Steam sale spearheads Black Friday discounts

Running until December 3, PC gaming's Steam sale is accompanied by a number of other download discounts from the Humble Store, Microsoft, Grand Theft Auto Online, and Square Enix.

Visitors from the Northern Hemisphere are greeted by an Autumn Sale graphic, while those in the South see a Spring Sale banner. That's a nice touch.

Following the template set by previous seasonal sales, Steam's sale features daily discounts, eight-hour flash sales, and event-long reductions across its catalog of PC, Mac and Linux games.

'Skyrim,' 'The Walking Dead,' 'BioShock Infinite,' 'Spelunky,' 'Brothers' and many more are subject to reduced prices.

'Wait for the daily deals' is the veterans' mantra, as these limited-time offers represent even greater savings than the standard sale discount.

Any other must-haves that aren't featured in a daily or eight-hour special can then be picked up in a last-day swoop.

And an unofficial but handy Firefox, Chrome and Opera add-on called 'Enhanced Steam' has already reached near-essential status, as it compares Steam prices with historical lows and current competitors, while offering a number of other useful features.

The Humble Bundle's recently launched and consolidated storefront also signified its desire to be recognized as a significant force in digital distribution by announcing a Thanksgiving Sale of its own, lasting through to November 29.

That comes after the Humble Store's pre-Steam sale offered discounts on its expanding roster of generally well-regarded titles.

Amazon's game sales continue as part of an extended promotion, and the Microsoft Store website is cutting prices across a range of Xbox 360 games as well as Windows PC, tablet and phone hardware and accessories as part of a Black Friday event.

'Grand Theft Auto Online,' meanwhile, has its own in-game discounts applied to its lines of armory and equipment as well as car upgrades, clothing and other accessories with up to 50% off.