Black Friday 2023 Was A Letdown For Game Hunting, Mostly... And A Retail Physical Video Games Update

[@gp63]

The prices this year made it easy for me to prioritize working on my backlog. Black Friday was a big 'meh' this year.

[@CincyGameHunting]

I second that. Probably the most underwhelming Black Friday I’ve ever done.

[@MAGNUMMU5TACHE]

These days I'm being forced to buy physical games online because the stores never have the games in stock. It's only getting worse.

[@CincyGameHunting]

I’m mostly just hitting up my local stores and then occasionally I’ll get lucky and find something on clearance at the big box stores. But with the stock shrinking at the big box stores, it may not be much of a clearance option much longer. Though it does seem like Walmart is keeping physical alive for now.

[@dmo848]

Same here. Got god of war Ragnarok for 20$on gamefly. Untouched disks and kena for 10$on eBay brand new

[@unlodead9045]

I enjoy your videos and the effort you put into informing the gaming community of where to find some of the best deals on games. Thank you. On the physical stock topic, it’s definitely moving in a digital direction. However, I also can’t help but wonder how much the increase in theft and shoplifting has contributed to moving the digital era in a little prematurely. Just food for thought. Anyway, thanks again for your content. Happy Holidays!

[@CincyGameHunting]

Yeah, Best Buy has been pretty proactive about trying to deter theft and I’m sure that has to do with what the paper printouts is all about

[@BanditsBest686]

thats the whole idea, when they passed these laws to allow shoplifting, was a catalyst to get the new "digital" and "digital ID" purchasing in stores to be implemented quicker.

[@PhoenixResale]

The man is back!

[@CincyGameHunting]

I never truly left, just slowed WAY the heck down, haha

[@warmsignal]

I recently went into a new Target store that just opened up and the game section only has room for maybe 10 games per console, and half of em were empty. I already miss walking into a store and seeing a big display of different games, really haven't seen that since before the pandemic. I remember the Walmart displays used to be multiple isles of these big 12 foot glass cases, and GameStop used to be wall to wall with bins in the middle full of games. Now it's all gone. Order online only for most games. How much longer will we even have that? Walmart here has slowed a lot in the games department. Small cases, mostly empty. A lot of the stock is the same stuff for 3 or 4 years, they don't get a majority of the new releases. It has be a really hyped game. The budget section you showed is the same titles as mine, the very same ones year after year. Sad state of affairs.

[@CincyGameHunting]

Yeah, target just renovated a whole bunch of their stores and made the video game sections super tiny. There are still a few in town that haven’t renovated but I’m sure they’re not far behind.

[@BanditsBest686]

best buy was wild and crazy, im guessing they did the paper thing so to prevent theft one time I was at bestbuy 1-2 yrs ago, it was like their game sections were in dis-array...no games had prices on them what so ever. but they still had physical games on the shelf.

[@itsjustagamechannel]

Very nice deals! That store looks kickbutt too. Wish I was in the area to pay them a visit.

[@Southwest-Michigan-Sales-LLC]

One of the largest reasons many are getting rid of games is because the profits are so bad on them. I use to own a brick and mortar store for 11 years and closed it in 2014. I tried to buy new games for my store and the cost was $53.75 each plus shipping with a 25 game minimum order. It averages out to about $56 per game and you would retail it for $59.99. It isn't worth it. Also big retailers often get paid for shelf space from some manufacturers. I don't know if they do on games, though. I am thinking they don't and was looking at them as a loss leader type product just to get people through the door. With more online I am guessing they are happy to see physical go away. Myself personally I am not happy. I went back into business but, now online only. Many aspects to retail many don't know or realize until you are in it. I know I sure learned a lot.

[@CincyGameHunting]

I’ve heard the same thing from a friend of mine who runs the video game store. The profit margin on new games is so minimal. It’s not even really worth having too many of them. He usually just keeps a couple on the shelf to lure people in to browse around.

[@Southwest-Michigan-Sales-LLC]

@@CincyGameHunting ya exactly. Most people don't realize that.

[@GacktCognac]

I recently got the terminator game as well. been wanting that since it has all the dlc and fixed some issues. I think the game will become rare in the future. Happy holidays man

[@CincyGameHunting]

It’s definitely one of the harder games to come by. I’ve been looking for it for a while now and I have never seen it. Used in any stores anywhere in my area until Black Friday. I think Best Buy still has it on their website for like $50. I was kind of hoping to hold out for Best Buy to put it on clearance but now I don’t have to!!!

[@ivanobavaro3417]

Great way to start Sunday morning!! Wadddupppp brothaaaaaa

[@CincyGameHunting]

Hey bro, Hope you had a great holiday!!!

[@brandonsclips7741]

Love your Christmas tree! You seem like a chill dude so you got another sub!

[@CincyGameHunting]

Glad to have you here man. I don’t upload as much as I used to, but I do try to put something up but once a month. I do post a lot of deals on Instagram and Twitter (or X nowadays). Be sure to follow me on there to catch deals as they pop up.

[@AuthenticFinds]

Love watching your videos for inspiration and motivation to want to get out there and add to my collection! I really like how you talk to the camera and explain your thought process! Happy holidays

[@CincyGameHunting]

Were you able to find any good deals over the holiday?

[@angelozicarelli541]

I remember back in either 2021 or 2020 GameStop had a few 1st party Nintendo switch games for $26 a piece. I was able to get a 2nd copy of ZBOTW and fire emblem 3 houses, as well as Xenoblade chronicles!! That was an awesome sale!! I guess with the ongoing economic hardship we wont be seeing a sale that good ever again

[@CincyGameHunting]

The problem is, if you don’t have decent sales to lure people in your business is going to suffer in the long run. Even if it’s only just for one day, it’s a great way to start pushing merchandise out the door.

[@lile3164]

Toys R Us use to do the paper thing for games back in the day too

[@CincyGameHunting]

It definitely gave me Toys “R” Us vibes

[@mjdf122]

Cincy game hunting is back enjoy your holiday season hunting

[@CincyGameHunting]

Not much hunting going on right now with the lack of decent sales during the post Thanksgiving rush. Hopefully we’ll get some GameStop promotions in the next few weeks.

[@mjdf122]

⁠@@CincyGameHuntingI agree not the best Black Friday and holiday season deals hopefully in due time

[@4d8racing]

My local Wal-Mart I'm good friends with department manager. He said 2024 no more dvds/blurays sometime in 2024.

[@jorgeadame5019]

Great pick ups!

[@KMACKTIME]

Still holding out hope for ohtani to cubs

[@CincyGameHunting]

It’s not over till it’s over. Until I see a headline that he has signed with somebody else, there is still hope…

[@Goldrush81]

those pieces of paper is what gamestop should use, instead of selling last display case copies as new

[@ssmelche]

I went to Walmart and they had no movies at all for Black Friday. They had a tiny cardboard box of video games half of which were plastic cards redeem for digital games. Target had a very small selection of movies in a cardboard display near the front of the store. With Best Buy getting out of selling movies soon this may have been the last black Friday for DVDs and Blu Ray. Maybe we still get Amazon and Crunchyroll deals but it probably wont be the great discounts we are used to. Game deals were disappointing. I remember getting free Spider-Man with a PS4 for $200 and most PlayStation games were $10-$20, now youre lucky to get $30 games and the really big ones arw $40+.

[@CincyGameHunting]

I bought that same Spider-Man PS4 slim deal from Walmart a few years back. That was probably one of the best deals I had seen on a console in a while. Comically, you couldn’t find a slim for less than $300 even without a game after that.

[@gregmason2260]

I feel like Black Friday was terrible this year for gaming. Got Kirby for my daughter. Part of the problem was it was a down year last year for gaming. Maybe next year?

[@CincyGameHunting]

I can’t imagine it getting any better though is the problem… I was very disappointed with GameStop’s offerings as well this year. In the end, I’m happy that my local mom and Pop store was doing a sweet sale.

[@user-uv7ip4qz5r]

Black Friday died years ago. More and more stores are getting rid of games and media altogether

[@CincyGameHunting]

You’re not wrong…

[@hydeks]

Black Friday isnt dead, it's just changing with the times to be more online/ digital deals

[@uncledregaming7746]

You are so right about Meijer they have severely condensed the game section

[@CincyGameHunting]

It’s super depressing compared to three years ago where they had giant glass cases against the back wall.

[@jordandebest3490]

They took the fun out of it completely

[@CincyGameHunting]

Very underwhelming

[@dmo848]

U liked standing on long lines just to get in a store. I know i didn't😂

[@jordandebest3490]

@@dmo848 no I liked finding cool items at good prices

[@Cookie_Slayer405]

I agree Black Friday deals just weren't that great especially in stores sadly. I have lived in Cincinnati for like 5 years and didn't know paper street!

[@CincyGameHunting]

You should definitely check them out. They’re right there on Montgomery Road across from the plaza that has the Kroger. Their main focus is comic books, but their video game selection is better than most. As you can see in the video though, a lot of the stuff is piled up on countertops because they just don’t have enough space to put everything on shelves. And the funny thing is they just moved to the bigger store about a year or two ago. It was even more cramped in the older one down the street.

[@treykay9923]

Same Cincy I always holdout to find games cheaper at pawn shops discount stores etc but you found some gold prices man good scores especially god of war

[@CincyGameHunting]

A game will always be cheap if you can wait long enough

[@jordandebest3490]

Retailers getting rid of reasons for you to browse their stores and products will backfire on them in a few years, and also your target looks stocked compared to mine which isn’t saying much

[@CincyGameHunting]

Yeah, honestly I wasn’t seeing anything in the ads leading up to Black Friday that made me want to even go to the stores, so why would I want to even bother with it? And Walmart website is a mess with all the resellers, so I don’t even bother with that anymore either.

[@jordandebest3490]

@@CincyGameHunting Walmart didn’t even have their DVD section on sale

[@hoimanchen752]

Best buy was great for me this year for games I didn't have . Other than that everywhere else was really bad

[@jimmyjay689]

Doesnt really bother me that the stores dont have merchandise...think they will go the Amazon route...order online, and deliver to home or in-store pickup...better for both parties

[@CincyGameHunting]

Call me nostalgic, I love going to stores and looking on the shelves and seeing what’s available. Probably just my age talking though.

[@BanditsBest686]

screw amazon, i dont shop from amazon they are part of the problem knocking out mom and pop stores

[@E-Z_Gamerz]

Did you know…there was never a goat sim 2, they skipped 2 as a joke, I also wrote gaming off the grid to cover the digital game scene. I was talking about it when I first started my videos…hardly anyone was talking about it…I remember when Gackt came over…we were talking about how in one of his shorts…he was saying the cards are what people will be collecting lol…its crazy and scary…what I heard was the people who made balders gate 3 said from now on depending on how digital sales will go they will make a physical copy for collectors, but what would that do when systems become digital. We will have the disc but nothing to play it on.

[@CincyGameHunting]

Definitely didn’t realize that till now. I had played the original on gamepass a while back. Not gonna lie, I actually preferred the deeeeeeeeer simulator better. Nothing like trying to take out a giant koala with antler guns. Haha

[@dabombbolain]

Wow nice 👍

[@jimmyjay689]

Like A Dragon Ishin was $20 on best buy...great price, but sold out...I saw a copy on ur shelf

[@nickbrown801]

It’s on gamepass tho

[@CincyGameHunting]

That’s one that I actually thought about grabbing, but it was sold out before I could get to it. The video you saw from Best Buy was from a couple weeks ago. I believe I honestly downloaded it on my Series X on Game Pass as well, but with all the games I have downloaded on there who knows if I’ll ever get to it before my subscription lapses, haha

[@jimmyjay689]

​@@nickbrown801dont play gamepass...havent used xbox this generation yet

[@jimmyjay689]

I let my Ps Plus subscription lapse...gonna work on my backlog

[@jonbongrovie68]

Regarding the lack of sales, my response is to just simply refuse to buy them. I'm a lot cheaper than you and look for stuff 10 and under and so needless to say I don't find much these days! Also, welcome to the world of PC gaming when it comes to physical media disappearing! This happened years ago to PC gamers, Steam basically killed the resale market because any physical games that are still sold are tied to a Steam account and cannot be used again. The only thing they have going for them is that they have MASSIVE sales on games ( like AAA games for a few bucks ) after like 5-7 years so if you are patient enough you can still get cheap games. The console makers have wanted to kill the resale/thrifting market for years and they are slowly getting their wish unfortunately.

[@CincyGameHunting]

Yeah, I’m with you if it’s not cheap enough to my liking I’m not even gonna bother. I think if gaming consoles ever go completely digital I’m just gonna stick to my steam deck.

[@IREDxIKLUTCHZ]

Nice pick ups man! God of War Ragnarok is so good brotha

[@CincyGameHunting]

That’s my big pick up of the weekend. I had been holding out praying that I was going to find it for under $20 soon.

[@IREDxIKLUTCHZ]

@@CincyGameHunting Gonna tug at the heart strings man..my runner up for GOTY last year! If you haven't gotten Elden Ring that needs to be a pick up one day!

[@CincyGameHunting]

I grabbed Elden ring from the Meijer clearance blitz for like six dollars a couple months ago. I’m not a big souls/borne guy, but I’ll get around to it sooner or later.

[@MotherRat-ii6ji]

12:56 could be because of theft unfortunately.

[@CincyGameHunting]

Yeah, I thought about that after I posted the video about all the flash mobs that are being stupid stealing all the stuff from stores

[@89gamingandcollectibles]

I just don’t understand the pricing at some of these places. I went to Walmart on Black Friday and they had a copy of Madden 21 on “clearance” for like 20 bucks. They should be giving those away at this point.

[@CincyGameHunting]

I’ve seen that in a couple of my stores too. In the past usually at the end of the season most of the Walmarts in my area would throw the old sports games on sale for like $5 to $10. A two or three-year-old Madden game for $20 is ridiculous.

[@GibbsBro]

I thought I was crazy the last 2 days, thinking these deals were far below par. I feel validated now! 😅 I snagged only 3 games this year. $15 - Fire Emblem Warriors 3 Hopes - Amazon $20 - Nicktoons Kart Racer Collection - Walmart $40 - Metal Gear Solid Collection 1 - Best Buy Always happy to see a Sunday motivational video from Cincy. Hope all is well bro.

[@CincyGameHunting]

Yeah, I was very underwhelmed this year. I missed the years in the past where there were tons of 10 to 15 to 20 dollar games everywhere. There were some decent console deals though, but I definitely was not in the market for anything like that.

[@itsyourboyyoungb]

Only place I get my games are at Walmart sometimes there cheaper than my local gamestop only places where I live sell video games is walmart and gamestop I got maybe 3 pawn shops

[@CincyGameHunting]

It’s been a while since we’ve had a good clearance blitz at Walmart. That could be the reason why I’m seeing so much overstock on the bottom shelves. Hopefully we’ll get some clearance deals soon.

[@mattfiorello1885]

Hi Cincy Game Hunting You Should Try To Pick Up Disney Dreamvalley And Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Volume One For Ps5 In The Future

[@CincyGameHunting]

How much were they? I usually refuse to pay more than $20 for games. And honestly I actually own all the metal gear solid games on the legacy collection for PS3. I know it’s kind of an older way to have them but I found it at pawnshop for like five dollars and all the codes still worked, can’t complain about that.

[@mattfiorello1885]

Hi Cincygamehunting Try Game Stop

[@timelymirror7826]

Walmart really has a big switch stock

[@CincyGameHunting]

The one thing I have noticed most about Walmart is the fact that they have converted a lot of the stores from having the floor to ceiling cabinets to just the smaller cabinets in the middle of the aisles

[@traviswilliams5624]

I would go to pawn shops to get video games and if one or two games came in i would buy in a minute 🤔

[@mingamer6752]

On my country we call it black day

[@E-Z_Gamerz]

Ghostbusters spirits unleashed on switch was or is 20 at GameStop.

[@CincyGameHunting]

Not a bad deal but I think I picked it up on PS4 for like $15 a while back at target. And actually a friend of mine gave me a PS5 copy of it the other day for free. Go figure…

[@E-Z_Gamerz]

@@CincyGameHunting ya, I have two copies on ps5/4, wanted it on the switch cause obviously it will be more collectible, and little Eli can play cause it’s cross play, even on the switch. So all 3 of us can catch some ghosts. I triple dipped…

[@Waxson77]

Yep, Kirby was the only deal I picked up as well….Black Friday might be dead

[@CincyGameHunting]

Feeling the same way…

[@dmo848]

Found forbidden West for 20$at Target

[@CincyGameHunting]

That one was definitely a good deal considering it’s got the free PS5 upgrade. I picked that one up on over at Meijer when they were cleansing a bunch of games out. Glad you were able to snag it.

[@solidsnake9933]

Worst Black Friday… no deals

[@CincyGameHunting]

#Truth

[@lggsretrofinds4461]

currrent black friday free shoes in the carpark go find them haha

[@CincyGameHunting]

I feel sorry for the poor person’s feet that decided to dispatch those shoes…

[@Lost_Kappa]

Clearly this is done to reduce likelihood of store theft

[@CincyGameHunting]

Yeah, I’m sure it is. I thought about the flash mob thing after I posted the video. We haven’t had a ton of that in Cincinnati. I heard Kenwood Mall got hit in once or twice but that’s about it.

[@DominiqueWillkins]

Black Friday is dead now. Besides e-commerces and digital stores taking over, the deals and offers from black Friday are a merely joke. You can get better deals any other day, just need to be patient and look up for them. Also, e-commerces will increased the price weeks before BF and CM, but when BF weeks comes, they set the prices down and just label them as BF offer, which is a very shitty practices. After BF and CM are over, prices go back to regular, they wait for 2-3 weeks and they put them back on same discounted price as BF/CM.

[@FranchisePlayyer]

This years deals were pretty bad. I was able to pickup Super Mario Wonder for $39.99 but that’s about it

[@CincyGameHunting]

Where did you see that one? Was that one of the QVC promotional things?

[@FranchisePlayyer]

@@CincyGameHunting the home shopping network site had a $20 off promo that you could use with free shipping

[@Bond007er]

Goat simulator 3 is good i have to replace my copy but i have almost everything done on it on series x

[@CincyGameHunting]

I played the original on Game Pass a while back, and my son thought it was the funniest thing ever

[@kevincombs9264]

Everything is locked up because of the flash mobs/retail theft

[@CincyGameHunting]

Haven’t seen a ton of those in the Cincinnati area. I do know that it happened once at the Kenwood Mall at the Versace store I think.

[@timelymirror7826]

those BB shelves are so empty

[@CincyGameHunting]

I mean, honestly, they were empty outside of some random pieces of paper inside of lockboxes, ha ha

[@alexander2685]

Our walmart is a different story hardly anything I think your walmart is over stocked but the wind of change is coming for you..☝👊

[@CincyGameHunting]

Yeah, there are a few Walmarts in my area that are not stocked the way that others are but for the most part it seems like most of the Walmarts do you have a good amount of stock on the bottom of each shelf

[@WhostheMAC1]

I had to work but I heard it was Horrible!

[@xavilopez4716]

Black Friday ain’t what it used to be . 😢

[@CincyGameHunting]

It most definitely isn’t. I miss getting up early as hell in the morning to grab some good $10-$15 video games. This year it seems like everything that’s a good deal is like $30-$40. That’s not a deal to me.

[@xavilopez4716]

@@CincyGameHunting yea all those great days are over done the midnight releases of games is no more the midnight door busters all those exciting times are gone and yes Black Friday deals 5 $ off 10 $ that’s not a Black Friday sale . Happy holidays friend . Stay safe 🍻🍻🙏

[@AlfredArmenta-xl3bx]

Yeah games jump to 10$ too 50$ USD used games I guess the Blu ray peasants finally catched up to Blu ray and buying another 20 years old technology 😂😂😂 GameStop is happy got rich peasants 😂

[@Bond007er]

Walmart is doing away with games bestbuy still selling games but not movies gamestop going to be the only place to buy video games from

[@CincyGameHunting]

From everything I’ve seen or heard Walmart is not giving up on games yet. I think that was an erroneous report that was put out. If I do hear anything about them giving up on video games, I will definitely let people know though.

[@joshrush9867]

whodey

[@CincyGameHunting]

Bear down!!! Haha

[@neoknight3320]

I unfortunately think this is the beginning of the end for Black Friday, concerning movies and especially games. it will all move to online.

[@CincyGameHunting]

I know, it’s kind of a bummer