The best weekend deals: Xbox Series S, M2 MacBook Air bundles, and more

Expand Ars-Technica

It's the weekend, which means it's time for another Dealmaster. Our latest roundup of the web's best tech deals includes a new promotion for the Xbox Series S. We've seen a few deals for Microsoft's small game console in recent weeks, but this latest deal bundles the device with a game. number of your choice at no additional cost. The promotion is available at multiple retailers, though Microsoft and Target are listing the console for $290, which is $10 less than its MSRP. (Stock appears to be limited at Target at the time of this writing, however.)

The exact games you can pair with the console differ by retailer. Microsoft's selection, for its part, includes the all-new Madden NFL 23 and notable 2022 games such as the LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and the shooter. loot Tiny Tina's Wonderland. Amazon's promotion includes, among others, the ultra-popular Game of the Year contender Elden Ring. Target, Best Buy, and GameStop, meanwhile, have extended the offering to many digital Xbox games in their respective stores. You'll get the best bang for your buck if you go for a newer game that isn't included in Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass service, but if you're planning on getting the Series S anyway, it's a good one. chance to save on your first game. whatever. Either way, you'll see the full discount for each offer at checkout.

If you don't like any of the eligible games right now, or if you just plan to use the console with a Game Pass subscription, note that Adorama is still offering the device itself for $250 with a coupon in Cart.

To be clear, whether the Series S is worth buying in the first place depends on what you're looking for. It's technically one of Microsoft's "next-gen" consoles and can play all the same games as the beefier Xbox Series X, but it's not designed to push 4K resolution. native or the higher frame rates of Series X, Sony's PlayStation 5, or a quality gaming PC. (However, it can still hit 60fps at 1080p in many cases.) It lacks a disc drive - which is why this promotion only applies to digital games - and its 512GB of onboard storage is pretty meager. and expensive to upgrade. As a "main" console, it's not an ideal choice, which is likely why we're seeing more availability and more discounts for the device compared to the ever-hard-to-find Series X and PS5. to buy.

That said, as a secondary console for accessing Xbox exclusives or Game Pass games, staying in an upstairs bedroom, or just gaming on a lower resolution 1080p or 1440p display, the Series S still has room for improvement. value. It's significantly smaller than its peers, its SSD storage still translates into a fa...