We are only about a week away from the initial holiday ads dropping, so now it’s time to take a look at some Black Friday gaming predictions. Much like Apple gear and smart home products, we always see a massive collection of deals on consoles, games, accessories, and more for the biggest shopping bonanza of the year. You can expect deep price drops, gift card promotions and more from Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft along with deals on just about any game you might be looking to add to your collection. Head below for details on what to watch out for and the best Black Friday gaming deals we expect to see in under a month’s time.
Black Friday Gaming Predictions:
When it comes to Black Friday gaming deals, you can count on just about every major retailer, including Amazon, to get in on the party. Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft will likely make yearly price drop announcements over the next few weeks that will go live at most major retailers come Black Friday or sooner. GameStop and Target got an early jump on some of those particular offers last year. And we are also expecting various retailers to throw-in additional credit/gift cards or even offer custom console configurations in order to stand out from the competition. So be sure to keep a close eye on our Black Friday 2019 Guide and holiday roundups well ahead of Thanksgiving week.
Nintendo:
Let’s start off this year’s Black Friday gaming predictions with the big N. Nintendo has significantly more hardware on the market this year and while it is infamously tight with price drops, we do expect it to get in on the action.
The 2018 Nintendo Switch console offerings were initially quite underwhelming at $30 off, but we did eventually see GameStop offering them at $300 (full price) with a $50 gift card. Considering how often we are already seeing the latest model Switch go on sale, chances are the deals will be even deeper for 2019. Amazon is currently offering the better-battery model Switch console at $25 off and the new portable Switch Lite has already seen a $30 price drop. It would be safe to say that Nintendo’s consoles go at least $50 off this year, but it could get even deeper when the gift cards and third-party eBay sellers start to get busy. It would make sense to see the original model Nintendo Switch console see some particularly deep price drops as well, although for the most part, discounts have been on par with the new 2019 model thus far.
Nintendo usually drops some Black Friday/holiday specific console configurations that bundle in a game too. Last year we got the Nintendo 2DS Super Mario Maker Edition and the new Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Switch bundle. Keep an eye out for announcements on Nintendo’s Black Friday 2019 hardware in the coming weeks as they tend to essentially throw a $40 to $60 game in for no extra cost.
As for the rest of our Nintendo Black Friday gaming predictions, Labo kits are likely to see some deep price drops. We are expecting the older sets to drop to $30 while the newer options like the VR kit see some of the first notable price drops yet.
Sony:
Last year, Sony’s high-end PS4 Pro machine was missing from the major Black Friday ads, for the most part. That is until GameStop got involved. The retailer offered the 4K-ready console for $400 (full price) with a $50 gift card, much like it did with just about all consoles it offers. But considering we have seen the machine at nearly $100 off over the last few months already, it would be disappointing to see anything less than that for the holidays. Having said all that, and knowing Sony, we are going to put the PS4 Pro at $350 for our Black Friday gaming predictions and hope that $50 gift cards (or more) get thrown in on top of that.
The company just recently unveiled the new Call of Duty Modern Warfare PS4 Pro bundle. While we don’t nessarily expect to see this one at $100 off considering the value of the included game, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine a $25 or $50 gift card thrown in for Black Friday 2019.
You can also expect $50 to $100 price drops on all currently available PS VR bundles, at least $20 off 1-year PS Plus memberships (although don’t be surprised to see it drop slightly lower than that), and the usual price drop on DualShock 4 controllers. The DS4’s are already at $35 right now, so anything more than that would be underwhelming. Keep a close eye on our roundups for the lowest possible deals on sonly gaming accessories as third-party eBay sellers and the like tend to undercut many of the major retailers here.
Microsoft:
Microsoft Xbox One S/X holiday deals tend to be the most confusing. That is mostly due to the custom configurations third-party sellers put together in order to undercut the major retailers. Nonetheless, we are expecting big time gift card promotions at GameStop and Target, on top of the official price drops from Microsoft. Those are likely to be something to the tune of $100 off Xbox One X bundles and other similar offerings for the rest of its console hardware lineup. Last year, Xbox One X bundles were readily available at $120 off and that number is likely to get even deeper this year with the aforementioned gift cards. Chances are, if you’re purchasing a Microsoft Xbox console at Black Friday for any less than $120 off, you’re not doing it right. So stay locked to our Games/Apps and Black Friday 2019 Guides to you don’t get fooled.
With Game Pass Ultimate now basically taking over for Xbox Live Gold, we are expecting to see notable offers here, as well. If last year’s Live Gold offers are any indication, we could be looking at as much as 50% off. A 3-month membership goes for $45, but we are expecting that number to drop down to $30 and even as low as $20 at Amazon, Walmart, and elsewhere. Here’s everything you need to know about how to transition your Live Gold account over to Game Pass Ultimate.
Black Friday Game Deals:
Black Friday gaming predictions can be tough when it comes to the actual titles themselves. For the most part, you expect just about any game you might be looking to add to your collection to be on sale. Most of the AAA titles that drop down to $20 on a fairly regular basis, like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey or God of War, won’t likely get all that much lower. However, anything that tends to go on sale in the $30 and $40 range right, will almost certainly be at their best prices of the year.
Nintendo’s first-party games saw a number of notable price drops last year and we are expecting much of the same as part of our 2019 Black Friday gaming predictions. Outside of the Mario + Rabbids crossover title, except to see all of the best first-party Switch games to drop to $40 or less including Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Donkey Kong, Super Mario Maker 2, and more. It wouldn’t be unheard of to track those prices throughout the year, so we are expecting to see all of the major games down this low or, hopefully, even lower.
The best possible deals will be scattered across Amazon, Walmart and GameStop with most of the rock-bottom (60% or more) price drops selling out quicker than anyone would like. Stay locked to our Black Friday 2019 Guide to make sure you don’t miss out
Keep up with 9to5Toys before and during Black Friday
As always, we’ll be covering Black Friday and Cyber Monday extensively over the next six weeks. You can stay up to date by following us on Twitter and downloading our iOS app. For the best game deals, be sure to bookmark our guide, which will be updated continuously throughout Thanksgiving week.
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