Black Friday, Golden Deals

I hate Black Friday. Its a trap. Store advertises a TV on sale, hundreds of people line up outside, waiting for hours to come and grab them but, oh wait, they only had 5 of that model. You jerks who stampeded and killed some of the other shoppers can have this one, but no one else. Then the store kindly offers you a more expensive model which, of course, you buy out of desperation. Classic bait and switch. Yet somehow, its legal, because Black Friday drives our nation’s economy.

I also hate Black Friday because it tripled my orders to fill this week, and I don’t have any extra hours to do it in. Christ.

Because of that, here’s a pretty basic cut and paste of the best deals you’ll find this Black Friday. Cuz I gotta go to work but, ya know, this site don’t write itself. I know, I tried.

While I’m not a big fan of the event, I can’t deny that this year, there are some pretty boner-inspiring deals on video games (or rage-inducing, if you just bought these titles). Looks like “games for the kids” are being used to get asses through the doors this time, rather than focusing on just large appliances. As they’re the spotlight, you’ll find some amazing deals…

This list is lifted from Game Front, who did all the footwork for me. Thanks guys. You deserve a link. Some of the info also came from Reuters, who highlighted Video Games as the best deals of the holiday season.

First, My Highlight Reel:   Jesus Christ, that PS3 bundle is a pretty good price. 160gb system and 2 games for a steeply discounted $199. The 360 also opens with a $199 bundle, but I guess it depends on whether or not you want a Kinect as to whether or not its worth it. Worth noting, some reports have said that the system’s ‘discount’ comes in the form of a $100 gift card you get for free AFTER the purchase, so you might want to check the store’s ads to be sure. $100 for a Wii isn’t anything to sneeze at, but the game selection is weak this year. If you’re contemplating buying it for Skyward Sword, you can make a bundle out of it, but the system is really flagging right now.

As for the games, some of these are wonderful if you waited, frustrating if you didn’t. The top games of the season, Batman: Arkham City, Battlefield 3, Gears of War 3, and Uncharted 3 are all available out there for $30. Wow. Uncharted is definitely on my list, so that one might be worth waking up early for. No deals on Skyrim or the new CoD (that I see, anyway, doesn’t mean they just haven’t been announced yet), but that should be enough to whet the appetite of any gamer.

There’s some great B-List titles out there too, like Rayman Origins, and good deals on some classics like Heavy Rain and God of War 3. With a list like that, there should be a little something for everyone’s tastes, but those first four titles are the pants poopers of the year, for sure.

The rest of the story, plan accordingly:

PlayStation 3
160gb Holiday bundle with LittleBigPlanet 2 and Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One — $199 at Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Radio Shack, Target, Meijer, Toys R Us and Sears

Xbox 360
4GB console with Gears of War 3 and 3 months of Live an a $50 gift card — $199 at Wal-Mart (online)
4gb Kinect bundle — $199 at Wal-Mart ($50 gift card), Radio Shack and Toys R Us
4gb Kinect bundle — $209 at Sears
250gb Holiday Bundle with Fable III and Halo: Reach and 3 months of Live — $199 at Best Buy and Sam’s
4gb console — $139 at Target
4gb console — $149 at GameStop
4gb console with Modern Warfare 3 — $199 at KMart
Kinect with Kinect Adventures and The Gunstringer and Wipeout 2 — $99 at Toys R Us
Kinect with Kinect Adventures — $99 at Best Buy and Wal-Mart

Wii
Wii console — $99 at Wal-Mart, Sam’s and Meijer

3DS
3DS with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time — $179 at Best Buy, $199 at GameStop
3DS with Super Mario 3D Land — $179 at Best Buy and Target
3DS with Super Mario 3D Land — $199 at KMart and Sears

PSP
PSP-3000 core — $99 at Wal-Mart, KMart and Meijer
PSP-3000 core with Ape Escape or WipeOut Pure — $99 at Toys R Us

Games

These will probably apply to all platforms except PC. But they might apply to PC. Just be careful.

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
$34.99 at Best Buy

Batman: Arkham City
$28 at Wal-Mart
$29.99 at Best Buy

Battlefield 3
$28 at Wal-Mart
$29.99 at Best Buy and Meijer
$34.99 at KMart
$37 at Target
$39.99 at GameStop and Sears

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
$19.99 at KMart

Call of Duty: Black Ops
$28 at Wal-Mart
$29.99 at Best Buy and KMart

Dance Central 2
$15 at Wal-Mart
$19.99 at Meijer
$24.99 at Best Buy
$27 at Target
$29.99 at Sears

Dark Souls
$39.99 at KMart

Dead Island
$29.99 at Best Buy

Deus Ex: Human Revolution
$29.99 at Best Buy

Dirt 3
$14.99 at Best Buy

Disney Universe
$27 at Target
$29.99 at Best Buy

Driver: San Francisco
$19.99 at GameStop and KMart

Epic Mickey
$15 at Wal-Mart and Target

FIFA 12
$34.99 at Best Buy
$39.99 at GameStop

Final Fantasy XIII
$24.99 at Best Buy

Forza 4
$27 at Target
$28 at Wal-Mart
$29.99 at Meijer
$34.99 at Best Buy
$39.99 at KMart, GameStop and Sears

Gears of War 3
$28 at Wal-Mart
$29.99 at Best Buy and Meijer
$37 at Target
$39.99 at KMart, GameStop and Sears

God of War 3
$9.99 at Meijer
$14.99 at Sears, Wal-Mart and KMart

Heavy Rain
$14.99 at Sears, Wal-Mart and KMart

Homefront
$14.99 at Best Buy

inFAMOUS 2
$28 at Wal-Mart
$29.99 at Meijer

Just Dance 3
$24.99 at Best Buy
$29.99 at KMart

Killzone 3
$19.99 at Meijer
$28 at Wal-Mart
$29.99 at KMart

Kinect Sports: Season 2
$15 at Wal-Mart
$24.99 at Best Buy
$27 at Target
$29.99 at KMart

LA Noire Complete Edition
$29.99 at Best Buy

Lord of the Rings: War in the North
$39.99 at KMart

Madden 12
$29.99 at Best Buy and Meijer
$39.99 at GameStop

Michael Jackson: The Experience
$29.99 at Best Buy

NASCAR The Game 2011
$28 at Wal-Mart

NBA 2K12
$29.99 at Meijer
$34.99 at Best Buy
$39.99 at KMart

NCAA Football 12
$39.99 at KMart

Need for Speed: The Run
$29.99 at Best Buy and Meijer
$37 at Target
$39.99 at KMart, GameStop and Sears

Rage
$29.99 at Best Buy, KMart, Meijer and GameStop

Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One
$39.99 at KMart

Rayman 3D
$14.99 at GameStop

Rayman Origins
$39.99 on PS3/360 and $29.99 on Wii at GameStop

Red Dead Redemption Game of the Year
$29.99 at KMart

Resistance 3
$29.99 at Meijer
$37 at Target

Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster
$24.99 at Best Buy

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions
$14.99 at Best Buy

Uncharted 2 Game of the Year
$14.99 at Sears, Wal-Mart and KMart

Uncharted 3
$29.99 at Best Buy

X-Men Destiny
$29.99 at Best Buy

Yakuza 4
$10 at Wal-Mart