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Sears, Kmart launch Alphaline Entertainment movie download service
After Wal-mart, Best Buy and Amazon jumped on the digital delivery bandwagon it's clearly evident that just offering discs for sale isn't enough, and right on schedule Sears and Kmart are launching Alphaline Entertainment, a new venture created for the sole purpose of selling downloadable movies online. Powered by Sonic's RoxioNow backend just like Best Buy and Blockbuster, it's all very familiar, down to the $3.99 rent / $19.99 new release purchase pricing that we love to hate (with the Blu-ray version often on sale for less, why bother?) with plans to embed the service in a variety of connected Blu-ray players, mobile devices, TVs and more. It doesn't appear that Sonic's sale to Rovi or the addition of DivX to the company's fold has affected the deal at all, but here's hoping they plan on introducing a Blue Light Special pack-in like VUDU or Disc+ to make things a little more appealing.
The big, bad Black Friday game deals post
Update: Follow our coverage of Cyber Monday deals from across the web. Here it is. Home base. This is the page from which you plot your Black Friday assault on retail. Or ... Is it the other way around? Meet the "Big Six" -- the most prominent, national retailers to feature big, bad-ass Black Friday game sales. Go ahead -- click them! Highlights include: Best Buy: Family-friendly, custom console bundles [more details] GameStop: Pre-owned merch that's even more affordable [more details] Kmart: Bonus credit with most console purchases [more details] Sears: Order consoles (safely) online, then pick up after the mob has thinned [more details] Target: Solid sales on solid games (or store credit with purchase) [more details] Walmart: Is that a Medal of Honor in the PS3 Uncharted 2 bundle, and $10 Greatest Hits? [more details]
Sears Black Friday ad reveals Green and Red DSi hardware, new PSP and PS3 holiday bundles
Okay, guys. It's time to get yourself into a mental place where you can accept the fact that Black Friday is just around the corner. You there? You ready? Okay -- the entire Sears catalog for the holiest of shopping days has apparently leaked onto the web, revealing a whole mess of gaming offers, including: Black Friday Deals Hub Best Buy GameStop Sears Target Walmart Limited edition Red and Green DSi bundles for $150, which include Mario Party DS 160GB PS3 bundle for $300, which includes Uncharted 2 and a Blu-ray of (the new) Karate Kid PSP 3000 bundle for $130, which includes LittleBigPlanet and a UMD of (the new) Karate Kid 4GB Xbox 360 bundle for $200, which includes Halo: Reach $10 off the standard black Wii bundle Discounts on games like Medal of Honor, Fable III and Halo: Reach, all of which will be available for $40 We've contacted Sears to get a comment on the catalog's authenticity. [Update: It's legit!] Check out the relevant gaming offers posted after the jump! (Side note: A full-on ping-pong table for $260? Don't mind if we do.)
ViewSonic G-Tablet pops up in Sears weekly ad, mistakenly claims to be the ViewPad 10 at Sears' website
Did ViewSonic's 10-inch tablets catch your eye? We've got good and bad news. The good news is that the G-Tablet (with a 1GHz processor and Android 2.2) is now on sale at Sears for $379.99 -- even less than we were told. The bad news is that the Intel Atom N455-powered ViewPad 10 apparently is, too. We say apparently because Sears seems to have crossed some wires when putting the latter slate up on its site, most egregiously stating that that dual-booting device does both Windows 7 and Android 2.2 for the exact same $379.99. Last we heard, the ViewPad 10 -- like the eerily similar Tega v2 -- could only do Android 1.6 alongside Microsoft's OS and would cost quite a bit more. Don't rely on Sears to cut you a deal, folks.
Sears and Kmart launch streaming video service this Christmas
As physical media sales continue to drop it looks like the smart money is in streaming content. Now Sears (and Kmart, which it owns) is getting in the game with the Alphaline Entertainment service. Powered by Sonic's RoxioNow (which is the same architecture that as Best Buy and Wal-Mart's services), Alphaline will be available on TVs and Blu-ray players manufactured by Sharp, LG, Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, and RCA. Setup of your device is included in the sale price, which is pretty great on the off chance you are less able to setup consumer electronics than your typical Kmart employee. Keep an eye out for the service this holiday season. PR after the break.
Black Friday deals roundup, starring SonyStyle, Sam's Club, and more
It's less than 24 hours before the US Consumer Conglomerate commences its attack on the brick-and-mortar retail battlefield. We've already seen a number of outlets show their Black Friday cards, but now some of the bigger guns are revealing their specials. SonyStyle is taking a couple hundred dollars off of VAIO laptops, and offering some even deeper discounts on BRAVIA TVs. Sam's Club? Sears? RadioShack? Yep, their fliers are now out in the open. Even Canada's getting in on the fun, at least as far as NCIX is concerned. Stuff yourself full of turkey tonight, there's a war coming -- we suggest you prepare properly. Bonus: Here's a list of our most recent other Black Friday round-ups. Black Friday deals roundup: Best Buy, Lenovo, Verizon and more Black Friday deals roundup: Walmart, Target and NewEgg Black Friday deals bonanza round up Black Friday ads leaking all over town, we've rounded them up Sears Black Friday ad revealed, we'll be sleeping off our tryptophan hangovers
Black Friday Video Game Deals Hub
.nounderline a { text-decoration: none; } Update: The 2010 Edition is here! We wish it didn't have to be like this. But it is. Gorged, bloated and possessed by the lure of unbeatable savings, you will scratch and claw your way through masses of equally frenzied shoppers. There, in the dim light of dawn, you will forsake all that was sacred of the Thanksgiving, and take what's yours -- for an awfully good price. So then, let us be your guide. We've scoured the Black Friday circulars of nationwide retailers and singled out the video game deals in the guides below. Just click on a retailer to view: Best Buy | GameStop | Kmart & Sears | Target | Toys"R"Us | Walmart Head past the break for additional tips!
PSA: Sears charging $50 less for new DROID activations than Verizon
If you walk into a Verizon store today and pick up a DROID, you'll be out $300 (before tax) out of pocket, then you'll twiddle your thumbs for a few weeks while you wait for some mysterious PO box in Texas to send you your $100 rebate on a debit card. Wouldn't you rather just pay $200 upfront? Or better yet, $150? Sears -- which, we have to admit, we didn't know sold phones -- is charging just $150 without a rebate for the DROID today, a full $50 less than Big Red proper with rebate. We don't know how good these guys are with customer service (Simplexity is running the store on Sears' behalf, it seems), but truth be told, we can deal with a little incompetency for $50. [Via I4U]
Black Friday deals for Kmart and Sears revealed
And there it is. The first shot across the bow. The first salvo of sweet – yet brief! – holiday sales offers. The first indication that, yes, the day after Thanksgiving is going to be Hell for retailers once more. Behold: The video game-related Black Friday sales selections of Kmart and Sears, which we've posted after the jump. Please avoid trampling one another as you make your way down there. Here's a few big ticket items: Kmart's offering a free copy of Halo 3: ODST with the purchase of every Xbox 360 Elite, and both stores are cutting prices on a ton of big-ticket games (L4D2, Dragon Age, Brutal Legend) by $20. November 27 is going to be a long, long day, friends. [Via GamerDeals] .nounderline a { text-decoration: none; } Check out Joystiq's Black Friday Game Deals Hub or jump to a retailer guide below: Best Buy | GameStop | Kmart & Sears | Target | Toys"R"Us | Walmart For more Black Friday coverage, check out Black Friday Deals, Cyber Monday Sales, And other Black Friday 2009 stories today from Walletpop.com
No sequel planned for The Craft of War: BLIND
Uber-popular (and uber-cool) WoW machinima The Craft of War: BLIND has spurred more tipline emails than we can count, even after posting about it a second time, and rightfully so. Percula's work on the video was incredibly impressive and it was a joy to watch. The bad news is that Percula recently updated the video's YouTube description to let everyone know that no, a sequel is not planned for the video. He says that he was laid off earlier in the year and had to quit WoW to focus on finding a job, and in the time since, his interest in the game has waned. That's the bad news! The good news is that he still plans on making other animated videos, just likely not WoW-based ones. And for those interested in seeing what he's come up with between the release of BLIND and now, he says to look for upcoming Id Software releases, which he had a hand in. Too bad about the discontinuation of the series, but at least this means that we won't get a hojillion tipline emails for BLIND II, right? A boy can dream.
Sears Black Friday ad revealed, we'll be sleeping off our tryptophan hangovers
Woe betide the Black Friday bargain hunter; where once there were stellar deals on giant televisions and hard disk drives now there are slight discounts on underwear and handbags. Sears' ad for this year has been unearthed and, while it naturally has an eclectic selection of goodies on sale ranging from power tools to KitchenAid mixers (and that's just on the front page), from a gadgety perspective we're not finding anything quite worth lining up at 3:00am in November for. There's a 40-inch Samsung 1080p LCD for $599, about $50 cheaper than we can find it for online, and a similar Sony model for $664 -- a whole $10 less than Amazon is asking for a comparable model with free shipping and no uncomfortable small talk with other half-frozen shopaholics. A raft of cheap but mediocre games and movies will be available, some soon to be obsolete GPS devices, and lots of other random things stuffed into the PDF scan linked below. Not into the whole hunting for deals thing? The other link has everything listed out, making for easy text searching -- and for guilt-free snoozing the day after Turkey Day.
Holidaze 2008: The Best of Cyber Monday
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/The_Best_Video_Game_Deals_of_Cyber_Monday_2008'; Nothing quite like being packed into a frenzied shopping mob, is there? It's why we wait for hours in the cold dark with nothing more than the lingering memory of ... wait a second, it's Cyber Monday! Now we can spend money on reduced-price games without leaving the comforts of our keyboards! Here's our picks for the best deals out there today. Amazon Toys 'R' Us GameStop Wal-Mart Best Buy Newegg Target Dell Sears Buy.com
New DS Lites add color to Black Friday
In 2007, Sears offered ravenous Black Friday shoppers a pink Nintendogs Lite and an eye-catching gold Phantom Hourglass console. This year, to help you forget the fact that you're not rich enough to import a DSi, two further hardware bundles will be made available: an Ice Blue Lite with Brain Age and a case that looks like a Filofax, and a Mario Red model with an "M" stamped on it that ships with New Super Mario Bros., both priced at $149.99. It prints money, etc. If you take away that "M," these are basically two of Nintendo's newest European Lites. We admit to harboring mixed feelings about the "M." Would anyone else just prefer the plain red Lite? %Gallery-26441% [Via Kotaku]
Sears Black Friday deals slip out: Sony Blu-ray player for $179.99
And so it begins. With the day after Thanksgiving in the USA (more affectionately known as Black Friday) closing in, we're starting to see the earliest slippage of deals from big box retailers. Up first this year is Sears, which has let loose a laundry list of discounts that will be available for a limited time on November 28th. When peering at the items we care about, the most notable inclusion is a Sony Blu-ray player for $179.99; granted, we've seen the BDP-S300 for under $200 already, but the link takes us to Sony's fresher, better BDP-S350. Hard to say how legitimate that is, but at any rate, those looking for BD and audio can find Samsung's HT-BD2E Blu-ray home theater system for $599.99, and folks just now looking to dive into DVD will find a Memorex DVD player for $14.99. Check the read link for the full rundown, and get prepared for an onslaught of lists just like this from elsewhere as B-Day draws closer.[Via I4U News]
DISH Network's DTVPal converter box goes retail at Sears
Although DISH Network's $59.99 DTVPal converter box went on sale late last month, you've had to order it via the DTVPal website or by phone... until now. The NTIA-approved (meaning you can use your $40 voucher on it) box will soon start surfacing in 511 Sears retail locations along with 194 Sears Dealer stores, meaning that you can actually get in your vehicle and pick one up should you choose to do so. For us introverts, we'd still much rather have a brown box dropped off at our doorstep, but oftentimes there's nothing like instant gratification.
Sears uses virtual worlds for back-to-school marketing strategy
Summer vacation is setting fast. Soon school classrooms will fill back up with eager students looking to display their latest duds and focus on buffing their intelligence. Shopping has to ensue before that big first day back, and Sears and coolness don't go together nor is it the likely first shopping choice. That's not preventing their marketing department from attempting to target teens in the back-to-school spending craze. Sears has a new strategy which is to promote their products and brand name through social networks and virtual worlds frequently inhabited by teens and kids. The new virtual Sears fronts are endless arriving all across the Metaverse. A fashion event will he held in the Sears virtual store in Zwinky's Zwinchester Mall. 3d avatar creator Meez also has Sears B-T-S boutique offering clothing, backgrounds, and animations. Additional promotions will run across Alloy. The Gofish network will be hosting a runway contest in the Cartoon Doll Emporium and also at WeeWorld. Another Sears shop is present in Poptropica and The-N.com. NeoPets has some virtual Sears's goodies in their summer faire event. If that wears you out, Sears wants everyone to lounge around. It's commercial fun for the whole family, well not this blogger. Nonetheless, it's still interesting to see the searing crossover.[Via Virtual World News]
Rumor: The early-Brawl-selling side of Sears
digg_url='http://digg.com/nintendo/Rumor_Sears_selling_Smash_Brothers_Brawl_Early'; A GoNintendo reader, PRC902, reported that Sears was selling Super Smash Bros. Brawl early, and provided the above picture as evidence. The picture comes from NeoGAFfer Tenbatsu, who may or may not be the same person, and doesn't actually explain where the game came from, which is not much confirmation that the game is out on Sears' shelves. We did some journalism and called our local Sears, who didn't have the game in stock. So that's the end of that chapter. Or is it? Sears' website lists the game as in stock and, in fact, accepted our order (done also for journalism). If it ships within the next couple of days, there's a pretty good chance we'll be receiving it early. We will, of course, let you know what happens. We're hoping for either an early copy of the game or a $10 gift card.
Mirus' $199 Linux PC keeps the trend alive, lands at Sears
For those who haven't been paying attention, the market for sub-$200 (or value-priced, if you will) rigs seems to be on quite the rise. Hot on the heels of the Everex gPC and the recently announced Shuttle KPC comes a $199 Linux box from Mirus Innovations. Available now at Sears.com, this understandably lackluster machine houses a borderline ancient 1.6GHz Intel Celeron 420 processor, a slightly more respectable 1GB of RAM, 80GB hard drive, a CD-RW drive, 56k modem, an Ethernet jack and a 15-in-1 multicard reader. Furthermore, you'll also get a set of speakers, a keyboard / mouse bundled in, and Freespire 2.0 pre-installed. Ready to delve into the bargain basement PC arena? Hope you've got about three bills sitting around, as this one only becomes $199 after an oh-so-dreaded mail-in rebate returns.
Slew of retailers to carry TV converter boxes; coupon requests open in 2008
Yeah, we pretty much expected every big box retailer known to man to carry these things, but just in case you were worried about locating a TV converter box in preparation for the upcoming cutover, here's some comforting news. Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Circuit City, Kmart, RadioShack, Target, Sears and Sam's Club are all on the list to carry equipment necessary for analog TV owners to receive OTA programming after February 2009, and just in case one of the aforementioned giants aren't anywhere near you, around 100 more smaller retailers have been certified to stock 'em. Also of note, you can start the new year off right by reminding your great grandparents (or other family members, too) that they can go on and apply for up to two coupons -- which should arrive around six weeks later -- worth $40 apiece to purchase the required boxes. Or, of course, you could just pick them up a new television this holiday season and be done with it.[Via BroadcastingCable]
Sears ad shows off two new DS Lite models
Well, it looks like those that have yet to take the plunge on a DS Lite will soon have two more models competing for their attention, as evidenced by this Sears "Black Friday" ad that recently turned up online. As you can see, one of the models is a Zelda: Phantom Hourglass model, although it's a good deal more subtle than the one spotted earlier this month. The other is a metallic pink Nintendogs: Best Friends model, which gets in its cross-branding with equal subtlety. Both models also come bundled with their respective games although, at $150 apiece, those looking for the best bargain will likely be able to do better with a non-coordinated model.[Via Digg]
