Every year, right at the end of Black Friday, the same listings start popping up on my screen. Gift card deals are pretty popular once the main event has stalled to a close, as shoppers look to take advantage of additional digital sales from their console's storefront.
I didn't expect to see the same kinds of offers landing on my desk half way through the month, though. You can already save 10% on both PlayStation Store and Xbox gift cards at Amazon - weeks ahead of the traditional timeline for these deals.
I know Black Friday is creeping forward every year, but this is a real marker of change. I've never seen these discounts live before the big day, but I'll certainly take advantage of them.
After all, since Sony took all its PS Plus tiers onto its own network these kinds of gift card deals are pretty much the only way to save on the subscription these days.
After all, grabbing that free cash now means we've still got two weeks to leisurely browse Sony and Microsoft's own sales. Previous years saw me cashing in gift cards as quickly as possible at the end of Black Friday, hoping that digital discounts didn't disappear from the virtual aisles by the time the sun rose the next day.