Added: 16.07.2015 21:42 | 8 views | 0 comments

Despite some criticism about the available deals, Amazon's special Prime Day sales event--meant to celebrate the company's 20th anniversary--was a big success. The online retail behemoth for a subscription.

According to Amazon's internal data, the retailer sold 398 items per second, while total worldwide orders rose 266 percent over July 15, 2014. Of course, a significant year-on-year rise was to be expected considering the significant push Amazon made relative to last year.

It's also not very surprising to learn that Amazon plans to hold another Prime Day next year.

"Going into this, we weren't sure whether Prime Day would be a one-time thing or if it would become an annual event," Amazon said in a statement. "After yesterday's results, we'll definitely be doing this again."

Amazon also noted that July 15 saw "more new members try Prime worldwide than any single day in Amazon history."

Below are some Prime Day highlights for the US and worldwide.

Prime Day highlights from the US:

• Members ordered tens of thousands of Fire TV Sticks in one hour, making it the fastest-selling deal on an Amazon device ever
• Fire tablet sales on Amazon exceeded sales on Black Friday last year
• Members ordered thousands of e-readers and thousands of Echos in just 15 minutes
• 56,000 Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy sets
• 47,000 Televisions sold, which was 1300% year-over-year growth
• 41,000 Bose Headphones, compared to 8 the previous Wednesday
• 28,000 Rubbermaid 42-Piece Easy Find Lid Food Storage Sets, compared to 428 the previous Wednesday
• 24,000 Instant Pot 7-in-1 Programmable Pressure Cookers, compared to 182 the previous Wednesday
• 14,000 iRobot Roomba 595 Pet Vacuum Cleaning Robots, compared to 1 the previous Wednesday
• 12,000 Fifty Shades of Grey Unrated Edition on Blu-ray, compared to 121 the previous Wednesday
• 10,000 Meguiar's X2020 Supreme Shine Microfiber Towels, compared to 244 the previous Wednesday

Prime Day global top-sellers:

• US: Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy
• UK: Lenovo FLEX 10 10.1-inch Multimode Touchscreen Notebook
• Spain: SSD Drive
• Japan: Green Smoothie mix
• Italy: Logitech Keyboard
• Germany: Croc Sandals
• France: Monopoly Boardgame
• Canada: Huggies Diapers
• Austria: Croc Sandals

Added: 16.07.2015 20:19 | 12 views | 0 comments


The Lost Sparks caught up with the thinking mans games journalist, Ryan McCaffrey, to discuss his latest venture Nerd Styles, his career highlights and favourite gaming moments.

Added: 16.07.2015 20:15 | 7 views | 0 comments


COG writes - Skyforge is bringing a refined free-to-play MMORPG experience to PC gamers. From the action-packed dynamic combat system to the expansive world, there are plenty of things to love about this game. For you, we narrowed it down to seven.

Added: 16.07.2015 19:15 | 7 views | 0 comments


Push Square: "I don't remember the day that the snow turned to rain, but I do remember when I first learned about Shenmue. I must have been no more than 11-years-old at the time, and I'd been bought a copy of EDGE magazine. It had one of those customary end-of-year features spotlighting all of the exciting upcoming games, and in it was a small section on Yu Suzuki's magnum opus. There couldn't have been more than a paragraph of text on the title, but there was a screenshot of protagonist Ryo Hazuki looking up at an overhead plane. Call it instinct, but I knew right there and then that I had to play this game, and so I started the arduous task of trying to convince my parents that I had to trade every Nintendo 64 game that I owned for the recently released Dreamcast. I was lucky enough to acquire SEGA's shiny new system alongside a copy of Sonic Adventure just prior to the end of the year."

Added: 16.07.2015 18:25 | 17 views | 0 comments

Fallout 4

Few RPG franchises have as loyal a fan base as Fallout. We already knew that the game will be set in Boston and will feature a rather fearless German shepherd along with his vault-dweller human. But at a June 14 press conference, creator Bethesda also revealed a megaton (see what we did there?) of new images, features and abilities. Even better: A real release date, for November 2015. (Photo by: Bethesda)

Dishonored 2

trigue! More backstabbing! More sneaking around! And now there's a new character to play: Emily Kaldwin, the rightful scion in the original game. The first game raked in plenty of awards and accolades, so the sequel should get a lot of attention. (Photo by: Bethesda)

Halo 5: Guardians

We're talking about a franchise that has raked in more than $3 billion in revenue, so, naturally, expectations are high for this release. The gameplay demo revealed at E3 looks righteous, and fans have been waiting a long time for this new installment. (Photo by: Microsoft)

Doom

The seminal first-person shooter is back! The original Doom series from the 1990s is credited not only with birthing a new gaming genre, but also racking up a serious following. (We're talking 10 million units sold.) Bethesda's resurrection looks as slick as it does utterly sick. (Photo by: Bethesda)

Rise of the Tomb Raider

Again, the existence of this game is no surprise. But it remains one of the most anticipated games out there, and the new footage shown at the E3 showed a scope and attention to detail previously unseen in the franchise. (Photo by: Microsoft)

Gears of War 4

Long rumored and even longer awaited, the latest game in a $1 billion franchise finally got some official love at E3 this year. The footage shown was dark (way too dark) but what we did manage to see looked pretty darned promising. (Photo by: Microsoft)

Dark Souls III

It's official: Dark Souls fans will get to die, die, and die some more (presumably in fresh ways) via a third installment of this vicious action franchise. And expect it to be huge; the first two installments have sold into the millions of units. (Photo by: Bandai Namco/Microsoft)

Star Wars Battlefront

Star Wars fans have been waiting for years for a brand-new cooperative online shooter to call their own, and Electronic Arts made that dream officially come true at E3 this year. Recruit a scrappy team of fighters, and enjoy classic Star Wars mainstays like the AT-AT here. (Photo by: Electronic Arts)

Mass Effect: Andromeda

The story of Commander Shepard may be over, but that isn't stopping Electronic Arts from rolling out a brand-new story set in the wildly popular Mass Effect universe. Bring on the reapers! (Photo by: Bioware)

Assassin's Creed Syndicate

A stealth action-adventure franchise with more than 70 million copies sold has to be doing something right. Syndicate is expected to fire on all cylinders, thanks in part to a new assassin protagonist and a refined combat system. (Photo by: Ubisoft)

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands

This military-ops franchise has been around for more than a decade, so, naturally, it has a huge fan base. Now the series finally gets its Skyrim-ification, with a new, open world.

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End

It's the adventure-action series that has moved more than 21 million copies worldwide, and now comes the fourth installment, which brings our hero back from retirement. Its lush graphics–one of the hallmarks of the series–look to be more gorgeous and colorful than ever. (Photo by: Naughty Dog)

The Last Guardian

Movies aren't the only projects to suffer through development hell. Just ask gamers who have six years for this highly anticipated puzzle solver. Maybe it just takes that look to put feathers on a giant chihuahua.

Final Fantasy VII remake

Yes, it's a remake. But given the reaction from fans when Sony announced said remake at E3, this is one huge deal for Final Fantasy fans. The original 1997 title has sold more than 9 million copies and spawned a straight-to-DVD feature film.

No Man's Sky

Perhaps the most ambitious game announced at E3, this title introduces a world so open, so huge, that even the designers didn't know exactly where they were going when they shared some of the gameplay at the con. This is one highly anticipated debut. (Photo by: Hello Games)

The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes

Any new Zelda title is big news for Nintendo fans. The upcoming 3DS encourages friends to cooperate to solve puzzles and collect items to make cool wardrobes. (Photo by: Nintendo)

Super Mario Maker

Nintendo fans already knew this title was coming, and they already knew that the game (finally!) allows players to get in on the level-building action. But at E3, it finally got a release date: September 11, 2015.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

A cyberpunk franchise with more than 4.5 million units sold is getting a new title. Again, fans knew it was coming, but a Deus Ex announcement is always an event, and the new weapons teased at E3 look to add even more options to the gameplay.

Added: 16.07.2015 18:25 | 20 views | 0 comments

Fallout 4

Few RPG franchises have as loyal a fan base as Fallout. We already knew that the game will be set in Boston and will feature a rather fearless German shepherd along with his vault-dweller human. But at a June 14 press conference, creator Bethesda also revealed a megaton (see what we did there?) of new images, features and abilities. Even better: A real release date, for November 2015. (Photo by: Bethesda)

Dishonored 2

trigue! More backstabbing! More sneaking around! And now there's a new character to play: Emily Kaldwin, the rightful scion in the original game. The first game raked in plenty of awards and accolades, so the sequel should get a lot of attention. (Photo by: Bethesda)

Halo 5: Guardians

We're talking about a franchise that has raked in more than $3 billion in revenue, so, naturally, expectations are high for this release. The gameplay demo revealed at E3 looks righteous, and fans have been waiting a long time for this new installment. (Photo by: Microsoft)

Doom

The seminal first-person shooter is back! The original Doom series from the 1990s is credited not only with birthing a new gaming genre, but also racking up a serious following. (We're talking 10 million units sold.) Bethesda's resurrection looks as slick as it does utterly sick. (Photo by: Bethesda)

Rise of the Tomb Raider

Again, the existence of this game is no surprise. But it remains one of the most anticipated games out there, and the new footage shown at the E3 showed a scope and attention to detail previously unseen in the franchise. (Photo by: Microsoft)

Gears of War 4

Long rumored and even longer awaited, the latest game in a $1 billion franchise finally got some official love at E3 this year. The footage shown was dark (way too dark) but what we did manage to see looked pretty darned promising. (Photo by: Microsoft)

Dark Souls III

It's official: Dark Souls fans will get to die, die, and die some more (presumably in fresh ways) via a third installment of this vicious action franchise. And expect it to be huge; the first two installments have sold into the millions of units. (Photo by: Bandai Namco/Microsoft)

Star Wars Battlefront

Star Wars fans have been waiting for years for a brand-new cooperative online shooter to call their own, and Electronic Arts made that dream officially come true at E3 this year. Recruit a scrappy team of fighters, and enjoy classic Star Wars mainstays like the AT-AT here. (Photo by: Electronic Arts)

Mass Effect: Andromeda

The story of Commander Shepard may be over, but that isn't stopping Electronic Arts from rolling out a brand-new story set in the wildly popular Mass Effect universe. Bring on the reapers! (Photo by: Bioware)

Assassin's Creed Syndicate

A stealth action-adventure franchise with more than 70 million copies sold has to be doing something right. Syndicate is expected to fire on all cylinders, thanks in part to a new assassin protagonist and a refined combat system. (Photo by: Ubisoft)

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands

This military-ops franchise has been around for more than a decade, so, naturally, it has a huge fan base. Now the series finally gets its Skyrim-ification, with a new, open world.

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End

It's the adventure-action series that has moved more than 21 million copies worldwide, and now comes the fourth installment, which brings our hero back from retirement. Its lush graphics–one of the hallmarks of the series–look to be more gorgeous and colorful than ever. (Photo by: Naughty Dog)

The Last Guardian

Movies aren't the only projects to suffer through development hell. Just ask gamers who have six years for this highly anticipated puzzle solver. Maybe it just takes that look to put feathers on a giant chihuahua.

Final Fantasy VII remake

Yes, it's a remake. But given the reaction from fans when Sony announced said remake at E3, this is one huge deal for Final Fantasy fans. The original 1997 title has sold more than 9 million copies and spawned a straight-to-DVD feature film.

No Man's Sky

Perhaps the most ambitious game announced at E3, this title introduces a world so open, so huge, that even the designers didn't know exactly where they were going when they shared some of the gameplay at the con. This is one highly anticipated debut. (Photo by: Hello Games)

The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes

Any new Zelda title is big news for Nintendo fans. The upcoming 3DS encourages friends to cooperate to solve puzzles and collect items to make cool wardrobes. (Photo by: Nintendo)

Super Mario Maker

Nintendo fans already knew this title was coming, and they already knew that the game (finally!) allows players to get in on the level-building action. But at E3, it finally got a release date: September 11, 2015.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

A cyberpunk franchise with more than 4.5 million units sold is getting a new title. Again, fans knew it was coming, but a Deus Ex announcement is always an event, and the new weapons teased at E3 look to add even more options to the gameplay.