Hot off some strong first-party releases and a new hardware iteration, Black Friday 2019 looks to be another major sales time for the Nintendo Switch. The portable/console hybrid has seen some pretty great games this year, including Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Astral Chain, Luigi’s Mansion 3, and Pokemon Sword and Shield, and the new Switch Lite has re-ignited sales of the console (tempting even current owners to pick up a second one). Whether you’re looking for a deal on a Switch console or just hunting around for some Switch accessory deals, we’ve got you covered. We’ve rounded out the best Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals right here, with more info to come as stores announce all of their deals for the season.

Let’s break the disappointing news right out of the gate. Judging by the Black Friday ads we’ve seen so far, the Nintendo Switch won’t be getting a nice discount or even a particularly amazing bundle this holiday season. Instead, Nintendo has provided retailers with the same Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Switch bundle from last Black Friday. And yes, it still includes the launch model Switch, not the updated Switch with better battery life that hit stores a few months back. While the Switch Lite is prominently featured in ads, so far it’s just that: an ad for the $200 handheld-only Switch, with no discount to speak of.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be great deals on Switch accessories, though. In fact, we’ve already seen countless accessories featured in the various Black Friday ads that Best Buy, Target, GameStop, and Walmart have dropped, with Amazon still to follow. For reference, here’s when each retailer’s Black Friday sale begins.

• Walmart
  • Online: November 27 at 7 PM PT / 10 PM ET
  • In store: Thanksgiving Day, November 28 at 6 PM local time
• Best Buy
  • Online: Thanksgiving Day, November 28 (unknown time)
  • In store: Thanksgiving Day, November 28 at 5 PM local time
• Target
  • Online: Thanksgiving morning, November 28
  • In store: Thanksgiving Day, November 28 at 5 PM local time
• GameStop
  • Online: Wednesday, November 27 at 6 PM PT / 9 PM ET
  • In store: Thanksgiving Day, November 28 at 3 PM local time
• Amazon
  • November 22 to November 29

Best Black Friday Nintendo Switch console deals

Nintendo Switch Mario Kart 8 Deluxe bundle — $300

Nintendo Switch with digital copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and $25 gift coupon | $300

This Switch bundle was offered in 2018, and on the surface, it’s a pretty good deal. You get the Switch and an awesome game that regularly goes for around $50 these days. However, please note this isn’t the updated Switch with better battery life; it’s the launch model. If you love Mario Kart and aren’t concerned about the longer battery life, this is a solid offer; otherwise, you may be better off just buying the newer model for the same price and waiting for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to go on sale. We’re highlighting GameStop’s bundle here because you’ll get a $25 gift coupon with your purchase when buying on Thanksgiving Day or Black Friday. Other major retailers will have this bundle, too. Best Buy is throwing in a free screen protector.

Nintendo Switch Kohl’s bundle — $300

Nintendo Switch (new model) with carrying case and charging dock with $90 Kohl’s Cash | $320 ($345)

If you’re not eager to grab Nintendo’s official bundle, we know Kohl’s will have its own bundle that does, in fact, feature the updated Switch with better battery life. For $320, you’ll get the Switch, a carrying case ($20 value), and the popular PowerA Joy-Con Charging Dock ($25 value). The real draw here is that you’ll get $90 Kohl’s Cash to spend in the weeks following Black Friday.

Nintendo Switch bundle with Crash Team Racing and Switch Online — $305

Nintendo Switch (new model) with Crash Team Racing and 12-month Nintendo Switch Online family membership | $305 ($374)

This might be the best Switch bundle this Black Friday. Google Shopping will bundle Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled and a 12-month Nintendo Switch Online family membership with the updated Switch with better battery life for $305. You’re saving roughly $70 overall with this bundle. Google hasn’t revealed when its Black Friday sale will begin, but we’ll update this when more information is announced.

Nintendo Switch Lite — $175

Nintendo Switch Lite | $175 ($200)

Nintendo Switch Lite deals will be rare this Black Friday. In fact, the only one we’ve seen is from Google Shopping. But it will be a good one. We don’t know when the deal will be available, but Google Shopping will have the gray Nintendo Switch Lite discounted from $200 to $175.

GameStop will also have a Switch Lite promotion on Saturday, November 30 and Sunday, December 1. When you buy a Switch Lite at full price (turquoise, yellow, or gray), you’ll get a $25 gift coupon.

Best Black Friday Nintendo Switch accessory deals

Nintendo Switch Joy-Con — $53.60

Nintendo Switch Joy-Con (L/R) Neon Red/Blue or Gray | $53.60 ($80)

An extra pair of Joy-Con controllers normally sets you back $80, and even though you get “two” controllers, that’s still pricey. Thankfully, Switch Joy-Cons will be on sale for $53.60 at Amazon, besting Best Buy and Target’s $60 price during Black Friday. It seems you’ll be able to choose between neon red/blue or gray.

PowerA wired Switch controllers — $15

PowerA wired controllers | $15 ($25)

Like Joy-Cons, Switch Pro controllers are expensive, but there are some reasonable third-party options like PowerA’s lineup of wired controllers. Using the same layout as the Pro controller but with a slightly smaller form factor, PowerA’s wired controllers are pretty darn good and come in three awesome designs: Zelda, Mario, and a Pikachu-yellow Pokemon theme. All three will be discounted to $15 during Best Buy’s Black Friday sale.

PowerA wireless Switch controllers — $25

PowerA Enhanced Wireless Nintendo Switch controllers | $29 ($45)

These PowerA Enhanced wireless Nintendo Switch controllers are good alternatives to Nintendo’s official Pro Controller. They don’t support features like HD Rumble or NFC Amiibo scanning, but they do have two buttons on the back that can be mapped to a face button. This lets you keep your thumbs on the sticks while you’re in the middle of the action.

Poke Ball Plus — $20

Poke Ball Plus | $20 ($50)

While the Poke Ball Plus initially launched as an alternative controller for Pokemon: Let’s Go, it will also be compatible with Pokemon Sword and Shield, allowing you to “hold” one of your Pokemon and take it with you on the go (presumably to rack up experience points or earn extra items). However, it won’t function as a controller for Pokemon Sword and Shield the same way it did for Pokemon: Let’s Go. The Poke Ball Plus also comes with Mew, a mythical Pokemon that can be transferred into Pokemon: Let’s Go. The accessory is normally $50, but most major retailers will have it for $20 during Black Friday.

Nintendo Switch starter kit — $15

Nintendo Switch Elite Edition Starter Kit | $15 ($25)

If you’re buying a Nintendo Switch this holiday season, you should be in the market for a case, too. This starter kit comes with a carrying case, USB-C cable, silicone Joy-Con covers, and a microfiber cleaning cloth. It’ll be discounted to $15 at Best Buy.

Insignia Power Pack — $12.50

Insignia Power Pack for Switch/Switch Lite | $12.50 ($25)

For those who like traveling with their Switch (and who doesn’t?), a car charger is a great accessory to have. This Insignia pack comes with a car charger, a USB-C cable, and an extra AC adapter. Having a second AC adapter is handy, as you won’t have to unplug your AC adapter from your dock every time you want to take your Switch on a trip.

Mario or Luigi Fight Pad — $15

Mario or Luigi Wired Fight Pad Pro | $15 ($25)

These GameCube-style fight pads will be on sale for $10 off at GameStop. If you play a lot of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, these will be of particular interest. They are wired, so they only work in docked mode.

GameCube wireless controller — $35

GameCube wireless controller | $35 ($50)

If you want a wireless GameCube-style controller, GameStop will have purple, gold, and silver ones discounted from $50 to $35 during its Black Friday sale.

SanDisk 128GB microSDXC — $15

SanDisk 128GB microSDXC | $15 ($30)

The Nintendo Switch has 32GB of internal storage, but it’s easy to fill that space up quickly after downloading games from the Eshop. GameStop will have 128GB microSD cards on sale for $15.

Astro A10 Gaming Headset — $35

Astro A10 Breath of the Wild-themed Gaming Headset | $35 ($60)

Astro is one of the most popular gaming headset manufacturers. The A10 wired headset for Switch is one of the company’s budget headsets, but it still offers quality audio. GameStop will have it discounted from $60 to $35. It also happens to be The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild-themed.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-switch-black-friday-2019-deals-switch-lit/1100-6471187/

Destiny 2 is currently completely down, with players unable to login to the game from the title screen from PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or Stadia. Bungie says it’s working on the issue, but it looks like both Destiny and Destiny 2 have been down for at least a couple of hours.

Right now, trying to start up Destiny 2 leads to a screen that reads, “Servers offline. Destiny 2 is currently unavailable. Watch help.bungie.net or @BungieHelp for updates as we work to restore service.”

Bungie hasn’t offered much in the way of updates on Twitter, however. The latest tweet from the @BungieHelp account says that the developer is still working on the issue, but doesn’t give any information as to what might be wrong or how long it’s going to take.

We’ll keep an eye on the situation and update this post as Bungie reveals more details.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-2s-servers-down-and-the-game-is-unplayable/1100-6471663/

Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2019 hit next week, so if you’re hoping to shop across various websites or, if you’re truly brave, your local retailers, you should probably know when you’ll want to start shopping. The best deals sell out pretty quickly, so you should have a good idea of what to look for and when. You can’t just assume you’ll be early by heading to stores after finishing Thanksgiving dinner to pick up a PS4, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, or whatever other deal has caught your eye. Thankfully, most of the big stores with Black Friday deals have given us a heads-up about their deals and store hours, which should make your shopping run a little easier to plan.

To help you form your Black Friday shopping plan and ensure you don’t miss out on the best doorbuster deals, we’ve gathered everything you need to know about the major retailers’ store hours and online start times for Black Friday below, including stores like Best Buy, Amazon, Target, GameStop, and Walmart. Many retailers have started offering deals already in early access sales. Look for the bulk of Black Friday deals to go live on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving Day; however, some deals won’t go live until Black Friday itself. Quite a few stores will open Thanksgiving evening, shut their doors later that night, and then re-open on Black Friday proper. However, you’ll definitely be waiting until Friday to do in-store shopping if you live in Rhode Island, Maine, or Massachusetts, where opening on Thanksgiving is illegal. Of course, you can always head online if heading to a store isn’t an option.

Please note that some stores haven’t released the exact time their deals will be live, only the date. We’ve included the information available below and will continue to update this story as more retailers announce their store hours and start times.

Black Friday 2019: Start times and store hours

Best Buy

Most of Best Buy’s deals will be available starting on Thanksgiving, presumably in the morning for online shopping and later on at 5 PM for brick-and-mortar stores. However, pre-Black Friday deals are already live on Best Buy’s site.

• November 28-December 1: All Black Friday deals and doorbusters will be available.
  • Online deals start on Thanksgiving (unknown time)

Best Buy store hours

• Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28: 5 PM – 1 AM
• Black Friday, Nov. 29: 8 AM – 10 PM
• Saturday, Nov. 30: 9 AM – 10 PM
• Sunday, Dec. 1: 11 AM – 8PM

GameStop

At GameStop, online deals will go live beginning at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET on Wednesday, November 27. For brick-and-mortar GameStop stores, doors will open quite early on Thanksgiving Day, starting at 3 PM this year.

GameStop store hours

• Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28: 3 PM – 10 PM
• Black Friday, Nov. 29: 7 AM – 10 PM
• Saturday, Nov. 30: 10 AM – 9 PM
• Sunday, Dec. 1: 11 AM – 7 PM

GameStop’s Black Friday 2019 deals haven’t been announced yet.

Amazon

While Amazon has opened a small (but growing) number of brick-and-mortar stores across the US, the bulk of its Black Friday discounts will be available on Amazon.com. Because Amazon is primarily an online store, it’s not waiting until the end of the month to start offering its Black Friday deals. Instead, Amazon launched its Happy HoliDeals sale on November 1 with discounts across gaming, tech, entertainment, and other categories. Then, starting on November 22, more deals will be available on Amazon, including a wide range of smart devices. Basically, Amazon will have deals going live all the time, so check back often.

• November 1-22: Pre-Black Friday deals available in Happy HoliDeals sale
• Starting November 22: More deals will go live every day up until Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and probably the week after Cyber Monday.

Target

On the Wednesday before Black Friday, Target will have some special access deals for RedCard and Circle members. Otherwise, online deals will become available to everyone Thanksgiving morning, with brick-and-mortar stores opening at 5 PM on Thanksgiving Day this year.

• November 27: RedCard Early Access Sale runs all day, with select deals for Circle members available starting at 6 PM (online only)
• November 28-30: Black Friday deals and doorbusters available
  • Online deals become available starting Thanksgiving morning through November 30 while supplies last
• December 1-8: Cyber Week deals available (online only)

Target store hours

• Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28: 5 PM – 1 AM
• Black Friday, Nov. 29: 7 AM – 11 PM (normal closing time)
• Saturday, Nov. 30: 8 AM – 11 PM (normal hours)

Walmart

Walmart has quite a few early Black Friday deals that are available now, but its official pre-Black Friday sale begins November 22, with the full lineup of Black Friday deals becoming available on Wednesday, November 27. At Walmart stores, deals will become available to claim at 6 PM on Thanksgiving Day.

• Available now: Select deals are available now, including the aforementioned iPad Pro deal.
• November 22: Pre-Black Friday sale begins. Deals haven’t been announced at this time.
• November 27-29: All Black Friday deals will be available
  • Online deals start Wednesday, November 27 at 7 PM PT / 10 PM ET
  • See Black Friday store hours below

Walmart store hours

• Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28: Black Friday deals start at 6 PM local time. Check with your local store, but typically Walmart lets you come early and fill up your cart before Black Friday sales officially start. You just have to wait until 6 PM to checkout.
• Friday, Nov. 29: Check with your local store. Many Walmart stores are open 24 hours/day.

Microsoft Store

Microsoft announced its Xbox deals and start times during X019. Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold subscribers get early access to Microsoft’s Black Friday Xbox deals starting November 21. Subscribers can log in and start shopping from any Xbox or Windows 10 device. Starting November 24, Microsoft’s Black Friday deals will open up to everyone and will be available until December 2 (or while supplies last). In addition to Xbox deals, you’ll find some nice discounts on gaming laptops, monitors, headphones, and more during Black Friday.

• Available Now: Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold members start shopping
• November 24-December 2: Official Xbox deals available to everyone

Ebay

While Amazon may be a go-to source for many people’s online shopping, Ebay has continued to surprise us with great gaming deals on a regular basis, especially when it comes to discounts on new games or subscription services like PS Plus. It also had some of the best deals around during Prime Day 2019, so be sure to keep your eye on Ebay during Black Friday this year.

Ebay is offering a series of “Black Friday Drops” every Friday leading up the major event. So far, they’ve offered nice discounts on expensive tech like the Apple Watch Series 5 and Bose SoundTouch 10 wireless speaker, and we even saw a great bundle with the Nintendo Switch Lite and Pokemon Sword and Shield. Each Black Friday Drop goes live at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET every Friday now through December 13. The spotlight deal for Black Friday itself, November 29, hasn’t yet been revealed.

Steam

For PC gamers, Steam’s Black Friday sale (or “Autumn Sale”) will be a huge opportunity to snag games on their wishlist at a discount. Unfortunately, Steam doesn’t release information about its sales ahead of time, and that likely won’t change for Black Friday 2019. That said, we have a pretty good idea when Steam’s Black Friday sale will start. According to a leak a few months ago, Steam’s Autumn sale will go live on November 26 and run until December 3. This is a bit later than in previous years, but considering Black Friday is also happening later this year, the November 26 start date is believable. It’s worth noting the leak also accurately predicted the dates for Steam’s Halloween sale last month.

• November 26-December 3: Steam’s Autumn Sale

Newegg

Online store Newegg is another great source for tech and gaming deals year-round, and the website has been gearing up for Black Friday all month long. Newegg has opted to celebrate “Black November” rather than limiting its deals to Thanksgiving weekend, and you can already find great discounts on gaming laptops, desktops, graphics cards, and more.

• Available Now: Black Friday pre-sale kicks off
• November 25-30: Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals available

Costco

If you’re someone who has a Costco membership, there are plenty of Black Friday gaming deals awaiting you this year. However, Costco will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, so there’s no beating the Black Friday rush if you plan to shop in stores. If you prefer to shop online, deals are already available, but some of the best deals will go live on Costco.com the Sunday before Thanksgiving.

• Live now: Early holiday deals available on Costco.com

Costco store hours

• Thanksgiving Day: Closed
• Black Friday, Nov. 29: 9 AM – 8:30 PM (may vary by store)

Kohl’s

Kohl’s isn’t usually a store you think of for tech and gaming deals, but the brick-and-mortar retailer is stepping up its game with some solid deals this year, including a nice Nintendo Switch bundle. Plus, the store is offering $15 of Kohl’s Cash for every $50 you spend from November 25-29, an excellent deal if you shop there regularly. On top of that, select products are eligible for an additional 15% off both in stores and online with promo code THANKS15.

• November 25: Online Black Friday deals become available at midnight CT / 1 AM ET (10 PM PT on Nov. 24)
• Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28: Online doorbusters available at midnight CT / 1 AM ET (10 PM PT on Nov. 27) through 1 PM on Black Friday (or while supplies last)
• November 30-December 9: Customers who earned Kohl’s Cash during Black Friday week can redeem it on anything online and in stores

Kohl’s store hours

• Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28: Doors open at 5 PM

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/black-friday-2019-start-time-store-hours-for-targe/1100-6471354/

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp has introduced its paid membership tier, which we first heard about earlier this week. The new model, which follows in the footsteps of Mario Kart Tour‘s premium subscription, is called the Pocket Camp Club.

As reported by VGC, the new Pocket Camp Club subscription service is available at two different tiers, and a one month free trial of the lower tier is also available. For $2.99 / £2.99 a month you can get the Happy Helper Plan, which will let you appoint an animal as Camp Caretaker when you’re not in the app, meaning that they will gather items and look after things in your absence. This tier will also reward you with 60 Leaf Tickets every month.

The second, more expensive tier, is the Cookie & Depot Plan. It costs £7.99 / $7.99 a month, and in addition to the Camp Caretaker, it will also let you choose from five previously-released cookies to acquire new items once per month. Players with this subscription will also get access to a warehouse that lets them store up to 5000 items of furniture and pieces of clothing. There will be other advantages across both plans, including reduced crafting times and previews of upcoming items.

It’s no surprise to see Nintendo incorporating a system like this into Animal Crossing on mobile, considering how successful Mario Kart Tour has been. Nintendo has expressed some wariness over loot boxes, too, so further subscription models in the future for Nintendo mobile titles seem likely.

The next title in the Animal Crossing series, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, will release for Switch on March 20, 2020.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/animal-crossing-pocket-camps-subscription-service-/1100-6471662/

Half-Life: Alyx has been properly unveiled with a first-look trailer ahead of the VR game’s March 2020 release. We’ve learned a lot about the game so far, but more information continues to come in as we pore over the details. One thing that many fans were quick to spot was that some of the voices in the trailer sounded different, and one, coming out of the mouth of a new character, was instantly recognisable.

New Zealand actor Rhys Darby has confirmed on Twitter that, yes, that was him in the Half-Life: Alyx trailer. Darby, who is best known for his roles in Flight of the Conchords as the band’s inept manager and as the leader of the werewolves in Taika Waititi’s What We Do In The Shadows, tweeted what was clearly meant as a response to the question that was being asked across the Internet: “is that Rhys Darby?”

Darby’s character, who we do not have a name for, appears to be in league with Alyx in the upcoming full-length prequel. Speaking of Alyx, she’ll also be voiced by a new actor, with Ozioma Akagha stepping into the role originated by Merle Dandridge. Speaking to PC Gamer, designer Greg Coomer explained that the gap in time since Half-Life 2 released, and the fact that the game will portray a younger Alyx, a new voice actor was necessary. “When we heard Ozioma’s performance we knew we’d found the right Alyx,” he said. Akagha previously voiced Plastic in Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst and Barbara Casey in Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. Dandridge has voiced her support for the project, despite no longer voicing the character.

Eli Vance has also been recast, as sadly the original voice actor Robert Guillaume passed away in 2017 at the age of 89. The character will be voiced in Half-Life: Alyx by James Moses Black (This Is Us, Black and Blue). Dr Wallace Breen voice actor Robert Culp has also passed away, which means that if the character reappears in Half-Life: Alyx, he will have a different voice actor too. As PC Gamer notes, though, Mike Shapiro (G-Man), Ellen McLain (Combine Overwatch broadcasts), and Tony Todd (the Vortigaunts) are returning.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/half-life-alyx-recasts-alyx-eli-and-others-and-fea/1100-6471659/