As much as holiday shoppers would like to call Black Friday and Cyber Monday big sales days, it’s becoming more and more apparent that late Thanksgiving night is when the big doorbuster deals really start. Retailers across the board are opening their doors late Thursday to let shoppers work off their food coma by buying electronics, games and clothes at deep discounts. But that’s not to say Black Friday ads don’t show some great deals, especially when it comes to video games. Take, for example, the Walmart Black Friday ad and sales scheduled for this year.
Many folks are going to dig through the Walmart Black Friday ad looking for sales on electronics such as HDTVs, digital cameras and tablets. That’s all well and good, and two of those items, the HDTVs and tablets, can obviously play a key role in gaming. But it’s the game consoles and video games in the Walmart Black Friday ad that should really pique your interest, as there are a variety of good discounts to be had for those who shop wisely.
Walmart actually started their Black Friday video game sales yesterday (Nov. 26), giving gamers a jump on picking up games before the Black Friday crowds start pounding on the doors Thanksgiving night. It seems that most game publishers are getting in on the Black Friday sales pricing, with Xbox One and PS4 titles from Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Activision and Microsoft all getting holiday discounts. Among the multi-platform games with Black Friday sale prices are FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, Need for Speed: Rivals, Battlefield 4 and Call of Duty: Ghosts.
As for platform-specific game discounts, Xbox One gamers can pick up a copy of Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, Dead Rising 3 Day One Edition, Forza Motorsport 5, Ryse: Son of Rome, Zoo Tycoon, Fighter Within and LEGO Marvel Super Heroes for $49.99.PlayStation 4 owners, meanwhile, can pick up any of the third-party games listed in the previous paragraph at an $11 discount, as well as Injustice: Gods Among Us and the PS4-exclusive games Killzone: Shadow Fall and Knack. All of those PS4 games will carry a $49.99 price according to the Walmart Black Friday ad. Now, the prices shown in the Walmart Black Friday ad circular will actually continue through the holiday weekend, but the big unknown is inventory. So you’ll still want to get in line or head to the store on Black Friday or Thanksgiving night if you have a specific game on your wish list.
The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 aren’t lost amid all the sales, so if you don’t have a next-gen console, don’t worry. Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, GTA 5 and Batman: Arkham Origins are just $34, and a slew of games are priced at $10, $15 and $25. The retailer has not indicated whether its Walmart Black Friday ad prices will extend to Cyber Monday. However, considering Walmart’s price-match guarantee this holiday season, which has also been implemented by Target, Best Buy and other big retailers, it’s likely that the Black Friday pricing will go through Cyber Monday. Part of that reasoning is to keep the revenue train chugging along, but it’s also to keep the Cyber Monday “holiday” from being completely dominated by the likes of Amazon and eBay.
Now, shoppers expecting to stroll into their local Walmart, Target, Best Buy or any other major retailer to grab a new Xbox One or PlayStation 4 console without issue — let alone with a Black Friday ad discount — have another thing coming. Microsoft and Sony released their respective next-gen consoles within the past two weeks, with each manufacturer selling one million consoles in 24 hours. Because of that demand, it’s going to be hard to find an Xbox One or PlayStation 4 this Black Friday, and probably even on Cyber Monday, so if you head into the store you should ask about pre-ordering some of the Wave 2 or Wave 3 systems. And don’t think for a minute that you’ll get a Black Friday sale price on an Xbox One or PS4; that just isn’t happening — and it may not in 2014, either.
That’s not to say shoppers won’t find console bundles and sales this weekend. In fact, the Walmart Black Friday ad shows quite a few nice packages worth your attention. If you make it a Walmart Black Friday, you’ll see a $99 Xbox 360, a $99 Sony PSP Ultimate bundle, an $89 Nintendo DSi XL and a $149 Nintendo 2DS bundle. The best deal, though, may be the PS3 bundle, which features a 250 GB Super Slim console and two games, The Last of Us and Batman: Arkham Origins for $199, a $165 savings, according to Walmart. If you’re more into handhelds, there’s a Nintendo 3DS XL Zelda Bundle, normally $219.96, which you can package with two games for a combined Black Friday sales price of $239.00. Presuming you choose games with higher price tags, like Mario Party Island Tour, the bundle could save you more than $55. So, long story short: the Walmart Black Friday ad has a ton of deals, and there’s no shortage of games and consoles to buy at a deep discount. Happy shopping!
