Black Friday Shopping Deals

The Super Bowl of capitalism arrives in a few short days, and video games are more than included in the festivities. This year, we rummage through flyers to check out all these deals and say if it is worth abandoning your family on Thanksgiving to participate.
We list the biggest sales that GameStop, Best Buy, Walmart, Toys R Us, Target, Kmart, and Sears are putting out for both hardware and software. Now not all the games are listed because there’s just too many to list. Instead we list the most important ones and link the flyer to see if anything else tickles your fancy.

There are some consoles that aren't mentioned in each store’s listing and it is because Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft released it everywhere. If any of these following consoles are listed, it’s because they are lower than the normal MSRP and are cheaper than if you normally plucked them off the shelf. Some of these are out now, so don’t let the ad fool you thinking that it’s either only available on Black Friday or are available cheaper. These are the universal deals:
-Most, if not all stores, should have a 250GB PS3 bundle with The Last of Us and Batman Arkham Origins ready for Black Friday. It retails for $199.99 and no one lists it for less.
-Most, if not all stores, should have a Cobalt Blue Nintendo 3DS with Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon ready for Black Friday. Most of these stores list it for its normal $169.99, but other stores have it for less, in which I’ll mention.
-Microsoft released a 250GB Xbox 360 with Halo 4 and a digital copy of Tomb Raider earlier this month. Most stores list it for its normal $249.99, but other stores have it for less, in which I’ll mention.
-Nintendo has released two Wii U bundles this month: a Deluxe model (black 32GB) with New Super Mario Bros. U and Super Luigi U, and a Basic model (white 8GB) with Skylanders SWAP Force (complete with a limited edition Washbuckler figure). These both go for $299.99, but other stores may have it for less, in which I’ll mention.
-Nintendo released a Limited Edition gold/black Nintendo 3DS XL with a digital copy of The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds for $219.99 last week.
-Sony released a Vita with The Walking Dead GOTY and a 4GB memory card for $199.99.
-Most, if not all stores, should have first-party Xbox 360 and PS3 controllers as well as Turtle Beach headsets on sale for $35-$40.
-Most, if not all stores, should have PS4 and Xbox One consoles for sale when they open on Black Friday.
GameStop

-Buy 2 Get 1 Free on all Pre-owned products

Hardware

-250GB Xbox 360 with Halo 4 and a digital copy of Tomb Raider - $199.99

-Free $25 gift card and backpack with the Skylanders Wii U bundle

-PS Vita (Normal Wi-fi/3G model) - $179.99

-Pre-owned Wii - $39.99

-Pre-owned Nintendo DS Lite $39.99

-Any Pre-owned Xbox 360 Slim or PS3 - $50 off original price

Software

-Just Dance 2014 (Wii, 360, PS3) - $14.99

-Battlefield 3 (360, PS3, PC) - $29.99

-Rayman Legends (Wii U, 360, PS3, Vita) - $24.99

-Assassin’s Creed IV (Wii U, 360, PS3, PC) - $39.99

-LEGO Marvel Super Heroes (Xbox One, PS4, Wii U, 360, PS3) - $39.99

-Saint’s Row IV (360, PS3) - $29.99

-Call of Duty Ghosts (360, PS3, PC) - $44.99

-Splinter Cell Blacklist (Wii U, 360, PS3, PC) - $24.99

-Skylanders SWAP Force Starter Pack (Xbox One, PS4, Wii U, 360, PS3, Wii, 3DS) - $49.99 Dark Edition (Wii) - $79.99

-Disney Infinity Starter Pack (Wii U, 360, PS3, Wii, 3DS) - $59.99 (Playset 50% off with Starter Pack purchase)

-Disney Infinity figures – Buy One Get One Free

-Pre-owned Xenoblade - $39.99

-Pre-Owned Metroid Prime Trilogy - $39.99

-Bioshock Infinite (360, PS3) - $19.99

-Skyrim: Legendary Edition (360, PS3) - $29.99

-Kingdom Hearts 1.5 - $19.99

-Last of Us - $39.99

-Ni No Kuni - $14.99

-Tales of Xillia - $19.99

-Elder Scrolls Anthology - $39.99

Best Buy

Hardware

-250GB Xbox 360 with Halo 4, a digital copy of Tomb Raider, Darksiders 2 and a digital copy of Batman Arkham City - $189.99

- Wii U Deluxe with New Super Mario Bros. U, Super Luigi U, Nintendo Land and the Mario Wii Remote Plus - $319.99

-Cobalt Nintendo 3DS with Luigi’s Mansion - $149.99

Software

-Madden 25 (360, PS3) - $34.99

-FIFA 14 (360, PS3) - $34.99

-Assassin’s Creed IV (360, PS3) - $34.99

-The Last of Us - $34.99

-Beyond: Two Souls - $34.99

-Battlefield 4 (360, PS3, PC) - $34.99

-Call of Duty Ghosts (360, PS3, PC) - $44.99

-Call of Duty Black Ops 2 (Wii U, 360, PS3) - $29.99

-Saint’s Row IV (360, PS3) - $29.99

-Splinter Cell Blacklist (360, PS3) - $29.99

-Just Dance 2014 (Wii U, 360, PS3, Wii) - $29.99

-Elder Scrolls Anthology - $29.99

-Batman Arkham Origins (360, PS3, PC) - $29.99

-Skylanders SWAP Force Starter Pack (Xbox One, PS4, Wii U, 360, PS3, Wii, 3DS) - $49.99

-Tomb Raider (360, PS3) - $14.99

Walmart

Hardware

-Nintendo 2DS - $99

-4GB Xbox 360 - $99

-12GB PS3 - $149.99

Software

-Disney Infinity Starter Pack (Wii U, 360, PS3, Wii, 3DS) - $38.96

-Skylanders SWAP Force Starter Pack (Xbox One, PS4, Wii U, 360, PS3, Wii, 3DS) - $38.96

-Grand Theft Auto V - $34

-NBA 2K14 (360, PS3) - $34

-Batman Arkham Origins (360, PS3) - $34

-Assassin’s Creed IV (360, PS3) - $34

-Animal Crossing: New Leaf - $25

-Super Mario 3D Land - $25

-Battlefield 4 (360, PS3) - $25

Call of Duty Ghosts (360, PS3) - $39.96

-LEGO Marvel Super Heroes (Wii U, 360, PS3) - $25

-Scribblenauts Unmasked (Wii U, 3DS) - $25

Target

Hardware

-Nintendo 3DS XL - $149.99

-4GB Xbox 360 with Kinect Adventures and Kinect Sports - $189.99

Software

-Disney Infinity Starter Pack (Wii U, 360, PS3, Wii, 3DS) - $49.99

Buy 2 Get 1 Free Skylanders figures

Toys R Us

Hardware

-Skylanders Wii U Bundle - $269.99

-Cobalt Nintendo 3DS with Luigi’s Mansion - $149.99

-4GB Xbox 360 with Kinect Adventures, Kinect Sports Season 2 and Halo 3 -  $199.99

Software

-Buy 1 Get 1 40% off on all games

-Buy 1 Get 1 $1 on all “R” Superbuy games

-Disney Infinity Starter Pack (Wii U, 360, PS3, Wii, 3DS) - $37.49

-Buy 1 Get 1 Free Skylander Giants and Spyro’s Adventure figures

-Buy 1 Get 1 70% off Skylanders SWAP Force figures

Sears

-Pokémon X or Y - $29.99

- New Super Mario Bros. 2 - $29.99

-Mario Kart 7 - $29.99

-Super Mario 3D Land - $29.99

-Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon - $29.99

-New Super Mario Bros. Wii - $19.99

Kmart

Hardware

-Nintendo 2DS - $119.99

Software

-Pokémon X - $34.99

-Mario & Luigi Dream Team - $34.99

-Mario Kart 7 - $34.99

-New Super Mario Bros 2 - $34.99

-Super Mario 3D Land - $34.99

-Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D - $29.99

-Animal Crossing: New Leaf - $29.99

-Batman Arkham Origins Blackgate (3DS) - $24.99

-LEGO Marvel Super Heroes (3DS) - $24.99

Amazon
The only one we did not list is Amazon, who is putting different deals up all week and does not have a focused Black Friday deal, though they are going to do flash sales for Cyber Monday. They currently have hundreds of games up, but it is a mix of legit sale items and permanent markdowns, so some may not be an Amazon-specific sale.
We hope this makes your browsing easier, though I think this year doesn't have too much that’ll be worth standing out in the cold for a mere chance of success (unless you want a PS4 or Xbox One). However, if you want several things, those $20-$30 savings do end up adding up. Happy hunting folks!