Black Friday deals are huge for a lot of stores: a good holiday season can make a store successful, while a bad Black Friday could ruin a retailer. People are so worried about Black Friday sales performance that stores are opening earlier and earlier each year, with some events starting as early as Thanksgiving afternoon.
Contrary to many of these stores, GameStop typically tries to keep its holiday sales a secret. The store isn't known for having sales for anything but the biggest events of the year, but during the holiday season, the store's deals are usually pretty impressive. Usually, GameStop only officially announces its sales a few days before they hit, but as usual, the retailer's Black Friday offerings have leaked early.
BFAds.net posted a series of promotional fliers for the store's holiday sale, and considering that there are 12 pages of deals, it seems like GameStop really isn't pulling any punches this year.
In terms of its console pricing, GameStop is on point with many of its competitors. The Assassin's Creed Xbox One bundle is going for $330, while the Grand Theft Auto V/The Last of Us PlayStation 4 bundle is selling for $400. Strangely enough, the Wii U doesn't seem to be getting any deals, as the standard Super Mario 3D World bundle is selling for the usual $299. The 3DS XL isn't getting much of anything, either: the listing has the handheld priced at $179, only $20 off the usual price.
At first glance, GameStop's deals on the games themselves are pretty great. Many new releases, like The Evil Within and Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor are half-off...but many other big-name games aren't getting any discounts at all. Games like Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare aren't getting any sort of price cut whatsoever, and the same goes for many Nintendo games as well. On top of all that, a lot of the game deals will only appear on Friday and Saturday, meaning they won't even apply for the entire event.
All in all, GameStop's Black Friday sales are about what people should expect: not much of a discount, and only for a fraction of its selection. The Xbox One and PlayStation 4 deals match its competition, but unless you're looking for last-generation games, GameStop isn't offering much in terms of major discounts.
Don't worry - we've already completed a guide of where to find the best deals for your next-gen consoles.
GameStop's Black Friday events begin on Nov. 28, and to check out everything the retailer will be offering, you can find the full listing on BFads.
Photo: Mike Mozart
