GameStop's Black Friday sale is already up and running. The game retailer is effectively offering the same baseline $199 PS4 and Xbox One deals as every other big store under the sun -- and those same sales are already available at Walmart, Best Buy and Target -- and probably other retailers, too.
So with that caveat -- basically "these deals are great, but widely available elsewhere" -- here are the highlights. Note that:
- Sale prices are available now, unless otherwise indicated and are in effect until Monday, Nov. 26 while supplies last.
- CNET may get a share of revenue from the sale of the products featured below.
PlayStation 4
As noted above, the same (great) 1TB PS4 + Spider-Man bundle for $199 is sold out at GameStop and most online retailers, but Target says it may still be available in store on Black Friday. Hit the link to check nearby stores.
GameStop is also offering the PSVR bundle for $249 ($100 off): the PSVR helmet, two Move controllers, the PlayStation camera, Creed: Rise to Glory and Superhot. Again, this one is widely available nearly everywhere, too.
As for titles, it's a pretty nice selection of PS4 games at good prices -- but you should check these versus other retailers, as well as the ongoing digital sale at the online PlayStation Store (God of War is $8 cheaper there, for instance). Some notable recommendations (all PS4 exclusives):
- God of War: $30 (Read the CNET review)
- Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection (the first three games, remastered for PS4): $10 (Read the GameSpot review)
- Uncharted 4: $15 (Read the CNET review)
- Uncharted: The Lost Legacy: $10 (Uncharted: The Lost Legacy)
- The Last of Us (remastered for PS4): $15 (Read the GameSpot review)
- Horizon Zero Dawn (Complete Edition): $10 (Horizon Zero Dawn)
Xbox One
The Xbox story is much the same. GameStop is offering the same 1TB Xbox One S Minecraft bundle for $199 that is available at nearly every other retailer.
Want the step-up Xbox One X instead? It costs twice as much, but it offers full 4K gaming and 4K Blu-ray support (the latter of which you won't find on the PS4 Pro). Weirdly, GameStop doesn't seem to have the $400 ($100 off) standalone version of the Xbox One X, but you can find that at Walmart and elsewhere as of today.
But it (and most other retailers) have the One X bundled with brand-new titles for just $30 more, including Fallout 76. And GameStop touts an additional $50 gift card for those who buy in stores.
As for the Xbox One games that GameStop is advertising -- they seem far less appealing than their PS4 equivalents, for this reason: All 4 titles highlighted in the GameStop circular -- PUBG, Sea of Thieves, Forza Horizon 4 and State of Decay 2 -- are available on the "all you can eat" Xbox Game Pass service, which Microsoft is offering to new users for $1 a month (to start) between now and the end of the year. If you have a fast internet connection, that's the way to go. At least start with that to sample them, and then pay full price if you really fall in love with a particular title.
'30 percent off whatever you can stuff into the $5 bag'
Weirdly, the Nintendo Switch is completely absent from the GameStop ad, so we want to make sure you know you can buy the Switch with Mario Kart 8 bundled in at no extra charge at many other retailers later in the Black Friday week.
Yes, really.
GameStop/Screenshot by CNETInstead, GameStop is offering an oddball promo: You can get 30 percent off whatever "stuff" (with plenty of caveats) you can cram into a tote bag. Oh, and you need to spend $5 on the bag, to boot. Personally, it doesn't look particularly fun to me -- but you do you.
Originally published Nov. 13. Updated Nov. 18 with comparisons to newly available deals at Walmart and elsewhere.
Black Friday 2018 deals in each category
- TV deals for Black Friday 2018: The best and cheapest TVs of the year
- Laptop, PC, Chromebook, tablet and monitor deals for Black Friday 2018
- Streamers for Black Friday 2018: Roku, Chromecast and Fire TV start at $20
- Smart home bargains: Half-priced Echo Dot, $99 Google Home Hub and more
- Headphone deals for Black Friday 2018: Bose, Beats, JBL and Skullcandy
Black Friday 2018 deals for specific devices
- iPhone deals for Black Friday 2018: $150 off iPhone XR, XS, $400 gift card
- Samsung Galaxy phone deals: $600 Note 9, $320 Galaxy S9, $300 gift card
- Nintendo Swich discounts: MarioCart bundle for $300, $25 games and more
- Sony PlayStation 4 and Xbox One: Bargains on bundles, games and consoles
- Apple AirPods: What's the best Black Friday 2018 deal?
Black Friday 2018 deals by store
- Amazon's Black Friday 2018 deals on Kindles, Fire TVs, Alexa and more
- Walmart's best Black Friday 2018 prices: TVs, iPad, PlayStation 4, InstantPot
- Best Buy's top discounts: Roku and OLED TVs, Sonos, Apple and Google
- Target's best deals: $200 PS4 and Xbox bundles, $150 Fitbit Versa and more
- Costco Black Friday 2018 deals arrive: $250 iPad, $300 Dyson and more
Black Friday 2018: CNET's complete coverage
- Every good Black Friday 2018 deal we've found so far
- Black Friday 2018 hub: Every CNET story so far
- When is Black Friday 2018?
- 5 things to know about Black Friday 2018
- How to tell if that Black Friday deal is really a deal
- Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday: What's the difference?
- How to save even more on Black Friday and Cyber Monday
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