It's Black Friday week! Are you excited? No? Kinda jaded about the whole deal? Yeah, me too. I've worked retail for five of those insane days, mostly for Software Etc./Babbage's/GameStop, but also one year (2005) for Best Buy where I came into work at 2 AM and left at 3 PM. The manager told us that year that each parking space was worth roughly $1000 per hour, then requested that we all park across the street in Target's parking lot. Every year there's some crazy-ass deals and limited edition stuff that forces people journey into the cold darkness to stand in lines for hours. I've done it myself a few times for some particular gaming related items, but never big stuff like TV's or computers.
GBA SP - Gold The first time I remember standing in line was in 2003 at the local Toys R Us, which has since been closed. It was actually raining that morning as well, but I was there for when the doors opened at 6 AM. Why? For a limited edition gold Game Boy Advance SP. Why would I do this when I already owned a red one? Because I'm whore for special edition stuff I guess. The gold GBA SP also came with a copy of Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, so I can somehow use that $30 "saved" as justification for buying the SP, right? Right?! Anyway, the actual experience in the Toys R Us was pretty weird. Apparently I was the only person going there for just one thing. So after I raced to the games section and picked up the box, there was literally no one waiting to get checked out. I looked at the eight or so cashiers, turned around and went to the Lord of the Rings action figures and grabbed a few, and THEN checked out.
GBA SP - Pearl In 2004, I fell into the same exact trap, just in a different location. I picked up a "pearl white" GBA SP at the local Circuit City, which as since been closed. Are we seeing a trend here? I helped justify the purchase once again with a game that was included with the limited edition SP. This time it was Metroid Fusion. The experience wasn't as smooth as Toys R Us though, because Circuit City didn't actually put these out on the shelves. You had to stand in line to check out with nothing in your possession, then tell them what you wanted to have them go get it. And of course there was a problem with the receipt machine. And then the person at the register had no idea what I was talking about, even though the guys in the game section did. I ended up being five minutes late for my shift at GameStop, using the old "traffic" excuse to difuse the heat from my manager.
Nintendo DS Lite - Limited Edition Triforce Gold I don't think I participated in 2005 since I had just dropped $400 on an Xbox 360. I skipped 2006 as well since I had just started a new job and was pretty broke after being unemployed for several months. But, in 2007, I braved the dark, cold morning with the masses once again. This time it was at Sears. Why? Do you really have to ask? It was for a limited edition "Triforce Gold" DS Lite of course. It came with Phantom Hourglass, but I already had the game, so I can't even try to justify it with that like the other two. I traded that for a little store credit, but I won't argue that I've got problems. After I grabbed the box, I spent a few minutes looking around their small games area and spotted Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix for $15 and grabbed that as well. Is that game pretty rare? It seems like it, along with the dance mat, would be.
In 2008 and 2009, I think I picked up a few games on Amazon's deals. Nothing special. Just stuff for the collection that was undeniably cheap. I've come to the conclusion that this is the method to correctly go about this Black Friday madness. Don't get trampled. Don't wake up at 2 AM after eating six pounds of cranberry sauce the day before. Just follow AmazonGames and CheapAssGamer on twitter, and veg out on the couch in your footy pajamas and have some cheap games sent to you.
So, I ask... Where the hell were YOU during Black Fridays of the past?
Black Friday 2010
If you're not a visitor of CheapAssGamer.com, then you probably should be. Whether you're a fan of CheapyD and hte CAGcast or not, there's really no better place for keeping track of game deals than CAG. You really don't even have to go to the site. Make it easy for yourself and just follow @videogamedeals or @ukgamedeals on Twitter. You can even send a message to either one with the name of the game and on what system you want it, and within 30 seconds, it will tell where you can find it cheapest, the price, and a link for other locations and prices. Anyway, here's some console/system highlights I picked out from this year's known deals. For a full list of deals, check out http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=274829
**** Please check the official ads before going to a store based on the info below. ****
PlayStation 3 Deals
HDD
Includes
Price
Store
160 GB
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, LittleBigPlanet GOTY, Tron: Evolution, Karate Kid Blu-ray
$299.99
Dell.com
160 GB
LittleBigPlanet GOTY, Mod Nation Racers, Cars Blu-ray
$299.99
Best Buy
160 GB
God of War III, God of War Collection
$299.99
GameStop
160 GB
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Karate Kid Blu-ray, PixelJunk Shooter, $25 Gift Card
$299.99
Kmart
160 GB
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, Prince of Persia Blu-ray
$299.99
Target
160 GB
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Medal of Honor
$299.99
Walmart
Xbox 360 Deals
HDD
Includees
Price
Store
4 GB
LEGO Batman, LEGO Indiana Jones, LEGO Star Wars Complete Saga
$199.99
Best Buy
4 GB
Madden NFL 11 --OR-- Medal of Honor
$199.99
GameStop
4 GB
Call of Duty: Black Ops
$199.99
Kmart
4 GB
Halo Reach
$199.99
Sears
4 GB
Modern Warfare 2, Mass Effect 2
$199.99
Walmart
250 GB
Red Dead Redemption, Forza 3, Alan Wake
$349.99
Sam's Club
Wii Deals
Color
Includes
Price
Store
Black
Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort, Just Dance
$199.99
GameStop
Black
Extra Wii Remote, 2 Wii Wheels, Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort, Mario Kart Wii, 25th Anniversary Mario Bag
$299.99
Sam's Club
Black
Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort, Motion Plus
$189.99
Sears
Red
Extra Wii Remote (Black), Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Disney Epic Mickey
$249.99
Walmart.com
Nintendo DSi Deals
Color
Includes
Price
Store
Green or Red
Mario Party
$149.99
Best Buy
Green or Red
Mario Party, $25 Gift Card
$149.99
Kmart
Green or Red
Mario Party, Fossil Fighters --OR-- Legendary Starfy
$149.99
GameStop
PSP Deals
Model
Includes
Price
Store
PSP 3000
LittleBigPlanet, Karate Kid UMD, 1GB MemoryStick, $15 Gift Card
You know, my PS3 has been acting up lately, but I'd rather see if I can get it fixed instead of having to buy a new one. Also, $3 hundo is a lot, especially since the only one of those bundles that interests me is the one at Target (because I already have the other games there that are good (and I did like the Prince of Persia movie)), but I also don't know where a Target is near my house.
In other words, it's neat that you put all this info out there, but after Black Friday-ing last year (which got me a free copy of Assassin's Creed II when I bought a PSP), I really don't want to this year.
About where I've been the past Black Fridays though: At home, sleeping. Never been out shopping on Friday. Definitely plan to go this year though. I want to get Mass Effect 2, NBA 2K11, and maybe Beatles RB.
I don't think any video game deals are really worth the effort for me this year. There's always one or two things I would like from the Wal Mart or Target ads, but it's rarely worth the bother.
I am still scarred from my 2000 stint at Toys R Us. Got there at 5, handed out Pop Tarts to the folks in line, then stood at my register for 7 hours straight with a line that went all the way to the back of the store the whole time. I did try to look on the bright side; that at least I didn't have to close and clean up after that!
Seriously though, yeah, it's related to Thanksgiving somewhat. Basically here the Friday after Thanksgiving is the biggest shopping day of the year. It's called "black" because the businesses get out of the red for the year due to one massive day of people shopping for Christmas.
I'm not seeing much deals that I would be into. Except for the Greatest Hits that Gamestop is offering for $15. I might just pick up the 4 games: Infamous, Killzone 2, Ratchet and Clank A Crack In Time, and Uncharted. I had to sell those games to get money for trucking school. Now, 4 games for the price of 1 new one seems pretty good. Unless someone wants to sell me those 4 for less.
@erinfizz You can't beat cold Pop Tarts. I never had to stay til closing either. I always would rather get in early and get it over with. As crazy as Best Buy was that year, it was kinda fun in a weird way. The twelve hours flew by.
@tobygw: I think I'll pass on those. The DSi's aren't as cheap as SP's were. Plus I can't see myself ever wanting to play Mario Party. Don't worry though. I'm still continuing the tradition of buying handhelds I don't need by getting the 25th Anniversary Mario DSi XL. I don't have an XL model yet for the collection. That will be my fifth DS.
