Author: trafficblast

The hard drive space of consoles has become a hot-button issue for gamers over the last few years, as the size of games and updates has ballooned into the hundreds of gigabytes. For those who expect to pick up the Xbox Series S in a couple of days, a leaker has revealed some potentially upsetting news: the console only has 364 GB of usable space.

That represents about 73% of the console’s 500 GB solid-state drive, which is around the usual fraction of usable space for consoles. However, since the size of popular games like Call of Duty: Warzone can be over 100 GB–with patches that come in at dozens of gigabytes–that means that most players will have to be very judicious about what games they keep on hand. The Xbox Series X will ship with a 1 TB SSD, with 802 GB in the way of usable space.

Microsoft has developed some features to help with the limited space. For one, players can store games on an external hard drive, and backward compatible games can be played directly from that drive. For another, games can be 30% smaller on the Xbox Series S by targeting 1440p instead of 4K.

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Aside from the usual monthly giveaways via PlayStation Plus, Xbox Live Gold, and Prime Gaming, we’re not seeing as many free game offers as we were earlier this year, when developers were giving away their games to provide free entertainment for those stuck inside. But you can still find some nice freebies from time to time, and the latest is a great strategy and resource management game from 2015: Kingdom. In honor of the series’ five-year anniversary, publisher Raw Fury is giving away Kingdom for free on Steam until this Friday, November 6, at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET. If you miss this deadline, you can also claim the game via Humble Bundle, which is giving away Kingdom Steam keys for free until Monday, November 9. To get the game at Humble, you have to be signed up for its newsletter.

Steam is giving away the classic version of Kingdom, which was later reworked and re-released with new content as Kingdom: New Lands in 2016. Kingdom is a 2D side-scrolling game where you play as a king or queen on horseback, moving left or right through the world as you build up your kingdom by enlisting people to join you, gathering resources, and building defenses against the creatures that threaten your land at night. Though GameSpot hasn’t reviewed Kingdom: Classic, it currently has over 13,000 Very Positive reviews on Steam, so it’ll be worth grabbing while it’s free and checking out.

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What better way to get your mind off the still-pending election than with some early holiday shopping? Prop Store, an expansive operation based in London and Los Angeles whose focus is right there in its name, has announced it will be hosting another auction of entertainment memorabilia across December 1 and 2. The shop has “over 25,000 combined square feet of archived props and costumes,” meaning the upcoming auction’s 912 lots spanning two days will likely have something for everyone who is looking to buy–and also willing to spend. Information on bidding, registering for phone bidding, or registering for absentee bidding can be found on Prop Store’s website.

The catalog for items is available both as a physical print book to purchase for $50 or as a PDF that can be freely viewed now. But if $50 makes you balk, this auction may be too rich for your blood. Also note that as the auction is taking place out of the London outpost, prices will be in pounds, which–in addition to shipping to the US–means prices in North America will be a bit higher.

Just flipping around the 254-page catalog, the highest priced items look to be things that could either finish very specific collections or get you started on amassing conversation pieces: Obi-Wan Kenobi’s lightsaber from Revenge of the Sith is on the docket, starting at £40,000/$52,000 USD (estimated to climb to £120,000/$155,000 USD); there’s an Alien 3 xenomorph warrior in complete costume for £25,000 (expected to climb to £70,000); and there’s also Neo’s complete costume from The Matrix Reloaded for £20,000 (expected to climb to £60,000). If you’re the patient type, you could scoop up Neo’s costume, and then wear it while playing Cyberpunk 2077 on a console?

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With people still cautious about heading out to shop this year, and many places still not fully open yet, online shopping for Black Friday is poised to be bigger than ever. And of course, that means Amazon stands to reap the rewards better than any other online merchant. As for what we can expect from Amazon Black Friday 2020, years past have taught us to expect massive Black Friday discounts on just about everything, as well as aggressive price-matching of other retailer’s sales.

Retail Me Not Cash Back Day

Beginning November 5 and running for 48 hours, Amazon is one of the participating retailers in RetailMeNot’s annual Cash Back Day promotion. If you have an account with RetailMeNot, you can get “up to 20% cash back on purchases” at participating retailers. Amazon is one of many participating outlets, so you can actually start your Black Friday Amazon savings early with cash back on qualifying purchases.

Amazon Black Friday

Prime Day was delayed this year, so instead of a 2-day savings event in the middle of summer, we instead got a 2-day savings event in the middle of October. It was pretty decent, but it felt like Amazon was holding off on a lot of stuff since Prime Day came in so close to Black Friday.

In a lot of ways, Prime Day was the unofficial kick-off of the Black Friday deals season for Amazon. The best deals during Prime Day were, as always, on Amazon’s own devices. Expect to see those prices return for Black Friday. There are also new Echo devices coming out November 15, so there’s a chance we’ll see some kind of deal on the fourth-generation Echo. I don’t imagine we’ll see discounts, but I do think we’ll see some bundled deals on the new Echoes.

Amazon 4KTV Black Friday Deals

This is where the real savings are going to be. Last year there were some great 4KTV deals at Amazon, and they even bled into Cyber Monday. We’ve already seen some great deals on 4KTVs from Best Buy in its Black Friday preview, including a $1399 55″ LG CX OLED 4KTV deal that’s still live, along with plenty of others. That LG set is actually slightly cheaper on Amazon right now, and it includes a free LG XBOOM speaker with purchase.

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Beyond those amazing Black Friday deals already live, expect to see tons more chances to save at Amazon.

Amazon Video Game Black Friday Deals

After 4KTVs and Amazon’s own devices, video game deals will abound. Best Buy dropped its Black Friday deals sneak preview, and Walmart has also given us a glance into its upcoming deals. The $299 Nintendo Switch and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe bundle is back at Best Buy, and will probably return to Amazon, too. Unlike past years, this time around it comes with the most recent hardware revision of the Nintendo Switch and a 3 month trial subscription to Nintendo Online.

While PS5 and Xbox Series X deals will probably be non-existent, keep an eye on deals games for PS4 and Xbox One. With backwards compatibility being a real thing this gen, you can stock up on games and not have to worry about swapping between consoles to play them.

Also keep an eye out for PS Plus and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate deals.

More Amazon Black Friday Deals

Keep an eye out for old reliables like Instant Pots, Roombas, and Black Friday subscription deals. Deals on LEGO and other toys and collectibles have featured prominently in the past, as well. While we generally don’t feature the category, apparel is a massive force in Amazon Black Friday savings, so if you’re looking to buy some new clothes Black Friday deals are where it’s at.

We’re keeping track of all the best Black Friday 2020 deals as they happen, so keep an eye on this space for more updates.

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Seth Macy is IGN’s Executive Editor, IGN Commerce, and this is his fourth year covering Black Friday. You can find him on the IGN Deals Twitter account or on Instagram.

The PlayStation 5 launches in just over a week on November 12, but Sony still hasn’t concretely stated just how much of the SSD will be available for you to install games on. According to at least one leak of the system information from a PS5, it’s going to be just over 650GB.

The PS5 ships with a custom 825GB SSD, but not all of that will be free for game installations. The console’s operating system needs some of that space from the get-go. That’s why a screenshot from a video showing the PS5’s system menu, shared by noted leaker Okami13 and reported by GamesRadar, displays 648GB free out of a total 667Gb available, which could include the space required for the free Astro’s Playroom install.

That’s less than the Xbox Series X, but that was always likely to be the case considering the PS5’s smaller SSD overall. The Xbox Series X ships with a 1TB SSD, with its operating system reducing available storage down to 802GB. That means the PS5’s OS is slightly more efficient when it comes to space required, but still doesn’t leave you with a lot of room for large game installations.

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Yakuza: Like a Dragon is out next week, bringing with it a brand-new protagonist in the form of Kasuga Ichiban. Reviews have gone live for Sega and RGG Studio’s new franchise entry, which swaps the bare-knuckle brawling of previous games for turn-based action and strategy.

Reviews have so far praised the change of pace and Ichiban, with many critics agreeing that the new face of the story-driven series is an absolute delight and ready to forge a legend on par with the Dragon of Dojima.

In GameSpot’s Yakuza: Like a Dragon review, we scored it a 9/10. Critic Michael Higham said that the game “is a passing of the torch, and a fantastic entry in a beloved franchise that proves that it’s in good hands with Kasuga Ichiban.”

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It’s hard to believe, but the 2020 holiday season is upon us. It can be hard to know exactly what to get someone, but if you have a loved one who is big into the PC gaming world, we want to help you find the perfect gift that will make their year. Whether you want to purchase a new mouse or keyboard, a new gaming chair, some small stocking stuffer gifts, or a gorgeous 34-inch monitor, we’ve tried to include a wide range of gift options in our guide below.

There are many choices when it comes to PC gaming and a ton of brands to choose from like Logitech, Asus, Alienware, SecretLab, Razer, and more, but a lot of them share similar things to look out for. RGB lighting is a great feature that will really make a work/play space shine. A new SSD hard drive will make a computer run much faster, and an Xbox Wireless Controller or a similar third-party one could take their gaming to the next level.

We’ve included everything previously mentioned, plus so much more, in our 2020 holiday guide for the PC enthusiast in your life.

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Best PC Controller Gifts

Keyboard and mouse is great for many games, but sometimes you just need a controller. Here are our favorite options.

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Best PC Keyboard and Mouse Gifts

A good keyboard and mouse can make a huge difference for someone, and we’ve gathered some of our favorites.

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Best PC Monitor, Parts, and Accessory Gifts

A PC is great, but it needs a lot surrounding it to make it perfect, and these will help.

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Best Best PC Headset Gifts

We’ve picked an expensive and cheaper option for awesome PC headsets to help in your search.

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Best PC Chair and Desk Gifts

While they may be a bit on the expensive side, a good chair and desk can make a HUGE difference.

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Best PC Laptop and Gear Bag Gifts

Help a loved one carry their laptop and accessories in style and comfort.

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Best PC Stocking Stuffers

Most of these are under $25, but we included a $100 Steam gift card because it’s small and fits in a stocking… so it counts, right?

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The Best Gift Ideas for 2020

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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

If you’re looking for something new to play on PS4, there are some excellent deals at the PlayStation Store right now, including the first discounts on Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time and Spelunky 2. PSN is also hosting a new sale dubbed “Planet of the Discounts,” which features great deals on games such as Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Red Dead Redemption 2.

Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time released in September to critical acclaim. The platforming game earned an 8/10 in GameSpot’s Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time review, with critic Mike Epstein praising the inventive level design, environments, and surplus of content. You can snag it for $45 until November 12.

The Planet of the Discounts sale is live until November 21, so you have a couple of weeks to shop the deals. Spelunky 2 has received a modest 20% discount, dropping the price to $16. The long-awaited roguelike platforming sequel earned an 8/10 in GameSpot’s Spelunky 2 review.

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Destiny 2‘s big Beyond Light expansion arrives on November 10, but before it goes live, developer Bungie will start preparing its sandbox with some necessary maintenance. On November 9, Destiny 2 will go offline from 7 PM PT / 10 PM ET and Bungie will remove players from all activities. Players will be unable to log in until 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET on Nov 10, but when they return they’ll be able to download Update 3.0.0.1.

This scheduled maintenance will also result in Destiny 2 having a smaller digital footprint at the cost of several destinations and activities being locked away in the Destiny Vault. You’ll need to redownload the entire game though, which will be between 59 GB and 71 GB in size depending on the platform. Players will also be able to start pre-loading for Beyond Light on the evening of November 9, 10 hours before the expansion officially goes live.

There’ll be plenty of new content to explore in the latest expansion next week, which includes three new Stasis subclasses (Titan Behemoth, Hunter Revenant, and Warlock Shadebinder), a return to the Cosmodrome from the original Destiny, and challenges, which will run over the course of the Season of the Hunt.

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If you’ve wanted to dive into the cyberpunk-fueled action of Ghostrunner but prefer to have a version for on-the-go gaming, then you’ll be happy to know that the Nintendo Switch version of the game is set to launch on November 10.

Co-publishers All in Games and 505 Games have confirmed the release date after a previous delay of the port, with Ghostrunner having launched already on Xbox One, PS4, and PC. The press release states that the visually demanding title has been tuned accordingly for the Nintendo Switch and its hardware, which should produce a “smooth experience”. The PS4 version of the game was rough at launch, but has since been patched to fix many of its technical issues.

Ghostrunner is a first-person action game with melee-focused combat and a heavy reliance on quick, acrobatic parkour. Each enemy can be taken down with a single hit, but you can fall equally fast to their ranged attacks. The game challenges your reflexes and combat awareness, letting you pull off stylish kills and execute split-second escapes with your flexible but strong katana.

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