Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave launched this week as the strategy-RPG series’ first release on Switch 2 and the console’s first major autumn exclusive. The Nintendo franchise may sit outside the company’s biggest tier, but its dedicated audience was quick to take advantage of a rather unusual launch-week discount.
The chain reaction began when deal-focused gaming account Wario64 shared Walmart’s $10 promotion for online pickup and delivery orders. Applied to the $70 digital edition, the offer represented a saving of almost 15 per cent.
Walmart’s discount code was inconsistent, so the post suggested changing the order method to pickup. When that failed, adding a single banana to the order reportedly helped some customers apply the FAST30 code. A link to Walmart’s individual-banana listing was included as part of the workaround.
Players posted screenshots showing their Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave purchases alongside the bananas added to their orders. One customer celebrated after the workaround succeeded, while another described it as a particularly good deal.
The joke appears to have had a real effect online. Walmart’s banana listing later showed the item as unavailable for online shipping, although that does not mean the retailer is about to run out of bananas in its physical stores.
Another player posted that Walmart’s online banana supply had been affected by the promotion, while further screenshots showed customers using the add-on to complete discounted purchases.
Physical copies are also becoming scarce
The more meaningful stock issue concerns the game itself. Boxed copies cost $80, yet players have reportedly continued buying them as supplies tightened. Walmart listed the physical edition as low stock, and Amazon was out of stock at different points between launch day and the present.
An update shared on September 18 described the physical release as temporarily unavailable at Amazon and sold out at Walmart. The game was also listed at number one on the eShop best-sellers chart at that time. Buyers tracking availability can view the latest stock update.
It remains unclear whether demand has genuinely exceeded supply or whether Nintendo produced a relatively small initial shipment, creating a launch-week squeeze. A comparable situation affected Pokémon Pokopia, whose physical edition was difficult to find during its release month before later inventory eased the shortage.
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Whether the banana trick caused a genuine online shortage or simply gave launch-week shoppers an amusing discount method, the episode shows how quickly a widely shared deal can influence retail behaviour—and how strong interest in physical games can look when stock is limited.
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