EA has had great success with various sales on the Apple App Store, so it’s no surprise they’re doing another one over the Memorial Day holiday. Dead Space for the iPad is very well done and both the iPhone and iPad versions were recently updated with a new survival mode along other new content. Many of these games have free “lite” versions that you can try out before you buy. Also not EA related, but the ever popular Infinity Blade is still half off at $2.99 and features new multiplayer modes. That app is universal and is almost worth checking out for the graphics alone.
Here’s some of the highlights of EA’s latest sale:
There’s definitely a bunch more I’m missing that might be slightly less appealing deals, so be sure to browse the EA section of the app store if you’ve been holding out for a sale on a specific title.
Today marks another day of all video game deals on Amazon. The deal of the day is [amazon_link id=”B004S73HS8″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Crysis 2[/amazon_link] for PC, 360 and PS3 for $35 and the PC download version for $30. Don’t be afraid of Amazon’s game download service, it’s easy and you can re-download at any time, as we previously detailed. Other games to look for in today’s gold box could be Dead Space 2, Madden, NCAA Football, a couple PSP games and what ever you can guess for the others. While not part of this gold box event, definitely take a look at [amazon_link id=”B002I0J5UQ” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]L.A. Noire on Amazon[/amazon_link]. They are now offering a $20 credit with purchase.
Also worth mentioning is now Steam is doing a daily deal of the day, on top of their other reoccurring deals like “mid-week madness” and their weekend deals. Just another way for money to leave your wallet. With gaming deals running rampant across all major retailers, no one should be paying full MSRP for games anymore. It definitely seems to be a relatively new phenomenon, and I can distinctly remember a time when video games cost the same exact (full) price in every store you went to.
Direct2Drive has been very active on the deal scene lately, giving Steam plenty of competition. Their weekend deal with promo code “sizzle” offers 25% upcoming high-profile games like Brink, The Witcher 2, Battlefield 3, Rage and more. Check out the list here. Not a bad time to pick up Brink, which releases next week.
Also, if you’ve been holding out on Dead Space 2 or Dead Space 1, for that matter — check out these good deals at the EA store. Digital downloads of both copies for $24 and $12, respectively. I played through Dead Space 2 at launch on the PS3, and found it more enjoyable than the first one, so I’d definitely recommend it at that price.
A bunch of recent news tidbits from console-land worth mentioning. First a few price drops. The Wii will be dropping to $150 and include Mario Kart with a wheel starting May 15th. Not all that surprising since it seems that the Wii has finally hit its ceiling after running away with the console sales race and all the news swirling around about the Wii 2. Not sure who was holding out on the Wii because of the price, but hey, cheaper stuff is good, right?
Secondly, you’d have to assume an Xbox 360 price drop is imminent, probably around E3 time, as many retailers, including Amazon are selling all flavors (including Kinect bundles) of the 360 with a [amazon_link id=”B003O6JLZ2″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]$50 gift card as well as a $20 Microsoft point card[/amazon_link].
Not to leave Sony and the PS3 out, but PSN is still down, Sony Online Entertainment (MMO games division) was also hacked, with mostly non-US info and credit cards stolen. Don’t worry though, DC Universe Online players will get free Batman masks for their trouble. Most everything else in wait-and-see mode when PSN comes back online this week sometime. Don’t forget to change your password when it does come back.
Next up, I wanted to briefly mention the Red Faction: Armageddon demo up on XBL and eventually PSN at some point. After enjoying Red Faction: Guerrilla a bunch, I was eager to check out the direction Armageddon was going in. I hadn’t really followed much press coverage on it to this point, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The demo offers about 30 minutes of game play and retains a lot of the destructive abilities of the previous game. While Armageddon still is played from the third person, it takes a more over-the-shoulder perspective, like Gears of War, than Guerrilla’s Grand Theft Auto pulled-back style. Still, it seems to work pretty well. In the demo you get to use some unique weapons like the magnet gun and something that shoots mini-black holes. Also, there is a new gameplay mechanic in that you can actually repair some of your destruction, that kind of reminded me of the TMD from Singularity. It was really hard to get an overall feel for the game in the demo, but it seems like it will end up a bit less open-ended than Guerrilla. If nothing else, the demo left me interested enough to look and see what sales are available for the game’s preorders. [amazon_link id=”B003P9C6QY” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Amazon is doing a $10 credit for a future THQ game[/amazon_link] (an unusual restriction for Amazon preorders) along with a free download of Red Faction: Battlegrounds; a top down car combat game that gets mediocre reviews. Amazon’s deal applies to the console versions only.
Our own Suibhne points me to this great video, related to Armageddon:
Last up, a deal for Portal 2 that can’t be passed up. [amazon_link id=”B002I0JIQW” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Amazon is offering Portal 2[/amazon_link] for $30 on the PC and $35 on the consoles. A great price for one of the better games to come out this year so far.
First off, you can get 25% off of orders over $19.99 at Direct2Drive when you use coupon code “bunny”. While you’re at Direct2Drive, Crysis 2 is even a bit steeper discount at 30% off, today only.
Also, if you’re looking for a little iOS gaming, be sure to check out Dead Space HD for the iPad, as it’s on sale for the magical price of $0.99. This game has been optimized for the iPad 2 (although still compatible with the first iPad), so it’s a great game to show off what the new iPad can really do — it rivals and even surpasses the current gen of consoles. As a nice throw-in / cross-over, playing the iOS version of Dead Space will unlock some stuff in Dead Space 2, in case you needed additional incentives.
Amazon is up to their dealing ways again today, with another all video game gold box event today. These gold box events are usually a mixed bag, and many times are just a way for Amazon to try and offload less desirable games. A few hints point to possibly Bulletstorm and Dragon Age showing up today. Also note that Star Craft II is the deal of the day at $20 off of MSRP, a good price for a game I enjoyed a lot even though I’m not an RTS player. Also, if you forgot to get [amazon_link id=”B003O6E3C8″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Portal 2[/amazon_link], their deals on that game will run out very soon. Hit the link below for the deal goodness:
Also up on Amazon is pre-order Portal 2 for PS3 and 360 for $54.99 and get a $20 credit for a future game purchase. No love for the PC version, although the pre-order price for that is $44.99. However, PC users don’t despair! You may actually want to consider getting the PS3 version, as that will also include access to the PC version on your Steam account. This will be the first game to include Steam on the PS3, and through their “Steam Play” service, you will automatically be able to play the game on both PC and Mac as well. So even though the game is $10 more, the extra $20 credit on the back end results in a $10 win, assuming you ever plan to purchase games from Amazon again. Consider it.
Lastly from Amazon, today they launch their Android AppStore, complete with a free-for-today-only version of Angry Birds. If you haven’t been keeping track, Apple has sued Amazon of the use of their “App Store” trademark. You can read up more on that in this article at the WSJ.
In case you haven’t been paying attention, Amazon does downloadable games now — and not just casual games, but “core” titles too. As an aside, for some reason the whole “core” moniker attached to games that are the opposite of casual games (hardcore games!) I find irksome, no specific reason why.
Anyway, Amazon is doing 20% off of all their “Core” game downloads, making a serious run at Steam. They’ve been matching Steam’s weekend and midweek deals recently too. Definitely worth checking out as another option to Steam, Direct2Drive, Impulse, etc. New titles in there too like Bulletstorm, Homefront, Dragon Age 2…you get the idea:
A few noteworthy deals to pass along. One thing that’s starting to become apparent is that Amazon is making a serious push into the digital distribution of PC games, and might even try and give Steam a run for their money. For example they’ve matched Steam’s mid-week deal of Mafia II for $7.50. From what I know about Amazon’s download service, is that it’s not all that different than how Direct2Drive works. Download the game as many times as you need to, and they add no additional DRM. Any DRM in the game is from the publisher only. Their selection is still limited, but if anyone can compete with Steam on price, it’s Amazon.
Keep in mind these deals are usually limited so act quickly if you are interested.
Direct2Drive: 20% off of anything (even preorders) with code “hangover”
