Nintendo bundles up again

Nintendo is a bit package-happy this holiday season. We've already seen a Nintendogs-DS combo, and the company this week announced a Mario Party 7-GameCube bundle, and the lineup of game-and-system combinations is still expanding. Nintendo has just released a Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness-GameCube package to retail, and is readying a deal that will combine a new color of the DS system with Mario Kart DS when that game launches next month.

The Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness bundle comes with a copy of the game, a GameCube system, and a limited edition Pokemon XD faceplate. It also carries the same $99.99 price tag as the stand-alone GameCube system and the Mario Party 7 combo pack, which launches November 7.

Like Nintendogs before it, the Mario Kart DS bundle will offer the game with a new color of the DS hardware and some game-related trinkets. For $149.99, gamers get a hot rod red-colored DS, a checkered-flag wrist strap, and some racing-themed decals to plaster over the new system. That shaves about $15 off the retail price of the game ($34.99) and system ($129.99) purchased separately.

Both Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness and Mario Kart DS are rated E for Everyone. For more on the games, check out GameSpot's full review of Pokemon XD, and its latest preview of Mario Kart DS.