Target’s Nintendo Customer Appreciation Sale listings point to first-party Switch discounts including Super Mario Galaxy 1 + 2, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Animal Crossing, while the wider eShop sale is broader.
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Target has surfaced Nintendo’s first-party sale before the full retail picture settles
Target’s weekly sale listing has put names to part of Nintendo’s Customer Appreciation Sale in the United States, creating the practical question Nintendo shoppers actually care about: which first-party games are discounted at retail, and should Super Mario Galaxy fans jump now? According to My Nintendo News, Target has listed a handful of first-party titles tied to the promotion, including the Super Mario Galaxy Collection, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The same report says the sale begins on the Nintendo eShop at 9 p.m. PT and at retail the following day.
That retail preview matters because Nintendo of America had announced the Customer Appreciation Sale without initially naming every first-party game included, according to My Nintendo News. Once the eShop sale went live, Nintendo Everything reported that close to 100 games were discounted, with 30 percent savings across a broad group of Switch titles. So Target’s page is useful, but it is also incomplete by design. It shows a retail slice of the sale, while the eShop listing shows a much larger software event.
For readers searching Target Nintendo sale pages today, the cleanest takeaway is this: Target appears to be participating with some high-profile physical Switch games, but the wider Nintendo Customer Appreciation Sale is broader than Target’s early visible lineup.
The confirmed Target names are small in number, but heavy hitters
The Target-linked first-party games named by My Nintendo News are exactly the kind of evergreen titles Nintendo rarely needs to discount to keep selling. Super Mario Galaxy Collection, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons cover three different buying moods: 3D platforming, local and online racing, and cozy life-sim routine. For a sale framed around customer appreciation, that is a much stronger retail signal than a handful of deep catalog curios.
There is one naming wrinkle worth flagging. My Nintendo News refers to the Mario release as the Super Mario Galaxy Collection, while Nintendo Everything’s sale coverage calls it Super Mario Galaxy 1 + 2, and 9to5Toys lists it as Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2. Those sources are clearly pointing readers toward the same Galaxy pairing, but the different shorthand is a reminder to check the actual product page before checkout, especially if you are buying a physical copy as a gift.
A Reddit post on r/NintendoSwitch also points users toward Target’s weekly ad for the Customer Appreciation Sale starting September 13. Reddit is not the primary confirmation here, but it shows why Target’s listing spread quickly: shoppers wanted the retailer-specific version before Nintendo’s own eShop list told the whole story.
The eShop sale is much wider than Target’s visible first-party preview
Nintendo Everything reports that the Customer Appreciation Sale is now live and includes close to 100 discounted games on the Nintendo eShop. Its published list includes Nintendo-published and first-party-associated titles such as 1-2-Switch at $34.99, Animal Crossing: New Horizons at $41.99, ARMS at $41.99, Astral Chain at $41.99, Bayonetta 3 at $41.99, Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon at $41.99, Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain at $20.99, BoxBoy + BoxGirl at $6.99, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker at $27.99, Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics at $27.99, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze at $41.99, and Donkey Kong Country Returns HD at $41.99.
That broader list changes how to read the Target Nintendo sale. Target is not necessarily excluding every game it has not surfaced in early coverage. The available offers can vary by retailer and sales channel, as Archyde notes in its summary of the promotion across the Nintendo eShop, Nintendo Store, and participating retail locations. Digital buyers should use the eShop as the most complete reference point. Physical buyers should compare Target against other retailers once their weekly ads and product pages are live.
The size of the eShop list also gives the sale a different texture than a standard weekend markdown. This is not a single-franchise promotion. It spans platformers, party games, action games, adventure remasters, and family staples, which makes the gaps at any individual retailer more important to notice.
Mario Galaxy 1 + 2 is the cleanest buy-now case in the sale
For Super Mario Galaxy fans, the best confirmed data point comes from the broader sale coverage rather than Target alone. 9to5Toys lists Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 at $49, down from a regular price of $70. Nintendo Everything says Super Mario Galaxy 1 + 2 has reached a lowest-ever price during the Customer Appreciation Sale. Taken together, those reports make this the strongest known Mario Galaxy 1 2 discount currently available through the promotion.
That does not prove a holiday sale cannot go lower. None of the provided sources confirms Nintendo’s Black Friday or holiday pricing, and no retailer listing in the source material promises a future markdown. Waiting for a deeper deal is therefore a bet, not a reported plan. If you already want the Galaxy package, especially as a physical copy, the current 30 percent cut is supported by live sale coverage and has a clear end window.
The platformer angle also matters. Galaxy’s appeal is built around compact planetoid stages, gravity-flipped routing, and movement challenges that reward playful curiosity rather than raw completionist grind. If that design is what you are after, the sale price is attached to two games with a distinct identity inside Mario’s 3D catalog. The practical advice is simple: buy now if $49 fits your budget and you want to play soon. Wait only if you are comfortable missing the current low and treating holiday savings as unconfirmed.
Switch 2 owners should read the deals carefully
The phrase Switch 2 game deals needs a little caution here. Archyde says the promotion gives players a chance to pick up discounted games across Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 systems, and the required sale image for this story frames the Galaxy discounts around new Switch 2 buyers. But 9to5Toys says the sale is not loaded with new Switch 2 games in the way some shoppers may have hoped. Based on the provided sources, this is largely a Switch software sale that can still be relevant to Switch 2 owners, rather than a wave of newly discounted Switch 2-first releases.
That distinction is especially important for anyone buying around a new console. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Animal Crossing: New Horizons remain recognizable first-party anchors, but Target’s named examples are established Switch games. My Nintendo News also links to its coverage of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe being updated for Nintendo Switch 2 with 8-player split-screen and more, but the Customer Appreciation Sale reporting itself is centered on the discount, not a new technical breakdown.
So the best shopping habit is to verify the platform label, edition, and any upgrade details on the product page you are using. The sources confirm sale participation and pricing signals. They do not provide a universal rule that every discounted game is a native Switch 2 edition.
The sale runs beyond games, but stock may decide the retail race
Archyde reports that the Customer Appreciation Sale runs from September 13 through September 26 in the American market, across the Nintendo eShop, Nintendo Store, and participating retailers. It also says the promotion covers dozens of Nintendo Switch digital games and bundles, plus select physical titles, downloadable content, accessories, amiibo, and apparel. Nintendo Everything reports that Nintendo described the sale as one of its largest promotions ever and said it was happening in part due to tariff-related refunds.
That broader scope explains why Target’s first-party game list is only one piece of the shopping landscape. 9to5Toys points to Customer Appreciation Sale pages at Amazon, Walmart, GameStop, and the eShop, and notes that some amiibo appeared to be selling out early. The game discounts should be easier to track digitally, but physical games, collectibles, and accessories can become a stock question before they become a price question.
For Target specifically, compare the named first-party titles against the eShop price before buying. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is listed by Nintendo Everything at $41.99 on the eShop, matching the 30 percent structure. If Target mirrors that price for a physical copy, the choice becomes format preference. If Target stock runs out or varies by store, the eShop remains the broader confirmed sale hub.
How to decide before September 26
The strongest confirmed reason to buy during the Nintendo Customer Appreciation Sale is that the discounts are live, time-limited, and unusually broad for Nintendo’s own catalog. The strongest reason to wait is personal, not evidentiary: you may have a backlog, prefer holiday bundles, or want to see whether retailers compete harder later in the year. The sources provided for this story do not confirm deeper holiday discounts for Mario Galaxy 1 + 2, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Animal Crossing, or other Nintendo first party games sale titles.
For Mario Galaxy 1 + 2 in particular, the current case is unusually straightforward. 9to5Toys lists the package at $49 from $70, and Nintendo Everything calls it a lowest-ever price. If you are a platformer fan who missed these games or wants them ready for a Switch 2 household, this is a credible buy-now window. If you only want the absolute lowest possible price and do not care when you play, waiting is a gamble with no confirmed payoff.
For everyone else, let format decide. Buy digital from the eShop if you want the widest confirmed sale list and instant access. Check Target and other retailers if you want boxed copies, giftable games, or rewards tied to a specific store. The sale ends September 26, according to Archyde and 9to5Toys, so the real deadline is not holiday season. It is whether the current price, format, and stock line up before then.