We’re one week shy of a school holiday period, so it’s time to get ready. Yep, that means shaking some trees to find the most nutso game bargains, then squirreling them away to be devoured at your leisure later—possibly sans pants and pizza equipped. I’ve found a bunch of slightly older things inching from 75 to 95% off. If you prefer to stay ultra-modern, I also have the hottest deals on the latest stuff too!

In retro news, I’m celebrating the 37th birthday of a true great, Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo Entertainment System. I vividly recall being blown away by my first life-for-life playthrough of this at a mate’s place. Every stage we conquered in the “back 4” worlds of this save-less odyssey felt like a murder gauntlet survived. Every secret pipe or warp room we found—unaided by a non-existent Internet—was a cave of wonders unearthed. To this day, the infectious melodies and subtle physics of this 2D platformer still feel peak to me, and I can honestly say that nearly four decades have done nothing to cool my hatred of those spike-slinging Lakitus.

This Day in Gaming

Aussie birthdays for notable games.

– Super Mario Bros. (NES) 1987.

– Super Mario World (SNES) 1992.

– Super Mario Bros. Deluxe (GBC) 1999.

– Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii) 2010.

– Xbox 360 S console launch, 2010.