A gamer's guide to Best Buy's Black Friday sales

Cal Jeffrey

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Best Buy is always a chaotic mess on Black Friday so I never participate. However, the store has just unveiled its preview of this year's sales and as an avid gamer, there are several deals that are sorely tempting me to brave the crazy fools this Thanksgiving.

First up is something on just about every gamer’s wish list — a 4K display. Ultra-high-definition televisions have been steadily dropping in price but have not quite hit that sweet spot for me. That’s about to change for at least a day because Best Buy is going to be letting them go at huge discounts.

The preview has a 65-inch 4K Samsung Smart TV for $750, a 60-inch Sony for $600 and a 50-inch Sharp for $180. I’m not too sure about the Sharp’s quality and would certainly look into reviews before purchasing but a 50-inch would fit in my entertainment center perfectly. I would be more comfortable shelling out the $400 for a Samsung 50-inch though.

My kids have been suffering with an Xbox (not even a 360) while daddy has a PlayStation 4 (I know, what a terrible father). They haven’t asked for a newer console but have been wanting to play mine more so Santa has been thinking that a new system may be in order. What does the cheapskate Santa get though?

If he can brave the Black Friday madness, he could pick up a 500GB Xbox One S for $190 or a 1TB PlayStation 4 for $200. I have also been thinking a lot about the Nintendo Switch. I excitedly paged through the ads looking for it only to be disappointed to find that it was not being discounted. In fact, none of Nintendo’s products were on sale except for collectibles.

Of course, a new console is no good without new games. Fortunately, nearly all titles are marked down. Some games are more steeply slashed than others with prices ranging from $15 to $40. Santa might have to get dad a copy of CoD: WWII for $39.99 while he is there. You can also score Assassin’s Creed Origins for only $35 or Gears of War 4 for $15.

Just yesterday, Sony announced it was bundling Skyrim VR with its PlayStation VR headset. Best Buy is following suit with its own Gran Turismo Sport/PSVR package deal for $300. That's not a bad price to break into VR.

There are also big sales on computers, keyboards, monitors and other electronics but to be honest, for gaming rigs, Dell has better deals.

Some of Best Buy's sales will be offered online and others are only good in-store. Check the online ad for details. Stores will be opening for doorbusters at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day and again at 8 a.m. on Black Friday. Sales will continue online and in-store through Saturday, November 25.

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I'd certainly eyeball that Sharp TV but I'd also most definitely Google up some reviews on them rather 'sharp-ly' before that deal turns to dust. $180 for a 50" 4K TV sounds like a pretty 'sharp' deal to me. That company has been around for as long as I can remember and I believe they use their own IGZO panel. I've owned a few Sharp products in my time (albeit nothing recent and nothing in the way of TV's) and I can't remember any of them being a lemon.
 
Shame they aren't discounting any higher end TVs. Still reasonably good deals, just not personally what I was looking for.
 
Friendly FYI - Many tech doorbusters (especially laptops) are cheaply made Black Friday specific models. Pay attention to model numbers and do some Googling to confirm. When I worked at Best Buy I couldn't count how many BF laptops/TV's would break after 1-2 years.

That being said, hoping to find any amount off on a Nintendo Switch. That'll be my totally reasonable excuse to finally buy one :D
 
That being said, hoping to find any amount off on a Nintendo Switch. That'll be my totally reasonable excuse to finally buy one :D
100% agreed. This short stocking that Nintendo seems so fond of needs to end. I'm quite frankly tired of it. It's been going on since the Wii and there is really no excuse for it considering how long and how big the company has grown. IMO anyway.
 
Friendly FYI - Many tech doorbusters (especially laptops) are cheaply made Black Friday specific models. Pay attention to model numbers and do some Googling to confirm. When I worked at Best Buy I couldn't count how many BF laptops/TV's would break after 1-2 years.

That being said, hoping to find any amount off on a Nintendo Switch. That'll be my totally reasonable excuse to finally buy one :D
That has to do with the manufacturer not BB or any retailer. The fact that this has to even be said every single year shows you how clueless most consumers are or at least how lazy they are.
 
So how is it "Black FRIDAY" when it's on Thursday (and on Thanksgiving)? I won't willingly support companies that force people to work on major holidays. I could use a couple TVs, but I won't take advantage of people's day off for it. I guess I'll have to wait for "cyber monday". Any plans for an article soon?
 
I don't think I've ever seen a solid deal for pc components in Australia during Black Friday. There are still many shops here that don't even do black friday.
 
That being said, hoping to find any amount off on a Nintendo Switch. That'll be my totally reasonable excuse to finally buy one :D
100% agreed. This short stocking that Nintendo seems so fond of needs to end. I'm quite frankly tired of it. It's been going on since the Wii and there is really no excuse for it considering how long and how big the company has grown. IMO anyway.

Money. They've got their marketing strategy dialed in like diamonds. While I understand the consumer side of the equation for those who keep up with these things, their executives would be fools to pivot now.
 
So how is it "Black FRIDAY" when it's on Thursday (and on Thanksgiving)? I won't willingly support companies that force people to work on major holidays. I could use a couple TVs, but I won't take advantage of people's day off for it.

As someone who has worked both BF and Thanksgiving... what about those of us who use those days to stack hours on top of holiday pay rates? College kids who see $200-$300/wk checks jump to $400-$600? There's more to holiday work days than Evil Corporations.
 
So how is it "Black FRIDAY" when it's on Thursday (and on Thanksgiving)? I won't willingly support companies that force people to work on major holidays. I could use a couple TVs, but I won't take advantage of people's day off for it.

As someone who has worked both BF and Thanksgiving... what about those of us who use those days to stack hours on top of holiday pay rates? College kids who see $200-$300/wk checks jump to $400-$600? There's more to holiday work days than Evil Corporations.

Make sure you read my post. "companies that force people". key word is "force". it is obviously voluntary if a person chooses to. It's easy to tell and even straight out ask who wants to be at work on a holiday and who is forced to.
 
Make sure you read my post. "companies that force people". key word is "force". it is obviously voluntary if a person chooses to. It's easy to tell and even straight out ask who wants to be at work on a holiday and who is forced to.

We both know that BF/TG are not "volunteer" days and there are consequences if you are scheduled for those days and don't show. None of this is "forcing" people to work. It's in their contract that they willingly sign during on-boarding. If that's a problem, they shouldn't be working with companies that are open on those days.

For those who actually read said documents... it's double pay.
 
Shame they aren't discounting any higher end TVs. Still reasonably good deals, just not personally what I was looking for.

Most TV's you see on sale are cheaper versions of an existing model made for Black Friday sales.
Usually there aren't any reviews for the model number which is a dead giveaway.
 
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