Justin is the Editor-in-Chief at 9to5Toys. For well-over a decade he has covered everything from video games and smart home devices to iPhone and MagSafe accessories, EDC gear, and just about everything in between. A professional audio engineer/producer, he also specializes in home recording, microphones, digital audio, and streaming gear. See something cool out there? Developing the next viral Apple gear accessory? Or just want to talk deals? Contact him directly at justin@9to5mac.com for tips, pitches, and more.
Nintendo had its first post-Switch launch Direct presentation last night ahead of the release of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe later this month. We got release dates, new information and trailers/gameplay footage for some of the biggest upcoming titles including Splatoon 2, Minecraft Switch, ARMS, Pikmin and more. Nintendo also has some new Legend of Zelda amiibo on the way as well as some late entries to the Smash Bros. collection. Head below for all the highlights from the event: Expand Expanding Close
Star Wars Pinball 5 is now available for free on the App Store. Regularly as much as $5, you can now download it to all your iOS devices for nothing. While we did see it go free earlier this year, it didn’t last for more than a day or two. So grab this now if you’re interested. Rated 4+ stars from almost 3,000 gamers.
Amazon is once again offering any twoMichelin Stealth wipers for $20 with free shipping for Prime members or in orders over $35. The options in the sale regularly range from $12 to $16, bringing you a total savings of up to $10. While we have seen some options go for slightly less, this is matching our previous mention and the best we can find.
You’ll find a helpful vehicle selection tool along the top of the listing pages to ensure you get the right set for your car. Rated 4+ stars from over 950 Amazon customers. Details below.
Just hearing the words NBA Jam gives many of us fond nostalgic memories. EA’s NBA Jam On Fire Edition back in 2011 brought players back to the crazy arcade style the series became famous for, and now a new title will carry the torch. After being revealed at the Nintendo Direct event back in February, we now know NBA Playgrounds will be launching on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One next month. We also got a round of new trailers recently courtesy of Nintendo and Sony… Expand Expanding Close
It has been a busy week for gift card deals starting with this $100 iTunes card for just $85. Then we saw loads of options up to 20% off including Cabela’s, Barnes & Noble, Jiffy Lube and many more. Today we have a couple more courtesy of the official PayPal eBay Store. You’ll need a valid PayPal account to redeem these offers, but you will receive free email delivery within hours (24 hours at the latest).
The colorful puzzler LVL for iOS is now available for just $1. That’s 50% below the regular price and the very first time we have seen it get discounted on the App Store. It blends 2D and 3D gameplay across 50+ levels. Details below.
The brand new trailer for Star Wars: Battlefront 2 has leaked. It was supposed to be making its first appearance during a major Star Wars event in Orlando starting tomorrow. We catch a quick glimpse of Rey, Kylo Ren, Yoda, Darth Maul and other major characters from the series. It looks as though EA will be pulling from an additional 4 Star Wars films to draw content for the multiplayer aspect of the game. And it also appears there will be a single player campaign involved here.
The Uncharted series has been about as good an alternative for an amazing AAA Indiana Jones game we could ever ask for. Nathan Drake and friends have taken us on some of the most daring and incredible adventures in gaming history through the creative guidance of one of the industry’s most illustrious development teams. Naughty Dog decided Uncharted 4 was the last time gamers would be seeing Nathan Drake for some time after it announced A Thief’s End would be the last canonical entry in the series as we know it. But that wasn’t before the team was already hard at work on a major DLC add-on… Expand Expanding Close
The official PayPal eBay Store is offering a $60 Jiffy Lube gift card for just $48 with free email delivery. That’s up to 20% off you next tune-up and more. You’ll need a valid US PayPal account to redeem this offer, but you can expect your digital credit to be emailed within hours (24-hours at the latest).
The Gorillaz have released a brand new iOS/Android app to coincide with the release of the cartoon group’s new album this month. Humanz – the fifth studio album from Blur frontman Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett as the animated hip-hop/pop group – will be releasing on April 28th with a number of interesting marketing tie-ins and companion products. One of which is the new augmented reality Gorillaz app designed to take you into the dark and strange world of the titular animated super stars… Expand Expanding Close
Amazon is offering the Petcube Play with 1080p Video for $141.99 shipped. That’s 30% or $58 below the original $200 price tag, the lowest Amazon has offered it for and the best we can find. They’re currently on sale for $150 at Best Buy with additional color options. Rated 3.9/5 stars from over 250 Amazon customers.
(Update 4/13 2:50pm): Apple has now officially selected Hyperburner as the latest App Store Free App of the Week.
Hyperburner for iOS is a high-octane space flying sim set in a “distant colonial solar system” and you can now own it for free. Never dropping below $3 on the App Store, this is the very first time the game has gone free since releasing in the summer of 2016. Rated 4+ stars from over 100 gamers.
Amazon is offering the Stanley 8-Inch Torpedo Level (42-294) for $1.93 as an add-on item. That means you’ll need to include it in an order of over $25. It ships free for Prime members or in orders $35. That’s more than 50% under the regular price, the lowest Amazon has offered it for and the best price we can find. Rated 4+ stars from 120 Amazon customers.
After Bethesda dropped a lengthy free demo for the stellar Dishonored 2 last week across all platforms, it is now doing the same with its massively multiplayer Elder Scrolls title. Prospective adventurers yet to give this one a try will be able to to do so starting tomorrow, but only for a limited time… Expand Expanding Close
Amazon is offering pre-orders on the PSVR Aim Controller Farpoint Bundle for $60.48 shipped. That’s nearly $20 off the regular $80 price tag and the lowest we have tracked on this bundle. This is essentially the same price as the Aim controller on its own, meaning you’re getting the game for basically free. It releases on May 16th, 2017. Full details below.
Amazon is offering the LEGO Creator Park Street Townhouse Building Kit (31065) for $39.99 shipped. Matched at Toys R Us. That’s 20% below the regular $50 price tag, the lowest Amazon has offered it for and the best we can find. This is a 566-piece set with 2 minifigs that “rebuilds into a city café or a Suburban home”. More details below.
Kingdom: New Lands is getting very first price drop on iOS today. Regularly $10, you can now grab the game for $6.99. This unique kingdom builder features a gorgeous pixelated art style and has received loads of positive reviews from critics. More details and gameplay footage below.
Travel to the New Lands and welcome the deluge of new mounts, merchants, and vagrants that call these isles home, but be wary of the new obstacles that threaten your arrival — for not just the greedy creatures block your way but even the environment itself can defeat you.
We have a new batch of discounted gift cards for you today after seeing $100 iTunes gift cards go on sale this past weekend. Everything below comes courtesy of trusted gift card dealer SVMGiftcards and ships completely free to your front door.
This month’s console releases are highlighted by Persona 5 and its near perfect review scores, the sequel to one of the first-person survival horror games that started it all and so much more. Anyone lucky enough to own a Nintendo Switch is in for a treat this month with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Nintendo has added in a number of goodies from new racers and gameplay modes, to new carts and items. All this and more in this month’s best console releases… Expand Expanding Close
While Focus Camera does provide solid customer service, it does appear as though this deal is considered a final purchase with no returns or exchanges. Expand Expanding Close
I for one have never been a big fan of covering up Apple’s gorgeous product designs with cases and sleeves. Unfortunately, these kinds of devices are just too big an investment to leave out in the open to get scratched and scuffed, or even worse, damaged. Choosing which cover-up to suit my needs and tastes isn’t easy to say the least, so I’m generally quite tough on product reviews in this category.
Legend of the Skyfish is a beautiful action adventure puzzle game with a unique weapon and tool – a fishing pole! It is filled with beautiful hand-painted art, intricate action puzzles and unique enemies…Explore a huge world of 45 handcrafted levels and defeat giant bosses.
iOS Universal: Legend of the Skyfish: $1 (Reg. $4)
Keeping track of all the awe-inspiring artwork your children, little cousins and nephews/nieces create can be as much as work as taking care of the little munchkins themselves. It’s heart breaking every time you have to secretly throw/put away that incredible Father’s Day card from last year (you terrible parent you). But don’t worry, Artkive for iOS helps parents safely store and organize all of those amazing memories without all the clutter.
Optionally, you can even create “high-quality” hard cover books, phone cases, blankets, coasters and much more from within the app.
Better yet, you can grab it for free today on the App Store. The popular productivity app usually sells for $4.99 and hasn’t gone free since the holiday season last year.
Along with some amazing mid-week deals on The Atlantic magazine and Bon Appetit for just over $4 per year, we now have a couple more notables to mention. As usual everything listed below ships free inside the continental US, has no sales tax and will never auto-renew on you. Both Smithsonian and Fine Homebuilding are currently matching the all-time lows outside of special holiday bundles using promo code 9TO5TOYS during checkout. For comparison, over at Amazon, Smithsonian goes for $12 and Fine Homebuilding sells for $38 per year.
If you have ever wanted to build your very own team of Transformers spanning the many years of character iterations the series has endured, now is your chance. We are getting a brand new Transformers game this week on mobile. Expand Expanding Close
Microsoft has been teasing us with its upcoming new console for quite some time now. Codenamed project Scorpio, the company has been claiming it will be the most powerful gaming console ever released and now we finally have some official specs from Microsoft to back that claim up.
We have been seeing an interesting trend of AAA console game releases offering lengthy demos to bolster interest. Recently we saw the 1960’s set open-world of Mafia 3 dole out a beefy demo allowing players to experience the entire first act. And now it looks like the folks over at Bethesda will be doing the same… Expand Expanding Close
(Update 4/6 1:25pm): Apple has now officially selected Toca Life: School as the App Store’s latest Free App of the Week.
Popular children’s app Toca Life: School is now available for free on iOS. The highly-rated title hasn’t gone free on the App Store since November of last year. Rated 4+ stars from over 1,200 users.
Today Sony is announcing a new line of professional series Solid-State Drives. Specifically aimed at filmmakers working with 4K video and high-end hardware, these new SSD offerings are designed to take a beating, for a really long time. Expand Expanding Close
The Novation Launchkey Mini USB Keyboard (MK2 Version) for Mac/PC is one of the best compact MIDI controllers on the market. Especially considering the built-in pads and transport controls (play, stop, etc.). It works as a basic keyboard controller for any DAW, but is specifically designed with Ableton Live in mind. However, you can configure it for Logic Pro X. Expand Expanding Close
DiscountMags is offering 1-year subscription to The Atlantic magazine for just $4.25 with free shipping and digital access. Simply use code 9TO5TOYS during checkout to redeem the discounted price. That’s more than half the price DiscountMags and Amazon normally charge for one year. It will run you $32.50 for 10 issues from The Atlantic direct. While we have seen it go for around $0.25 less, those deals required larger bundles or longer yearly commitments. You can even use this deal to renew an existing subscription at a discount.
As always, you get free shipping, no sales tax, and DiscountMags will never auto renew your subs on you. Everything in your cart can be sent to a different address with a personalized note Expand Expanding Close
The stellar action-platformer franchise, Trine, is getting some nice price drops today on the Mac App Store. In fact, all three games in the series are now matching the all-time lowest prices. They combine for solid reviews from hundreds, despite seemingly intermittent and minor technical issues for some users on Trine 3.
Discovr is now available for free for iOS. Focused on helping users discover new songs/artists, it features a series of unique interactive maps detailing the world of music. It hasn’t been available for free on the App Store since 2014. Needless to say, if any of that sounds interesting to you now is the time to give it a try. You can get more details about this 4+ star rated app down below.
iOS Universal: Discovr – discover the world of music:FREE (Reg. $3)
JVC is announcing a refresh to its lineup of headphones, along with some brand new offerings. We are getting neckband earbuds, Bluetooth in-ears, noise-cancelling over-ears and more. Expand Expanding Close
Gibbon Digital, a brand developed by premium, high-end studio furniture maker Buso Audio, is looking to crowd-fund its latest MIDI gadget. The Goliath is a standard MIDI controller, but don’t be fooled by its basic description, it is a much more powerful little device than it sounds. Expand Expanding Close
