The best Prime Day deals for gamers live: PS5, Switch, Xbox, and PC savings as they happen

Top Tip #1: Price Check 

I track deals every day, and the first thing I do when I spot a tasty looking discount is check other retailers. You never know who's going to be price matching or even beating Amazon's discounts over the next couple of days, and it's not always the usual suspects wheeling out the lowest prices. 

Of course, Best Buy and Walmart are going to be the first places you look. But there are plenty of other retailers that could be flying under the radar. I'd recommend checking in with stores like Newegg and B&H Photo for laptops and PCs, whereas it's always worth checking brands' own retail sites (think Razer, Dell, Corsair, Logitech, and SteelSeries) for their own discounts as well. 

It's not just the price by itself you're considering here either. Some retailers (I quite often find Best Buy does this regularly) will throw in additional subscription freebies or even extra gadgets to sweeten the deal. Combined with any savings that might be listed at the competitor's site it could be a better deal overall. 

I've just noticed three of my favorite gaming headsets are at record low prices

I love it when a piece of gaming tech that lives within my permanent roster drops to a new record-low price. So imagine my surprise when not one, but three of my absolute favorite gaming headsets from the past year do just that. These are all mid-range models, coming in at between $100 and $160 at Amazon right now - and they all offer incredible value for money. 

Razer BlackShark V2 Hyperspeed | $129.99 $99.99 at Amazon
Save $30 - The Razer BlackShark V2 Hyperspeed is the best value gaming headset on the market right now, and it's just dropped even further down the price scale. With $30 off, this incredibly powerful device (it's got the best microphone we've ever tested on a gaming headset) is a stunner right now. 

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Turtle Beach Atlas Air | $179.99 $159.99 at Amazon
Save $20 - This is the most comfortable gaming headset I've ever tested, with a suspended earcup design and a mesh headband that makes it incredibly easy to forget you're even wearing a headset. It's open-back, so not the best pick for those playing in a louder environment, but it's still wireless and excellent value at a record-low $159.99. This is the first time I've ever seen the Turtle Beach Atlas Air on sale. 

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SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 | $129.99 $109.99 at Amazon
Save $20 - With its companion app offering developer-engineered EQ presets tailored to over a hundred games, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 is my favorite gaming headset for console use. I love headsets geared towards PC because they offer the ability to fine-tune your audio specifically to the game you're playing - now you can do that on PS5 as well. This is a $20 discount and a record-low price on SteelSeries' latest release.

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What's everyone else doing? 

Unless this is your first Prime Day, you'll probably know this event isn't just an Amazon show. Other retailers like Best Buy and Walmart are gearing up to offer their own competing sales. Like with Amazon, we're seeing plenty of discounts already live - Walmart, for example, is the place to be for a Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Nintendo Switch OLED bundle at $349.99. 

Like Amazon, both retailers are keeping some discounts behind their membership paywalls. You'll need to be a My Best Buy Plus or Total member for the full spread of this week's deals at the yellow label store, and Walmart's sale is available to Walmart Plus members ahead of time. 

• My Best Buy Plus: $49.99 / year 
• My Best Buy Total: $179.99 / year
• Walmart Plus: $98 / year

At $14.99 a month, Amazon Prime works out to $179.88 a year, around the same price as My Best Buy Total. It's the most expensive option for those simply after exclusive deals and free delivery, but does offer Prime Video and other subscription perks as well. 

That's not to say the others don't have their benefits - Walmart Plus grants you free grocery delivery, discounts on Burger King, fuel savings, and Paramount+ while Best Buy focuses its offering around its tech, with extended returns, protection plans, extra tech support, and discounts on repairs.  

When is Amazon Prime Day? 

Amazon's October Prime Day will start at midnight tonight, running from October 8-9 and finally ending when the clock strikes 12 on Wednesday. That said, we do sometimes see some discount sticking around until the end of the week - and likely even further. After all, this is essentially the start of the whole holiday sales period. Last year we didn't really see those discounts slow down until late December, so you're certainly shopping at the right time. 

Are there any Prime free trials? 

Speaking of having a Prime membership, it's worth noting that if you took out a free trial to cover you for the July event you'll need to pay this time around. Amazon only offers its Prime free trials to users who have not used one in the last 12 months (if that's you you won't see the option for a free trial when you head to the Amazon Prime page). Otherwise, you're free to grab 30 days of the service with no charge, though remember this will roll into a full $14.99 / £8.99 per month subscription once that trial period ends. 

Another Prime Day?

Yes, we've been here before. Amazon started running two Prime Day events three years ago, launching its 'Big Deal Days' October sale in 2021. While it goes under a different banner, this is essentially another Prime Day, so we can expect many of the same things to occur. The biggest deals will be reserved for Prime members only ($14.99 per month) but other retailers will be diving in to compete as well. We'll also likely see the same kinds of devices with surefire discounts - Amazon's own Fire tablets, Kindles, and Echo smart home gadgets, for example. 

Amazon Prime Day will officially kick off at midnight tonight, so there's only a matter of hours left to get prepped. Thankfully there are already plenty of savings well worth your time on the shelves, as retailer launch their own competing sales and Amazon itself drops a few Prime-shaped discounts into its lineup. I'll be with you from now until that final midnight chime on October 9, bringing you all the biggest offers as they come and sharing all my top tips for the sale ahead.