If you've been waiting to buy a new PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X or Nintendo Switch, Black Friday looks like a good time to pounce. To save you a bit of Googling, we've rounded up the best Black Friday game console deals we could find and laid out everywhere you can buy each device below. The offers include genuine discounts on both of the latest Xbox consoles and both the new slim and (non-slim) PS5, as well as a few noteworthy bundles for all three Nintendo Switch models. If you're looking for a new handheld gaming PC or VR headset, both the ASUS ROG Ally and Meta Quest 2 are seeing unusually steep discounts as well.
PlayStation 5
If you're in the market for a PS5, Black Friday is a good time to pounce. Both Sony's new slimline model and the standard disc PlayStation 5 are $50 off and down to $450 at Amazon. But discounts of any kind for Sony's console have been extremely rare since the device arrived in 2020, and there's no performance difference between the two models, so this is a great opportunity to save.
If stock for that deal runs out, Sony is selling a couple of new bundles that do include the latest version of the console: one that comes with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and one that includes Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III. You should go with the former while both are in stock: We called Spider-Man 2 a “perfectly balanced game” in our review, while Modern Warfare 3 has been roundly criticized as one of the most undercooked CoD entries in recent memory. Both games cost $70 on their own, so that’s what you’re saving here. As of this writing, the Spider-Man bundle is further discounted by an extra $20 at BJ's, bringing it down to $480.
As a refresher, Sony says the slim PS5 takes up 30 percent less volume than the original models and weighs up to three pounds less. It also has two USB-C ports instead of one. If the slim Spider-Man 2 bundle runs out of stock, Sony is running a similar deal with the older “fat” PS5 as well.
Buy PlayStation 5 ($500) at:
Buy PlayStation 5 + Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 or Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III ($500) at:
Nintendo Switch OLED
Nintendo is bundling the $350 Switch OLED with a digital copy of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and a three-month individual subscription to Nintendo Switch Online for no extra cost. Smash Bros. was released back in 2018, but it still tends to retail between $50 and $60 on its own, while the Switch Online sub normally goes for $8. This version of the console also comes with Smash Bros.-themed controllers.
We’ve seen the Switch OLED go for less in the past, so we’d have liked a more substantial discount — especially with a follow-up console reportedly on the horizon. But if you’re jumping on the Switch bandwagon late, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate remains one of the device’s best games, so there’s still value here.
Buy Nintendo Switch OLED + Super Smash Bros. Ultimate + 3-month Nintendo Switch Online Individual Membership ($350) at:
Nintendo Switch
It’s worth stepping up to the Switch OLED’s more vivid and expansive display if you can swing it, but if you really want to save $50, Nintendo is running a holiday bundle for the standard Switch as well. The console still costs its usual $299 but comes with a digital copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and the same three-month Switch Online subscription as above for no extra cost.
We’ve seen this bundle pop up like clockwork over the last few holiday seasons, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, while fun, is a six-year-old port of a nine-year-old Wii U game. So, we won’t call this a great deal. But the game still maintains a busy online community, and Nintendo has updated it with a few dozen DLC tracks over the past two years. Despite its age, it usually costs between $40 and $50 on its own. This bundle has been available since October and isn’t an explicit “Black Friday” deal, so we’d expect it to stick around beyond this week.
Buy Nintendo Switch + Mario Kart 8 Deluxe + 3-month Nintendo Switch Online Individual Membership ($300) at:
Nintendo Switch Lite
Nintendo’s other ongoing holiday bundle pairs the Switch Lite with a digital copy of Animal Crossing: New Horizons from $199. That’s the console’s normal price, but the game usually goes for around $50. This offer is available at Walmart and Target: The former has the console in a teal finish, while the latter has it in coral. Again, it’s worth getting the Switch OLED if possible, but the handheld-only Switch Lite still has value if you prioritize portability above all else and don’t plan on docking the console up to a TV. New Horizons, meanwhile, remains one of the most purely relaxing games you can buy, even if it’s not as popular now as it was during the height of the pandemic.
Buy Nintendo Switch Lite + Animal Crossing: New Horizons (from $199) at:
Xbox Series X
Unlike the PS5 and Nintendo Switch, both Xbox consoles are genuinely discounted for Black Friday. The Xbox Series X, for one, is on sale for $440 at Walmart and Microsoft as part of a bundle that also includes the action-RPG Diablo IV. That’s a rare $60 drop for the console itself, while the game goes for $70 (though it’s currently on sale for $42). Target may have a better deal, though: It’s selling the same bundle for $450 but throwing in a $75 Target gift card on top. Other stores like GameStop, Best Buy and Newegg have the bundle for $450 without any extra coupons or gift cards as of this writing.
If stock of the bundle runs out, the console alone is also available for that same $50 off. You can get that with a $75 gift card at Target or a $50 gift card at Best Buy; for the latter, you can take an extra $50 off and bring the machine down to an all-time low of $400 — but only if you’re My Best Buy Plus or Total member.
Diablo IV has caught its share of flak since arriving in June — it can’t be played offline, its endgame is heavy on grinding and there are pricey microtransactions for cosmetic items — but it could be worthwhile if you’re in the mood a “numbers go up” dungeon crawler. You can read our review for more details. More generally, Microsoft has had some struggles producing hit exclusives, but the Xbox library is still home to plenty of games we like, and the Series X remains a powerful piece of kit for 4K gaming.
Buy Xbox Series X + Diablo IV ($450) at:
Buy Xbox Series X ($450) at:
Xbox Series S
As for the Xbox Series S, a “Starter Bundle” that packs the digital-only console with a three-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription is on sale for $240 at Microsoft and Target. Other retailers like Walmart, Best Buy and GameStop have it for $10 more. They aren't all-time lows, but this is still $50 or $60 off the console’s list price, while the subscription normally costs $51 on its own. In general, discounts on the console remain fairly uncommon. Note that these offers apply to the older Series S with 512GB of storage, not the updated 1TB model that Microsoft released earlier this year.
The Series S lacks a disc drive, and its lesser GPU and RAM count means it can’t hit high resolutions and frame rates as consistently as the Series X. That gulf in power is starting to become more evident as time rolls on. Still, the Series S can play all the same games, it’s physically smaller and, most importantly, it’s far more affordable. If you just want a cheap route into the Xbox library and don’t mind playing in 1080p or 1440p, it makes sense as a secondary console.
The one caveat to all Xbox deals right now is the trove of Xbox-related documents that leaked earlier this year as part of Microsoft’s court battle with the FTC. Those detailed apparent refreshes to the Series X and Series S that could arrive in late 2024, but since that info stems from older internal materials, it’s hard to how true it’ll end up being. If you really want a new Xbox today, it should be safe to grab an existing model.
Buy Xbox Series S + 3-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate ($250) at:
Buy Xbox Series S ($250) at:
ASUS ROG Ally
The ASUS ROG Ally is down to $620 at Best Buy, which is $80 off the handheld gaming PC’s normal price and a rare discount. If you’re a My Best Buy Plus or Total subscriber, you can get it for $600. The ROG Ally is the “best Windows alternative” pick in our guide to the best gaming handhelds. As that title suggests, the ROG Ally runs Windows, which isn’t nearly as straightforward to use on a seven-inch display as the Steam Deck’s Steam OS but makes it easier to play games from other clients such as Epic, Xbox, GOG and Itch.io. The ROG Ally is physically smaller than Valve’s handheld, too, and the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip in this config gives it stronger overall performance. It also has a sharper 1080p display with a faster 120Hz refresh rate.
We’d still recommend the Steam Deck (which isn’t discounted) to most, especially after the launch of the new Steam Deck OLED. Apart from being less prone to software quirks, that machine usually lasts longer on a charge, and the new model’s OLED panel is more vivid. The ROG Ally has also had issues with malfunctioning microSD card readers, so you’ll want to stick to its built-in SSD storage (which is thankfully replaceable). But if you’re willing to brave Windows and want the wider game support, the ROG Ally does enough right to be a solid alternative to traditional gaming laptops.
It’s worth noting that the entry-level version of the ROG Ally with a less powerful AMD Ryzen Z1 chip is also on sale for $450, which is a $150 discount. That’s a decent price if you’ll stick to less-demanding games, but the Z1 Extreme model is significantly faster, so it’s worth the extra cash if you can afford it.
Meta Quest 2
Meta’s Quest 2 VR headset is down to $249 and comes with a $50 store gift card or credit at Amazon, GameStop, Target and Newegg. (For Amazon, use the code META50 at checkout to see the complete offer.) Other retailers like Walmart and B&H have the same $50 discount without a gift card. It’s tougher to recommend the Quest 2 after the release of the comprehensively superior Quest 3 last month; that newer model isn’t on sale as of this writing, but it’s worth the extra cash if you can stretch your budget. If you can’t, though, the Quest 2 still offers a relatively polished VR experience. While it’s designed to be used cordless, it’s still perfectly usable when tethered to a gaming PC as well. We name the Quest 2 the top headset for those on a budget in our VR headset buying guide.
Buy Meta Quest 2 + $50 gift card ($250) at:
Buy Meta Quest 2 ($250) at:
Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/black-friday-gaming-console-deals-nintendo-switch-xbox-playstation-110019125.html?src=rss
