Up to 45 percent off various Amazon Blu-ray bundles originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 28 Dec 2009 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Update: The 2010 Edition is here!

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We wish it didn't have to be like this. But it is. Gorged, bloated and possessed by the lure of unbeatable savings, you will scratch and claw your way through masses of equally frenzied shoppers. There, in the dim light of dawn, you will forsake all that was sacred of the Thanksgiving, and take what's yours -- for an awfully good price. So then, let us be your guide.

We've scoured the Black Friday circulars of nationwide retailers and singled out the video game deals in the guides below. Just click on a retailer to view:

Best Buy | GameStop | Kmart & Sears | Target | Toys"R"Us | Walmart

Head past the break for additional tips!

Continue reading Black Friday Video Game Deals Hub

Black Friday Video Game Deals Hub originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• all DS and PSP games will be buy one, get one half off.
• Wii and Xbox 360 Arcade hardware purchases will be bundled with (seriously) a $15 gift card for Wendy's, Subway, or Cold Stone Creamery -- deal available in-store only
• "Select video games" will be bundled with a $25 iTunes gift card -- deal available in-store only
• The Beatles: Rock Band standalone software will be $49.99.
• The Beatles: Rock Band "Special Value Edition" will be $134.99.
• "Select video game storage units" will be $34.99.

Toys R Us announces pre-Black Friday game deals originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Rumor: Toys R Us Black Friday deals leaked originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Rumor: Best Buy's 2009 Black Friday deals originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Black Friday deals for Kmart and Sears revealed

Black Friday deals for Kmart and Sears revealed originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

[Update: Sorry, but it looks like I got this one horribly wrong, folks -- the WSJ was in fact referring to November sales. Thanks, Jay!]

Big surprise: early reports from the NPD indicate that the Wii utterly owned December, "doubling" its sales from December 2007. As it shifted 1.35 million units a year ago, that means this December saw approximately 2.7 million Wiis sold. For those who care, PS3 December sales dipped 19% from 2007, while the Xbox 360 got an 8% year-on-year lift.

More precise data concerning the Wii won't be released until the middle of January, but this could mean the Wii breaks the all-time record for U.S. hardware sales in a single month. Currently, the PlayStation 2 holds that honor, with -- aha! -- 2.7 million sales in December 2002. It's going to be close, in other words.

[Via SlipperyBrick]

Wii doubles December sales, breaks PS2's all-time record? [update] originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 30 Dec 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Man, some people's kids. A couple from Portsmouth, New Hampshire got themselves arrested on Christmas Day for exchanging punches over an unwanted gift -- a Wii, of all things. Heath Blom and Randi Young , aged 8 26 and 6 24 respectively, repeatedly punched one another, pulled hair, and ended up tumbling down two flights of stairs together. Joys be thine!

Things started turning sour when poor Heathy-Weathy didn't get the $1,000 RC airplane he had asked his grandparents for. When his girlfriend produced a Wii, he "got really upset," Young told The Boston Herald. Blom admitted he had "disparaged" the Wii (and somehow we don't think he was offering a sober criticism of third-party support), which understandably peeved Young.

The argument mushroomed from there, with Young packing her bags and some punches being thrown, mainly in the direction of the deserving Blom. It all finished with the pair falling down the stairs together, and the police arresting the loons shortly thereafter.

[Via Shacknews]

Couple come to blows over Wii gift originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 15:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Steam's holiday sale boasts 10-75% off everything originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 26 Dec 2008 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Saturday, 13 Dec: World of Warcraft Battlechest is the headliner. If the past days are any indication, the other deals for Saturday will be somewhat related.
• Sunday, 14 Dec: Kickoff of a special deal on Ubisoft's successful (no, really) Petz, Imagine and Ener-G titles.
• Monday, 15 Dec: Saints Row 2 is the headliner.
  

Amazon's weekend game deals; all-PS3 Goldbox next Thursday originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Update: We've selected a winner! Congratulations to Russ Holland of San Marcos, CA.

We don't want to leave the Wii out of our Holidaze Schwagalong, so Wii-lovers, this is your chance to get in on the action. What says Holidaze and the Wii more than a snap-on plastic lightsaber attachment? Nothing that we can think of. You'll also get to cram your Wiimote into a handgun attachment and use a semi-clone of the Xbox 360 controller to put your games through their paces.

The Glow Saber Duo Pack and T-Wireless Precision Pack not enough for you? Fine. We're tossing in three Wii titles for you to huddle your family around over the next couple of weeks. Included is a copy of Death Jr.: Root of Evil, Wacky Races: Crash and Dash, and Family Party: 30 Great Games. It's more Wii-action that you can shake a saber at, and it could be yours if you enter our Joyswag contest:

• Leave a comment telling us how you'd weaponize your Wii
  
• You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec)
  
• Limit 1 entry per person per calendar day
  
• This entry period ends at 12:00pm ET on Thursday, December 18th. We'll randomly select 1 winner at that time to receive one Glow Saber Duo Pack (ARV $34.99), one T-Wireless Precision Pack (ARV: $29.99), one copy of Death Jr.: Root of Evil for Wii (ARV: $39.99), one copy of Wacky Races: Crash and Dash for Wii (ARV: $39.99), and one copy of Family Party: 30 Great Games for Wii (ARV: $19.99)
  
• For a list of complete rules, click here

Is the end of 2008 approaching already? In honor of another year of gaming gone by, Joystiq is hosting five straight days of Joyswag giveaways. Check back every day for new prizes, new chances to win, and the possibility of keeping more money in your own pocket.

Joyswag Holidaze: Wii Glow Saber Duo & Precision Pack + three games originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• More Hispanics want a gift that brings their family together (89% vs. 64% of general population)
• More Hispanics are looking for gifts that people can enjoy throughout the year (95% vs. 85% of general population)
• More Hispanics are looking for affordable ways to entertain their family over the holidays (85% vs. 81% of general population)
• Many more Hispanics would rather buy one gift for their whole family than spend money on lots of individual gifts (83 % vs. 52% of general population)
• Lips en Español features 17 songs in Spanish by artists such as Alejandro Sanz, Belanova, Fanny Lu, La Factoria, Luis Miguel, Pimpinela and Selena (42.5% less songs than the all-English version!)
  

Continue reading Holiday profiling: Xbox 360 is perfect gift for Hispanics, Microsoft survey finds

Holiday profiling: Xbox 360 is perfect gift for Hispanics, Microsoft survey finds originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Black Friday: Wii crowned, economy still down originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Holidaze 2008: The Best of Cyber Monday

Holidaze 2008: The Best of Cyber Monday originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Amazon's 2008 Cyber Monday deals

Amazon's 2008 Cyber Monday deals originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 30 Nov 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Today marks the final day of our four-part Holiday Game and Rating Guide, co-developed by parent-focused site What They Play. In today's list we recommend five must own titles rated "M" for "Mature." Jump in for chainsaws and zombies and find out what you should be asking for this holiday season.

Developed by X3F and What They Play president John Davison -- you may also know him from the 1UP Yours Podcast -- the Holiday Game and Rating Guide hopes to showcase the best of each rating while helping to inform your loved ones what kind of content each game includes. It isn't meant to scare them away, in fact think of it as a walk through of what's really found in each game to help everyone make an intelligent decision this holiday season.

Click the banner below to check out our picks for titles rated "M" for "Mature."

Holiday Game and Rating Guide: Rated M for Mature originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 28 Nov 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Stay at home: Amazon's incredible Black Friday deals (and Newegg, too)

Stay at home: Amazon's incredible Black Friday deals (and Newegg, too) originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 27 Nov 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As many of you loosen your belts after a superb Thanksgiving feast we present part three of the X3F and What They Play joint holiday game and rating guide. Today we feature five titles rated "T" for "Teen" with games ranging in genre from trivia to fighting. Jump in and check out what's available and recommended for this holiday season.

Developed by X3F and What They Play president John Davison -- you may also know him from the 1UP Yours Podcast -- the Holiday Game and Rating Guide hopes to showcase the best of each rating while helping to inform your loved ones what kind of content each game includes. It isn't meant to scare them away, in fact think of it as a walk through of what's really found in each game to help everyone make an intelligent decision this holiday season.

Click the banner below to check out our picks for titles rated "T" for "Teen."

Holiday Game and Rating Guide: Rated T for Teen originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 27 Nov 2008 15:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With almost all of the big games of '08 now on shelves (we're looking at you, Prince of Persia) or available via Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network, you're left with a lot of choices. Some of them you've already bought; others you've been on the fence over; others you didn't realize were "supposed to be" any good - but, if you're anything like us, you don't want to miss any of the must-plays this year has to offer.

Enter our "meta-metareview," a list of every game released this year that's scored above 85% on average from reviewers around the world. You won't be surprised by the games that made the list; you will be surprised that some of your (and our) favorites didn't make it. Check out the full list after the break and please, before you send us a nasty email because Castle Crashers didn't make it on, remember that them's the (sometimes painful) breaks with aggregate scoring.

Some fun facts:

• October was the most crowded month for quality titles with 12 released, followed by November (8), September (7) and April (6).
• Breaking it down by console, PlayStation 3 has the most presence on the list with 22 titles, followed by Xbox 360 (20), PC (15), Wii (8), DS (7), PSP (2) and PS2 (1).
• The best-reviewed game this year? April's Grand Theft Auto IV (98%), followed by a three-way tie between LittleBigPlanet, BioShock (PS3) and World of Goo (95%) -- all three of which were released in October. Metal Gear Solid 4 and Wrath of the Lich King are the next tier below at 94%.
• Of the 55 titles listed, 12 (or approximately 22%) were not based on an existing franchise: Sins of a Solar Empire, Patapon, Professor Layton and the Curious Village, Braid, The World Ends with You, Boom Blox, World of Goo, GRID, Pure, LittleBigPlanet, Dead Space and Valkyria Chronicles.

Continue reading Meta-Metareview: The best reviewed games of 2008

Meta-Metareview: The best reviewed games of 2008 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 27 Nov 2008 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continuing our Holiday Game and Rating Guide, today we present titles rated E10+. The newest rating from the ESRB, this list features five must own titles for gamers aged 10 and older. Lace on the skates and prepare to get strategic because these recommendations cover a wide range of genres.

Developed by X3F and What They Play president John Davison -- you may also know him from the 1UP Yours Podcast -- the Holiday Game and Rating Guide hopes to showcase the best of each rating while helping to inform your loved ones what kind of content each game includes. It isn't meant to scare them away, in fact think of it as a walk through of what's really found in each game to help everyone make an intelligent decision this holiday season.

Click the banner below to check out our picks for titles rated "E10+ for Everyone Age 10 and older."

Holiday Game and Rating Guide: Rated E10+ originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 26 Nov 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Be a Guitar Hero for $59 this Black Friday originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Xbox 360 Fanboy and parental gaming site What They Play have joined forces for a special holiday guide to inform both you and the people who are deciding what to get you for the upcoming holiday season. Today through Friday, the Holiday Game and Rating Guide will showcase five recently released titles -- with some exceptions -- from each of the ESRB rating classifications to add to your collection.

Kicking off today with titles E for "Everyone," part one of the holiday game guide varies in recommendations from a sports fan's dream to ATV stunt-racing wannabes.

Developed by X3F and What They Play president John Davison -- you may also know him from the 1UP Yours Podcast -- the Holiday Game and Rating Guide hopes to showcase the best of each rating while helping to inform your loved ones what kind of content each game includes. It isn't meant to scare them away, in fact think of it as a walk through of what's really found in each game to help everyone make an intelligent decision this holiday season.

Click the banner below to check out our picks for titles rated "E for Everyone."

Continue reading Holiday Game and Rating Guide: E for Everyone

Holiday Game and Rating Guide: E for Everyone originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Note: No, the starred letters in this image don't rearrange to spell out Braid.
We don't know what you're talking about. Nothing to see here, move along.

• There are two excellent Xbox 360 deals: (1) At Target, scoop the Pro Bundle ($300; 60GB HDD) with bonus $50 gift card, which is good for: Call of Duty: World at War ($49); or an EA 2-pack: Dead Space ($30) and Burnout Paradise ($20); or Halo 3 ($30) and 3-month Xbox Live Card ($15 -- with $5 to spare!); or (2) Circuit City's Arcade Bundle ($200), which packs in an extra wireless controller and refurbished 20GB hard drive on top of the other goodies.
  
• Best Buy is the only featured retailer with a Black Friday PlayStation 3 bundle ($400) with Ratchet & Clank and the first "new" 007 on Blu-ray
  
• Sam's Club (not featured in our guide) has the only notable Wii Bundle ($425 -- not $224 as originally rumored), which includes 3 extra Wiimote-Nunchuk sets, Mario Super Sluggers and King of Clubs: Mini Golf ($115 total savings); good luck duking it out for this one!
• In case you missed one of the better third-party Wii games of the year (and plenty of Wii owners did), Boom Blox ($20) is discounted at Target
  
• Now's a great time to cop some of last year's best, like Bioshock, The Orange Box ($20 each at Circuit City) and Halo 3 ($30 at Target)
• In general, there are some great PS2 deals to be had ... if you're still living in the past-gen (and let's not forget GameStop is selling pre-owned original Xboxes and GameCubes for $40 and $30, respectively -- just don't assume your kids won't know they've recieved hand-me-downs)
  

Continue reading Holidaze 2008: Best of Black Friday

Holidaze 2008: Best of Black Friday originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 11:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Click on a store above to view its Black Friday Guide

Holidaze 2008: Black Friday Video Game Guide originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 13:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

	Elite	Pro (60GB)	Arcade	Pro (20GB)	Halo Edition	Core
Hardware
Price	$399.99	$299.99	$199.99	$349.99*	$399.99*	$279.99*
Storage	120GB HDD	60GB HDD	256MB memory card	20GB HDD	20GB HDD	none
Color	Black	White	White	White	Green/ Orange	White
HDMI port	Yes	Yes	Yes	After July 2007	Yes	After July 2007
Bundled Accessories
Ethernet cable	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Headset	Wired	Wired	No	Yes	Wired	No
Play & Charge Kit	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
Video cables	HDMI 1.2, RGB**, Composite	RGB**, Composite	Composite	RGB**, Composite	RGB**, Composite	Composite
Controller	Wireless	Wireless	Wireless	Wireless	Wireless	Wired
Other
Xbox Live	Silver, 1 Month Gold	Silver, 1 Month Gold	Silver, 1 Month Gold	Silver, 1 Month Gold	Silver, 1 Month Gold	Silver
Backwards Compatibility	Yes	Yes	No***	Yes	Yes	No***

Continue reading Holidaze 2008: Xbox 360 SKU chart, revisited

Holidaze 2008: Xbox 360 SKU chart, revisited originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

	160GB	80GB (Aug. 08)	80GB (Aug. 07)	60GB	40GB	20GB
Hardware
Model #	CECHP01	CECHK01	CECHE01	CECHA01	CECHG01	CECHB01
Price	$499.99	$399.99	$499.99*	$499.99*	$399.99*	$499.99*
Chrome trim	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
USB 2.0 slots	2	2	4	4	2	4
802.11 b/g	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Flash card reader	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No
Bundled Accessories
Ethernet cable	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Video cables	Composite	Composite	Composite	Composite	Composite	Composite
Controller	DualShock 3	DualShock 3	Sixaxis	Sixaxis	Sixaxis	Sixaxis
Backwards Compatibility
PS2	No	No	Software**	Yes (NTSC), Software** (PAL)	No	Yes
PS One	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Continue reading Holidaze 2008: PlayStation 3 SKU chart, revisited

Holidaze 2008: PlayStation 3 SKU chart, revisited originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

UK shoppers try to hunt down Wii Fit for this holiday originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

EA, Activision churning out 75% of Q3 console games originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading December NPD: No wonder you're broke this month

December NPD: No wonder you're broke this month originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 17 Jan 2008 19:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Your 2007 year-end review originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 31 Dec 2007 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

How was your Christmas? Hopefully, it was better than this kids'. A local FOX News report highlights one kid's unfortunate ordeal. Upon opening his PS3 box, he found a very heavy phone book, no PS3 in sight! Granted, a phone book has tons of replayability. But, it just doesn't play games as well as a real PS3. The family will be going back to the store they bought the system from. But, what possible explanation will the store be able to come up with?

[Thanks, Hunter L.!]

Christmas surprise has kid getting phone book instead of PS3 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 26 Dec 2007 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Need for Speed: ProStreet, Madden NFL 08, Call of Duty4 and WWE Smackdown vs RAW 2008 are all on sale for $38 each.

• SEGA Rally Revo, Motorstorm, Nascar 08, DiRT, Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, Stranglehold, and Resistance are all on sale for $50 each.
• Oblivion is on sale for $24.

• Stranglehold, Conan, and Ghost Recon 2: Advanced Warfighter are on sale for $40 each.
• The Simpsons Game and Assassin's Creed are on sale for $38 each.

Last-minute PS3 shopping deals originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 23 Dec 2007 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Stores worried about their DS supply originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 18 Dec 2007 11:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Virtually give a Virtual Console gift with video originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 07 Dec 2007 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Joystiq Holidaze: Gaming Hots and Nots

Joystiq Holidaze: Gaming Hots and Nots originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 23 Nov 2007 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

	80GB	60GB	40GB	20GB
Hardware
Model #	CECHE01	CECHA01	CECHG01	CECHB01
Price	$499.99	$499.99*	$399.99	$499.99*
Chrome trim	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
USB 2.0 slots	4	4	2	4
802.11 b/g	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Flash card reader	Yes	Yes	No	No
Bundled Accessories
Ethernet cable	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Video cables	Composite	Composite	Composite	Composite
Backwards Compatibility
PlayStation 2	Software**	Yes (NTSC), Software** (PAL)	No	Yes
PS One	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Continue reading Joystiq Holidaze: explaining the PS3 SKUs

Joystiq Holidaze: explaining the PS3 SKUs originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 22 Nov 2007 12:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

	Elite	Halo Edition	Pro	Arcade	Core
Hardware
Price	$449.99	$399.99	$349.99	$279.99	$199.99*
Storage	120GB HDD	20GB HDD	20GB HDD	256MB memory card	none
Color	Black	Green/Orange	White	White	White
HDMI port	Yes	Yes	Certain models**	Yes	Certain models**
Bundled Accessories
Ethernet cable	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Headset	Wired	Wired	Wired	No	No
Play & Charge Kit	No	Yes	No	No	No
Video cables	HDMI 1.2, Component, Composite	Component, Composite	Component, Composite	Composite	Composite
Controller	Wireless	Wireless	Wireless	Wireless	Wired
Other
Xbox Live	Silver, 1 Month Gold	Silver, 1 Month Gold	Silver, 1 Month Gold	Silver, 1 Month Gold	Silver
Backwards Compatibility	Yes	Yes	Yes	No***	No***

Continue reading Joystiq Holidaze: explaining the Xbox 360 SKUs

Joystiq Holidaze: explaining the Xbox 360 SKUs originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 22 Nov 2007 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Joystiq Holidaze: The $500 budget

Joystiq Holidaze: The $500 budget originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 21 Nov 2007 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Rock Band Stratocaster	Yes	No*	No**
Guitar Hero 3 Les Paul	Yes	Yes	Yes
Guitar Hero 2 Xplorer	Yes	Yes	Yes

Continue reading Joystiq Holidaze: the guitar compatibility guide

Joystiq Holidaze: the guitar compatibility guide originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 21 Nov 2007 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Joystiq Holidaze: best of Black Friday

Joystiq Holidaze: best of Black Friday originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 21 Nov 2007 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.