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Why Are Nintendo Games Cheaper At Walmart?

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Whether you are brand new to gaming or have been playing video games since the first Atari came out you are sure to have heard of Nintendo. Nintendo is a classic video game maker that has been around for DECADES and has some of the best games because of their classic iconic characters that can only be purchased for a Nintendo console. 

One issue with the exclusive games for Nintendo is that it makes finding games cheap a difficult process. Whether you are an avid Nintendo lover who buys all of the consoles or just someone who is looking for the latest Nintendo games for as cheap as possible then you are in the right place. 

So, why are Nintendo games cheaper to purchase at Walmart?

New Nintendo games are often the exact same price at Walmart as they are at other stores online and off. Nintendo games get cheaper at Walmart when they decide to stop carrying a title so they put it on clearance. Since Walmart puts items on clearance when they decide to stop carrying them then you can sometimes find great deals on Nintendo games at Walmart but those games are rarely the most popular ones. 

Nintendo puts pretty strict controls on what retailers can normally sell their games and consoles for so often the only way to get deals is when a game is going to no longer be carried by Walmart or to buy it used via other methods. 

If you are looking to buy the newest released Nintendo games for a great deal at Walmart or any other store you are honestly just going to be out of luck. For example, I just cross checked a bunch of different Nintendo Switch games at Walmart and Amazon and both of those stores had the exact same games for the exact same prices. 

Unfortunately finding the latest games for cheaper at Walmart is just a pipe dream (see what I did there?).  

Finding Nintendo games for cheaper at Walmart is possible but as mentioned that is rare and only if a specific title or console will not be carried at that specific store or if the item was a previous return that is being sold at a discount because it was opened. 

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Why do people choose to buy their Nintendo games at Walmart?

There are many different places both locally and online where you can buy the latest and greatest Nintendo games for around the same price. Of course every once and a while you will find a sale or deal on Nintendo games but that is rare at any store. 

But why do so many people choose to buy their games at Walmart?

Easy access

There are Walmarts virtually everywhere and in the United States they can be found in virtually every city. Having such easy access to everything from groceries to Nintendo games makes Walmart a very popular place for people to purchase those games at.  

Walmart always has the most recent Nintendo releases and since Nintendo makes all the stores sell the games for the same price then the convenience of Walmart and the fact that many people are there on a weekly basis makes it a great place to get the latest game releases as well. 

Deals

As mentioned earlier sometimes you can find deals on a Nintendo game when it will no longer be carried at that specific Walmart or if it is a return and they put it back on the shelf at a discount. These kind of deals are rarely found at places online since once a place like Amazon starts carrying Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild they will carry it virtually FOREVER so that game will never go on sale there. 

Walmart has limited space for them to display and sell Nintendo games so they will only carry the newest or most popular titles so you can sometimes find deals on older titles that are being phased out from being carried in stores.  

Popularity

Ultimately, Walmart is quite simply a popular place to shop. No, it isn’t popular in the sense that people will brag about shopping there on Facebook but with 500+ Billion dollars in sales in the last year Walmart is certainly a popular place for people to shop. Since Walmart carries virtually everything that you might need from clothes, to food, to tires, to video games, it is much popular for people to just pick up the newest video game while they are there getting groceries or other things. 

Plus many times kids will want something to do while their parents are shopping so the game section is a great way to pass the time and find the latest Nintendo games for their favorite console. 

Easy returns

If purchasing a Nintendo game online it can be difficult to return or exchange it if it is damaged or doesn’t work properly. Since people are often at their local Walmart once or twice a week then returning items that are damaged or defective is much easier than having to go and ship it back to an online company, wait for them to receive it, and then repurchase the item. 

Since Walmart is local you don’t have to deal with that hassle and often just have to take the game and receipt back to the electronics section or the return counter and exchange the game right away with limited hassle or waiting. 

Can check the game for damage

Another huge positive to buying your Nintendo games at Walmart is that you can check the case out before you ever buy it and make sure that it isn’t crushed or damaged in any way. I can’t tell you how many times I have ordered a game online and it got crushed by the mail and so I had to go through the process of returning it and getting another one. 

I have even ordered a game before and had to go through the process MULTIPLE times because they kept damaging the game in one way or another. 

When buying from your local Walmart you don’t have to deal with that hassle and you can simply check the case for damage and even shake it to ensure that the disc or cartridge is nor loose. 

Conclusion

Certainly we would all like to save as much money as possible and get our Nintendo games at a discount. Unfortunately unless the Walmart you are at has some of the games on clearance or has a limited deal on the games then you are likely to find that the prices at Walmart are exactly what you would pay at many other retail stores. 

If you are looking to save money on games the easiest thing to do is to buy them used and after they have been out for a few years. If you cannot wait that long or don’t want to chance buying a used item then Walmart is a great option since you can personally check out the item for damage before you ever purchase it. 

Another benefit of buying from Walmart locally is that if you have issues you can easily resolve them in the store and you don’t have to go back and forth with sending items back and getting new ones and risking having the same problem over and over again!