Mario

If you're a regular user of Amazon.com - specifically the US variant of the site - you'll likely be aware that a 20% discount offer automatically applies to any video games pre-ordered with a Prime account. You might also be aware that this discount offer will soon be discontinued, with any orders placed after 28th August being charged at the standard rate.

Well, it appears that Nintendo fans are making the most of a bad situation by stocking up on any great titles that they expect to want in the coming months. As long as you place your orders by that date, Prime members will be able to make use of the 20% discount regardless of the game's eventual release date, and some are using this little quirk to the extreme.

The current video game best-sellers list on the site has a number of Switch games in the top ten and, aside from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe which is often sitting at the top of almost any chart going - this is mostly made up of games which are still months away from release. December's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is sitting on the top spot, with October's Super Mario Party right behind it in second; Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! (available in November) is also up there in eighth place.

This is just the start, however, as Metroid Prime 4 has shot right up to the fifth best-selling spot despite not even having a release date yet - never mind any information, footage, or anything other than a logo to support it. Fire Emblem: Three Houses is also in the top ten, even though a date of 27th December 2019 is currently shown for it. It seems that buyers are more than willing to place orders over a year in advance to keep hold of that 20% discount.

Of course, it's likely that those who are placing these pre-orders would be picking up these games when they're released anyway, so this is a pretty smart move to keep their orders at a lower price. We just hope that they don't forget about these orders years down the line, with money going out of their accounts for purchases they can't even remember making.

Do you use Amazon's pre-order discount? Are you sad to see it go? Let us know with a comment below.

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[source amazon.com]