What’s the best way to get notified about deep game discounts on my wishlist?

Never Miss a Bargain: Tracking Game Discounts

For avid gamers, few things are as satisfying as snagging a highly anticipated title at a fraction of its original price. Building a robust game library doesn’t have to break the bank, especially when major sales events like the Steam Summer Sale or Black Friday roll around. However, manually checking prices across numerous platforms can be a tedious and time-consuming task. Fortunately, there are several excellent strategies and tools to ensure you’re always in the loop when a game on your wishlist hits a deep discount.

Leveraging Platform-Native Wishlists

Most major digital storefronts offer their own wishlist features, and these are often the first line of defense against paying full price. Platforms like Steam, PlayStation Store, Xbox Store, Nintendo eShop, Epic Games Store, and GOG all provide functionality to add games to a personal wishlist.

• Steam: Arguably the most comprehensive, Steam’s wishlist not only notifies you via email when a game goes on sale but also provides a dedicated section to view your wishlisted games and their current discount status. Make sure your email notification settings are enabled.
• Console Stores: PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo eShop also send email notifications when games on your wishlist or in your cart receive price drops. Check your account settings to ensure these alerts are active.
• Epic Games Store & GOG: Similar to Steam, these platforms offer wishlist functionalities with email notifications for sales.

While platform wishlists are convenient, they typically only inform you of sales on their respective stores, not across the entire gaming ecosystem.

The Power of Third-Party Price Trackers

To get a truly holistic view of game discounts across multiple storefronts, third-party price trackers are indispensable. These services aggregate data from various digital retailers, allowing you to track prices, set custom alerts, and view historical price trends.

• IsThereAnyDeal (ITAD): This is arguably the most popular and robust option for PC gamers. ITAD allows you to import your Steam, Epic, GOG, and other wishlists. You can set up email alerts for specific discount percentages, historical lows, or even when a game is available from a particular retailer. It tracks prices across dozens of official key sellers.
• GG.deals: Similar to ITAD, GG.deals tracks prices from various stores, including official retailers and legitimate grey market sites (though it distinguishes between them). It offers wishlist synchronization and email alerts, alongside price history graphs.
• CheapShark: A straightforward price comparison site that focuses on PC game deals. While it doesn’t offer direct wishlist importing, you can set up email alerts for individual games.
• Console-Specific Trackers: For console games, sites like PSPrices.com or XBDeals.com track price drops on their respective storefronts, allowing you to set up alerts.

These trackers are invaluable for ensuring you always buy at the absolute best price, considering sales from authorized sellers like Fanatical, Humble Bundle, Green Man Gaming, and more, in addition to the primary platforms.

Browser Extensions and Community Alerts

For an even more integrated experience, browser extensions can bring price tracking directly into your browsing flow, while dedicated communities can offer real-time deal alerts.

• Browser Extensions: Many of the aforementioned price trackers (like IsThereAnyDeal or Augmentor) offer browser extensions that display price history or compare prices directly on game store pages. This allows for quick checks without leaving the store.
• Reddit Communities: Subreddits like r/GameDeals, r/SteamDeals, or platform-specific deal subreddits are excellent resources. Members actively post new deals as they go live, often providing historical context or coupon codes. You can subscribe to these and use notification tools like IFTTT to get alerts for new posts.
• Discord Servers: Many gaming communities and deal aggregation services run Discord servers where deals are posted in real-time. Joining relevant servers and configuring notifications can keep you updated.

Maximizing Your Savings Strategy

Beyond just getting notified, a few strategic considerations can help you secure the best possible deals:

• Be Patient: Many games, especially older titles, frequently go on sale. Waiting for a significant discount (e.g., 75% or 90% off) is often worthwhile.
• Check Historical Lows: Use price tracker websites to see the lowest price a game has ever reached. This helps you determine if the current sale is truly a ‘deep’ discount or if it’s likely to go lower in the future.
• Bundle Deals: Keep an eye out for game bundles from sites like Humble Bundle or Fanatical, which often include multiple wishlist titles for a single, low price.
• Combine with Coupons: Sometimes, retailers offer additional sitewide coupons that can stack on top of sale prices. Price trackers often highlight when these are available.

Conclusion: Your Discounted Game Library Awaits

Gone are the days of aimlessly checking store pages. By combining the native wishlist features of your preferred platforms with the comprehensive tracking capabilities of third-party services and engaging with active gaming communities, you can build a robust system for capturing deep discounts. Set up your alerts, import your wishlists, and sit back – your next great gaming bargain will find its way to you.