What to expect from GameStop’s Black Friday deals

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By Steven Petite

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It’s that time of year again. The season of deals is upon us, and no day is better for grabbing discounted video games, consoles, and accessories than Black Friday. While many retailers have video game deals, GameStop is the only specialty chain around today. Each year, the video game giant has recently released games and consoles available for less.

There’s not exactly a science to this, but based on trends and previous Black Friday sales, we’ve put together a list of products that we think have a good (and not so good) possibility of being marked down across Black Friday weekend at GameStop.

PlayStation 4 and Xbox One

If you’re in the market for a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, history tells us you should wait for Black Friday. It’s all but guaranteed that multiple models of both the PS4 and Xbox One will be discounted at GameStop. Last year, for instance, the PS4 Pro was 50 bucks off, the PS4 slim (1TB) was 100 bucks off, and the Xbox One S was $90 off. The PS4 slim even came with a $50 gift card to add to the value. This year it’s possible the Xbox One X, which released shortly before Thanksgiving last year. GameStop also has been known to have discounted bundles that include games as well.

As for the Nintendo Switch, we’d be surprised to see it discounted. Nintendo consoles (and games) rarely are, but here’s to hoping. However, there could be sales on Nintendo’s aging 3DS family of systems. Last year, the 3DS XL was $140, representing a $60 discount.

Potential game discounts

Individual game deals are less predictable than console discounts, but year in and year out games released within the same calendar year receive price slashes (sometimes substantial ones) at GameStop on Black Friday. Looking at sales from the past couple of years, we’ve come up with a list of potential games that could be on sale.

Madden NFL 19: Madden NFL 18 was on sale for $27 in 2017.
NBA 2K19: NBA 2K18 was on sale for $27 in 2017.
Destiny 2: Forsaken – Legendary Collection: Destiny 2 was on sale for $27 in 2017.
FIFA 19: FIFA 18 was on sale for $27 in 2017.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4: Call of Duty: WWII was on sale for $50 in 2017.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Rise of the Tomb Raider was on sale for $20 in 2017. We don’t expect Shadow to drop that far, but it seems primed for a discount.
God of War: The standout PS4 exclusive recently received a new $40 price point, but we wouldn’t be surprised if it dropped even lower on Black Friday.
Monster Hunter: World: The monster slaying epic launched in January. It’s been on sale numerous times since release, but retains a standard $50 price today. A steep discount wouldn’t be surprising.
Final Fantasy XV – Royal Edition: Final Fantasy XV was on sale for $20 in 2017.
Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom: This wonderful RPG is already half the price it was in March at launch, but it could drop lower to pique interest for holiday shoppers.
Far Cry 5: A March release that still goes for $60, we’d be surprised if it doesn’t receive a heavy discount on Black Friday.
Detroit: Become Human: Has been on sale for $40 recently, so we imagine a discount for Quantum Dream’s narrative-focused adventure could receive a discount again.
Nier: Automata Become As Gods Edition: Nier: Automata was on sale for $25 last year.
Crash Bandicoot N Sane Trilogy: GameStop typically has at least a couple family-friendly games on discounts.
The Crew 2: Still $60 today, the June open world racer release seems like a good discount bet.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey: Although very new, we think the new Ubisoft title will be on sale at multiple retailers. Assassin’s Creed Origins went for as low as $30 last Black Friday.
Starlink: Battle for Atlas: Starlink, Ubisoft’s toys-to-life space shooter, has been buried by the onslaught of October games. Black Friday seems like the perfect opportunity to discount the game and attachable ships.

Games released before 2018 will probably be featured in the sales, but those are harder to peg. With regards to the lack of Nintendo games on this list, Nintendo games are very rarely discounted. However, GameStop did have a “buy two used products get one free” on Black Friday last year, so if that returns, you could get Nintendo games for less using that deal.

Potential accessory discounts

A variety of first party and third party accessories will assuredly be on sale. Last year, GameStop had PS4 controllers for just under $40, and in previous years the retailer has had Microsoft-branded Xbox One controllers on discounts. The PS4 Gold Headset is a frequent Black Friday item at GameStop as well. It’s harder to predict third party accessory sales, but controllers and premium headsets often receive discounts.

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