Initially conceived as an experiment in eradicating information asymmetry between people buying games and people selling games, and a way of countering the small army of marketing men and advertisers telling you that they are the best value, regardless of reality, SavyGamer has grown to be far bigger than I ever imagined it could be. That’s largely down to you, the wonderful users of SavyGamer, who day in and day out choose to trust me to find you the best prices on games. You’ll probably never know quite how much gratitude I have for you.

I’ve been chronicling the cheapest games across all formats for half a decade now, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed myself. It’s also been a successful endeavour for me financially, I don’t quite earn enough from SavyGamer to not have to do other work, but I think that I might be there in another year or two. You could always subscribe for just £1 a month to help me on my way.

Whether you’ve been here since day one, or if this is your first time visiting SavyGamer (make yourself at home), or somewhere in-between, thank you ever so much for your patronage. I intend for SavyGamer to be a service that you can rely on long long into the future.

To celebrate the earth having successful orbited the sun five times since SavyGamer’s inception, I’ve roped in a bunch of developers to put their games on sale all at once. Here’s a boatload of fantastic games all reduced:

A.Typical RPG – 64p
AI War: Alien Bundle – £3.89 (and similar discounts on individual items, apply coupon “SavyGamer5″)
Blue Toad Murder Files – £2.99 on PSN
Bundle of Wrong – Pay What You Want
Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land – £1.99
Democracy 2 – £7.66 (apply coupon “SavyGamer5″)
Eufloria – £3.74 (apply coupon “SavyGamer5″)
Eufloria HD – £1.49
Fate of the World – £2.50 (and similar discounts on individual items, apply coupon “SavyGamer5″)
Frozen Synapse x2 – £15.19 (apply coupon “SavyGamer5″)
Gratuitous Space Battles: Collectors Edition – £5.66 (apply coupon “SavyGamer5″)
helicoid – Free
Inzectoids – Pay what you want
Leave Home + fren-ze – £3.18
lilt line – 69p
Planet Stronghold – £7.19 (apply coupon “SavyGamer5″)
Scoregasm – £1.91
Swift*Stitch – £2.23
These Robotic Hearts of Mine, iOS – Free for one day, half price for the rest of the sale. /Android – 50p
Tidalis – 99p (apply coupon “SavyGamer5″)
Time Gentlemen, Please! – £1.79 (apply coupon “SavyGamer5″)
VVVVVV – £1.59
Waves – £3.43
Will Fight for Food – £2.38

Also the lovely folks at Get Games let me pick some games from their library to put on sale. Apply coupon “SavyGamer5″ to get these prices. Here they are:
The Club – £2
Civilization 5 – £4.99
The Oddboxx – £4.41
Renegops – £3.39
Serious Sam: The First Encounter HD – £2.59
Serious Sam 3: BFE – £7.49
Super Meat Boy – £3.39

Enjoy!

If you’ve got a game you want to put on sale to be part of the celebrations. Please do get in touch.

Much love.

Most popular deal posts: Multiformat
1. Rage, PC – £5.09
2. Rage, PC – £4.97 delivered
3. Crysis Maximum Edition, PC – £7.48
4. Crysis 2, PC – £3.74
5. The Saboteur, PC – £3.14
6. Diablo 3, PC/Mac – £27.91 delivered
7. Diablo 3 [Collector's Edition], PC/Mac – £59.49 delivered
8. Batman: Arkham City, PC – £9.99
9. Batman: Arkham Asylum [Goatee Edition], PC – £2.49
10. Hydrophobia: Prophecy, PC – 99p

PC top 5
1. Rage, PC – £5.09
2. Rage, PC – £4.97 delivered
3. Crysis Maximum Edition, PC – £7.48
4. Crysis 2, PC – £3.74
5. The Saboteur, PC – £3.14

PS3 top 5
1. Resistance 3, PS3 – £8.87 delivered
2. Street Fighter X Tekken, PS3 – £16.97 delivered
3. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory HD, PS3 – £3.99 on PSN.
4. Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten, PS3 – £13.49 delivered
5. Deus Ex: Human Revolution, PS3 – £4.98 delivered

Xbox 360 top 5
1. Vanquish, Xbox 360 – £4.98 delivered
2. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings [Signed], Xbox 360 – £31.99 delivered
3. Metal Gear Solid Ultimate HD Collection, Xbox 360 – £34.95 delivered
4. Mass Effect 3, Xbox 360 – £17.99 delivered
5. Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Xbox 360 – £4.98 delivered

Most popular games by search
1. Diablo 3
2. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
3. Mass Effect 3
4. Guild Wars 2
5. Wargame: European Escalation
6. Battlefield 3
7. Anno 2070
8. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
9. Rage
10. Max Payne 3

Details are here. Tickets are required because the venue has a limited capacity. Please don’t get a ticket unless you can definitely make it.

Hope to see you there!

If you can’t make it, don’t worry, there’s something else special coming up as part of the anniversary festivities. Something that everyone can get involved with. Stay tuned to SavyGamer next week.

This sale is also going on in-store as GAME Group attempt to clear stock in light of their recent troubles. You’ll find many of the same deals as are online, although in some cases (as always), there will be differences.

If you have any credit with GAME or GameStation, either in the form of Reward Card/Elite points or gift/trade-in cards, I would strongly suggest that you use that allowance as soon as possible.

At this point, GAME Group are in a situation where they need to hold on to as much money as they are able. If it gets harsh enough, any and all gift card or reward card credit that they have can and will be made unusable. It is also possible (and indeed, likely) that if GAME Group are bought by a third-party that they would not honour this previous credit.

While you are entitled by law to a full refund, using the method in which you paid, for any deposit you may have placed with a retailer, this does not apply to gift card credit. Bear in mind that if you are claiming a refund on a deposit, if it was paid for with reward card points, it will take twenty-four hours for the refund to be credited back onto your reward card.

It’s also quite possible that the store won’t have a game that you want in stock for you to use your credit. If this is the case, look into picking up Xbox Live subscriptions, Microsoft Points, PlayStation Network credit or iTunes credit, as these will retain their value and if necessary can be resold.

Make sure that you take your reward card with you if you have one, as without it physically in-store to scan the store staff will not be able to use any credit you have outstanding on it. Now’s the time to dig out those gift cards you got for Christmas presents and grab some deals while you can.

Most popular deal posts: Multiformat
1. Dungeons & Dragons Anthology: The Master Collection, PC – £5.08
2. Deus Ex: Human Revolution, PC – £5.47 delivered
3. Mass Effect 3 & Dragon Age: Unleashed, PC – £27.99
4. Dark Delve, PC – Pay What You Want
5. Mass Effect 3 [N7 Collectors Edition], Xbox 360 – £64.85 delivered
6. Dead Island, PC – £9.99 delivered
7. Batman: Arkham City, PC – £15
8. God Hand, PS3 – £7.99 on PSN
9. Diablo III, PC/Mac – £27.97 delivered
10. Wolfenstein, PC – £2.49

PC top 5
1. Dungeons & Dragons Anthology: The Master Collection, PC – £5.08
2. Deus Ex: Human Revolution, PC – £5.47 delivered
3. Mass Effect 3 & Dragon Age: Unleashed, PC – £27.99
4. Dark Delve, PC – Pay What You Want
5. Dead Island, PC – £9.99 delivered

PS3 top 5
1. God Hand, PS3 – £7.99 on PSN
2. ICO & Shadow Of The Colossus HD, PS3 – £12.99 delivered
3. Duke Nukem Forever [Overcompensating Edition], PS3 – £9.99 delivered
4. Yakuza 4, PS3 – £4.97 delivered
5. Metal Gear Solid Ultimate HD Collection, PS3 – £65.99 delivered

Xbox 360 top 5
1. Mass Effect 3 [N7 Collectors Edition], Xbox 360 – £64.85 delivered
2. Metal Gear Solid Ultimate HD Collection, Xbox 360 – £65.99 delivered
3. Shadows Of The Damned, Xbox 360 – £7.74 delivered
4. Tony Hawk Shred & Stupid Plastic Skateboard, Xbox 360 – £16.85 delivered
5. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim [Collectors Edition], Xbox 360 – £49.99 delivered

Most popular games by search
1. Mass Effect 3
2. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
3. Battlefield 3
4. Saints Row: The Third
5. SSX
6. Dark Souls
7. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
8. Syndicate
9. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
10. Rage

Everybody’s Golf – £29.99 on PSN, £27.95 at The Hut.
Little Deviants – £19.99 on PSN, £17.99 at Play.com.
Modnation Racers: Road Trip £29.99 on PSN, £27.95 at Zavvi.
Reality Fighters – £19.99 on PSN, £17.99 at Play.com.
Uncharted: Golden Abyss – £39.99 on PSN, £34.85 at Shopto.
Wipeout 2048 – £29.99 on PSN, £28.95 at Zavvi.
Army Corps Of Hell – £34.99 on PSN, £19.85 at Shopto.
Virtua Tennis 4 – £34.99 on PSN, £24.85 at Shopto.
Asphalt: Injection – £19.99 on PSN, £17.99 at Play.com.
Lumines Electronic Symphony – £29.99 on PSN, £22.97 at Coolshop.
Rayman Origins – £29.99 on PSN, £23.98 at Coolshop.
FIFA 2012 – £44.99 on PSN, £34.95 at The Hut.
Shinobido 2 – £34.99 on PSN, £24.95 at The Hut.
Touch My Katamari – £24.99 on PSN, £19.95 at Zavvi.
Blazblue Continuum Shift Extend – £34.99 on PSN, £25.85 at Zavvi.
Michael Jackson The Experience HD – £24.99 on PSN, £17.99 at Amazon.
Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3 – £39.99 on PSN, £29.95 at The Game Collection.
Dynasty Warriors Next – £29.99 on PSN, £29.95 at Zavvi.
Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus – £29.99 on PSN, £24.99 at Sainsbury’s.
Ridge Racer – £16.99 on PSN, £14.95 at Zavvi.
Dungeon Hunter: Alliance – £29.99 on PSN, £29.86 at Shopto.
F1 2011 – £44.99 on PSN, £29.86 at Shopto.

This is only comparing prices at release, clearly the retail versions prices will drop over time in conjunction with market forces, whereas the PSN prices will only drop when Sony and/or the publishers decide it is time for them to drop.

What do you reckon to that? It seems crazy to me that they are making the download versions (which are better for the environment, encourage people to buy more of Sony’s expensive needlessly proprietary memory cards, and can’t be traded in) more expensive than the version that come in a plastic box, particularly after their claims that PSN versions would be cheaper.

It seems to me that Sony are more interested in keeping retailers happy than letting their customers access games in the most convenient way without compromising on value.

Will this impact your plans regarding getting a PS Vita?

It seems like getting a straight answer out of EA regarding Origin promotions is simply not possible.

Cheers @Jam_sponge for bringing this to my attention.

Good news for anyone who preorders (or has preordered) #ME3 on Origin: You’ll receive a free copy of Battlefield 3!

They didn’t say “anyone from North America who preorders”, they said this was an offer for “anyone”, not just the 8% of the population of planet earth that happen to live in North America.

Then EA have been posting repeatedly on their Origin twitter feed that this offer would in fact only be for North Americans, and there is no such offer visible on the UK version of the Origin website.

I contacted Origin email support to get them to clarify the situation, to see whether whether they were going to discriminate between their customers based on location with this arbitrary regional restriction. Here’s the conversation we had:

It kind of seems that they ignored the specifics of my questions doesn’t it? It also contradicts other information EA have put out. Here on twitter, they said:

When you receive your code for your bonus version, you can do whatever you please with it!

Whereas in the email to me they said that this would not be possible.

They repeat the claim that this offer is available for “everyone”, not mentioning anything to do with regional availability.

They also only mention the free copy of Battlefield 3 with the N7 Digital Deluxe Edition, which is nearly twice as expensive as the regular edition.

Get it the fuck together please, EA. I’m trying to send you business, and you’re making it very difficult. This must be very confusing for your customers.

Most popular deal posts: Multiformat
1. Deus Ex: Human Revolution, PC – £6.85
2. Borderlands, PC – £1.99
3. Saints Row: The Third, PC – £11.99
4. Deus Ex: Human Revolution, PC – £7.99
5. Dreamcast Collection, PC – £2.84
6. Swift*Stitch, PC – 67p
7. Final Fantasy 7, PS3 – £3.99 on PSN
8. Batman: Arkham City, PC – £16.30
9. Serious Sam 3: BFE, PC – £10.19
10. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, PC – £9.99 delivered

PC top 5
1. Deus Ex: Human Revolution, PC – £6.85
2. Borderlands, PC – £1.99
3. Saints Row: The Third, PC – £11.99
4. Deus Ex: Human Revolution, PC – £7.99
5. Dreamcast Collection, PC – £2.84

PS3 top 5
1. Final Fantasy 7, PS3 – £3.99 on PSN
2. Dark Souls, PS3 – £14.95 delivered
3. Mass Effect 3, PS3 – £29.97 delivered
4. Fallout: New Vegas [Ultimate Edition], PS3 – £19.22 delivered
5. Hunted: The Demons Forge, PS3 – £4.98 delivered

Xbox 360 top 5
1. Crysis 2, Xbox 360 – £6.60 delivered
2. Dark Souls, Xbox 360 – £14.95 delivered
3. Deus Ex: Human Revolution [Collectors Edition], Xbox 360 – £19.98 delivered
4. Sonic Generations, Xbox 360 – £8.99 delivered
5. Gears of War 3, Xbox 360 – £13.42 delivered

Most popular games by search
1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
2. Battlefield 3
3. Saints Row: The Third
4. Anno 2070
5. Dark Souls
6. Batman: Arkham City
7. Rage
8. FIFA 12
9. The Old Republic
10. Dead Island

Review by Will Templeton

Quarrel’s been through a lot on its journey to XBLA. Rejected several times by publishers everywhere, Denki’s taken the stance that the publishers are playing it safe rather than playing the market – that their little word game could stand on its own two feet in the land of guns. Finally, following its success on iOS, Denki was able to secure a publisher and release a much more full-featured version, including the simultaneous multiplayer that was so tragically cut from the mobile app.

For those who haven’t had the pleasure, Quarrel is a delicious mix between the best parts of Risk and the best parts of Countdown. Players occupy a board filled with territories, are given troops on those territories, and then battle their neighbours for domination of the board. In battle, each player is given the same jumbling of eight letters that have the potential to form an eight-letter word, but the length of word you’re able to form depends on the amount of troops you have in your square. You can see that the word is EQUALITY (29), but you only have two guys? Tough. Looks like you’re stuck with QI (16). At the end of your turn, you get reinforcements based on the amount of territories you hold and the amount you took that turn. And that’s where the comparisons to Risk rear their heads once more.

Despite the aspect of words scoring points based on their constituent letters, it’d be a mistake to think you were playing anything similar to Scrabble – even though it uses the official Collins Scrabble dictionary. Whereas Scrabble tests your vocabulary, Quarrel expects you to guess at anagrams that have already been preordained. It’s a different feeling altogether to know that somewhere in the set of tiles you’ve been given is a word waiting to be set down with a flourish, and often you’ll find yourself glancing at the letter scores rather than the letters themselves. With four spaces, and a G and M sitting there, you’d be much better served using GUM (11) than GRIN (8). It’s tempting to give in to a Words with Friends-style guessing game of Is This A Word, but a three-guess limit and a very well-adjusted timer ensure that the emphasis is on vocabulary knowledge, not guesswork. Wonderfully, it supports both USB keyboards and the ill-fated Xbox Chatpad, which prove to be invaluable tools when you both have a stab at SKY (12) and it relies on a “fastest finger first” scenario.

The vocab, though, is where Quarrel XBLA fails significantly – and it’s a problem that the iOS game does not share. XBLA certifications are notoriously stringent, and every game must adhere to a one-size-fits-all set of similar rules, with very few exceptions – every game, for example, must have a menu formatted in the same way, support online leaderboards (even if in name only), and crucially, if any content can be user-generated, this content is subject to even more guidelines.

So, say I’m making a word in Quarrel online against a friend. I can’t tap in the word MINGE (11). Fair enough. I have GEM (6), or maybe even GEMINI (9). But later, I have the opportunity to use the word SHAT (7). Apparently, that’s fine, I get points, and the game even tells me it’s the offensive colloquial past participle of defecation; it’s not some odd alternate meaning. My opponent tries TRAIN (6). It’s disallowed, as is CUP (8). We’re given an anagram to which the only solution is SEXUALLY (25), but we’re prevented from submitting SEX (12), SEXY (17), SEXUAL (18), or even solving the anagram itself. AXLES (15) is the only useful option. And then the game chastises us: “Nobody made SEXUALLY (25).”

Evidently, this cripples Quarrel. Even Countdown, a programme well-known for its conservative audience, won’t often blush at a racy or inappropriate chance encounter with the language, but in an increasingly child safety-conscious Live environment, gameplay is affected as a result, often with no chance of a comeback from a valid word due to the time limit. According to Denki, they’re forced to use Microsoft’s own uncompromising whitelist – meaning that a word that works one day might be disallowed the other, or vice-versa. And while this means Quarrel won’t accept some of these, it will accept a wide range of things that Susie Dent would sneer at, such as NAETHING (14, Scots variant of ‘nothing’), YOGHOURT (21, archaic spelling of ‘yoghurt’ presumably only known to overzealous autocorrect algorithms) and RIVETTING (18, variant spelling of ‘riveting’ and denounced by every style guide imaginable). While it’s commendable that Denki are trying to increase the already expansive wordlist as much as possible, it invariably leads to frustration. “It was CRAPIEST (12)? Most like a crepe? Really?”

It’s such a shame that these issues exist, because Quarrel, fundamentally, is great. An unabashedly brilliant game that gets friends forming alliances and laughing at their own mental blocks, and even with the aforementioned reservations (including a very reproducible crash bug, which should be stomped out with a swift patch) I still recommend it very highly. It executes extremely well on the promise of Xbox Live Arcade, allowing that board-game atmosphere in a more convenient form for a fraction of the price, and crammed full of that lovely Denki charm. But, just more often than is comfortable, it stumbles, and that’s also due to Arcade’s inflexible guidelines. If Quarrel fails to prove that gamers want brilliant innovation, it’ll be the fault of the platform, not the game itself. And IRONY only scores 10.

[UPDATE - January 27th 2012, 22:14 pm - It's come to my attention that a little clarity is in order. As the main selling point of Quarrel XBLA over iOS is its competitive multiplayer, I have focused primarily on this mode in this review. The censorship issues I mention here are in sole regard to play over Xbox Live, and do not apply to the single-player modes when playing against bots unless Family Settings are enabled. It should be noted, though, that Quarrel against AI-controlled dictionaries is a far duller affair then against devious human opponents.]

Quarrel, XBLA – 400MSP

I’m a member of the inaugural BAFTA Youth Board, a team of young people BAFTA have assembled (in their words) “to discuss BAFTA’s Learning & Events programme, Communications and Awards Ceremonies and their relevance for young people in today’s competitive jobs market.” I mainly just pleased that they still considered me to be a youth.

As one of the two games people on the board of 18 members, it’s a fair old bit of responsibility. We’ve already met once, and are going to meeting throughout 2012 to discuss all sorts of things. Hopefully you’ll all keep an eye on BAFTA’s activities, particularly the games awards in March, and send any thoughts or feedback you have my way.

Details on the BAFTA Youth Board here, including all the interesting people that make up the rest of the board.

1. Tesco – 23.6%
2. Amazon – 22.64%
3. GAME – 13.09%
4. ASDA – 7.62%
5. play.com – 7.3%
6. The Hut – 5.55%
7. Zavvi – 5.03%
8. Gamestation – 4.4%
9. Gameplay – 3.2%
10. HMV – 2.9%
11. ShopTo.Net – 1.44%
12. GamersGate – 0.7%
13. The Game Collection – 0.68%
14. Coolshop – 0.65%
15. Best Buy UK – 0.4%
16. Origin/EA Store – 0.21%
17. Direct2Drive – 0.19%
18. Choices UK – 0.14%
19. Bee.com – 0.13%
20. PC World – 0.077%
21. Dixons – 0.022%
22. Woolworths – 0.017%
23. Sendit – 0.0086%
24. Currys – 0.0048%

I hope you find that somewhat interesting, I thought it was worth sharing. Any interesting trends you noticed? Surprised to see Tesco at number 1?

Based on traffic to posts about games on Steam, I am fairly confident that they would be high up on this list, if not at or near the top. It’s worth noting that GAME group would be at 20.69% and The Hut Group at 11% when you combine their constituent parts.

I’ll do this next year too, I reckon.

Most popular deal posts: Multiformat
1. Saints Row: The Third, Professor Genki’s Pre-Order Pack & DLC Season Pass, PC – £14.99
2. Crysis 2, PC – £3.75
3. Saints Row: The Third, PC – £13.99
4. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, PC – £19.99 delivered
5. Saints Row: The Third, PC – £14.50
6. Batman: Arkham City, PC – £11.98
7. Saints Row: The Third, PC – £9.99 delivered
8. Brink, PC – £3.74
9. Serious Sam 3: BFE – £7.49
10. Limbo, PC – £1.75

PC top 5
1. Saints Row: The Third, Professor Genki’s Pre-Order Pack & DLC Season Pass, PC – £14.99
2. Crysis 2, PC – £3.75
3. Saints Row: The Third, PC – £13.99
4. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, PC – £19.99 delivered
5. Saints Row: The Third, PC – £14.50

PS3 top 5
1. Rock Band 3 & Keyboard, PS3 – £19.97 collect in store
2. God of War 3, PS3 – £2.99 in store at GAME
3. Batman: Arkham City, PS3 – £17.99 delivered
4. Killzone 3, PS3 – £9.99 delivered
5. Gran Turismo 5, PS3 – £9.97 delivered

Xbox 360 top 5
1. Rock Band 3 & Keyboard, Xbox 360 – £19.97 collect in store
2. Saints Row: The Third [Professor Genki Edition], Xbox 360 – £19.99 delivered
3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Xbox 360 – £22.49 delivered
4. Mirror’s Edge, Xbox 360 – £1.79 delivered
5. Batman: Arkham City, Xbox 360 – £17.99 delivered

Most popular games by search
1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
2. Saints Row: The Third
3. Battlefield 3
4. Dark Souls
5. Batman: Arkham City
6. Star Wars: The Old Republic
7. Uncharted 3
8. Rage
9. Anno 2070
10. Dead Island

However, they have accidentally set it up so that the coupon applies the discount to your current basket contents, then you can modify your basket, without it updating the discount to reflect the new contents.

You could, for example, add all of the used consoles they have in stock here, apply the coupon, then remove all the consoles but one, to get a massive discount applied to the console.

Have fun, they might update the website in the morning.

Whatever your plans are, I hope you have a lovely Christmas, and that you and your loved ones stay safe. Have fun stuffing your tummies with delicious Christmas food and drink!

2011 marks the year where SavyGamer has developed from being a fun hobby with an ambition for the future, to a proper job that I earn a humble but comfortable living from (alongside my other work). As such, in January I’m going to be making the bold step of moving out of my parents house into a nice little flat in London, and it’s you lot who are going to be paying my rent (mostly). Thanks for that!

As we enter SavyGamer’s 5th year (The 5th anniversary is the 3rd of May, mark your calenders), I suppose I should reassure you all that I am in this for the long haul. I’m totally committed to the cause of video game frugality, and really my brain isn’t assembled in the right way to cope with many proper jobs, so I don’t know what else I could possibly do. You can expect this site to have a long and healthy life into the future, and in fact, I’d say I’m just getting started.

Thank you dearly for your continued patronage of SavyGamer, your words of encouragement and support, and for spreading the SavyGamer name about. Don’t think it goes unappreciated. Extra special thanks to all the SavyGamer subscribers. You’re the best.

-

More love than you’ll ever realise,
Lewie Procter

PS

Aren’t Will & Tony doing a brilliant job of the Steam sale this year?

Most popular deal posts: Multiformat
1. Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box, PC – Free
2. Batman: Arkham City, PC – £14.95 delivered
3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, PC – £24.98 delivered
4. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, PC – £22.30 delivered
5. Rage [Anarchy Edition] – £13.99
6. Saints Row: The Third [Professor Genki Limited Edition], PC – £18.90 delivered
7. Medal of Honor, PC – £3.75
8. The A.Typical RPG, PC – 66p
9. AssBro, PC – £5 delivered
10. Dead Space 2, PC – £3.74

PC top 5
1. Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box, PC – Free
2. Batman: Arkham City, PC – £14.95 delivered
3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, PC – £24.98 delivered
4. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, PC – £22.30 delivered
5. Rage [Anarchy Edition] – £13.99

PS3 top 5
1. Prince Of Persia Trilogy HD, PS3 – £4.99 delivered
2. ICO & Shadow Of The Colossus HD, PS3 – £17.99 delivered
3. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, PS3 – £22.97 delivered
4. Demon’s Souls, PS3 – £11 delivered
5. Modern Warfare 3, PS3 – £30 delivered

Xbox 360 top 5
1. AssRev [Collector's Edition], Xbox 360 – £29.99 delivered
2. Modern Warfare 3, Xbox 360 – £30 delivered
3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Xbox 360 – £30.38 delivered
4. Child Of Eden, Xbox 360 – £5 delivered
5. Sonic Generations [Special Edition], Xbox 360 – £18.99 delivered

Most popular games by search
1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
2. Battlefield 3
3. Saint’s Row: The Third
4. Modern Warfare 3
5. Batman: Arkham City
6. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
7. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
8. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
9. Rage
10. Uncharted 3

SavyGamer has always been fiercely independent, and will continue to be so, as long as I’m in charge.

This is a part time position, and will still leave me plenty of time to run SavyGamer.

I’m going to be doing my best to catalogue the best deals available, as always, but if there are any specific things that you’d like me to keep an eye out for discounts on, let me know in the comments and I will do my best to help you out. Make sure to include what format you are after with any game requests.

Then make sure you’re subscribed to SavyGamer (either by RSS or Twitter), and I’ll post the best deals for people’s request as I see them. It’ll be a Christmas miracle.

Most popular deal posts: Multiformat
1. Deus Ex: Human Revolution, PC – £9.99
2. Batman: Arkham City, PC – £14.95 delivered
3. Battlefield 3 [Limited Edition], PC – £25.17 delivered
4. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, PC – £25.09 delivered
5. Child of Eden, Xbox 360 – £7.50
6. Batman: Arkham City, Xbox 360 – £30.39 delivered
7. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, PC – £24.85 delivered
8. Project Zomboid, PC/Mac/Linux – £4.99
9. Grand Theft Auto: The Complete Package, PC – £8.74
10. Dino Run SE, PC/Linux/Mac – Free

PC top 5
1. Deus Ex: Human Revolution, PC – £9.99
2. Batman: Arkham City, PC – £14.95 delivered
3. Battlefield 3 [Limited Edition], PC – £25.17 delivered
4. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, PC – £25.09 delivered
5. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, PC – £24.85 delivered

PS3 top 5
1. ICO & Shadow Of The Colossus HD, PS3 – £17.99 delivered
2. Battlefield 3 [Limited Edition], PS3 – £30.57 delivered
3. Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, PS3 – £25.20 delivered
4. Little Big Planet 2, PS3 – £10.10 delivered
5. Deus Ex: Human Revolution, PS3 – £14.85 delivered

Xbox 360 top 5
1. Child of Eden, Xbox 360 – £7.50
2. Batman: Arkham City, Xbox 360 – £30.39 delivered
3. Battlefield 3 [Limited Edition], Xbox 360 – £30.57 delivered
4. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Xbox 360 – £31.47 delivered
5. Battlefield 3 [Limited Edition], Xbox 360 – £31.99 delivered

Most popular games by search
1. Battlefield 3
2. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
3. Dark Souls
4. Rage
5. Batman: Arkham City
6. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
7. Dead Island
8. Modern Warfare 3
9. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
10. Football Manager 2012

Most popular deal posts: Multiformat
1. Any game for £1, OnLive
2. Portal, PC/Mac – Free
3. Dawn Of War II Retribution [Collector's Edition], PC – £7.99 delivered
4. Deus Ex: Human Revolution, PC – £16.58 via serial reseller
5. Time Gentlemen, Please!, PC – 43p
6. Frozen Synapse, PC/Mac/Linux – Pay What You Want
7. Paradox Complete Pack, PC – £74.99
8. Indie Strategy Bundle, PC – £6.99
9. CODBLOPS: Rezurrection, PC – £4.99
10. Deus Ex: Human Revolution, PC – £19.96 delivered

PC top 5
1. Portal, PC/Mac – Free
2. Dawn Of War II Retribution [Collector's Edition], PC – £7.99 delivered
3. Deus Ex: Human Revolution, PC – £16.58 via serial reseller
4. Time Gentlemen, Please!, PC – 43p
5. Frozen Synapse, PC/Mac/Linux – Pay What You Want

PS3 top 5
1. Dark Souls [Limited Edition], PS3 – £28.99 delivered
2. Bulletstorm, PS3 – £7.85 delivered
3. Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, PS3 – £26.99 delivered
4. Yakuza 4, PS3 – £10.99 delivered
5. ICO & Shadow of the Colossus Collection, PS3 – £24.99 delivered

Xbox 360 top 5
1. Red Dead Redemption [Goatee Edition], Xbox 360 – £24.85 delivered
2. Deus Ex: Human Revolution [Limited Edition], Xbox 360 – £24.99 delivered
3. Gears Of War 3 + 800 MS Points, Xbox 360 – £39.90 delivered
4. Shadows of the Damned, Xbox 360 – £15 delivered
5. Child of Eden, Xbox 360 – £10 delivered

Most popular games by search
1. Dead Island
2. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
4. Battlefield 3
5. Dark Souls
6. Space Marine
7. Torchlight
8. Rage
9. Fifa 12
10. Gears of War 3

Here’s the August charts:

Most popular deal posts: Multiformat
1. Deus Ex: Human Revolution [Augmented Edition], PC – £24.97 delivered
2. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, PC – £11.40
3. Deus Ex: Human Revolution, PC – £19.99
4. Humble Indie Bundle 3
5. Magicka + Magicka: Vietnam, PC – £1.99
6. Super Meat Boy [Ultra Edition], PC – £12.85 delivered
7. Pirates of Black Cove, PC – £1.99
8. Borderlands [Goatee Edition], PC – £4.99
9. Saints Row 2, PC – £1.74
10. AssBro, PC – £6.99 delivered

PC top 5
1. Deus Ex: Human Revolution [Augmented Edition], PC – £24.97 delivered
2. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, PC – £11.40
3. Deus Ex: Human Revolution, PC – £19.99
4. Humble Indie Bundle 3
5. Magicka + Magicka: Vietnam, PC – £1.99

PS3 top 5
1. Child of Eden, PS3 – £13.85 delivered
2. God of War HD Collection Volume 2, PS3 – £22.97 delivered
3. Deus Ex: Human Revolution [Augmented Edition], PS3 – £41.85 delivered
4. Homefront [Resistance Edition], PS3 – £4.97 delivered
5. Battlefield 3 [Limited Edition], PS3 – £34.90 delivered

Xbox 360 top 5
1. Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, Xbox 360 – £28.85 delivered
2. Driver: San Francisco [Special Edition], Xbox 360 – £21.97 delivered
3. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Xbox 360 – £27.78 delivered
4. Battlefield 3 [Limited Edition], Xbox 360 – £34.90 delivered
5. Deus Ex: Human Revolution [Augmented Edition], Xbox 360 – £41.85 delivered

Most popular games by search
1. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
2. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
3. Battlefield 3
4. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine
5. RAGE
6. Dark Souls
7. Brink
8. Dead Island
9. Frozen Synapse
10. Portal 2

For the most popular posts, I am only including posts that are for an individual game (or pack of games), so the most popular post by far in July was the Steam Summer sale, but I’ve excluded that because it doesn’t seem worth comparing to other games. I’m also just charting software here, not hardware or accessories. If any of the deals are still available, I will include links.

Here’s the July charts:

Most popular deal posts: Multiformat
1. Dark Souls [Limited Edition], PS3 – £23.89 delivered
2. Mass Effect 3, PC- £14.99 delivered
3. Total War: Empire: Total War & Total War: Napoleon: Total War [Goatee Edition], PC – 47p collect in store
4. Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, PC – £3.74
5. Dungeon Siege 3 [Limited Edition], PC – £8.98 delivered
6. Assassin’s Creed 2 [Digital Deluxe Edition], PC – £3.74
7. Battlefield 3: [Limited Edition], PC – £23.19 delivered
8. Brink [Special Edition], PC – £7.98 delivered
9. Cthulhu Saves the World & Breath of Death VII: The Beginning, PC – £1.79
10. Battlefield 3 [Limited Edition], PC – £22.96 delivered

PC top 5
1. Mass Effect 3, PC- £14.99 delivered
2. Total War: Empire: Total War & Total War: Napoleon: Total War [Goatee Edition], PC – 47p collect in store
3. Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, PC – £3.74
4. Dungeon Siege 3 [Limited Edition], PC – £8.98 delivered
5. Assassin’s Creed 2 [Digital Deluxe Edition], PC – £3.74

PS3 top 5
1. Dark Souls [Limited Edition], PS3 – £23.89 delivered
2. Infamous 2, PS3 – £15 delivered
3. Child Of Eden, PS3 – £14.99 delivered
4. The Tomb Raider Trilogy, PS3 – £9.99 delivered
5. ICO & Shadow Of The Colossus Collection, PS3 – £21.59 delivered

Xbox 360 top 5
1. Dark Souls [Limited Edition], Xbox 360 – £23.89 delivered
2. Silent Hill HD Collection, Xbox 360 – £17.85 delivered (I later discovered that this game doesn’t actually exist, it’s PS3 exclusive).
3. Portal 2, Xbox 360 – £16.25 delivered
4. Battlefield 3 [Limited Edition], Xbox 360 – £28.91 delivered
5. Trials HD, Limbo & ‘Splosion Man, Xbox 360 – £6.98 delivered

For search, I’ve fudged it a little. The human revolution result there includes searches for “Deus Ex”, “Human Revolution” and “Deus Ex: Human Revolution”, but I’ll just be using my common sense here.

Most popular games by search
1. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
2. Battlefield 3
3. Portal 2
4. Skyrim
5. The Witcher 2
6. Fallout: New Vegas
7. Civilisation 5
8. Brink
9. Crysis 2
10. Mass Effect 2

I’ll probably play with the format a bit over time, but I’m planning to do one of these every month going forward.

I let them know what I thought, and to my astonishment, they responded by changing this policy, and making standard shipping free. Good on them.

This got me thinking, I bet there are dozens of things other retailers with policies or rules which are either annoying, or harmful to their customers. I’d love to hear from you lot about what you’d like to see changed. We probably have to pick our battles here, it’s easiest to change the world a little bit at a time.

If you lot all let me know which particular policies retailers have that you are not happy about, I will pick what I think are the most worthy and realistic causes, and initiate a dialogue with the retailers in question to see if I can get anything done about it.

Please share any ideas in the comments.

Who knows, maybe control over GameStop is the extent of my powers, but I think it’s worth a try.

The profession of writing words about video games has rapidly changed over the last few years, largely disrupted by the internet, and technological progression shows no signs of slowing down. Convincing someone who runs a magazine to give you a job is still a viable route into employment, but there are plenty of opportunities elsewhere, and that’s what I’d like to talk about here.

Here’s my guide to becoming a ‘Games Journalist’ in 2011, primed for some whippersnapper to consign it to the history books in another five years time. I’m going to focus on passing on things I’ve learnt from my own experiences, and looking at what’s been going on around me. Currently about 1/3 of my income is from writing for other places on a freelance basis, and over the years I’ve written for Rock Paper Shotgun, VG247, Eurogamer and a few others. Hopefully I’ll have something to say that is useful to some people, but I look forwards to seeing what my peers have to say too.

Here it goes:

Create interesting, useful or funny things on the internet

In the 21st century, the nature of the internet means that anyone who wants to can have their own platform. Whether it’s a wordpress blog, a twitter account, a Youtube channel, or whatever amazing things haven’t even been made yet: You share the stage with everyone. You can’t shut down the signal, the open infrastructure of the internet isn’t going away any time soon, so your job is to make your signal louder and clearer than anyone else around the world with an internet connection.

How do you do that? You need to make things that are worthwhile and put them out there for everyone to see. Writing about games does not need to be as narrow as doing written reviews (although those can be very good). If you can corner some niche that has not yet been filled, come up with a unique angle on something that hasn’t been considered yet, or make people laugh, you are off to a good start. If you are the only source for something that is in demand, success will come to you. Specialisation is definitely a good idea.

You don’t need anyone’s permission to get started. There’s nothing that you need that isn’t available somewhere for free on the internet.

You are selling yourself and you are selling your reputation

The quality of your copy is one factor that you need to be concerned about, but your reputation is probably far more important.

Qualities like integrity, professionalism, good communication, good engagement with your audience, reliability and knowledge are all things that will make you highly employable, and will endear people to support you.

Many of the opportunities that have been presented to me over the years have been from when one person I have worked with has recommended me to someone else. Behave in a way that makes people want to recommend you.

Only work for free if doing it is beneficial to you

There are lots and lots offers to contribute to web sites for free “at the moment”, with an offer of pay further down the line. The reality of the market is that even with the best intentions, not all of these websites will grow into profitable enterprises. Working for free can be an excellent stepping stone to getting paid work, but I would recommend caution in choosing who you will and won’t work for without getting paid.

I’d strongly suggest you only work for people who’s work you are happy to be associated with. Are they doing a good job of the site they run? Are you impressed with their editorial outlook? Do they look like they are going places? Are they interested in building a respectful relationship with you as a writer? These are all questions you should be asking before ever giving away the fruits of your labour for free.

There is plenty you can get for working for free, but I’d certainly like to know specifically how they intend to get you exposure. Have they got a sizeable audience? Are they well connected within the wider industry? Do any of their other writers get paid work at any other publications? Are they going to link back to your blog?

If you’ve got a clear idea of exactly what you are getting out of it, you are far less likely to be taken advantage of.

Speak to people

Go to where the people who are doing what you want to be doing are, and talk to them. Whether it’s twitter, forums, comment threads, community events, industry events or the pub. Everything I’ve learnt has been either from experimentation and making it up as I went along, or advice directly from all the other writers out there.

Games people are generally lovely, in my experience. Everyone remembers what it was like starting out, and if you approach them in the right way, lots of people will happily dispense valuable advice.

Carpe diem

It’s a pretty cool job, and the number of people looking for work vastly outnumbers the amount of paid work going, but if you want to do it then you should absolutely go for it. The barriers to entry are lower than ever before, and you can very easily get started whilst holding down another job.

Q&A
This is the internet, so it is interactive. Questions in the comments please.

Other people’s guides:
Lewis Denby
Mike Rose