2020 Black Friday Gaming & Toy Deals & Sales

Nintendo Switch Black Friday Deals Preview

Nintendo Games Could Fall to $14 or Less

Nintendo deals rarely come around. When they do, it's best to jump on them before they disappear. Just know the newest games aren't going to drop to $14 or less for Black Friday, so don't count on Animal Crossing: New Horizons getting a big discount — if that happens, that might be a sign of the apocalypse!

Odds are the older the game, the better chance it'll have of seeing huge discounts. For instance, last year Overwatch Legendary Edition dropped to $14, while Cuphead fell to $15. Those games came out in 2016 and 2017, respectively.

We've seen free games for Nintendo's Switch console this year, but again, these haven't been blockbuster titles. That doesn't mean they can't be fun, though; you could find the Jump Rope Challenge game highly entertaining, and it counts as exercise.

Nintendo Switch Lite Consoles Will Be $25 Off

The Nintendo Switch Lite is a more basic — and more affordable — version of the Nintendo Switch console. But with its cheaper price tag comes fewer deals, or at least limited savings. Last year, we were surprised to see the then-new system drop from its standard $200 price to $175 for Black Friday via sellers on Google Shopping.

This year, we've already seen deals on the Switch Lite that brought down the price to $177, once again through the Google Shopping marketplace. Considering last year's Black Friday deals and the ones we've already seen in 2020, we absolutely expect to see the Switch Lite hit $175 again in November.

PlayStation Black Friday Deals Preview

Don't Expect Huge Savings on PlayStation 5 Consoles

Sony released the PlayStation 4 in November 2013, and we didn't see any notable deals on it that Black Friday. Consoles were hard to find, and when we did track them down, they were at the list price of $400. The situation was the same for bundles — with extra controllers and games included, shoppers were basically paying list price for all included items.

The PlayStation 5 is following a similar release pattern, so we're expecting it to echo the PS4's pricing trends, as well. That means the main console will likely remain at its $499.99 list price through the Black Friday season, and the Digital Edition will cost $399.99.

If any bundles pop up that include games or extra accessories, we'll expect those to have the list price of the console, plus the cost of those additional items. There's a chance we could see some minor savings, but we're not counting on it.

Pay $5 for Popular PlayStation Titles

Similar to other platforms, the newest — or best-rated — PlayStation games likely won't drop to $5 around Black Friday. But other games should! Take Anthem as an example. It was released in February 2019, and last year we saw it hit $5. While that might seem impressive, it's important to note that Anthem didn't earn particularly great reviews. In fact, IGN gave it a rating of only 6.5 out of 10. However, we also saw God of War hit $8, and it came out in early 2018. The game was highly rated, too; IGN gave it 10 out 10.

The more highly rated a game is, and the closer to Black Friday it comes out, the more likely we won't see a steep discount. However, even AAA titles like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order saw a slight dip for Black Friday 2019. The game arrived on November 15 that year and had a list price of $60. A couple of weeks later, it dropped to $48.

Save a Bunch on PS4 Bundles

The PS5 is scheduled to hit shelves soon, but PlayStation 4 consoles are still available. Because of that, we expect to see PS4 prices similar to those we saw during Black Friday last year. At that time, PS4 Pro consoles dropped as low as $280, and we saw at least one bundle that included the system as well as Spider-Man: Game of the Year Edition. Another bundle cost $300 and included the game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. In both cases, the titles came with the 1TB PS4 Pro console.

One of the best deals we saw wasn't a bundle, but the stand-alone console for $300 at Kohl's. That offer was bundled with $90 Kohl's Cash, which would effectively drop the price of the system to only $210. If you're an avid Kohl's shopper, or would be able to spend that Kohl's Cash, know that that was an astonishingly low price for a current console.

Xbox Black Friday Deals Preview

Xbox Series X Will Be Part of Full-Priced Bundles

Microsoft released the Xbox One in November 2013, which should come as no surprise, as that's when the PS4 arrived, too. The Xbox One had a list price of $500, and much like the PS4, it didn't really feature any Black Friday savings that year. Most of the offers gave you the console and accessories for $500.

We're expecting the Xbox Series X to follow the same trend. If there are console bundles that include games this year, they'll likely be list price, though we may see a slight discount. If we're lucky, we might see list-price consoles bundled with a "free" game.

Certain Xbox Games Will Cost $5

Select Xbox games will likely drop down to $5, especially considering that PlayStation titles should also see these kinds of discounts. Again, we expect the cheapest titles to be the oldest ones, or the ones that received poor reviews. Last year, for instance, we saw XCOM 2 hit $5, but the game was released in 2016. Another great deal we saw was for Darksiders III, a 2018 release that hit $10 during Black Friday.

When it comes to bigger titles, like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, expect the PlayStation and Xbox deal prices to match. Last Black Friday, that game hit $48 for PlayStation, as mentioned above. It was priced the same for Xbox consoles during that time.

Xbox One S Consoles Could Hit $110

If the Xbox Series X is all sold out this holiday season, or if you prefer to buy older tech to save, know that it'll be a good time to shop old Xbox consoles. During Black Friday last year, we saw digital Xbox One S 1TB stand-alone systems for $115. Given that the Xbox One S is previous-generation gaming now, and that it went that low last year, we wouldn't be surprised to see it hit $110 for Black Friday 2020.

Prefer an Xbox bundle? We saw those last year, too. They cost around $150 and included a few games, in addition to the console and controller.

VR Black Friday Deals Preview

PlayStation VR Bundles Will Go for $200 (Again)

Last Black Friday, we saw plenty of PlayStation VR bundles for around $200, and we absolutely expect prices to go that low again. A 5-game package that included the PS VR headset, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Everybody's Golf, Astro Bot: Rescue Mission, and PlayStation Worlds actually went even lower, to $196. Other bundles that were priced at $200 typically came with a couple of games, so the $196 offer was super noteworthy.

That being said, we expect the games on offer to change, but for the price to stay the same. With any luck, we'll see another excellent 5-game bundle with the PS VR headset for $200 or less this year.

Interested in other VR systems? Last year we saw the Oculus Go fall to $120. However, it's important to note this system is no longer available. The Oculus Quest 2 headset has replaced it, and it has a preorder price of $299. Because of that, we might see excellent deals on Oculus Go headsets still hanging around from other retailers. Just don't count on the new Oculus Quest 2 seeing these kinds of discounts.

Black Friday Toy Deals Preview

Toys Will See Discounts of Up to 60% Off

Many consumers start their holiday shopping around Black Friday. This means that toys will be a high-demand category during this time. We expect toy sales to be numerous and feature a range of discounts, including up to 60% off at stores like Amazon. The online retailer will also offer discounts such as up to 40% off Learning Resources toys and up to 35% off STEM toys throughout the season.

Shopping elsewhere? We expect Target and eBay to knock up to 50% off during their toy sales.

Get Up to Half Off LEGO for Black Friday 2020

Looking for specific toys and toy brands? LEGO products should be on sale at a variety of stores, with LEGO itself taking 20% to 30% off for Black Friday. We're expecting Kohl's to knock 30% off its LEGO sets, Target to slash prices up to 50%, and Macy's to cut up to 40% off.

If you're in the market for dolls, know that we're expecting massive Barbie sales from the likes of Walmart. Last year, the big box retailer cut up to 50% off during Black Friday season. Similarly, Amazon knocked up to 40% off L.O.L. Surprise items.

Black Friday will also be an excellent time to shop Nerf toys, as we expect a plethora of deals for them. For instance, last year Target offered a "buy two, get a third free" deal on Nerf guns. Amazon, meanwhile, had a "buy two, get one free" promotion that included Nerf toys, and eBay's 50% off event applied to select Nerf items, as well.

Other notable sales included up to 50% off powered riding toys at Kohl's, up to 30% off Star Wars toys and games at Amazon, "buy two, get one free" Disney toys at Target, and Funko Pop! figures for as little as $2 at Walmart.