Sometimes the smartest way to spend is on games that just keep giving. Today's lineup is stacked with titles that offer serious mileage for your money, whether you’re craving long-haul RPGs, roguelike reruns, or cinematic campaigns that beg for a second playthrough. From modern masterpieces to hidden-gem indies, every pick below packs hours of entertainment (and in a few cases, for the cost of a coffee).
In retro news, I'm using the sparks from an unexplained Canyonero fire to light a 22-candle cake for The Simpsons Hit and Run. I have vivid memories of booting this Springfield sandboxer at launch and feeling my justified scepticism fall away (because I'd already suffered through patently awful games like Simpsons Wrestling and Road Rage). Come end credits time, I had been served nothing but show authentic VO, quality quips, fan-service Easter eggs, and a perfectly cromulent, Treehouse of Horroresque quest. It's still pretty ridiculous that this hasn't been remastered yet.
On Switch, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom still feels like witchcraft. The physics-driven creativity remains unmatched, and discovering all the contraptions people have built online is half the fun. Meanwhile, Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes packs some of the slickest hack-and-slash combat Koei Tecmo’s ever produced, plus a time-twisting story that still surprises me.
Over on Xbox Series X, Assassin’s Creed Mirage takes me back to the series’ stealth roots. It’s a tighter, smarter experience that scratches that old-school itch. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is another gem, reviving 2D action with silky combat and bold art direction inspired by Persian miniatures.
For Xbox One players, Dishonored 2 remains a stealth masterclass where every corridor hides a dozen possibilities. Arkane’s worldbuilding and mechanical precision make each playthrough a new puzzle. What Remains of Edith Finch is its emotional opposite, a narrative short story that’ll quietly wreck you.
On PS5, Ghost of Yotei has been my obsession lately, combining snow-dusted landscapes with precision swordplay. Very obviously, it channels that same samurai melancholy Ghost of Tsushima nailed. Meanwhile, Just Dance 2021 never fails to break the ice at parties, though it often breaks my dignity too.
On PS4, DOOM Eternal remains cathartic perfection. There’s something deeply satisfying about turning demons into heavy metal confetti. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus doubles down on chaos with a pulpy alternate history and a lead performance that deserves more credit.
Finally, PC players can score some serious value. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a gorgeous French RPG blending painting-inspired visuals with turn-based precision. And The Witcher 3: Complete still sets the standard for open-world storytelling. Even after hundreds of hours, I’m still finding new side quests.
Adam Mathew is a passionate connoisseur, a lifelong game critic, and an Aussie deals wrangler who genuinely wants to hook you up with stuff that's worth playing (but also cheap). He plays practically everything, sometimes on YouTube.
Sony's official professional grade PlayStation DualSense Edge wireless controller is on sale ahead of Black Friday. You can get the Midnight Black color from either Amazon or Walmart for $174.99 with free delivery after a $25 off instant discount. The last time I saw a new (not refurb) DualSense Edge marked down was during Sony's Days of Play sale back in June.
PS5 DualSense Edge Controller for $175
The DualSense Edge is Sony's high-end controller for the PS5 console. This is a significant upgrade from the standard DualSense controller, with pro-level features like grips, adjustable analog sticks, mappable rear buttons, profiles, and more. If your analog sticks crap out, you can buy replacements for $19.99. The triggers have received special treatment as well. Next to each trigger is a stop slider that lets you adjust how far you have to press the trigger down to make it register. You can choose standard, medium, or short travel distances. Accessories include a hard shell case and USB-C cable.
If you like the standard DualSense's ergonomics but are looking for more customization needed for Twitch-sensitive genres like fighting games and shooters, then the DualSense Edge is calling out your name.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
For three days only or until supplies last, Woot (owned by Amazon) is offering an incredibly low price on Beats' flagship headphone. You can pick up a pair of Factory Reconditioned Beats Studio Pro wireless noise canceling headphones that includes a one year Amazon warranty for just $99.99 after you apply 20% off code "BEATS20". The coupon code field is on the last step of checkout before placing your order. Currently, the same headphone costs $200 new on Amazon.
Beats Studio Pro Headphones for $99.99
Factory Reconditioned with 1 Year Amazon Warranty
Beats is owned by Apple, and the Studio Pro is marketed towards people like myself who want a quality over-ear wireless noise canceling headphone but also don't want to spend $400 plus on the AirPods Max. The Studio Pro offers better audio quality than any other Beats headphone, and excellent active noise cancelation. It carries over a lot of Apple's trademark features like spatial audio with head tracking, one touch pairing, and "Find My" functionality. It also has a Transparency mode so you can listen to the environment around you without removing your headphones.
The Beats Studio Pro has a USB Type-C port for charging. If you want to use the Beats Studio Pro in wired mode, then can connect via 3.5mm audio jack or USB Type-C, which is a rare option nowadays. Most of the time you'll probably listen to your music wirelessly over Bluetooth, and the Studio Pro excels here with up to 40 hours of listening time on a charge. The Studio Pro also folds in for compact transport.
Should I Wait for Black Friday?
With Black Friday approaching, you might be wondering if there will be a better deal on the Studio Pro next month. These headphones typically drop to $180 new during pretty much every sale event and I expect this to be the standard price during Black Friday. Occasionally, the price has dipped to as low as $160. However, if you're looking for the absolute bottom level price and you don't mind getting a certified refurbished model with a reasonable warranty, I can say with relative certainty that $99.99 will not be beaten for the remainder of the year.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
The new Apple iPhone 17 is now available and as usual, the best way to score a deal on these new phones is through your preferred service provider. T-Mobile, now the best mobile network in the US (according to Ookla® Speedtest®), is already advertising a couple of promotions, including excellent trade-in values on older iPhone models. If you're porting your number over from another service, then you may not even need to trade in your existing phone.
Get up to $1,100 off the New Apple iPhone 17 Pro with Trade-In
Right now you can order a new Apple iPhone 17 Pro through T-Mobile and score up to $1,100 off in trade-in credit when you sign up for a new line on the Experience Beyond plan with AutoPay. Depending on which phone you trade in, you may be able to fully pay off a new iPhone 17 Pro 256GB phone (MSRP $1,099.99).
Here are the trade-in values T-Mobile has currently listed on its site. Note that other phones may also be eligible, but if that's the case, their values haven't been advertised yet:
iPhone 13 Pro - $1100 trade-in value
iPhone 12 Pro - $830 trade-in value
iPhone 6 - $550 trade-in value
The discount is applied in the form of 24 monthly bill credits. That means you will need to maintain your service for at least 2 years to get the maximum discount. The credits end if you terminate your contract early or you pay off your phone early. Note that there is also a $35 device connection charge and your account must remain in good standing.
The Experience Beyond plan costs $100 per month for a single line with AutoPay (plus taxes and fees). The plan gives you unlimited talk, text, and 5G premium data. Other perks include Netflix (Standard with ads), Apple TV+, and Hulu subscriptions, unlimited mobile hotspot, full-flight texting and Wi-Fi with streaming where available, phone upgrade eligibility every year, and a 5 year price guarantee. International travelers can also benefit from unlimited text and 30GB of high-speed data in Canada and Mexico and unlimited text and 15GB of high-speed data in over 215 other countries.
Get T-Mobile's "Apple iPhone 17 On Us" with No Trade-in Required
For those of you who don't plan on trading in an existing phone, you can still get an Apple iPhone 17 (MSRP $799.99) simply by switching over to T-Mobile from a competing service (AT&T, Verizon, Claro, UScellular, Xfinity, Spectrum, and Liberty PR) and signing up for a new line on an $85+/mo service with AutoPay. Similar to the iPhone 17 Pro trade-in promotion, the discount is paid out across 24 monthly bill credits. That means you will need to maintain your service for at least 2 years to get the maximum discount. A $35 device connection charge also applies.
The Experience More plan costs $85 per month for a single line with AutoPay (plus taxes and fees). Like the Experience Beyond plan, you get unlimited talk, text, and 5G premium data, but not as many extra perks. Benefits include Netflix (Standard with ads) and Apple TV+ subscriptions. 60GB of mobile hotspot, full-flight texting and Wi-Fi with streaming where available, phone upgrade eligibility every two years, and a 5 year price guarantee. You also get unlimited text and 15GB of high-speed data in Canada and Mexico and unlimited text and 5GB of high-speed data in other countries.
For more info, check the math at T-Mobile.com/Switch.
For a Third Option, Skip the Bill Credits and Buy the Phone Outright, Then Sign Up for the $25 Metro by T-Mobile Plan
You might think buying an iPhone outright isn't really a deal, and technically you'd be correct, but there's a good chance that you might actually be saving money in the long run. If you're looking to purchase an iPhone 7 and don't expect to replace it in a year or two, the Metro by T-Mobile BYOD plan might end up being the best choice for you.
The Metro by T-Mobile plan offers one line of unlimited talk, text, and 5G data for $30 for the first month and $25 per month afterwards with AutoPay. Taxes and fees are already included. You're guaranteed this price for 5 years, although being a prepaid plan, you're free to opt out at any time. In addition, you get perks like Scam Shield, which enables Caller ID and blocks or redirects spam calls, and T-Mobile Tuesdays, a program that gives you access to freebies and exclusive discounts every Tuesday. Note that speeds may slow if you go over a soft cap of greater than 35GB per month.
The Metro plan only costs $25 per month, compared to $85 for the Experience More plan and $100 for the Experience Beyond plan. That's a difference of $60-$70 every month on your phone bill. If you hold onto your phone for 3 years, you're saving $2,160 to $2,520 on your bill. That's plenty of savings to afford your next iPhone upgrade down the line.
Apple recently released three iPhone models: the iPhone 17, iPhone Air, and iPhone 17 Pro/Pro Max. The Apple iPhone 17 starts at $799.99 and is available in both 256GB and 512GB capacities. Major upgrades include a slightly larger 6.3" OLED display with 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate, a more powerful A19 processor, higher resolution ultra-wide and selfie cameras, and longer battery life with faster charging.
The Apple iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max start at $1,099.99 ($1,199.99 for the Pro Max) and are available in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB capacities. They carry over the same 6.3" and 6.9" screens of their predecessors but the screens are 50% brighter with up to 3,000nit rating. Other upgrades include an A19 Pro processor with more RAM, higher resolution ultra-wide and selfie-cameras, and longer battery life and faster charging.
The iPhone 16 Plus has been replaced by the new iPhone 17 Air. It starts at $999.99 and is available in 256GB, 512G, and 1TB capacities. The iPhone 17 Air measures only 0.22" thin and weighs less than 6 ounces. It features a 6.5" 120Hz ProMotion display with up to 2,000nits of brightness and the new A19 Pro processor (although with fewer GPU cores than the iPhone 17 Pro model). The thin form factor limits this phone to a single 48MP ultra-wide rear camera, although you do also get the new 18MP Center Stage selfie cam.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
IGN is hosting a special screening of the first two episodes of Spartacus: House of Ashur in Los Angeles, and you can get free tickets for you and a guest to see the show before anyone else.
The screening will be on November 19 at the Landmark Theatre in Westwood, more than two weeks before the show has its two-episode premiere on STARZ on December 5. Doors will open at 6:00 p.m., the screening will begin at 6:30, and you can claim your tickets by clicking on this RSVP link and filling out all the info. Tickets will be given on a first-come, first-served basis, so make sure you fill out the form ASAP.
If you’re not already familiar, Spartacus: House of Ashur returns to the bloody world of Spartacus and follows previous series antagonist Ashur in an alternate history where he lives through the events on Mount Vesuvius and is rewarded for his efforts to end the slave rebellion started by Spartacus.
In this version, the former gladiator is now the owner of the ludus (a gladiator training ground) that once owned him. It’s an action-packed tale centered on power, legacy, class, gender, and spectacle. And if you were a fan of the original Spartacus series, don’t worry. There’s plenty of sex and gory violence to go around in this follow-up, too.
Creator, writer, and showrunner Steven S. DeKnight returns to helm the new series, and Nick E. Tarabay reprises his role as Ashur, who has clawed his way from slavery into power. But now he’ll have to navigate new threats he’s never dealt with before: the cutthroat world of Ancient Roman politics. He’ll turn tradition on its head when he uses his newfound power to unleash Achillia, a fierce gladiatrix who’s ready to prove herself by any means necessary. And they’ll team up to create a new spectacle that shocks, disrupts, and offends the Roman elite.
If you haven’t experienced the original Spartacus yet or want to revisit it in anticipation of the new series, you can stream all four chapters of the franchise — Blood and Sand, Gods of the Arena, Vengeance, and War of the Damned — on the STARZ app and all STARZ streaming and on-demand platforms. And make sure to claim your tickets in the link above and be the first to see the first two episodes on November 19.
Not everyone is the DIY type. If you're in the market for a prebuilt gaming PC, Dell is one of the best brands we'd recommend. Alienware desktops and laptops feature solid build quality, top-of-the-line gaming performance, excellent cooling (further improved on the newer models), aggressive styling, and pricing that is very competitive with other pre-built options. Best of all, there are plenty of sales that happen throughout the year, so it's not difficult to grab one of these computers at considerably less than their retail price.
Dell and Alienware Coupons
Alienware Gaming PC Deals
Alienware Gaming Laptop Deals
You can quickly browse through all of the listed products on sale above. See below for our favorite picks.
Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 5080 Gaming PC
The best gaming deal to come out of this sale is the Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 5080 gaming PC starting at $2,045 with free delivery. The RTX 5080 is the second best Nvidia Geforce RTX 50 series graphics card, surpassed only by the much more expensive RTX 5090. It performs better than the RTX 4080 Super and the gap widens even further in games that support DLSS 4. This is an outstanding card for playing latest games at 4K resolution with high settings and ray tracing enabled. Check out our Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 FE review.
Alienware Area-51 RTX 5090 Gaming PC
If you're seeking the absolute best of the best in PC gaming performance, look no further. Alienware has just dropped the price of its flagship Alienware Area-51 prebuilt gaming PC equipped with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card starting at $4,300 with free shipping.
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 has emerged as the most powerful consumer GPU on the market. Although Nvidia has prioritized software updates, AI features, and DLSS 4 technology to improve gameplay performance, the 5090 still boasts an impressive 25%-30% uplift over the RTX 4090 in terms of pure hardware-based raster performance. The 5090 also has more (32GB vs. 24GB) and faster (GDDR7 vs. GDDR6) VRAM compared to the 4090.
Alienware Aurora 16 and 16X Gaming Laptops
Alienware's new mainstream gaming laptop for 2025 is dubbed the "Alienware Aurora" and it replaces the previous generation's x16 and m16 series of laptops. It comes in two models: the 16 and 16X. The 16 is the more economical model, but gamers should definitely opt for the higher-end 16X model. If you're looking for build quality and performance on par with the previous generation m16, then the 16X is its spiritual successor. It features an anodized aluminum lid and base, a higher quality display, a more powerful CPU, and a GPU that isn't throttled for maximum gaming performance.
Alienware Area-51 Gaming Laptops
New for 2025, the Alienware Area-51 gaming laptop features an anodized aluminum shell for both the lid and bottom chassis with a gorgeous iridescent finish. The frame is made of a durable and lightweight magnesium alloy. Cooling has been upgraded with generous amounts of copper and a new thermal interface material to better transfer heat away from your hottest components as well as more fans and bigger cutouts for greater airflow. Dell claims that the laptop can handle a higher power ceiling of up to 240W TDP without raising acoustics.
Design-wise, the Area 51 has a sleeker, more contoured shape compared to previous models, with rounded edges and soft corners replacing the traditional squared off design. The hinges are internally positioned so that they're near invisible. There's a transparent window on the undercarriage to show off the internal components. As befits an Alienware laptop, there's plenty of RGB illunimation, although most of it can be turned off if you want your laptop to be a bit more subtle.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
USB Type-C has become the standard for charging and data cables alike, so it's good to have extra on hand. Here's a great back to school deal where you can get some quality cables at a throwaway price. Amazon is offering a four-pack of Lisen 6.6ft 240W USB Type-C cables for just $11.99 after you apply coupon code "J5Y7AG39". That averages out to $3 per cable. USB Type-C cables typically go for about $10 per cable or more at your local big box store. These can charge nearly any device with a USB-C port, including your Nintendo Switch 2, iPhone 16, or even the new M4 MacBook.
4-Pack of Lisen 6.6ft 240W USB Type-C Cables for $11.99
Keep your cable collection simple. These cables measure 6.6 feet in length, which is a great general purpose length: long enough to still be able to use your device while the cable is plugged in, but not so long as to be an unnecessary nuisance. These cables are also rated for up to 240W of power delivery, which means they can be used to charge even high powered electronics like your laptop. They're encased in a braided nylon sheath for extra durability and aeshetics. Lisen claims that they've been lab tested for up to 40,000+ bends and 175lb tensile pulls, "equivalent to a decade of daily extreme use". These cables have over 4,500 reviews on Amazon with an average 4.6 star rating.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Black Friday deals season is fast approaching. It's the biggest shopping holiday of the year and overall the best time to find discounts on just about everything. If you're hoping to save some money on gifts and essentials in 2025, this upcoming sales event is your best bet.
With that in mind, Black Friday has evolved well beyond a single day of deals. While plenty of shoppers still tend to do the bulk of their actual shopping over Thanksgiving weekend, you will definitely be able to find deals well before then. Best Buy is actually launching its early deals starting on Halloween this year.
When Do Black Friday Sales Actually Start?
Black Friday is November 28 this year, but we expect most sales to drop much earlier than that. Based on last year, we expect all of the major online retailers to start offering "early" Black Friday disounts at the beginning of November or on Halloween and continue through the week before Thanksgiving. Right after that, the "official" Black Friday sales start going live.
Best Buy was the first retailer to reveal its sale dates for 2025, and it looks like its Black Friday sales will start on Thursday, November 20 this year. Amazon was one of the first retailers to kick off the sale last year on the Thursday before Thanksgiving weekend, and it would seem that trend has caught on for 2025. Amazon will almost certainly match Best Buy's sale start time. Costco has also announced that part of its sale will begin on November 17 this year with more deals arriving online on Thanksgiving.
You'll be able to do most of your online Black Friday shopping the weekend before Thanksgiving.
Best Buy, Costco, and Walmart have made an announcement about sale dates just yet, but it's probably safe to say that you'll be able to do most of your online Black Friday shopping the weekend before Thanksgiving in 2025. For many brick-and-mortar stores, you may be able to expect the full discounts even earlier. Some sales will still only take place on actual Black Friday, like at the LEGO Store, but for the most part the discounts will start ahead of then.
What Deals to Expect From Major Retailers
With the ongoing tariffs and recent price increases in the U.S., it's difficult to predict exactly what discounts we'll see during the 2025 Black Friday season. Tthe IGN Deals team has been covering shopping events all year and we have a decent idea of what you can expect, even if the prices will be higher than what we saw last year.
Amazon Black Friday
Amazon has one of the biggest Black Friday sales every year and tends to have discounts on just about everything. Based on previous Amazon sales like Prime Day and Prime Big Deal Days, you can expect the same discounts on Amazon devices we saw earlier this year. The lowest prices will most likely be on Kindles and Fire TV sticks, as well as Echo speaker bundles. Amazon has also been pushing a pretty steep discount on the Luna controller and subsequent bundles during every major sale this year. These particular discounts will most likely be exclusive to Prime members.
Outside of Amazon devices, the online retailer will also automatically match prices on popular products that are offered at other retailers. That means you can expect discounts on things like Apple devices, LEGO sets, laptops, TVs, and just about every other brand not exclusively owned by another major retailer. Amazon's Black Friday sale will usually be offering the same low price (or lower) as any of its competitors for these types of items.
After Amazon, the next biggest Black Friday sale you can expect is at Walmart. These discounts will be both in store and online, but the online savings should start a bit earlier. Walmart usually has some of the best deals on Apple devices like iPad and AirPods. You'll usually also find some of the lowest prices of the year on Walmart-exclusive products like Onn electronics, select Vizio TVs, some gaming PC configurations (see: the recent GeForce sale), and certain home appliances.
In the past, Walmart has also had some great Nintendo Switch deals that Amazon wasn't able to offer. We'd expect to see this again this year, most likely on newer Switch 2 games or Pokémon cards. Expect some of these discounts to be available early for Walmart+ members, which has been the case for other major sales this year.
In addition to popular tech and games, Walmart also tends to have deals on groceries, clothing, and toys. Walmart has been especially known to offer particularly good LEGO discounts, but stock tends to be fairly limited.
The Best Buy Black Friday sale is usually the best collection of tech deals during the holiday season. Many of these discounts will be price-matched by Amazon and Walmart, but it will still likely have all of the same Apple devices, TVs, and video games on sale as everywhere else. You can also likely expect some sort of video game console deal on the PS5/PS5 Pro and Xbox Series X. With the continued price increases, this could just mean getting a free Best Buy gift card with your purchase, but it will still be a better deal than paying full price with no additional benefits.
In addition to consoles, video games, and video game accessories, Best Buy also tends to be one of the best places to buy handheld gaming PCs and laptops. With the recent release of the ROG Xbox Ally X, Best Buy has been the only retailer to keep stock. You can likely expect price cuts on the previous generation ROG Ally devices at Best Buy this year, as well as other popular handhelds. We also expect competitive pricing around newer laptops with the latest 50-series GPUs.
For more information on what to expect, check out the Best Buy Black Friday ad from last year. Best Buy has stated that it will have new doorbuster deals dropping every friday starting on Halloween this year, so expect the deals to arrive early.
Target Black Friday
The Target Black Friday sale is usually pretty similar to Walmart's Black Friday sale every year. Expect similar discounts on video games, toys, Apple products, and appliances that you'll find everywhere else. Where Target tends to differentiate from competitors in its exclusives. The retailer has partnered with a bunch of different home brands and is usually the only place you'll be able to buy those items at a discount during Black Friday shopping season. This makes it a great place to do your shopping if you're planning on buying any decor upgrades for your home.
Target has also been consistently offering some unique discounts on select toys that Amazon hasn't been able to price match. The most recent example is a LEGO sale on new 2025 sets. Amazon did match prices on a few of the sets, but not all of them. We'd expect this to happen on Black Friday too, so you'll need to check prices between retailers on the more popular toy items.
For more information on what to expect this year, check out the Target Black Friday ad from last year.
Costco Black Friday
Costco is a bit of a wildcard during the Black Friday season as it offers deals on pretty much everthing. For 2025, the full Costco Black Friday schedule has already been revealed and you can already see what deals to expect. Included in the holiday booklet there steep discounts on furniture, jewelry, and electronics. The same discounts you find at Amazon for select TVs and video games will likely also be available at Costco even if they aren't featured in the ad. You can also expect steeper warehouse discounts, like on the Kirkland Signature jewelry or various furniture items that are only featured for a limited time.
In addition to things like toys, gifts, and household items, Costco usually has some pretty decent grocery deals during the holiday season. You can usually find these ahead of Thanksgiving on things like turkey, snacks, and various other items. You will still need to buy in bulk, but the stacked savings on top of that are usually worth it.
For more information on what to expect this year, check out the expansive Costco Black Friday ad for 2025.
Black Friday is the best time to buy most things online or in stores, but there are some items that get significantly bigger discounts during this time. If you're looking to save as much money as possible during Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year, here a few product categories that we expect will massive discounts this year.
TVs and Monitors
The best time to buy a TV or a new gaming monitor is without a doubt Black Friday season. This has been the case since Black Friday first became a thing and will long continue to be a trend we see repeated in the years to come. There are cheap TVs and monitors available pretty much year-round, but it's during this time of year that we see the steepest discounts on newer models. The popular LG C-Series TVs, for example, have already started dropping in price ahead of November. Many of these brands are not affectd by U.S. tariffs as well, so we likely won't see the same markup we're seeing on other products this year.
Video Game Consoles
While you shouldn't expect discounts on the new Nintendo Switch 2, both PS5 and Xbox consoles will most likely be getting discounts this year. Costco has already confirmed a price cut on the PlayStation Slim console, which means November is for sure going to be the best time to buy to buy a PS5. These prices cuts aren't as steep as previous years, but they are notable due to consoles seeing price increases this year. The PS5 models got a price hike back in August and Xbox has already raised its prices twice this year. Even older consoles are getting a price increase as the original Nintendo Switch also got more expensive with the release of the Switch 2. If you are still planning on buying a console in 2025, Black Friday is the only time you should do it.
Discounts on consoles also mean that this time of year is usually the best time to find discounts on games. This is especially true if you're looking to buy actual physical games as Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart will all have some sort of sale worth checking out. GameStop usually has a pretty good Black Friday sale as well. Expect popular titles to drop below $30 for the first time and $10 discounts on recently released games in some cases.
Toys and LEGO Sets
Due to its proximity to Christmas, Black Friday is undoubtedly the best time to buy LEGO sets and other toys. In all of the previews we have gotten so far (from Walmart and Costco), toys heavily featured in those discounts. That doesn't necessarily mean every type of toy or LEGO set will get discounted, but you can expect to see price cuts on items that haven't gone on sale all year during this time.
Apple Products
Although Apple does usually offer some sort of Black Friday promotion every year, but it's the other retailers that tend to have the best discounts. Black Friday is always the best time to buy a new iPad, AirPods, Apple Watches, and pretty much all other iOS accessories. Major retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy will all be competing for the lowest price on the latest devices and we usually see the lowest prices all year on the latest Apple releases. This season is also a generally good time to buy an iPhone as most carriers will start offering their holiday promotions in November for the new iPhone 17 models.
Gaming Laptops and PCs
Black Friday has always been one of the best times to buy a new gaming PC or laptop. In 2025 this is especially true as we're finally starting to see the first discounts on prebuilt machines with 50-series GPUs included. Major retailers like Best Buy, Amazon, and Walmart will usually have atleast one really good deal over the holiday weekend worth checking out. You can also expect significant discounts direct from manufacturers like Dell, Lenovo, and HP that are just as good if not better than what we've seen all year long.
What Won't Go on Sale This Year
Black Friday is the best time to buy pretty much everything, but that doesn't mean everything will go on sale. There are some products that won't see any discounts at all simply because they are too new or demand is just too high. This is particularly true when it comes to things like tech and popular toys. For example Nintendo just launched the Switch 2 this year and there's very little chance we'll see any Black Friday deals on the new console outside of bundles that already exist. The same thing goes for the recently released Xbox Ally X, which has very little chance of receiving a discount so soon after launch.
When it comes to toys, don't expect discount on anything that has come out in the last few months. This is especially true for new LEGO releases as we usually don't see discounts on those until six months or more after the initial release date.
Tips for Black Friday Shopping Online
It may seem silly to start planning your Black Friday shopping right now, but doing so can help you save a lot of money when it comes time to actually start making purchases. Here are a few Black Friday tips that you should consider ahead of the event:
Set a Budget – Keeping track of how much money you can actually spend is important to avoid overspending. When everything is on sale, it can be easy to buy more than you really should just because things are at their lowest price of the year.
Create a Shopping List – Knowing exactly what you're trying to find discounts on is a great way to avoid making unnecessary purchases. It can also make it easier for you to compare prices between retailers or set price drop alerts ahead of time.
Compare Prices – Retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart make it really easy to do all of your shopping there. That being said, those retailers don't always have the best price on the items you're looking for. Make sure to compare prices across the web before you buy something for more than you have to.
Research Before You Buy – If you're making an expensive purchase, make sure you do at least some research before you buy it. This means looking for independent reviews or testimony from trusted sources about those products. You shouldn't necessarily trust Amazon reviews, for example.
Be Wary of Search Results and AI Summaries - Search platforms, such as Google, have a tendency to be flooded with sponsored links in the results as well as AI summaries that are potentially biased. Be careful to avoid clicking on a sponsored ad if you're looking for reviews or searching for specific products by price.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A is getting an update that will make rewards from Ranked Battles, specifically a desirable set of Mega Stones, much easier to obtain.
In an official news post, The Pokemon Company revealed that at the start of Season 2 of its online Ranked Battle mode, players will be able to receive Greninjite at Rank Y, and Delphoxite at Rank S. Previously, in Season 1, players had to achieve Rank K to receive Greninjite (Delphoxite was not yet available).
This is a pretty big deal, as the difficulty of obtaining these Mega Stones has been a point of criticism from the community ever since they were first announced as rewards. The trio of original Kalos starter Pokemon: Fennekin, Froakie, and Chespin, are available fairly early on in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, and all three of them have new Mega Evolutions. However, those Mega Evolutions can only be unlocked via the items obtained as rewards from online Ranked Battles, and aren't available in the story campaign at all. This was frustrating for many players, as plenty of people don't touch online play at all and would rather just play through the story only.
This update doesn't make it possible to obtain the rewards without engaging in the online component of Z-A, but it does make them much easier to obtain. With Season 2, you'll basically be able to get a Greninjite with a single Ranked Battle, even if you lose, as you can get rank points for actions taken in battle as well as actually winning. And you can move up multiple ranks in one go if you play well enough, making it pretty fast to go from Z to S for that Delphoxite. And it looks like Game Freak is updating how points are distributed to make it even easier to gain ranks.
Additionally, if trends continue this way, it sounds like the Season 3 update will introduce Chesnaughtite at a similar rank to Rank S, and lower the rank requirement for Delphoxite to something even easier as well. Per the announcement, "Mega Stones will continue to be reissued frequently in future seasons."
Overall, this is a pretty good change for folks wanting to collect all the Mega Stones. A couple of Ranked Battles in Season 2 and 3 will net you all three stones with very little effort, and then if you prefer you never have to play Ranked again.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A's Season 2 starts on Wednesday, November 5.
I reviewed Pokemon Legends: Z-A and gave it an 8/10, saying that it "finally feels like Game Freak hitting its stride in Pokemon’s 3D era, with a fun setting to explore, a well-written story, and a total battle system overhaul that works surprisingly well." The game sold almost six million copies in its opening week.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
Ahead of the holiday Season, Lenovo is offering the lowest prices of the year on Xbox Series X wireless controllers, which is impressive considering the fact that Microsoft raised the retail price of all of its controllers earlier in May. Prices start at $34.99 for the Robot White model and $39.99 for other colorways, both after applying coupon code "SIXSEVEN". Not only are these the best controllers for the Xbox at this price, they're also one of the best PC gaming controllers.
Robot White Xbox Controller for $34.99
Shock Blue, Pulse Red Xbox Controllers for $39.99
Breaker Edition Xbox Controllers for $49.99
Aesthetics aside, these Xbox wireless controllers are identical to the one that's bundled with the Xbox Series X and S console. Standard features include textured grips, hybrid D-pad, button mapping with the Xbox app, a 3.5mm audio jack that works with any wired headset, and a Share button to upload screenshots and video.
The controller supports both Xbox wireless and Bluetooth connectivity. That means you can use it for your PC or mobile device. In fact, we think this is the the best PC controller you can get. If your PC doesn't have Bluetooth, you can still use it in wired mode with a USB Type-C cable or go out and buy a Bluetooth or Xbox wireless adapter.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Back in 2020, Blaze Entertainment made a splash in the retro gaming market with the introduction of the cartridge-basedEvercade platform. Ever since, the platform has grown to include a variety of handhelds, consoles, andbartop arcades, along with more than 650 games across 78 – and counting – cartridges.
In late 2023, the company created the new brandHyperMegaTech to release a series of simpler GameBoy-like handhelds with built-in games, which also happen to accept Evercade cartridges. As with the growing number of other Evercade-compatible devices and cartridges, the Super Pocket series is already up to a half-dozen variations. Although the Super Pocket series may not have the best screen size and resolution, or the most ideal controls for every game, it's still a value-packed portable companion, filling a completely different market than a handheld gaming PC. However, depending upon your gaming preferences, certain models may prove better values than others.
HyperMegaTech Super Pocket – Design and Features
Other than aesthetic themes and associated colorways, every Super Pocket edition features exactly the same hardware. The only other differentiator between models is the types and number of built-in games, which are themed to a specific publisher like Taito, Capcom, Atari, Technos, NeoGeo (SNK), or Data East. Sometimes limited editions will feature an additional cosmetic variation, like with the Atari Edition or NeoGeo Edition, with a woodgrain look for the former and MVS styling for the latter.
As a plug-and-play device, each Super Pocket package comes with the handheld, USB-C to USB-A charging cable, and quick start guide. You just need to charge, then power on.
When first powering on, you are prompted to answer a few questions, including your language and preferred difficulty (Easy or Normal) across all included games. Naturally, these and other settings are available to change after the fact by pressing the Game Menu button and choosing Settings.
At 3.07 x 4.92 x 0.98 inches and 0.36lbs, the Super Pocket is slightly smaller and lighter than the original Game Boy that clocked in at 3.5 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches. The sleeker body does support a slightly larger display at 2.8 inches (2cm larger than the Game Boy’s), although that's still rather small for modern handhelds.
The IPS screen has a resolution of 320x240, a 4:3 aspect ratio. Overall, the display is colorful with good brightness and viewing angles, although the small screen size and low resolution do mean loss of detail in some places, particularly with text or games that don't have a native 4:3 aspect ratio. While good close-up vision always helps when it comes to handheld displays, just keep in mind that certain games on the Super Pocket will not have an optimized viewing experience.
Display options include Original, Pixel Perfect, or Full Screen aspect ratios, as well as Shaders/Scanlines. Original aspect ratio ensures the original game's graphics are not stretched or distorted, but may result in black bars on the sides or top of the screen. Pixel Perfect aspect ratio maps the original pixels to a "perfect" square of pixels, but may result in an even smaller active display than Original. Full Screen aspect ratio stretches a game's image to fit the entire screen, which eliminates any black bars or dead space on the display, but also stretches or distorts in-game objects. Shaders/Scanlines include None, Subtle, or Strong, the latter two of which are meant to mimic how classic CRT displays processed pixel graphics. Subtle adds thin scanlines with minimal screen darkening, while Strong adds thick scanlines with more prominent screen darkening.
Below the display is the Game Menu button, direction pad, front speaker, Select/Insert Credit button, Start Game button, and the A, B, X, and Y face buttons. Both the direction pad and face buttons use standard membranes, so they have a softer feel and no real click but are still responsive enough for most games.
Each Super Pocket comes with a blank dummy cartridge to protect the rear slot. Also on the rear of the unit is a volume control, and R1, L1, R2, and L2 buttons, the latter two of which are used to fast scroll in menus. Below the buttons is a rear speaker, which provides clear, distortion-free sound output even at maximum volume when combined with the front speaker, although you'll still want to use a good pair of wired headphones for the best possible audio. (Like other Evercade-compatible hardware, Bluetooth audio isn't supported.
At the bottom of the Super Pocket is the USB-C charging port, power switch next to an indicator light that's blue when on, and 3.5mm headphone jack. Between the power switch and charging port is a charging indicator light, which shows red when charging and green when fully charged.
With its modest 3000mAh battery, you'll only get up to four hours or so of run time depending on play volume and game type. On the plus side, the battery does a tremendous job of holding a charge. I've gone many months without using some of my charged Super Pockets and they're still ready to play with 100% capacity when I do grab them again.
HyperMegaTech Super Pocket – Built-in Game Options
Blaze has a history of working around certain licensing restrictions on how certain games can be sold by building them into both their Evercade and HyperMegaTech hardware. While some of these restrictions have loosened of late – meaning, you're starting to see some previously built-in only games coming to cartridge – a product like the Super Pocket is still one of the more reliable ways to guarantee access to games not yet, or may never be, on an Evercade cartridge. You can read the full lineup that comes preloaded on each edition in this sheet.
Each Super Pocket features the original games from their original platforms, so they're not scaled to or optimized for the display. This is not an issue for many of the games, but for some – especially arcade games with a vertical/portrait (aka TATE) display – the active area can be quite small unless you choose to purposely distort the image with the Full Screen aspect ratio option. Examples of portrait display arcade games include Kiki Kaikai on the Taito Edition Super Pocket and BurgerTime on the Data East Edition Super Pocket, the latter of which highlights how difficult it can also sometimes be to make out text. In general, though, there are always enough games, even on the 12-game Capcom Edition, that work just fine within the display's constraints.
You also have to consider that the direction pad and four face buttons are not the best way to control every game. For example, Operation Wolf included on the Taito Edition is a light gun game in the arcade, so using the direction pad to drag the targeting cursor across the screen is less than ideal. Similarly, a game like Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting on the Capcom Edition is controlled with six buttons. Normally, this wouldn't be an issue, but the rear buttons on the Super Pocket are not ideally positioned to both hold the handheld and easily and consistently press those buttons, particularly in the heat of battle. Games that need four or fewer buttons, which is admittedly most of what's included, are not a problem.
On the plus side, when you're in any game, you can press the Game Menu button to Save or Load your place in one of six slots, as well as reference the controls. You can also change the Display settings, reset the game, or quit back to the main menu.
Between the six current editions, the Atari Edition features the most games at 50, and also the most games from (five!) different platforms. While some of the arcade games like Super Breakout or Crystal Castleshave portrait displays or native controls that don't map well to a digital direction pad, for the most part, the other games work quite well on the Super Pocket thanks to the modest controls and resolutions of the original consoles and handheld. Of course, older arcade and 8-bit console games may have less appeal to some people than what's featured on something like the Capcom Edition Super Pocket, even with just 12 games.
If you want a slightly newer mix of arcade and console games, the Technos Edition might be more for you, though it only features 15 games with a good amount of overlap. For a little better variety, the 18-game Data East Edition might be more desirable, although that also features a few games not particularly optimized for the display. Finally, there's the NeoGeo Edition with 14 games, but each are well-optimized for both the controls and display as the Super Pocket's setup closely matches what the MVS arcade machine offered, making it arguably the best choice if you can choose only one.
HyperMegaTech Super Pocket – Cartridge Games
The HyperMegaTech Super Pocket's ace in the hole is its cartridge slot, which provides access to hundreds ofadditional games from nearly every genre across dozens of cartridges. There's some overlap, like withTaito Arcade 1, but in general, these games are only found outside of what's built into any of Blaze's hardware.
Every cartridge is compatible, but not every game included on them is optimized for the Super Pocket’s display or controls. They are, however, tuned or tunable for the mainline Evercade hardware; theEvercade EXP-R handheld, for example, has an 800x400 resolution 4.3-inch IPS screen, and can also enter TATE mode to better display portrait-oriented arcade titles. The two pairs of shoulder buttons are also far easier to reach and press in the heat of action.
The other functionality missing from the Super Pocket that the mainline Evercade hardware gets is online connectivity. That means that the Super Pockets don't get access to firmware updates or free games of the month, nor can they apply any updates to cartridges. On the rare chance a cartridge needs an update to run properly, it needs to be done on a mainline Evercade console, handheld, or bartop before it can be used in a Super Pocket.
In general, if you want the full Evercade experience, you're better off with the EXP-R handheld, theVS-R console, or the Alpha bartop. Fortunately, this is not a zero-sum game as the Evercade platform is designed to expand as your wants and needs evolve. To put it another way, investing in one or more cartridges (and one or more pieces of hardware) allows you to play a particular game or games however you want. The Super Pocket, in mimicking the general Game Boy design, certainly has its appeal, as does its ability to simultaneously host both its internal games and a cartridge that can nearly double its available content on the go.
Lenovo's most powerful Legion gaming PC just dropped to a new price low. The Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 10 gaming PC equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K processor and RTX 5090 graphics card is marked down to $3,399.99 after a massive $1,700 off coupon code "T7POWER50". This is easily the least expensive RTX 5090 prebuilt I can find from any brand by a very large margin. I'm fairly certain you won't find a better deal even on Black Friday.
Lenovo Legion Tower 7 RTX 5090 Gaming PC for $3,399.99
The Legion Tower 7 is Lenovo's top-end desktop computer, boasting a well-ventilated chassis with a mesh front panel housing six total 120mm fans (including three fans for the 360mm liquid cooling system) to keep your components nice and cool. The system is powered by a generously oversized 1,200W power supply. We reviewed last year's Legion Tower 7i desktop, which uses the same chassis, and came away impressed.
This particular configuration features an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K processor, GeForce RTX 5090 32GB graphics card, a whopping 64GB of DDR5-5600MHz of RAM, and a 2TB PCIe Gen 4 M.2 SSD. The Intel Core Ultra 9 285K processor has a max turbo frequency of 5.7GHz with 24 cores and a 40MB L2 cache. According to Passmark, this is Intel's best gaming CPU and really the Intel chip that can compete with AMD's X3D processors. It's paired with 64GB of DDR5 memory.
The RTX 5090 Is the Most Powerful Graphics Card Ever
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 has emerged as the most powerful consumer GPU on the market. Although with this generation Nvidia has prioritized software updates, AI features, and DLSS 4 technology to improve gameplay performance, the 5090 still boasts an impressive 25%-30% uplift over the RTX 4090 in hardware-based raster performance. If you want the best performance for your gaming PC, there's no competition. Check out our Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 FE review.
Why Choose Lenovo?
Lenovo Legion gaming PCs and laptops generally feature better build quality than what you'd find from other prebuilt PCs. For desktop PCs in particular, people like the fact that Lenovo does not use proprietary components in its computer systems, so they're easier to upgrade with off-the-shelf parts. Although we haven't yet reviewed the new 2025 models, we have reviewed last year's Legion 7 desktop and really liked its build quality and performance.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
NVIDIA has released a new trailer for Directive 8020 that shows off its Path Tracing effects that will be available on PC. This short, but sweet, trailer will give you a taste of the path-traced version of this new sci-fi survival horror game. In Directive 8020, players go on a deep space mission to help … Continue reading First Path Tracing Trailer Released for Directive 8020→
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