For many shoppers, Black Friday represents the perfect opportunity to catch up on the year’s biggest video game titles and the most hotly-anticipated new releases. Not only that, but the holiday extravaganza is the prime opportunity to score a brand new gaming console at an incredibly low cost.
Whether you prefer to dedicate your Black Friday to video game shopping and head to a specialty store like GameStop or you prefer to diversify your shopping at big box stores like Walmart or Target, it is quite easy to get incredible savings on video game products over the holiday weekend. Dealspotr created the following guide to help you make the right shopping choices during 2015’s Black Friday weekend.
It’s hard to go wrong on Black Friday when you are shopping at Walmart. As long as you are willing to fight the enormous crowds and arrive well before the 6PM door opening on Thursday, the big box mega-store is famous for offering great deals on everything in stock, including a wide range of video games and consoles.
Dealnews.com predicts that this year the way to go for maximum savings is a bundled game/console package. Walmart offered bundles like the Destiny PS4+ $50 Walmart gift card package for just $400 or the Halo Xbox One + $30 Walmart gift card package for $329 last year. Look for similar or even better prices as these consoles are one year older. If you have an Xbox 360 or PS3 that is starting to show its age, this is the perfect opportunity to capitalize on an unbeatable deal and upgrade your gaming/entertainment center.
Speaking of those older generation consoles, they can be purchased over Black Friday weekend at basement prices. Last year the 12 GB PS3 sold for $170 and the 500GB Xbox 360 for $250. Expect to see Walmart continue this trend in 2015, likely with even lower prices.
As a smaller retailer, GameStop is the Black Friday choice for shoppers who want video games, consoles, or accessories and little else. Keep in mind, the company’s owner is taking a stand against the sales event’s slow creep into Thanksgiving, and the store will not open until the following day. This dedication to employees over sales is an honorable choice, making GameStop a place you can feel good about spending your Black Friday dollars.
Just because GameStop is skipping the late Thursday sales does not mean the video game specialists do not have some great offers. The best console bundle from last year was the $329 Xbox One Unity/Black Flag grouping, which included digital copies of the games. For Playstation fans, the store offered a $400 GTA V/The Last of Us PS4 that included a $10 coupon for Destiny.
Other deals found at GameStop included as much as $30 off of select Xbox One games, discounts on game/season pass bundles like 30% off of an Assassin’s Creed – Unity Season Pass with the purchase of the regular priced game ($59.99).
And of course GameStop is the place to head for great deals on video game accessories. Last year the store had deals like an Xbox One wireless controller for $44.99 (regularly $59.99), an Xbox 360 wireless controller for $39.99 (regularly $49.99), and a PS4 wireless Dualshock controller for $44.99 (regularly $59.99).
Last year GameStop had several exclusive Black Friday deals, including a $199.99 Nintendo 3DS XL with a Retro NES Design. Another bonus tip is to look into deals on refurbished pre-owned video game systems – something few other stores can offer on Black Friday. Last year, the store advertised a 120 GB PS3 ($159.99), 160 GB PS3 ($179.99), an Original Xbox 360 ($89.99), and a 250 GB Xbox 360 ($159.99). Keep an eye out for these deals once again in 2015.
Target has recently opened at 6PM on Thursday, offering great deals on games as well as several console packages. The store offered $15 older Xbox games and $25 older Playstation games, while the newest and most popular games for both consoles were sold at just $35.
The store did well last year with their special offers on accessories too – with Xbox, Playstation, and Nintendo controllers selling for just $39.99. The Nintendo 2DS was sold for just $99.99 and it would not be surprising to see the portable gaming system sold for even less in 2015, considering it is another year older.
While not really a “sale” per se, Target offered a $15 gift card if you purchased Halo: MCC, Advanced Warfare, Wii U Smash Brothers, Destiny, Far Cry 4, and a few others. At the time these games were freshly released and not available for sale at any other retailer. Look for the big box store to take advantage of the popularity of this sale and bring it back for 2015.
Believe it or not, Amazon is a great place to head for Black Friday deals! The biggest benefit of shopping at Amazon for deals over the weekend is that you never have to leave the comfort of your home. For video game fans, 2014 held quite a few big-time discount opportunities on popular games.
The Xbox One blockbuster Dead Rising 3 was sold for just $25, while The Evil Within for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 could be had for a low price of $29.99. Last year, Amazon had the lowest prices on Xbox One controllers at $35.99. If you are looking to replace a worn controller or allow more friends to get in on the game, check out the online retailer for unbeatable prices.
Sign up for Amazon Prime before Black Friday for free shipping and access to online deals 30 minutes before the rest of the public. It may not sound like a lot, but that extra time can be the difference between you getting that can’t-miss item before it sells out! As an added bonus, you only have to sign up for the free 30-day trial to take advantage of the benefits; simply cancel before the trial period is up and avoid paying for anything.
While Toys R Us focuses its Black Friday sales on traditional toys, the store also offered great deals on video games last year. The store opened its doors last year at 5PM, beginning the first of three weekend sales. While the first sale only ran from 5PM-9PM on Thursday, the second continued from 5PM until the close of business on Saturday. The final sale began Friday morning at 7AM and continued through Saturday.
Like the other retailers, Toys R Us offered great deals on console packages. The Xbox One Game System with Assassin’s Creed Unity sold for $329.99, a $70 discount. Meanwhile, the Xbox One Game System with Kinect was also marked down by $70, to $429.99. A 500 GB PS4 System Bundle was available with Grand Theft Auto V + The Last Of Us or LEGO Batman 3 + Little Big Planet 3 for only $399.99 each – the two video games alone offered a value of over $100!
The best deal for gamers at Toys R Us was the Buy One Get One For $2 sale on Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and 3DS, and PS3 titles. Other more expensive games for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, and Nintendo Wii and 3DS were sold as Buy One Get One 40% Off.
In addition to traditional console video games, Toys R Us also offered great deals on children’s learning tablets like the Polaroid 7” Dual Core Tablet for $39.99 (50% off), and mobile games like the LeapFrog LeapsterGS Explorer for $24.99 (50% off).
