. PS5’s latest slim model bundle with Spider-Man 2 is now down to just $449.99 at Best Buy (see here). That’s huge, and well worth considering alongside all the other top PlayStation offers right now.

Now that PS5 consoles are regularly available to buy, it’s also an excellent time to start picking up games, SSDs, accessories, and more for it. Below, you can find a variety of different sales on everything from games to SSDs and even information on where to buy a PS5 now. We’ve also included links to where you can preorder Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth ahead of its release on February 29 for PS5.

TL;DR – Best PS5 Deals Right Now

Navigate to:

• PS5 Slim Spider-Man 2 Deal
• Best PS5 SSD Deals
• Best PS5 Headset Deals
• Preorder Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
• Budget to Best: PS5 Deals
• Best PS5 Video Game Deals
• When Should I Buy a PS5?

PS5 Slim Spider-Man 2 Bundle Drops to Just $449.99 (Save $50)

This previous Black Friday quality deal has managed to get even better. Now down to just $449.99, you can get both the PS5 (slim model) and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 at a big discount. Plus, considering the cost of buying each of these separately ($69.99 + $499.99 = $569.98), your savings are significantly more than at first glance. This is the best PS5 deal we’ve seen in months, and it should be snapped up ASAP to avoid the disappointment of it inevitably going out of stock.

Preorder Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth – Exclusively for PS5

The highly-anticipated second game in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy is officially up for preorder with a release date of February 29. It comes in a variety of editions, which you can see in our Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth preorder guide, but if you’re just looking to get your hands on the game, we’ve included links to preorder it just below. If you’re still on the fence about purchasing, you can also jump into the free demo that recently released, which is available on the PlayStation Store!

• Get it at Amazon – $69.99
• Get it at Best Buy – $69.99
• Get it at GameStop – $69.99
• Get it at Walmart – $69.99
• Get it at Target – $69.99
• Get it at PS Store (digital) – $69.99

PlayStation Deals: Budget to Best

It doesn’t need to have a massive discount to be a good deal, so we thought it would be a great idea to pick out our absolute favorite PS5 and PlayStation offerings that would be relevant to buy no matter the time of year, or the sales going on. From the latest DualSense controllers, to the very best PS5 SSDs on the market, we’ve got it all right here.

More PS5 Budget to Best Picks

• Pulse 3D Wireless Headset for $98.99
• DualSense Charging Station for $29.99
• PowerA Twin Charging Station DualSense for $24.88

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Best PlayStation 5 Game Deals Right Now

There are quite a few game deals worth checking out right now. One of our absolute favorite deals at the moment is on Armored Core VI, which you can find discounted in its physical format on Amazon for just $37.99 (after clipping the 5% off coupon), 37% off its MSRP of $59.99! We have several more physical game deals listed below, and if you want to check out some digital game deals, make sure to have a look through the PlayStation Store’s digital game sales.

More PS5 Video Game Deals (Physical):

• Star Wars Jedi: Survivor for $34.99
• Assassin’s Creed Mirage – Standard Edition for $39.49
• Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol.1 for $39.99
• Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate Edition for $53.90
• Stray for $24.50
• Dying Light 2 Stay Human for $28.05
• A Plague Tale: Requiem (PS5) for $39.49

Best PS5 SSD Deals: Silicon Power 2TB XS70 SSD with Built-in PS5 Heatsink for $145.99

Could your PS5 use more storage? Prices have been plummeting since Sony started letting people upgrade their SSDs. Right now, you can get a Silicon Power 2TB XS70 SSD with Built-in PS5 Heatsink at Amazon for $145.99. Now’s a great time, in general, to pick up a PS5-compatible SSD and you can see more of our favorite deals below.

More PS5 SSD Deals:

• Samsung 980 Pro 2TB SSD with Heatsink for $179.99
• Silicon Power 4TB PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 SSD for $217.99
• Lexar NM790 1TB SSD with Heatsink for $75.99 (clip 5% Off Coupon)
• Nextorage Japan 2TB Internal SSD with Heatsink for $149.99
• XPG 2TB GAMMIX S70 Blade for $129.99 (Clip $20 Coupon)
• ADATA 2TB Premium SSD for $129.99
• Silicon Power 4TB XS70 for $279.99
• XPG GAMMIX S70 Blade 1TB SSD for $99.99
• Corsair MP600 PRO LPX 2TB for $169.99

Best PS5 Headset Deals: 25% Off the Razer Kaira Pro & More Headset Deals

There’s no shortage of PS5-compatible headsets. If you’re constantly having to turn down the volume when you play, you might want to pick up one of these, then you can listen to your games as loud as you darn well please. And if you’d like to see even more options that are worth buying, check out our collection of the best gaming headsets.

More PS5 Gaming Headset Deals:

• SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7P Wireless Gaming Headset for $149.99

Best Time to Buy a PS5

Generally, the best time to buy a PS5 console is during major yearly shopping events such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the various Amazon Prime Day sales. Although PlayStation consoles rarely go on sale, you can often scoop up limited-time bundles that include additional an additional game or two, and more.

How to Trade in Your Old PlayStation Consoles

If you’re looking to trade in your old PlayStation consoles, you can do so at select retailers in-store and online. Often, the most widely available retailers are GameStop and Best Buy. However, you can also trade your used devices online at retailers such as Amazon and Microsoft.

Some retailers will offer you cash for your used goods, while others may provide you with a gift card that can be used in-store and online. This is a great way to offload your old gaming gear and get some money that you can put towards a newer console and games.

While trading devices in at retailers will often net you the lowest amount for your used consoles, there are also online marketplaces such as eBay, Craigslist, and OfferUp that may fetch higher prices, but you’ll often be responsible for packing and shipping costs, or be required to meet someone in person for the transaction, the latter of which poses its own risks.

With how expensive gaming is getting in 2024, we’re trying to save you as much money as possible on the games and other tech you actually want to buy. We’ve got great deal roundups available for all major platforms such as Switch and Xbox, and keep these updated daily with brand new offers. If you’re trying to keep costs down while maintaining your favorite hobby, stay tuned for more incredible discounts.

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.