Prime Day PC and Laptop Deals: Here’s What to Expect

Amazon has finally pulled back the curtain on Prime Day 2020. Prime Day will be a two-day event this year, taking place October 13 – 14. That’s three months past its usual spot smack dab in the middle of the summer, but if the deals are sweet, I vote to allow it. If you’re in the market for a new desktop or laptop PC or Mac, you’ll likely find a number of excellent deals come Prime Day 2020. Additionally, you’ll almost certainly see major discounts on computer accessories, including mice, keyboards, monitors, headsets, and gaming chairs.

It’s also important to note that Amazon won’t likely be alone in its offerings during the two-day event. Other retailers like Walmart, Dell, Best Buy, and others will almost certainly follow Amazon’s lead and offer competing sales of their own, with discounts on PCs, laptops, and accessories. They don’t want all of your spending dollars to go to Amazon, after all.

And if you’re interested in sale items other than PCs and accessories, check out our full article on what to expect from Amazon Prime Day 2020. Here’s what you can expect to find deal-wise on computers during Prime Day 2020.

You Must Be a Prime Member to Get the Sale Prices

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The key thing to know about Prime Day 2020 is that you’ll need a Prime membership to take advantage of the deals. Thankfully, you have a number of options for how to subscribe. For starters, if you’ve never used a free trial, you can get one for a month at no cost. It even lets you participate in Prime Day, regardless of whether you cancel before paying a dime. Otherwise, you can get a one-month membership for $12.99 or a one-subscription for $119.

In addition to getting to participate in the Prime Day deal madness, Prime members get free one- or two-day shipping on most products, plus access to Prime Videos, Prime Music, and a host of other features.

Early Prime Day Deals

Even though the sale hasn’t started yet, Amazon has already started seeding the ground with a handful of deals. Here’s what’s available now.

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Last Year’s Prime Day PC and Laptop Deals

Last year during Prime Day, a number of appealing PCs, gaming PCs, and gaming laptops went on sale for appealing prices. On the desktop PC front, we saw big discounts on pre-built CYBERPOWERPC towers. On the laptop side of the equation, we saw big savings on the Acer Predator Helios 300 ($500 off) and MSI GS75 Stealth ($600 off). Many MacBook Pro models were also discounted somewhere in the $200 range.

Beyond that, Respawn gaming chairs got big temporary price cuts, bringing the 110 model down to the $100 range, which is about 50% off. There were also plenty of discounts on other accessories, like external hard drives, HyperX Cloud II gaming headsets, Razer gaming mice, as well as Netgear modems and routers.

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Chris Reed is IGN’s shopping and commerce editor. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.

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Kenny Omega Gives AEW Video Game Update, Talks Seeing Jazwares Toys For The First Time

Since its inception in January 2019, All Elite Wrestling has become a dominant force in professional wrestling. Between successful PPVs and a weekly TV series on TNT, AEW has a foothold in the industry, and more is on the way. Aside from the recently released Jazwares action figures, an AEW video game is in the works.

While the prospect of an AEW video game has never been a secret, one of the promotion’s executive vice presidents, Kenny Omega has some new information about it. “The status of the video game is that it is currently in development,” Omega told GameSpot. “I can’t say too much more other than I am working very closely creatively with a team. And every few weeks, they have very exciting new things to show us. And I believe that we’re on the right track because I think we have a good team backing us with a lot of very, very good hands that are very capable. And when I can more, I certainly will. And I’m really excited to show the first little bit of footage that we have.

“So it’s a little ways away. We’re not going to be competing head to head against WWE Battlegrounds anytime soon. But when the game is ready, and when it will release, I think it has a very good chance of standing alone is probably the best wrestling product as a video game that you could probably find on the market. That’s the hope anyway.”

Currently, Omega and the rest of the company is celebrating another major milestone for AEW–the first wave of AEW Unrivaled action figures produced by Jazwares. Available exclusively in Walmart stores, the first line includes figures of Chris Jericho, Cody, Brandi Rhodes, Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson). There is also an AEW Championship Title Belt, a special edition Chris Jericho packaged in a champagne bottle, and an AEW ring with an exclusive Omega figure. The latter two products are available exclusively from Ringside Collectibles.

“It was really cool,” Omega said regarding seeing himself as an action figure for the first time. “It was sort of just like another benchmark for us to hit as a company. We never knew while we were discussing the potential of running our own company, where that end goal was and just how far we could go with it. And to get our first TV deal, that was huge, and to run pay-per-view, that was large. Suddenly, we’re doing these 3D scans. And now we have these–I’m holding this prototype of an action figure of me. And there are things that just keep happening to us as professional wrestlers that legitimize us as a company and as a real brand. So it was very cool. Very neat. And it’s kind of a double whammy for me because I had two action figures. In the end, I had, you know, the single figure, and then they had a special variant for the actual ring. Two reasons to be really excited at that point.”

You can find AEW Unrivaled figures at Walmart today and Wave 2 of the series will be arriving this October. Additionally, you can see Omega on AEW Dynamite on TNT which airs Wednesdays at 8 PM/7 CT.

For more on Kenny Omega, make sure to tune into the October 1 episode of GameSpot’s wrestling podcast Wrestle Buddies where Omega will discuss a video game rematch against The New Day, who he thinks is an up and comer in AEW, and wrestling blow-up dolls.

CoD: Modern Warfare, Warzone Season 6 Trailer Shows Off Underground Subway

With Season 6 of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone kicking off on September 29, publisher Activision has shared an overview trailer that provides a brief glimpse at the new subway station. This underground train will travel throughout Verdansk’s large map, with various scheduled stops for players to engage in skirmishes or take in the views at a much faster pace.

The trailer takes us through the various locations the subway station will stop at as it makes its way across Verdansk. This includes the train station itself, a downtown district, and the Verdansk airport. There are eight stops in total, all of which seem to support a variety of gameplay styles. The trailer also highlights what appears to be a series of new maps coming to both Modern Warfare and Warzone, such as a tank factory, broadcast station, Verdansk’s riverside, and others.

The trailer also teases an apparent “haunting” coming to Call of Duty on October 20. There’s nothing else to this teaser, but it’s a Halloween-themed event in either Modern Warfare or Warzone. Activision confirmed a reveal of the still-unannounced Zombies mode is scheduled to take place on September 30.

Season 6 seems to be a massive update to Modern Warfare and Warzone, with Activision mandating at least 20GB of hard drive space to pre-load the update on PlayStation 4. The new season of content adds Farah Karim and Nikolai, the two main characters from Modern Warfare’s campaign.

The new season of Modern Warfare and Warzone arrives just two months before the next entry in the Call of Duty franchise, Black Ops Cold War, launches. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War drops on November 13 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/Series X. A beta for the game is scheduled to take place early next month and though beta progress may not carry over, there is cross-progression and cross-save support between current- and next-gen hardware.

Now Playing: Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare & Warzone – Official Season Six Trailer

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HBO’s Lovecraft Country Episode 7 “I Am.” Breakdown

In Episode 7 of Lovecraft Country, Hippolyta is able to open the orrery, which reveals a key inside of it along with a location, sending her on a journey to Mayfield. Christina reveals the truth to Ruby and explains her motivations. Atticus (Jonathan Majors) learns the hidden secret about Montrose’s (Michael K. Williams) personal life, then heads to St. Louis to consult an old family friend. Greg and Meg break down the plot points of Episode 7 and explain all of the Easter eggs and references to the Lovecraft Country novel, American history, literature and pop culture.

Yakuza: Like A Dragon PC System Requirements Are Actually Pretty Modest

Ahead of its November 10 launch date, publisher Sega has unveiled the full PC system requirements for Yakuza: Like a Dragon on Steam. The specs needed to run the game are fairly modest.

The processors required to run Yakuza: Like A Dragon on either minimum or recommended settings are a few years old. On the minimum side, players will need an AMD FX-8350 or Intel Core i5-3470, both of which are now eight years old. Meanwhile, the recommended settings require an AMD Ryzen 5 1400 or Intel Core i7-6700, which are three and five years old, respectively.

The same can be said of the graphics cards necessary to run Yakuza: Like A Dragon on PC as each one, on both the minimum and recommended side of the system requirements, is a few years old.

Perhaps the biggest strain Yakuza: Like A Dragon could cause a PC is its file size. The minimum requirements necessitate at least 40GB of hard drive space to store the game, while the recommended specs need upwards of 60GB. You can check the full system requirements out below.

Full Yakuza: Like A Dragon PC System Requirements

Minimum:

  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Windows 10
  • Processor: Intel Core i5-3470 or AMD FX-8350
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 660, 2 GB or AMD Radeon HD 7870, 2 GB
  • Storage: 40 GB available space

Recommended:

  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Windows 10
  • Processor: Intel Core i7-6700 or AMD Ryzen 5 1400
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060, 3 GB or AMD Radeon RX 580, 4 GB
  • Storage: 60 GB available space

Yakuza: Like A Dragon is coming to PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/Series X on November 10. A PlayStation 5 version launches on March 2, 2021. However, even though it’s a free upgrade, players won’t be able to transfer their save data between PS4 and PS5.

Now Playing: Yakuza: Like A Dragon – English PC Gameplay, Interview With Scott Strichart

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PS4 Saves Won’t Transfer To PS5 In Yakuza: Like A Dragon

Yakuza: Like a Dragon finally received a release date for PS5 in March 2021, with developer RGG Studio also confirming a free cross-gen upgrade for all players. The big catch is that on Sony’s consoles your saves won’t be able to follow you across generations.

RGG Studio confirmed on Twitter that both digital and physical versions of Yakuza: Like a Dragon will be able to be upgraded to their respective next-gen versions for free, after a bit of confusion over whether it would be exclusive to just digital copies. It did, however, also confirm that any progress you make on PS4 will not be compatible with the PS5 version, forcing you to restart.

This is an identical situation to one of Sony’s first-party titles, Spider-Man: Miles Morales. After it was confirmed that the standalone adventure would be coming to PS4 alongside the PS5 version, Sony confirmed that the free next-gen upgrade would also not allow you to transfer your saves. Sony also later confirmed that owners of the original Spider-Man on PS4 will not get the PS5 remaster for free.

There’s a bit of confusion surrounding save game compatibility with regards to the PS5, something Microsoft has made much clearer with its own transition to the Xbox Series X/S. Yakuza: Like a Dragon is one of many games supporting Microsoft’s Smart Delivery program which, alongside free next-gen upgrades, means that your saves will transfer from the Xbox One to both Series X and S.

Now Playing: Yakuza: Like A Dragon – English PC Gameplay, Interview With Scott Strichart

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Amazon Prime Day Video Game Deals: What to Expect

Amazon Prime Day 2020 is coming October 13 and 14, and if it’s anything like past years, there will be some great opportunities to save on video games, controllers, accessories and more.

Prime Day Video Game Deals

With Prime Day coming so late this year, it’s basically knocking on the door of Black Friday. That means the line between the two is going to be pretty blurry. Another complicating factor is the upcoming release of the PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles. In other words, it’s difficult to predict what kinds of gaming sales Amazon Prime Day will offer this year.

There will absolutely be savings to be found on the games themselves, whether they’re physical or digital. We’ve been seeing lots of first-party Nintendo game deals in the last few weeks, so it’s possible we’ll see the current price trend continue.

The same can be said for Xbox One and PS4 games, as far as sales are concerned. There will be discounted games to load up on, but it’s hard to say which ones will see discounts. In the past, the PlayStation Hits line has seen substantial savings, so keep an eye out for those.

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As far as PS5 and Xbox Series X are concerned, I don’t think we’ll see any deals. I’m 99% certain of it. We might see some creative bundles go up with another round of preorders, but even that seems like a stretch. With how fast both consoles sold out when they went up for preorder, there’s no real incentive for Amazon to try and dress them up with bundles. Both Sony and Microsoft have said more consoles will be available on their respective launch days, but haven’t said much on more preorders.

For current-gen systems, I wouldn’t be surprised to see savings on PS4 Pro and Xbox One S. After being hard to find, the PS4 Pro recently reappeared at Amazon for its list price (although that’s no longer the case), and the Xbox One S is the only current-gen console not yet discontinued by Microsoft.

PC gamers will almost certainly be able to score some savings on components like GPUs and RAM, as well as gaming monitors and accessories, but don’t expect to see any deals on the RTX 3080. In fact, don’t expect to even see the RTX 3080 at all. Just a hunch, but I don’t think it’s coming back in time for Prime Day.

PS Plus and Xbox Game Pass Deals

I would be extremely surprised if we didn’t see Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or PS Plus deals this Prime Day. Game Pass Ultimate is a fantastic deal as-is, but it’s a definite candidate for a sale on Prime Day. Same thing with PS Plus, which goes on sale pretty frequently anyway. I don’t think we’ll see quite as good a deal on Game Pass as we have in the past, but I think both subscriptions are ripe for savings over Prime Day.

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Sign Up for a Free Amazon Prime Trial

Before you can take advantage of the Amazon Prime Day deals, you need to have a Prime membership. The good news is you can sign up for a free trial and take full advantage of the Prime Day savings without paying a penny more. Just make sure to cancel before the 30 days is up, if you decide you don’t want to keep it.

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Apple Vs. Epic May Go To Trial Next Year, Judge Says Epic “Lied” About Fortnite Change

The ongoing legal tensions between Apple and Epic had a day in virtual court. The current situation hasn’t changed in any notable ways yet–Apple’s ban on Fortnite will continue for the time being–but it was overall a difficult day for Epic and set the stage for the case to be heard next July.

CNET reports that California Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers upheld the ban and said the companies will hear from her in writing. She recommended a trial by jury, but that next step will be up to Apple or Epic to request. She noted that her courtroom is “just a stepping stone” toward the likely inevitability of a jury trial.

Rogers took a harsh tone with Epic, saying that it had circumvented Apple’s policy despite its contractual obligations. At different points she said Epic was “not forthright” and even that it had “lied” by issuing an update when it knew Apple’s contract prevented it from doing so, according to CNN tech reporter Brian Fung. She also said it wasn’t forthcoming and referred to its overall demeanor as a “security issue.” Fung characterized the judge as generally skeptical of Epic’s claims.

Rogers suggested that while awaiting trial, Apple may allow Fortnite back onto the App Store while the money collected was held in escrow. Apple’s lawyers said they would have to confer, but Epic turned down the offer and said the court shouldn’t provide assistance to “unlawful provisions by monopolists.”

If Epic maintains that compromise position, we may not see Fortnite appear on the App Store until after the trial concludes. Given that it isn’t even slated to start until July 2021, that may be a long time.

The legal standoff began when Epic Games offered Fortnite V-Bucks with a direct payment through Epic that circumvented Apple’s usual payment mechanisms. That triggered Apple to pull the game from the App Store, which then triggered a suit accusing Apple of anticompetitive business practices.

Now Playing: Fortnite Drama Heats Up: Epic To Lose Apple Dev Accounts | Save State

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Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Song of Glory – Exclusive Preview

Assassin’s Creed fans are no doubt impatiently awaiting the release of the newest addition to the iconic franchise, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Dark Horse Comics is giving players an early taste of this new Viking setting in the form of a prequel comic called Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Song of Glory, and IGN has an exclusive preview.

Check out the slideshow gallery below to get a closer look at the new miniseries:

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Song of Glory is written by Cavan Scott, who previously worked on Titan Comics’ tie-ins to the Vikings TV series. The book is drawn by Martín Túnica (Crossed + 100) and colored by Michael Atiyeh (Supergirl). The book follows the two main protagonists of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, siblings Eivor and Sigurd, in a two-pronged story set before the events of the game.

Here’s Dark Horse’s official summary of the series:

Tensions escalate when a village caught between two rival kingdoms is brutally raided. Eivor, warrior and daughter of wise King Styrbjorn, dispatches the raiders, rescues the villagers, and claims the settlement for her father. She also seizes a prisoner—a woman, Gull, left behind by the rivals—who declares she possesses the secrets of Asgard itself. But there is more to Gull than meets the eye, and her capture will bring death and destruction to Eivor’s family. In disgrace and lured by the promise of treasures and glory, Eivor undergoes a dangerous quest to regain her honor, but what terror awaits in the forgotten temple of a powerful god? All the time, her brother Sigurd forges his own legend while searching for fortune in the lands of the East. Far from home, he finds new weapons and fresh plunder, making a discovery that will change his destiny forever…

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Song of Glory will run three issues and total, with issue #1 hitting stores a few weeks before the game on Wednesday, October 21.

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For more, check out IGN’s hands-on preview with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, catch up on the storylines from Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Origins and see everything announced at the latest Ubisoft Forward event.

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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

TikTok’s App Store Ban Blocked By Federal Judge

TikTok was scheduled to be banned from app stores on September 27, but a federal judge issued a last-minute ruling that blocked the US government order. TikTok, for now, remains available in US app stores.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration ordered TikTok and WeChat to be removed from app stores starting September 20. However, TikTok’s deadline was then moved to September 27 after Trump gave his preliminary approval on ByteDance’s transition into a new company called TikTok Global, with Walmart and Oracle owning 20% of the company.

ByteDance then filed for a preliminary injunction on September 23, seeking to prevent TikTok’s imminent removal from app stores. In the motion, the tech company argued that the ban infringed upon its Fifth Amendment right to due process and First Amendment right to free speech. On September 27, a mere few hours before the government order went into effect, Judge Carl Nichols of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted TikTok’s preliminary injunction.

In Nichols’ unsealed opinion, he stated that the ban attempted to regulate “informational materials” which was expressly outside of the emergency powers Trump invoked. He also dismissed the relevancy of a law that laid the ground for national security concerns in Trump’s order and concluded, it is “not plausible that the films, photos, art, or even personal information U.S. users share on TikTok fall within the plain meaning of the Espionage Act.”

However, Nichols also rejected TikTok’s request to stop Trump’s executive order that would end all US TikTok operations on November 12 if formal approval for ByteDance’s partnership with Oracle and Walmart is not granted.

Formal approval is uncertain at this time, especially since ByteDance and the Trump administration appear to view ByteDance’s deal with Oracle and Walmart differently. Trump, along with Oracle, have stated that ByteDance would lose its ownership in the organization once TikTok Global was created, while ByteDance has said it still would retain majority ownership until the company goes public next year.

The situation is further complicated by possible opposition to TikTok’s deal from the Chinese government. The Chinese government updated its export regulations on tech and now “recommendation(s) of personalized information services based on data analysis” are subject to further scrutiny and limitations. This export regulation most likely relates to TikTok’s recommendation algorithm and could possibly affect TikTok’s final deal with Oracle, Walmart, and the Trump administration. TikTok has applied for an export license, but it’s unclear if the application is related to the company’s plans for TikTok Global.

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