Boss Rush Banter: Do Black Friday Sales Provide the Best Bang for Your Gaming Buck?

We’ve all heard the stories–people stampeding over one another during Black Friday to obtain the Holy Grail of sales. Thankfully, online shopping has decreased the risk of being stepped on by frantic consumers, but despite all the hype, most of us know that some “sales” are bogus. Retailers have been known to jack up prices well beforehand, then lowering it in time for the holidays for the sake of Black Friday. Only a handful of deals are worth keeping an eye out for. Are video games one of them?

Video game prices are set pretty consistently (e.g. $60 USD for first-party Nintendo games, and $70 for next-gen PlayStation and Xbox games), so sales on Black Friday also tend to be consistent and worth the wait. Also, the term Black Friday has expanded beyond the one day. Most retailers such as Target, Best Buy, GameStop, and Amazon drop prices a week or two in advance.

Right now, there are some pretty decent deals for Black Friday, including newer games:

Sonic Frontiers – $34.99 USD at most retailers
Madden 2023 – $29 USD at most retailers
Horizon Forbidden West – $39 USD at most retailers
Elden Ring– $39 USD at most retailers
The Last of Us Part 1– $49.99 USD at some retailers
MLB the Show 2022– $10 USD at some retailers
Stray– $29 USD at some retailers
Saint’s Row– $34.99 USD at some retailers

There are lots of accessories on sale too such as headphones and the DualSense PlayStation 5 controllers, but perhaps the deals on consoles are a bit stale. For example, some retailers such as Best Buy and GameStop offer $50 off the Xbox Series S and are selling the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Switch Bundle (Mario Kart 8 Deluxe still sells).

Not everyone can afford day one purchases, and I learned the hard way this year. I spent way too much–full price–for games that I didn’t play immediately. Then, months later, they are significantly discounted. As a fan of physical copies, I’ve relied on Black Friday deals on major AAA titles. Even Nintendo, who is notorious for stingy discounts, offers decent sales this time of year as well.

It is a gamble to wait until Black Friday to see if the game you are looking for is on sale, but I would say it’s worth the wait if you buy physical. Digital games are frequently discounted often–especially on Steam and other sites of the like.

Do you rely on Black Friday for your gaming needs? How do you budget your year for video games and accessories? Please share your thoughts with us on our Boss Rush Facebook Group or our Boss Rush Discord.

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The Boss Rush Podcast is the flagship podcast of Boss Rush Media and The Boss Rush Network. Each week, Corey, LeRon, Stephanie, Edward, and their friends from around the internet come together to talk their week in games, entertainment, and more while also bringing topics for conversation, answer listener and community questions, and cover major news and events happening in the video game industry. Watch The Boss Rush Podcast live on Wednesday Nights on Twitch at 8:30PM ET / 5:30PM PT or on Friday mornings at 7AM ET on YouTube and podcast services everywhere. Thanks for listening! You can also get this episode one week early on Patreon.