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Steamy Ghost Recon savings, 50% off the Complete Pack
This is not a drill. Keep your head low, your wallets open and your Steam account information at the ready, because this is an official weekend deal alert: The Ghost Recon Complete Pack is 50% off through Steam. For only $19.99 or roughly the cost of Tom Clancy's Fighter Wing guide, you can be the proud owner of all five PC versions of the Ghost Recon series including the original, Island Thunder, Desert Siege, GRAW and the latest installment, GRAW2. The money savings will expire prior to Monday, so make your "should I buy?" or "should I pass" decision in a timely manner. Please, try to keep an orderly line so the cashier can smoothly operate the checkout lane.
Wii Warm Up: Day of deals
If you're in the U.S., it's Black Friday, and by the time you get around to reading this, all the best deals are already gone. Isn't that crazy? It's not if you ended up with a pile of games, gifts, or both! So did you brave the crowds (or the clicks) at the crack of dawn this morning, or did you stay home, snuggled in bed, sleeping off the after-effects of tryptophan? If you snagged some deals, please share 'em with us, so that we may salivate with jealously.
Discounts, doorbusters, and more: TUAW sampler of holiday savings
Just because Apple aficionados have historically been willing to pay a modest premium for the world's best computers, music players and cellphones, that doesn't mean they don't enjoy the occasional bargain as much as their Windows-using, Zune-toting, Blackberry-typing brethren. In the spirit of healthy holiday consumerism, here's our list (far from comprehensive) of a few select deals for the Black Friday sales. You can get full-on shop-till-you-drop coverage at dealmac.com, and quick overviews from Gizmodo and dealNN. Naturally, Amazon and Newegg both have big discounts on most gear for today -- not all of it is good for Macheads but there are plenty of treats on the hard drive, headphone and camera front. Amazon is selling SwissGear backpacks for $24, which is tempting, and shows the iPod touch 8GB at $209; that's likely to be matched by the Apple Store's one-day discount as it rolls around the globe. Newegg has the usual excellent pricing on hard drives and flash memory, although not much on the 'secret deals page' is overly Apple-oriented; $19 for an 8 GB flash drive might raise some eyebrows and liberate some funds, though. The heat on hardware is also clearly set to 'high' with the discounts from Best Buy, MacMall and MacConnection. Right now MacConnection is showing the best deal on my benchmark machine (the midrange MacBook unibody), with a selling price of $1149 -- keep an eye on the other sites too, as MacMall is right behind at $1179. If you love to watch TV on your shiny Mac screen, there's a deal for you too. Elgato is offering $50 off of the $149 EyeTV Hybrid HDTV tuner and DVR software bundle today. This is a particularly good item for anyone who has an older analog TV in a spot where they don't have cable or satellite but they do have a computer -- it's a great way to get through the digital transition in February of 2009, as domestic US television drops its analog signals for good. Nobody can live by hardware alone, though, and there are plenty of software and accessory vendors who want to grab their fair share of your gift budget. A few of note below...
Billings 3 prices reduced until November 30th
Marketcircle, the company behind Billings (which I mentioned in some depth recently), knows that a freelancer (or small business) needs every advantage they can get to survive in this economy. Sympathetic to the plight of the individuals on "Main Street," they're offering Billings 3 for $20 off the usual price, and upgrades for $10 off until November 30th. If you'd benefit from time tracking and high-quality invoices but weren't ready to drop $59.95 to get there, see if $39.95USD sounds a little better. If you've already purchased or upgraded to Billings 3, you're not excluded from the party. Emailing a proof of purchase to Marketcircle will get you a voucher for the difference, redeemable for anything else in their store. See AJ's blog post for directions. Prices have also been reduced in the U.K., Canada, Europe and Australia with slightly modified numbers based on exchange rates. Stop by the Marketcircle store for details.
Six ways playing WoW can save you money
Summer's here, gas prices are up, and the economy is suffering both in-game and in real life. Ultimately, it's a "dogs and cats sleeping together" kind of situation for your cash flow. Jagoex over at Warlock Therapy has your wallet covered with "10 Ways Gamers Can Save Money." He's talking about all gamers, and has quite a lot to say for the console gamers, but his tips pretty much apply to everyone. Of course, there are a few things you can do specifically as a WoW player to save your bank account some stress over this bleeding hot summer.
O2 offers iPhone savings for UK buyers
On the heels of T-Mobile's discounting of the 8GB iPhone, the UK carrier O2 is also cutting prices on the lower-capacity model by a full £100, dropping the base price of the handheld (with plan) to 169 pounds -- deal good through June 1.More portents of 3G iPhones on the way? Or just a clearing of slow-moving stock on the entry level phone? Either way, if you're a Brit with a yearning for an iPhone, the cost of entry just got lowered.Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
DS Daily: What a bargain
We post a lot about sales. See, we understand just how many DS games there are that you need to buy; after all, most of our own paychecks get turned over to The Man (aka Satoru Iwata). So we're just wondering: have we tipped you off on anything you've acted upon lately? Share your savings news with us!
Financial analysis looks at PC vs. console costs
Even the most diehard PC gamer has to admit that their console gaming brethren get the better end of the deal as far as costs are concerned. But exactly how much does a console gamer save over the system'ss lifespan? A poster over at TechConsumer crunched the numbers and found that, when everything is added up, the savings aren't necessarily that great.When all is said and done, the full Xbox 360 gaming setup (including TV, accessories and Xbox Live subscription) costs $3,152 over six years, about $350 less than a basic gaming PC for the same period. Of course that cost includes a 42" 1080p TV, while the comparable PC uses a relatively paltry 22 inch display. When a comparable screen is used on the PC, the savings on the console side balloon to near $1,200.The real killer for the PC, of course, is the upgrades (estimated in this study at $250 every other year) and recommended full-on replacements (every three years) that come much more frequently than the console equivalents (one replacement every six years). So, PC gamers, is it worth the extra money?
Save on iPods or Mac gear: 20% cash back from PayPal for some sites
Happy Cyber Monday! Lots of online retailers are offering up discounts today and tomorrow, but if you use PayPal, you have the opportunity to save even more. At select merchants (see the entire list and details here), you can get 20% cash back if you pay with PayPal (the ceiling is at $50 for cash back per PayPal account, so maximum purchase price of $250 for the full discount), starting today. Some merchants are running the sale longer than others, so check the individual sites for details.What does this have to do with Apple and Mac users? Well, although the Apple Store is not a selected merchant (it doesn't take PayPal, but it is offering free shipping today), lots of stores that sell Mac products or accessories are on the list. NewEgg.com carries Macs, iPods, software, RAM and accessories; 20% off on a $200 iPod Nano, with free shipping and a free holster, is an unbeatable discount. eBags.com has a great selection of laptop bags (the 20% PayPal cash back is enough for me to bite the bullet and order the Tumi messenger I've been eying for ages). BarnesandNoble.com has lots of great books about Apple and Apple products and Overstock.com often has great deals on older Apple products and on iPod accessories.If you use PayPal and have been waiting for some deals for gifts for yourself or others, right now might just be the time to start shopping.
Apple TV at Costco
Ars Technica reports that Apple TV has begun to show up at Target and Costco stores. Apple TVs have been sighted at the Lincoln Park, Chicago Costco retailing for $289.99, saving you a cool ten bucks off the normal price. Jacqui Cheng writes that the normal Costco return policies seem to apply to Apple TV. Speaking of Costco, we last covered discounted iTunes gift cards during the Christmas season. Now that Mother's Day is nearly here, don't forget about this great Costco iTunes gift card deal. Pick up a $50 gift card for just $44.99 plust $0.50 shipipng and handling. That's a nice 10% savings. You can use the savings to pick up a rose or a chocolate or two. Mom will thank you as she rocks down to Nirvana or Barry Manilow or whatever.
Gamer Deals from Best Buy
No, we're not trying to horn in on Cheap Ass Gamer's territory, but with this holiday gaming season looking to be one of the most expensive in recent memory, we figured you'd like to be made aware of every opportunity to stretch those gaming dollars.Our first offer sees Best Buy trying to clear out their stocks of some PS2 Greatest Hits titles at two-for-$30, a $10 savings off the MSRP. There are some real clunkers in the list, but if you missed out on great games like God of War or Burnout 3 the first time around, this is the perfect opportunity to get them.For gamers who think the PS2 is so last gen, Best Buy also has a great deal for Xbox 360 owners. Buy any 360 game from the retailers and you can get 1,600 Xbox Live points for $4.99, a $15 savings. That's enough points to get more than halfway to a full version of Lumines Live. Wow!Got any other advice for money-saving this holiday season? Share the wealth in the comments.Other deals: Buy two, get one free at Toys R Us, Gamestop(Thank T1mmae and Zegarek)
Breakfast Topic: Cash for Questing
Making money in the endgame isn't as tiresome as it used to be. With the addition in patch 1.10 of an xp-to-gold conversion -- any level 60 players undertaking quests get gold for them instead of xp -- my guild chat is full of boasts about cash rather than complaints about grinding.Farming for specific drops is still an excellent way to ensure lifelong riches, but now you can do some off-the-beaten-track quests and still get rewarded. Have you found yourself seeking out quests more, now there's cash involved? Or are you annoyed because you earned your epic mount "the hard way"? What's your favourite money-spinner?
