GameStop can never, ever, ever keep its Black Friday sale under wraps, and this year is no different. But there are a few interesting things you might consider buying… and a few signs that the biggest retailer in gaming is beginning to feel a little heat from digital downloads.
First off, there’s the somewhat good news that GameStop won’t open until 5 a.m. Black Friday. Last year, it opened at midnight, which was less than fun for the employees, so at least they get to sleep for a little bit before suburban moms scream at them over a lack of Amiibos. You might still want to bring them a cup of coffee; consider it a charitable act.
Anyway, there’s not much of a deal on current-gen consoles: Both the PS4 and Xbox One are $299 and come with a remastered game you’ve likely played already the first time it was released, Uncharted and Gears of War, respectively. If you just want the system, everybody’s going to have these at $299, and both consoles will probably drop to $299 next year.
Most of the game discounts are decent, but not worth invading the store at 5 a.m. for. The PS4 does have slightly better prices on the games, but the Xbox One has better extras; for example, if you buy Assassin’s Creed Syndicate on Xbox One, you get Assassin’s Creed Unity.
There are two interesting focuses in this flyer, though. The first is on collectibles, which are littered all throughout the flyer, and take up a huge chunk of the front page. The second is on used consoles: GameStop is running a buy-two-get-one-free on all used items, so in theory you could get a PS3, an Xbox 360, and a Nintendo 3DS for $180. That’s the back page, too, the second most visible spot on the flyer.
True, Amiibo and Skylanders make a ton of money for their corporate masters, but combine that with the hard push on used last-gen consoles, and you can’t help but wonder if GameStop is beginning to see customers walk away in favor of digital downloads. We wonder how they’ll take it when Nintendo makes it possible to 3D print Amiibo?
(Via BFADS)