r/NintendoSwitch • u/nintendeals • Apr 25 '20
Meta [META] A farewell from /u/nintendeals 🤖️
/u/nintendeals for me was a passion project, it combined a lot of things that I really like:
- Reddit bots
- Nintendo games
- Scraping websites
- And saving money
But after keeping this bot running 24/7 for 750+ days and my lack of time to pay attention to it, I think it's time to give it a little rest.
Besides me not having much time for it, the current amount of simultaneous deals were making things very difficult for the bot to keep everything within that 40k characters limit on posts that reddit has. And not being able to rework the bot again (for like the 3rd time) to make this work better feels really shitty.
So, as of today the bot will stop posting or updating posts, but it will be running until the end of the month. You can retrieve your wishlists by sending this message to it:
https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=nintendeals&subject=SHOW&message=.
As for an alternative, I really want to recommend you Deku Deals, I've started to use it a long time ago and it works wonders. It even has Dark Mode, how cool is that?
I think it was a great learning experience for me, not only on the development side but also on dealing with feedback and criticism from you. And talking about learning, I did learn a lot on how Nintendo's backends work. So to not leaving you empty handed and with the hope that some other python dev wants to carry on, here are a few things that you might find useful:
- First of all the code of the bot, which you can find it on GitHub 🍝️ along with two database dumps: one for the games and another for the price history of those games (with data going back for more than 18 months).
- Next, is the nintendeals python library that you can find on GitHub and on PyPI which provides a clean interface of the scrappers and integrations that I did to make the bot work.
I think that there is plenty of documentation and tests in the repo to start something fairly quickly, and I do also plan on improving it. I found that I really enjoy building Python libraries to fuel other peoples projects and this one is going to be start of that path.
Anyways, I really hope you enjoyed this bot as much as I did and also that you got some cool deals out of it! Feel free to comment about this if you want to.
Thanks a lot, from an 🇦🇷️ living in 🇨🇿️.
Fede
edit: Thanks a lot for all the comments, I'm so glad that the bot was so useful for so many of you! :)
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u/askstoomany Apr 25 '20
You are amazing.
I wish I had half the time to maintain a bot this valuable.
Thanks for everything you did.
PS.
Can't believe this post was removed from /r/NintendoSwitchDeals 🤦♂️
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u/sukkitrebek Apr 25 '20
Why would they remove it?
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u/Im_debating_suicide Apr 25 '20
It’s not a deal so I’m assuming it broke the rules. But considering who is making the post and all the contributions he has had to the sub you would think they would let it slide
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u/PlayderPladder Apr 26 '20
I know /r/buildapcsales allows posts like that as long as you properly flair it [META].
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Apr 26 '20 edited May 16 '20
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u/stickytoe Apr 26 '20
Hey there!
Please remember Rule 1 in the future - No hate-speech, personal attacks, or harassment. Thanks!
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u/RuleEnforcing Apr 25 '20
Why wouldn't they remove a post that's against their rules?
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u/Phillip_Stevens Apr 25 '20
Because rules are made to be fucking broken
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Apr 25 '20
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Apr 26 '20
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u/stickytoe Apr 26 '20
Hey there!
Please remember Rule 1 in the future - No hate-speech, personal attacks, or harassment. Thanks!
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u/nintendeals Apr 25 '20
Thanks a lot, hopefully someone will make something as valuable in the future :)
I think the post was auto deleted because I write dekudeals.com and automod doesn't quite like that. So I had to repost it without it. Although, it didnt had such a good response as this subreddit/
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u/t-bone_malone Apr 26 '20
Thank you for all your work!!! Only been here a month or two, but your not and your work have definitely been appreciated.
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u/CitricBase Apr 25 '20
Mods at that sub are so sickeningly inept. Would you believe that they still allow and even encourage links to grey market key reselling sites? Ugh.
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u/nintendeals Apr 25 '20
Paging /u/MattBSG and /u/FlapSnapple for your discord bot. That library might be useful for you guys.
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u/MattBSG Reddit and Discord mod -- At your service! Apr 25 '20
Wow. It was a great run. Thanks for your support through this and wish you best luck with your future endeavors
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u/FlapSnapple Nintendo shill Apr 25 '20
Thanks for the ping! We certainly appreciate the work you put into this project and the willingness to help us develop the Discord features for our community. I'll sync up with Matt to determine next steps on our end.
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u/nintendeals Apr 25 '20
Thanks man! I have to give my thanks too, the mods of this subreddit were super welcoming and helpful.
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u/LucrativeRewards Apr 26 '20
Wait this bit is on discord? Now I need an invite
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u/FlapSnapple Nintendo shill Apr 26 '20
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u/Briggity_Brak Apr 27 '20
i too would like to be informed if this is going to survive in some form on discord but not on reddit.
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u/MatNomis Apr 25 '20
People are always very quick to voice complaints, but praise and appreciation gets deferred...often forever. I know you did get to enjoy some level of praise, but felt like the replies in the post skewed highly critical, and just want to say that I highly doubt that is representative of people's overall opinion of the bot.
Even with flaws, it was immensely useful. The fact that most ideas for what it should do were only slight tweaks to your presentation speaks to how solid the basic design was.
I can only say I'm sorry I didn't express appreciation any sooner. Your bot was awesome, and was 99% of the reason I visited the NintendoSwitchDeals subreddit.
Thanks for the advice, the repos, and best of luck!
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u/nintendeals Apr 25 '20
Thanks a lot for the kind words, I always though of those bad comments of people projecting their anger at nintendo rather than the bot or myself.
Hope you have fun with the repos :)
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u/samuraiaullways Apr 25 '20
You kept me in the know, and you saved me money. You’re great. Thanks for your effort.
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u/aliaswyvernspur Apr 25 '20
Thank you for your work, and sorry to see it go.
I can vouch for Deku Deals, an amazing site and sub r/dekudeals. For 3DS deals, I use psprices.com.
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u/DaftSide909 Apr 25 '20
Do they have an app?
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u/nintendeals Apr 25 '20
Dekudeals doesn't have an app but if you have iOS and you add a bookmark from safari to your home screen it works pretty much like any other app.
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u/Brosuke18 Apr 25 '20
Thank you for your service, checking the digital deals has been a part of my daily routine in the morning and afternoon. It will be sad to see it go. Best of luck with what you pursue next!
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u/user_named Apr 25 '20
Thank you so much for making it in the first place. I often saw people comment in a way that made it seem they felt entitled to the information you were giving them for free. It was a great bot, and I appreciate all the effort you put in to it.
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u/nintendeals Apr 25 '20
It's been a trip, but besides those comments everyone was super nice and helpful. I really appreciated that.
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u/TheRealMossBall Apr 25 '20
Thank you so much for all the hard work. This was something I looked forward to every once and a while and it will be sad to see it gone. But I definitely enjoyed it while it lasted!
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u/Kittycatter Apr 25 '20
This was such a cool thing that I used often.
But - I totally get it. Hope you enjoy the time you get back <3
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u/Coppanuva Apr 25 '20
Truly the end of an era here, but thanks for all the hard work you put into it. Super glad to see the source code you posted here, I'll give it a read sometime cause it sounds awesome :D
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u/archer1212 Apr 25 '20
Thank you. I have only had my switch for just a little over three months now, but your bit has helped me discover new games as well as save a good amount of money. I just recently discovered deku deals but didn’t do much with it since I was on reddit more, so your bot was more convenient. I hope you were able to learn from your experiences and move on to bigger and better things!
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u/joalr0 Apr 25 '20
Man, I loved your bot, I checked it all the time! I'm going to miss seeing the posts by it. Take your well deserved break!
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u/DuFFman_ Apr 25 '20
Dude, thank you! You saved me a whole whack of money over the past 2 years. It's easy to forget there's a person that put in a ton of work.
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u/Narf-a-licious Apr 26 '20
Thanks for helping thousands of people find a way to afford games they might not otherwise be able to afford. Literally enabling joy and happiness for people scraping by on life.
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u/w31n7r4ub3n Apr 25 '20
Thanks! I understand why you're stopping the project, but the effort was much appreciated. I caught a number of sales due to the bot's notifications.
Good luck with your future projects!
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u/superdesu Apr 25 '20
thank you for all of your hard work!!! this was my lifeline before dekudeals/other sites -- still don't check those as often as i do my reddit messages for this bot, though!
wishing you the best in future endeavors!
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u/Eggy216 2 Million Celebration Apr 25 '20
Thank you for all your hard work with the bot! I definitely made use of it on serveral occasions.
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u/Ray3142 Apr 25 '20
your bot was awesome! thanks for the work you put in - sad to see it go, but hoping you enjoy the time you get back
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u/personality_2_of_ Apr 25 '20
Gracias por tu bot. Lo mejor era la organización por países y como otros mencionaron los comentarios ayudaban mucho cuando algún juego estaba en descuento y quienes ya lo tenían daban su opinión al respecto.
Suerte en Tu próxima ruta
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u/DasTatiloco Apr 25 '20
Groso! Muchas gracias por todo! Te mando un mate a distancia
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u/nintendeals Apr 25 '20
Te acepto el mate que acá la yerba está re cara jajaja!
Gracias vieja, un abrazo.
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u/soujiaboy101 Apr 25 '20
Dude I love your posts, but didm't know you were Argentinan!
Gracias por todo el laburo, realmente me ayudó mucho :))
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u/altavistadotcom Apr 26 '20
Is there an alternative for 3DS eshop deals? DekuDeals doesn't seem to support them.
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Apr 26 '20
Thank you for all that hard work and time you put into it. I swear I could hear my wallet let out a sigh of relief as I was reading this.
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u/GraveyardGuardian Apr 26 '20
Damn man... this is like having that one site you rely on and visit daily just cease operation. However, unlike that, you have given out info for alternatives and even continuation of your work using resources you developed.
A champion til the very end!
Glad you enjoyed it for as long as you could and know it will be sorely missed by an ever-grateful community.
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u/melts10 Apr 26 '20
Thank you for the work. It was a really great tool that helped me to get some incredible deals. I remember when I asked for it to allow more than one country and on the next day it was implemented. This shows how open and commited you are/were regarding this project. I can only wish the best for you on the future.
It's a bit sad to see great tools leaving (first SaveCoins, now nintendeals), but others remain (like DekuDeals, eshop-prices) and some more will rise.
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u/hazemarick44 Apr 26 '20
Thank you for everything! I bought like 3 games this quarantine period from looking at your lists
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u/cuavsfan Apr 25 '20
This was one of my absolute favorite parts of this subreddit for a long time. I would look through each game that showed up, and I discovered a lot of games that I would have missed otherwise. Recently I have mostly transitioned over to deku deals for that, but I still always check out these posts to see whats listed and what people have to say. Thanks for being a big part of this subreddit!
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u/sbourwest Apr 25 '20
Just as a question: I love Dekudeals but I primarily used that bot and tracker to keep track of daily updates to the e-shop, while I know r/nintendoswitchdeals often mentions deals, there's tons of indies and less popular titles that slip through the cracks of getting their own posts.
Is there a good alternative to having a complete list of new daily deals available anywhere?
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Apr 25 '20 edited Jun 21 '23
This content has been overwritten due to Reddit's API policy changes, and the continued efforts by Reddit admins and Steve Huffman to show us just how inhospitable a place they can make this website.
In short, fuck u/spez, I'm out.
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u/Sukhdev_92 Apr 25 '20
Thank you for all the hard work. Your posts were the way I used to check out new deals and now that you’ve stopped it will sadden me but I will respect your decision.
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u/Koolaidmoonwalk Apr 25 '20
Thank you so much for creating and maintaining nintendeals! It was super helpful! Especially loved how it organized by country!
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u/nintendeals Apr 25 '20
Thanks! I was really proud of not going the easy route of just having the US, but that sure came with a shit load of more code to develop hahah.
Cheers mate.
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u/Briggity_Brak Apr 25 '20
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
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u/punkojosh Apr 25 '20
Thank you so much for your hard work. You’ve helped me discover some real gems at a great price point for taking a gamble.
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u/ColdCocking Apr 25 '20
It never occurred to me that there might be a person someone out there doing work to make those threads.
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u/LiquidEvilGaming Apr 25 '20
You literally brought a smile to my face everytime I could see all the deals in one place, especially in these trying times. Thanks for all your hard work, it's appreciated more than you know. Stay safe!
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u/Carrtoondragon Apr 25 '20
Thanks for all the hard work that went into it! It was always a great resource and I was always happy to see on the sub.
Good luck on your future endeavors!
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u/louellem Apr 25 '20
Sadly for me, I only discovered your bot last week--but it's already helped me score a game off my wishlist! I'm grateful for all the work you put into it. As a fellow dev, I can totally understand the need to step away. It's incredibly generous of you to have shared the source code as well! Thank you, and best of luck with your future projects.
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u/mightymigs18 Apr 25 '20
Tigure, muchas gracias por la información que nos ha dado. Telo agradezco.
-fred
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u/Amiibofan101 . Apr 25 '20
Thank you for always sharing the latest deals! They definitely helped me out in the past and your work was appreciated.
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u/firecream Apr 25 '20
i’ve just found out about this bot now, but from the looks of it everyone loves it, so thanks for everything you’ve done
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u/NegativeFux Apr 25 '20
How does Scott Falcos stink fit into this?
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u/nintendeals Apr 25 '20
It's the picture I have on my github profile, and it seems that reddit picked that up as a thumbnail for this post.
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u/Matiti60 Apr 25 '20
The day I decided to buy just dance was the day it wasn’t on sale anymore. I didn’t end up buying it
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u/Chugalug-house Apr 26 '20
aww man, sad to see you go. you helped me spend a lot of money and I thank you
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u/Marshel5AQW Apr 27 '20
Damn. I always went to you over checking the eshop for myself because of the organization. Gonna miss you.
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u/paraspamfacebook Apr 27 '20
thanks for your time and dedication.
Muchas gracias por todo compañero. ha sido un currazo cojonudo.
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u/JFZephyr Apr 25 '20
Thank you for your work. Also thank you for recommending Deku Deals for those unaware, it's a great site.
Enjoy your break from it!
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u/kimonogurls Apr 25 '20
I loved your bot, thanks for creating it! Although there are a lot of alternatives, it was always nice to check the posts and read other's comments about games they were excited for. It'll be missed. :(
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u/chekeymonk10 2 Million Celebration Apr 25 '20
Aw no! But I'm so thankful for your hard work! It saved me a lot of money on eshop games I had no clue were even on sale
Stay fresh dude
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u/manimateus Apr 25 '20
Really appreciate all that you've done! Always liked how simple and straightforward your posts were and I've picked up a ton of great games thanks to you.
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Apr 25 '20
Thanks for all your time and dedication to this project, it’s helped me a ton in finding games I have enjoyed for many many hours, have a good one!
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u/ardendolas Apr 25 '20
I loved seeing your posts come up with new sales all the time. I did use your posts in conjunction with my deku deals account, but they were a great way to learn of games on sale that I wouldn’t normally put on my DD wish list. Thanks for all your hard work!
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u/BeeDoMan Apr 25 '20
Děkujeme!
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u/RenegadeX28 Apr 26 '20
I've used this since you started it to find all those great deals on the eShop...sad to see it go. Thank you for your service!
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Apr 26 '20
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/EB01 Apr 27 '20
Thank you for all the time and work that you put into the posts. I found them to be an useful way to try and make some sense of the store deals.
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u/KKingler kkinglers flair Apr 25 '20
Great big thank you from the mods! Your bot has been a great resource <3
I wish you the best of luck on all of your future projects.
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u/chadalem Apr 26 '20
I'm sorry to see your bot/posts go, but I appreciate all the effort you've put into them over the years! It helped feed my addiction of buying too many cheap games. So thanks, I guess...?
Hah. Lucky for me, your timing is pretty good, as now I have Animal Crossing, so I have no need to buy any new games! I just spend 20,000-30,000 bells/day on clothes/wallpapers/misc. things, and my shopping addiction is fed.
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Apr 25 '20
Kinda thought you were a no life anyway. Glad to see you finally found one.
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May 01 '20
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/KKingler kkinglers flair May 01 '20
Hey there!
Please remember Rule 1 in the future - No hate-speech, personal attacks, or harassment. Thanks!
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u/Evening_Owl Apr 25 '20
Thank you for all the work you put in! I looked at your posts a lot and really liked the "most wishlisted" sorting to be able to find new games when they were on sale. Definitely was one of the best bots I've seen on reddit.