Gaming on Black Friday: Can You Really Save?

As the holiday season approaches, gamers worldwide eagerly anticipate one of the most exciting events of the year – Black Friday. The promise of slashed prices and irresistible deals on gaming products can be an enticing prospect, but is it too good to be true? In this blog, we'll dive deep into the realm of Black Friday gaming discounts to separate fact from fiction and help you uncover the real opportunities for savings in the world of gaming. Whether you're a hardcore gamer or just a casual enthusiast, join us on this journey to discover if Black Friday truly lives up to the hype when it comes to gaming products.

Things to keep in Mind when Shopping on Black Friday

Has it Been Cheaper before Black Friday?

Unfortunately, a common practice that many retailers employ is overselling how much of a discount you’re actually getting on Black Friday. Suggesting that this is the cheapest the product has ever been when that simply isn't the case. 

You can use price comparison sites like Idealo, Pricespy, and Pricerunner (which we used for this blog) to track the price history of a product which can be used to determine whether it has been sold for a lower price before or not. There’s also camelcamelcamel solely for tracking the prices of products on Amazon. 

Black Friday Inflation

Another unsavory sales technique that some retailers employ during Black Friday is artificial price inflation. Simply put this is where retailers significantly increase the price of a product just before Black Friday so they can advertise a larger price reduction when Black Friday arrives. This is why we suggest checking a product's price history before making a purchase on Black Friday.  

Don't Fall Victim to Black Friday FOMO

Black Friday is undoubtedly the largest sales holiday of the year with just about every retailer under the sun making a big song and dance about it. Retailers tend to use language that suggests a discount for a product is for a limited time only such as ‘Save Big on X this Black Friday.’ However, this is rarely the case, products tend to stay at the discounted price advertised during Black Friday for the remainder of the holiday season.

You can learn more about being sure whether or not you're saving on Black Friday by reading our blog article.

Xbox Series X Black Friday

From it's initial release in 2020 we can see that the Xbox Series X has seen steady reductions during each Black Friday. However, the cheapest the console has been on sale was during this past September. Using PriceRunner we can see that the average price for the Xbox Series X since its release is around the £450 price range, making that £200 price reduction in September a significant saving.

PS5 Black Friday

Unfortunately, the PS5 hasn't seen the same steady reductions as the Xbox during previous Black Fridays. This is more than likely due to the 'scalping' the product was subject to during its initial release. However, as the console has slowly become more available, we've seen significant price drops like the one shown above in August of this year. 

While the PS5 has stayed at a pretty consistent £450 price point that significant dip during August could be a good sign if you're looking for a considerable discount. Perhaps this upcoming Black Friday will bring further reductions for the PS5.

Nintendo Switch Black Friday

The Nintendo Switch has by far seen the most reductions during previous Black Fridays. This is largely down to its age though having come out 3 years before the PS5 and, 2 years before the Xbox Series X. 

Still, it saw its largest price drop in September of last year a £123.44 discount from its original launch price of £279.99. The Switch will likely continue to see price drops as Nintendo gears up for the newer model releases, so it may be worth saving your cash for a newer model when they arrive on the market.  

Can you Really Save on Black Friday?

While there are definitely savings to be had during Black Friday it is by no means the 'best' time to save on gaming products. From our price comparison we can see that August to September has offered the largest discounts when it comes to buying a new console, but why?

One the gaming industry tends to slow down during the summer months like August in terms of game releases which in turn likely causes a decline in console sales and gaming-related peripherals. 

Two, September is just before the ramp-up of big industry releases with manufacturers and publishers dropping their games and consoles during the months of October and November, hoping to capitalise on the holiday season shopping rush. 

This means that August-September exists in a sweet spot where the industry at large is in a lull resulting in larger discounts to entice potential customers during these quiet months.