Black Friday is no longer a single day of deals. For many retailers, it’s expanded into a two-day extravaganza that (sadly) includes Thanksgiving Day.
But with so many competing deals out there, where do you go for which games and systems? Here’s a breakdown of the best current deals from the top brick-and-mortar retailers.
TARGET
Xbox One Assassin’s Creed Unity Bundle with $50 Target gift card: $329
Microsoft already cut the price of the Xbox One by $50 this holiday, but Target’s knocking it down a little further and tossing in a gift card to boot. The Xbox One you’ll receive in this bundle doesn’t include Kinect, but in its place you get both Assassin’s Creed: Unity and last year’s Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. Add that gift card — which nearly covers the cost of a new game — and it’s an impressive, affordable starter kit for players.
PlayStation 4 with Grand Theft Auto V & The Last of Us Remastered: $399
Sony might not have lowered the price of the PS4 to match the Xbox One, but this deal — which includes the system itself and two of its best games — is still pretty compelling. If Target’s out, head to Walmart, Toys ‘R’ Us, or Dell.com, which are all offering the same deal.
Nintendo 2DS with Yoshi’s Island: $99
Nintendo is lowering the price of its kid-friendlier take on the 3DS handheld to $99 on Nov. 21. This deal tosses in Yoshi’s Island for free.
Deals on games
For $25 apiece:
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, The Evil Within, Just Dance 2015, Forza 5
For $35 apiece:
FIFA 15, Madden NFL 15, Diablo III, The Sims 4, Assassin’s Creed: Rogue, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel
And while Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Destiny, and Super Smash Bros. Wii U aren’t discounted, you will get a $15 gift card with the purchase of each.
TOYS ‘R’ US
Dig Target’s hardware deals but prefer shopping at Toys ‘R’ Us? No problem — it just announced the same bundle bargains for the Xbox One and PS4.
Toys ‘R’ Us rarely offers tremendous game deals at the start of the holiday season, but it has a couple of noteworthy sales this year.
The store’s offering a buy one, get one 40 percent off deal on all video games. That works out to a $48 price tag, which constitutes a pretty sweet deal for brand new releases like Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Far Cry 4. Skylanders: Trap Team figures and traps are also on sale, with a buy one, get one 70 percent off offer.
WALMART
Xbox One Halo: The Master Chief Collection bundle with $30 Walmart gift card: $329
Prefer Master Chief to a master assassin? The pure value of this deal isn’t quite as good as the Assassin’s Creed bundle, but it’s still well below Microsoft’s suggested retail price for the system, and that gift card can come in handy with other games or other items on your shopping list.
Deals on games
For $20:
Titanfall
For $25 apiece:
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, Infamous Second Son, Forza 5, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, and about 30 other games.
For $35 apiece:
NBA 2K15, Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition, Watch Dogs, Mario Kart 8, and about 25 more.
Perhaps the best deal? A mere $37 will fetch you the starter kit for Skylanders: Trap Team or Disney Infinity 2.0, a savings of nearly $40. Characters for both games are on sale for $9 each, too.
Also worthy of note: Walmart has announced it will price-match Amazon this year.
KMART
Two Wii U games with $40 worth of reward points: $120
This doesn’t look like such a hot deal at first glance, but the addition of a $40 credit in “Shop Your Way” reward points makes it worth your while. The selection of games — which includes Mario Kart 8 and Pikmin 3 — is solid, and the rewards points can be used for anything at either Sears or Kmart.
And if you’ve got an Xbox 360, head to Kmart. On Black Friday, you’ll be able to grab a slew of can’t-miss Xbox 360 games for just $10 each, including Destiny and Grand Theft Auto V.
GAMESTOP
[UPDATED 11/17]
PlayStation TV: $79 standalone, $99 bundled with controller and game
A price drop for Sony’s recently released set-top box makes it a more interesting proposition for those hoping to stream games around their house. The bundle, which includes a gamepad and a copy of The Lego Movie Videogame is especially attractive, dipping from $130 to $99.
Xbox 360 Call of Duty bundle: $200
GameStop will have the $400 PS4/Last of Us/GTA bundle like many other retailers, but its best console deal is for the last generation. If you don’t already have an Xbox 360, you can get a 500 GB model, along with Call of Duty: Ghosts and Black Ops 2, for $200. A pre-owned 250 GB Xbox 360 (with no games) will run you $160, so go with the bundle.
Deals for games
Surprisingly, GameStop isn’t slashing new game prices as deeply as its competitors. It matches them on a few titles, but if you’re looking for big discounts, you’re better off elsewhere.
If used games are what you’re looking for, though, GameStop’s the place to be: the company’s pushing an nice buy two, get one free deal on any used game or peripheral under $20.
We’ll be updating this page with more deals as they’re announced.