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Tag: Prime Day sale

  • The best October Prime Day gaming deals: Save on PS5 games, headsets, controllers and more

    Amazon is back with another October Prime Day sale, and the event has brought a handful of decent discounts on gaming gear along with it. We’ve rounded up the best offers we could find below, including lower-than-usual prices on gaming mice, headsets, controllers and actual games we recommend. Just remember that the Prime Big Deal Days sale, as it’s officially called, runs October 7 and 8 and keeps some deals exclusive for Prime members.

    PlayStation

    The latest adventure from Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima, Death Stranding 2 is both a delivery sim deeply fixated on how we interact with landscapes and a massively indulgent melodrama that you’ll either find endearing or unbearable depending on your persuasion. Either way, it is undeniably earnest. It should also be a bit easier to come to grips with than the original. Outside of that predecessor, there really isn’t another game like it. This deal marks a new low.

    $50 at Amazon

    Split Fiction (Xbox) for $25 ($25 off MSRP): A pick from our guide to the best couch co-op games, Split Fiction is a imaginative crowd-pleaser that’s designed from the ground up to be played with another person. As in, you literally need a second person to play it. Like It Takes Two before it, it overcomes some hacky writing with brisk action, a lighthearted tone and a Nintendo-like commitment to presenting new methods of play. This deal for the Xbox copy represents the lowest price we’ve tracked, though the PS5 version is also on sale for $40 if you’d rather play there.

    Elden Ring (PS5) for $30 ($20 off): You’ve probably heard about it by now, but the action-RPG Elden Ring is both challenging and darkly funny, with a world that runs incredibly deep and feels lived-in a way few games have. It’s unafraid to test your resolve, yet it always grants you the freedom to simply turn around and find another path forward.

    Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (PS5) for $35 ($15 off): Engadget’s Mat Smith gave this grandiose action-RPG a favorable review last year. You need to have played its predecessor — and ideally, the original PS1 game — to get the most out of it, but it’s positively stuffed with things to do, and its combat system is still a tactical rush at its best.

    Gran Turismo 7 for $30 ($40 off): Gran Turismo 7 is the PS5’s premier sim racer, and a love letter to automobiles as a whole. Like the rest of the GT series, it revels in the patience and precision required to figure out how a given car meshes with a given course. Learning the intricacies of each combination is both intense and rewarding, and there’s a singular style to it all that just doesn’t exist with most sports games.

    Returnal for $30 ($70 off): Returnal is a third-person shooter roguelike that’s at once a technical showcase, a stiff challenge and an achingly beautiful reflection on the nature of grief. It is not for the faint of heart, but its bullet-hell battles are wonderfully fierce, and just about everything in it contributes to its overarching story. It’s also worth checking out if you’re eager to developer Housemarque’s next game, Saros, which seems to borrow many of the elements introduced here.

    The Last of Us Part I for $30 ($40 off): The PS5 remake of Sony’s zombie drama is one of the most unnecessary remakes ever made, but if you’ve never played one of the earlier versions, this is the best way to rectify that. If you’re looking to play the (even moodier) sequel, the PS5 version of that one is similarly discounted.

    God of War Ragnarok for $30 ($40 off): Ragnarok is another Sony sequel that’s more about increasing scope than radically reinventing itself, but its Norse world is beautifully varied and detailed, smashing baddies with a magic axe feels great, and the whole thing is excessive in the way you’d expect a God of War game to be without going overboard.

    Horizon Forbidden West for $30 ($40 off): Engadget’s Jess Conditt called Horizon Forbidden West the “total package” in her review a few years back, praising its frenzied combat, gorgeous art direction and complex narrative. It still has one of the more distinctive post-apocalypses in gaming, blending robot beasts with stunning vistas. That helps paper over some less-than-inspired side content and bits of sluggish pacing.

    Final Fantasy XVI (PS5) for $23 ($7 off): Final Fantasy XVI is a more straightforward action-RPG than something like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth: You don’t need to come in with prior knowledge of any other story, and its hack-and-slash combat is simple to pick up. It can get bogged down in pointless side quests, but its main concern is having you watch giant demigods melodramatically smack each other, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

    Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon for $20 ($10 off): Armored Core VI is a big loud action game about building a mech and using it to blow up everything in sight. It rules. But it’s not mindless: Its many boss fights are genuine duels, and it’s deeply flexible in how it lets you tweak your death machine to tackle stages in different ways. This ties the best price we’ve seen for the PS5 version.

    Metaphor: ReFantazio (Xbox) for $16 ($54 off): It’s about as subtle as you’d expect a game named “Metaphor” to be, but the latest from the minds behind Persona 5 is a fantasy JRPG through and through: bombastic, stylish and deeply earnest. (And long.) This deal represents a new low, though it only applies to the Xbox copy.

    Madden NFL 26 for $37 ($33 off): It always feels like Madden could use a creative reset, but at the end of the day, it’s Madden, and it works fine enough if you just want to scratch the pro football game itch. This is the largest discount we’ve seen for the latest entry, and it applies to the PS5, Xbox and Switch 2 copies.

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    Meta

    The Quest 3S is the budget pick in our guide to the . Its older Fresnel lenses aren’t exactly class-leading, but they’re good enough for those new to VR, and the headset as a whole is just as fast and comfortable as the pricier Quest 3. It supports the same games and apps, too. This deal ties the best widely available discount we’ve seen for the 128GB model. A configuration with twice the storage and a copy of the game Batman: Arkham Shadow is .

    $249 at Amazon

    Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (3-month) for $57 ($33 off): It hasn’t exactly been a great stretch for Xbox lately, what with Microsoft jacking up console prices, laying off huge swaths of employees and massively hiking the cost of its Game Pass service to $30 per month. But if you aren’t looking to cancel your Game Pass subscription as a result, you can still grab three months of the top-end Ultimate tier for a little less than its old going rate. While the service itself may end up being too pricey in the long term, it’s still home to a wide range of games worth checking out, so this offer might be useful if you have some free time coming up and want to blast through a few titles you’ve been meaning to get around to.

    Astro A50 X gaming headset for $315 ($75 off): The A50 X is an upgrade pick in our guide to the best gaming headsets. It should specifically appeal to those who own multiple gaming systems, as its base station lets you connect and swap between PC, PS5 and Xbox audio with the press of a button. It’s among the better-sounding wireless headsets we’ve tried as well, and its mic is fantastic. This deal isn’t an all-time low, but it’s the largest drop we’ve seen since February. The standard Astro A50 is also on sale for $237; that one works just as well if you only play on one device, but it lacks HDMI switching functionality.

    8BitDo Ultimate 2 Wireless Controller for $48 ($12 off): The Ultimate 2 is a versatile wireless gamepad for Windows PCs and mobile devices. It can connect over Bluetooth, a wireless dongle or a USB cable, and its magnetic TMR joysticks should be far less susceptible to “joystick drift” than typical controllers. Those with large hands may find it a touch too small, but it’s built well, it comes with a handy charging dock and it gets a solid 20 or so hours of battery life. 8BitDo’s companion software includes a variety of useful customizations beyond that. This isn’t an all-time low, but it’s still a few bucks below the pad’s typical street price.

    Backbone One (2nd gen) mobile game controller for $70 ($30 off): The Backbone One is a nifty mobile gamepad that wraps around your phone and makes playing console-style games feel a little more natural. This isn’t an all-time low for the second-gen model, but it’s a nice $30 dip from its usual street price. Both the USB-C and Lightning versions are discounted, with the latter down to $60. Just note that the PlayStation-branded version officially supports Sony’s Remote Play app on both Android and iOS, while the standard model only supports it with the latter.

    Corsair Scimitar RGB Elite MMO gaming mouse for $55 ($25 off): We recommend the Scimitar RGB Elite to MMO and MOBA players in our guide to the best gaming mice. It’s not the lightest or most technically advanced model, but it comes with 12 comfortable and easy-to-reach side buttons, which make it easier to pull off more complex actions in games like World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV. We’ve seen it fall below $50 a few times before, but this deal matches the lowest price we’ve tracked since May. A newer wireless model called the Scimitar Elite Wireless SE is also on sale for a low of $80.

    Razer Basilisk V3 gaming mouse for $30 ($40 off): We recommend the Basilisk V3 in our gaming mouse guide for those who don’t mind using a cable and prefer a more ergonomic right-handed shape. This is its lowest price to date. Note that Razer now sells a newer version with an improved sensor, but that one costs $49 more and isn’t a massive upgrade in real-world use.

    Razer DeathAdder V3 HyperSpeed gaming mouse for $71 ($29 off): The wireless DeathAdder V3 HyperSpeed is another recommendation from our gaming mouse buying guide. For less than $100, it gets you a sturdy yet superlight design that weighs just 55 grams — making it easy to flick around in fast-paced games — and doesn’t have any annoying cutouts in its outer shell. Its contoured shape should fit most small- to medium-sized hands comfortably, and it performs reliably for competitive play. This deal is an all-time low.

    ASUS ROG Strix Scope II 96 Wireless mechanical keyboard for $151 ($59 off): We speak positively about this model in our guide to the best gaming keyboards. Its sturdy case, crisp keycaps and battery life all impress, while the thocky NX Snow switches in this model feel and sound delightful. Its companion software is a bit of a mess, and its 96 percent layout may feel a little cramped to some, but it’s a nice buy if you want a higher-class pre-built keyboard. This is the lowest price we’ve seen since March.

    ASUS ROG Azoth mechanical keyboard for $155 ($120 off): It’s a couple years old at this point, but the ROG Azoth remains an exceptionally well-built mechanical keyboard for enthusiasts. Its gasket-mounted design and layers of foam give each key press a soft landing, while its pre-lubed switches feel nice and smooth. It even comes with a toolkit for manually lubing the switches down the road, and the PCB is hot-swappable if you ever want to switch things up. There’s a useful control knob and programmable OLED display for quickly adjusting settings and checking the battery level beyond that. ASUS’ Armoury Crate software is still fairly sloppy, however. This deal comes within a couple bucks of the lowest price we’ve seen for a model with the linear NX Snow switches.

    Crucial X9 Pro (1TB) portable SSD for $75 ($26 off): If you’re looking to offload some games to external storage, we consider the Crucial X9 Pro the best portable SSD for most people, as it offers fast enough transfer speeds in a rugged and compact design. This isn’t the best price ever for the 1TB model but it matches the largest discount we’ve seen since April. Other size options are also on sale.

    Crucial P310 (1TB) M.2 2230 SSD for $80 ($55 off): The P310 is a small-size SSD you can use to add storage to a handheld PC like the Steam Deck or ASUS ROG Ally. It uses cheaper QLC memory, not the faster and more durable TLC, but reviews say that it performs well anyway. This deal ties the best price we’ve seen for the 1TB version since April.

    Jeff Dunn

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  • The best early October Prime Day TV deals: Save on sets from TCL, Sony, Hisense and more

    Black Friday remains the best time to grab a new TV at a discount, but Amazon’s latest October Prime Day sale should be a decent time to take the plunge if you need to upgrade right away. While the two-day Prime Big Deal Days event doesn’t officially start until October 7, a small handful of well-regarded TVs from the likes of TCL, Hisense, Sony and Samsung are cheaper than usual right now. You can find our full list of the best October Prime Day TV deals below. We’ll update this roundup as prices change and new offers arise in the days ahead.

    Best Prime Day TV deals

    TCL

    The TCL QM6K is widely regarded by reviewers we trust as one of the year’s better TV bargains. It’s a budget-oriented model, so it won’t get you the same level of contrast, color volume or brightness as more expensive sets, nor will it be ideal for HDR content (especially in well-lit rooms). Still, its quantum-dot color, mini-LED backlighting and full-array local dimming more than hold their own for the price, plus it runs on the useful Google TV platform. It’s also a nice buy for gaming on the cheap, since its input lag is relatively low and it has a native 144Hz refresh rate that can reach as high as 288Hz at 1080p. This discount ties the lowest price we’ve seen for the 75-inch model.

    $750 at Amazon

    Hisense U8QG 65-inch Mini-LED TV for $1,082 ($416 off): Several reviews suggest that the Hisense U8QG ticks most of the requisite boxes for a LCD TV in 2025: robust local dimming and mini-LED backlighting, exceptionally high brightness, vibrant quantum-dot colors, a fast refresh rate (165Hz in this case), support for the major HDR formats and so on. It’s a higher-end option than something like the TCL QM6K with much better brightness and contrast, though it still falls short of a good OLED TV when it comes to the latter. Like most LCD panels, it’ll also look a bit washed out if you view it from an angle. It has three HDMI 2.1 ports, which is one fewer than many other TVs in this price range, though it uniquely includes a USB-C video input if you want to hook up a gaming laptop or Nintendo Switch. (Just note that you won’t get VRR or HDR when using that.) You’d mainly get it over an OLED TV if you’re willing to trade some picture quality for something that’s better-suited in a bright room. This deal on the 65-inch model isn’t an all-time low, but it matches the best price we’ve tracked since July.

    Samsung S90F 55-inch QD-OLED TV for $1,498 ($100 off): The Samsung S90F is an upper-tier model with a QD-OLED panel, which blends the usual perks of a quality OLED set — near-perfect contrast, wide viewing angles, clear motion, low input lag — with a layer of quantum dots. This helps it produce a wider gamut of more vivid colors compared to traditional WOLED TVs. It also comes with four HDMI 2.1 ports and has a fast refresh rate of 144Hz. It doesn’t support Dolby Vision HDR, however, and reviews we trust say that the LG C5, a competing WOLED model, retains darker black levels in a bright room. (The S90F has a more colorful image, though.) We saw this 55-inch model go for $100 less earlier in the month, but this deal matches the best price we’ve tracked otherwise. The 65-inch version is similarly discounted. Just make sure you only buy the 55-, 65- or 77-inch model, as every other size in the US uses a lesser WOLED panel. Shady, we know.

    Sony Bravia 8 II 65-inch QD-OLED TV for $2,998 ($502 off): It’s certainly not cheap, but the Sony Bravia 8 II has earned plaudits for its excellent image processing, upscaling and overall accuracy alongside the expected color, contrast and motion benefits of its QD-OLED display. This should help it make lots of movies and shows look closer to their original intent. It also uses the handy Google TV interface. Outside of an extremely brief dip in June, this deal matches the best price to date for the 65-inch version. That said, if you can’t stomach the high price, other reviews note that the older Sony A95L offers similar performance a bit less, while more recent competitors like the LG G5 and Samsung S95F can get noticeably brighter (even if they’re not always as accurate). Those two should be better for gaming as well, as the Bravia 8 II only has two HDMI 2.1 ports — one of which is an eARC port for soundbars — and its input lag is slightly higher.

    Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K for $25 ($25 off): The standard Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K offers the same core experience as the pricier Fire TV Stick 4K Max, only it comes with a slightly slower processor, half the storage (8GB) and Wi-Fi 6 instead of Wi-Fi 6E. For most people just looking for a casual streamer on the cheap, those shouldn’t be huge losses. This model is also more powerful than the just-announced Fire TV 4K Select, though its Fire OS interface can still be messy and ad-heavy, with special emphasis on Amazon’s own services. This deal is $3 more than the stick’s all-time low, though it matches the best price we’ve seen since Black Friday last year.

    Amazon Fire TV Stick HD for $18 ($17 off): The Fire TV Stick HD is the budget pick in our guide to the best streaming devices. It can only stream up to 1080p, and it can run a bit choppier than the 4K models since it has a slower chipset and half the RAM (1GB). The usual issues with the Fire TV interface still apply here too. But if you just want to add streaming apps to an aging TV or basic monitor for as little cash as possible, it should get the job done. This discount ties the device’s lowest price to date.

    Jeff Dunn

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