Last updated on December 10th, 2021
Yes, it’s time once again here in the US for “Black Friday.” Black Friday, as we recall, is nickname retailers have given to the Friday after Thanksgiving, when they supposedly earn a profit (“in the black”) for the year. It’s also the biggest shopping day of the year, and usually has bargains on various things, including electronics. (I wrote more about previous Black Friday experiences in last year’s post).
This year’s electronics are the usual low-to-mid-end items, of course: laptops, desktops, video game systems, Blu-Ray and DVD players, etc. Of particular interest to me this year is video game systems. I’m thinking of buying one for myself (as a “gift to myself”), having grown a bit bored with playing 90s-era “Mario Kart” in emulation on my computer (or Solitaire). I’m trying to decide between the Nintendo Wii or Microsoft’s Xbox 360 (not interested in the Playstation 3, especially after Sony’s security breach ineptness).
I haven’t bought a video game system before, since I admittedly don’t have the strongest game playing skills (especially given how complicated some of the most popular video games seem to be these days). Still, some newer games are of interest to me: the newest Mario Kart (Wii only, I know) and some superhero/fighting games. There’s also the possibility of playing games online, though not sure if my Internet connection’s sufficient for that. The Xbox strikes my interest for its ability to play streaming media, as well as one’s own videos (via its DVD player or from one’s computer/a hard drive). I’d been considering buying a box (like the Roku) for streaming media to my TV, but if a video game system could do the same thing *and* the benefit of, well, playing video games…
Wal-Mart’s Black Friday sales flyer shows the Wii will be on sale for $100, while the Xbox 360 (the 4GB model) is on sale for $200 (and comes with a $50 Wal-Mart gift card).
For everything that’s on sale from stores on Black Friday this year, I’d suggest these two sites: Black Friday 2011 and blackfriday.info (yes, .info…).