Right at the end of January we learned that there would be yet another version of the Nintendo Switch on sale, this time in the form of one branded with Animal Crossing colours and insignia. At the time we didn’t know if this version of the console would be available in South Africa, but it is and you can pre-order it right now.

The Animal Crossing New Horizons Edition of the Nintendo Switch is for sale directly from Nintendo South Africa for R7 799.

At the time of writing Nintendo SA sells the newer version of the original Switch (the one with the newer CPU) for R6 999, so why the price difference? That’s because the local version of the Animal Crossing New Horizons Edition also comes with a download code for the game it is named after.

As the game is currently being sold for R999, you are effectively paying R200 less. If you don’t already have a Switch and you were planning to buy a console and this game at the same time, this is the perfect bundle to pull that off.

Announced at the same time as the console were special “Aloha Edition” carrying cases and screen protectors. These are also available in South Africa for R549 a pop for both the original Switch and the Switch Lite. Strangely enough, right now, these only seem to be available from local online retailer Raru.

As always we advise against pre-ordering. While the Animal Crossing games have a solid track record you never know what the quality of a new game is going to be like. Pre-ordering a console is even more risky, even if it is tried and tested hardware like the Switch.

As we’ve seen previous branded consoles like this on store shelves months after release, we recommend holding off on purchases at least until early reviews are in around the time of New Horizons’ launch, which is 20th March.