Nintendo Switch - Mario Odyssey bundle announced

With the production problems and worldwide stock shortages that have beset the Nintendo Switch since launch, it's perhaps not a huge surprise that Nintendo have kept things simple when it's come to hard bundles so far. In Europe, other than the vanilla bundles of the Switch we've had only the Splatoon 2 bundle, while some territories have also had a Mario Kart 8 Deluxe bundle.

However, with supply issues slowly abating, Nintendo have announced a worldwide bundle to tie in with the system's biggest Q4 release, Mario Odyssey, to launch on the same day as the game (October 27th).

Odyssey is set to be a return to the free-roaming style of Mario gameplay established by Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine and still held in high esteem by Nintendo fans. With several colourful, disparate worlds already previewed, expectations are high, with some believing the game could give The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild a run for its money in the game of the year stakes.

As well as coming packaged with the game, the Switch bundle will feature an apparently new colour of Joy-Con controllers. Previously, the Switch has been available with a 'neon red' colour. Those packaged with the Odyssey bundle appear to be a slightly darker red (closer to the classic Nintendo shade), and are referred to on the bundle's box as just 'red'. So far, there's no word on whether these Joy-Con will be available separately, but it's yet another pair for the Switch completionist to pick up.

Also announced was an Odyssey-themed soft carry case, again in red, but this isn't part of the of the packaged bundle and will have to be picked up separately.