Black Friday 2015: Top deals on PS4, Xbox One, Wii U
With Black Friday looming, retailers are going to try their best to get Santa to put a shiny new console under your Festivus pole.
Two years after their 2013 launches, enough software has arrived to fully justify upgrading to a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One. Similarly, the Wii U has built up such a strong library of great games since its 2012 release to justify getting one as a secondary console.
Just to note: this will be updated periodically as warranted as ads from smaller retailers — or even additional deals from the big stores — leak to the public.
Nov. 18 update: Added Overstock bundles.
PlayStation 4
Sony cut the price of the PS4 to $349.99 from $399.99 last month, but it will go even lower Black Friday Weekend.
Update: Through Cyber Monday (Nov. 30), Sony itself has cut the price of the 500GB "Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection" to just $299.99, not just the ones linked to in this article earlier.
Best Buy, GameStop, Toys R Us, hhgregg and Walmart will each have the 500GB console bundled with “Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection” for $299.99. (OK, technically the Walmart one is just $299 due to the way it handles pennies in its prices.)
While it doesn’t list an exact price, Costco’s Black Friday ad lists the 500GB PlayStation 4 for $50 off, which will put it down to the comparable $300.
Meijer will have the “Uncharted” bundle for the same $299.99, with an additional $50 Custom Coupon for use before Christmas. The catch: the offer is good Thursday (i.e. Thanksgiving) only.
If you want to buy from an online-only retailer, Overstock will have the "Uncharted" bundle for $299.99
Xbox One
Microsoft made last holiday’s temporary price cut to $349.99 permanent in January but, as with the PS4, more savings can be yours.
Update: Through Cyber Monday (Nov. 30), Microsoft itself has cut the price of the 500GB "Gears of War: Ultimate Edition" bundle to just $299.99, not just the ones linked to in this article earlier.
Target, Best Buy, hhgregg and GameStop will have the 500GB Xbox One bundled with a downloadable code for “Gears of War: Ultimate Edition” for $299.99. Target will throw in an additional $60 gift card with purchase of this bundle.
(Don’t forget that playing “Gears of War: Ultimate Edition” online before the end of the year will nab you free downloadable copies of the four Xbox 360 games in the series.)
As with the PS4, Meijer is forging its own path with a Thanksgiving Day-only sale of the “Gears of War: UE” bundle for $299.99. Again, you will also get a $50 Custom Coupon for use before Christmas with purchase of any Xbox One bundle $299.99-$449.99.
hhgregg will also have the 1TB Xbox One bundled with "Fallout 4" for $349.99 (normally $399.99). If you haven't seen any of the advertising or marketing, the Xbox One version of "Fallout 4" also comes with a download token for a free copy of the Xbox 360 "Fallout 3" playable on your XB1 via backwards compatibility.
If you’re not that excited about getting a system bundled with the “Gears of War” remake, Toys R Us is offering the same 500GB console bundled with "The LEGO Movie Video Game" for $299.99.
On the other hand, probability shows that some of you are fans of "the beautiful game" (aka soccer/fütbol). If so, Overstock is offering a 1TB Xbox One bundled with "FIFA 16" for $349.99.
If you want the most options regarding bundles, both GameStop and Best Buy are offering a general “save $50” offer on new Xbox One bundles. That knocks the price of the 1TB Holiday Bundle, with “Gears of War: UE,” “Rare Replay” and “Ori and the Blind Forest,” down to $349.99. The 1TB Elite bundle, with the Elite controller and a hybrid/solid-state hard drive, gets a similar cut to $449.99. (See more of the bundles offered by GameStop and Best Buy. Remember, though: not everything you see online is available in the brick-and-mortar store.)
It's actually taking place before Black Friday, but Microsoft has a deal running Nov. 15-21 that is too good to not mention: buy a new Xbox One bundle from one of its retail partners at Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop or Target, get an additional game (up to $59.99) free. As all these stores' Thanksgiving/Black Friday deals haven't kicked in, you're not going to get the $50 that you would by waiting. However, you will save $10 by going with this deal over waiting until Black Friday and then buying another $60 game separately.
New Xbox One bundles announced for holiday season
Wii U
Nintendo is doubling-down on the system with the Smash Splat Deluxe Set that includes a black system with 32GB of storage and pre-installed copies of both “Super Smash Bros.” and “Splatoon."
While the bundle is launching with an MSRP of $279.99, you can find it for less after Thanksgiving: Walmart and Target will have it for $249.
Meijer will also have it for $249, but as with its PS4 and Xbox One offers, there’s a catch: the offer is good Black Friday only. On the positive side, you will receive a $30 Custom Coupon for use before Christmas.
The games
What good is a system if you don’t have games to play on it? Prices are being cut fast and furious. While there are far, FAR too many titles on sale to list, here are just a few highlights:
• “Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain” (PS4, Xbox One): $35 (Target, Best Buy, Walmart)
• “Batman: Arkham Knight” (PS4, Xbox One): $25 (Target, Best Buy, Walmart) or $30 (GameStop)
• “Witcher III: Wild Hunt” (PS4, Xbox One): $25 (Best Buy) or $30 (GameStop)
• "Splatoon" (Wii U): $25 (Walmart)
• “Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate” (PS4, Xbox One): $35 (Target, Best Buy, Walmart)
• “FIFA 16” (PS4, Xbox One): $27 (Walmart), $35 (Target)
• “Guitar Hero Live” (PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U): $59 (Target), $69 (Walmart), $69.99 (Best Buy, comes with free mic)
• Additional black controllers (PS4 or Xbox One): $39 (Walmart), $40 (Best Buy)
Call Star online editor Channing King at (317) 444-8073. Follow him @ChanningKing.