No PS4 Pro Black Friday Deals Among Holiday Discounts

Black Friday is just two weeks away, and over the past week or so most major retailers have been releasing their Black Friday ads early.

When it comes to gaming, the likes of Costco, Walmart, Target and Best Buy will be slashing the prices of some pretty major titles.

But what about consoles? Specifically, where are all the PS4 Pro Black Friday deals?

Those who have combed through the leaked Black Friday ads might have noticed that, despite great deals on Xbox and PS4 Slim systems, discounts on the PS4 Pro are nowhere to be found.

Today we’re going to take a quick look at the state of the PS4 Pro this holiday season, try to determine whether it’s worth waiting, and show you how you can still get a great deal on the console through the Gamestop Pro Day Sale before Black Friday even begins.

What A Black Friday Video Game Console Deal Is Supposed To Look Like:

Now, video games themselves go on sale often enough. And the rate at which even the newest games depreciate in value (aka get real cheap real fast) can be staggering.

However, video game console deals are a bit less common, and a lot of people in the market for a new system tend to wait for major deal days like Black Friday to get the most bits for their buck.

Those not looking for the Pro model of the PS4 are definitely in luck. Multiple retailers are advertising the PS4 Slim bundled with the extremely popular Spider-Man game from Insomniac for just $199 on Black Friday. That’s already $100 off on the console, packed with a $60 game.

The Xbox One S bundles are seeing comparable savings of about $100, putting them between $199 and $229 with bundled games.

Perhaps most notably, the extremely powerful Xbox One X, the only console capable of native 4K gaming, is going to be on sale for $399, matching the current price point of the PS4 Pro.

Finally, the Nintendo Switch is not looking at any price drops, as is usual for Nintendo. However, some retailers will be offering it for the usual price of $300 bundled with a popular game.

And Then There Was One.

Okay, so why are there no PS4 Pro deals?

For the past few weeks, analysts have predicted that the PS4 Pro would see a drop in price to as low as $275, a $125 discount. Yet so far this has not been reflected in any major Black Friday catalog.

While the Nintendo Switch isn’t seeing a price drop either, it’s at least being advertised. So it’s curious that the same isn’t true for the PS4 Pro.

Does this mean the PS4 Pro won’t be receiving any discounts? Well, not necessarily.

First of all, Black Friday is a huge event, and hundreds of items go on sale. Perhaps more than can fill a printed advert. So it is possible that the Black Friday ads that have leaked are incomplete.

However, this doesn’t explain why the Pro is the only console to be omitted from the ads, or why it has been omitted from every ad.

The Red Dead Factor.

Currently, the only way to buy a PS4 Pro at its suggested retail price is in the form of the Red Dead Redemption 2 bundle. It costs $399 and comes packed with a $60 game that likely won’t see a drop in price for quite some time due to popularity (the developer Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V is currently the highest-grossing piece of media on the planet).

But $399 with Red Dead–that’s a pretty good value already.

The thing is, that bundle has been selling very well. And if Sony continues to sell the PS4 Pro in that form through the holiday weekend, it’s very possible that stores will simply see no reason to reduce the price further.

That said, the PS4 Slim Spider-Man bundle being advertised for Black Friday hasn’t even released yet. So, if a new PS4 Pro bundle is released by Black Friday, replacing the more “valuable” Red Dead bundle, it’s still possible that that new bundle will go on sale, and that retailers just don’t know what that new bundle will be.

What About Gamestop? They Sell Games.

Right. While many major retailers have announced their Black Friday deals on video games, Gamestop’s Black Friday ad has yet to emerge. However, as of now, they are some of the best proof we have that the PS4 Pro will see some kind of a drop in price on Black Friday.

Last year, Gamestop was one of the only places one could find a PS4 Pro on sale on Black Friday.

The sale only offered a savings of $50, putting it at $349. But this was pretty remarkable considering the PS4 Pro was only a year old and that the Xbox One X had only just released.

Chances are, we will see a sale on the PS4 Pro at Gamestop again this year. But whether that sale is on the the Red Dead Redemption 2 bundle or on an unannounced iteration of the console is yet to be seen.

And In The Mean Time?

So, speaking of Gamestop, there are still some ways to get a pretty good deal on a PS4 Pro console before Black Friday has even begun, especially if you own a base PS4 and if you have yet to buy Red Dead Redemption 2.

Today through Sunday (that’s November 9-11), Gamestop is offering a special Pro Days Sale deal where PowerUp Pro members can get $200 off a PS4 Pro with a trade-in of a standard PS4 or PS4 Slim, or $250 dollars off with the trade-in of an Xbox One X (if for some reason you wanted to do that).

So, if you already have a PS4 and you’re looking to upgrade to the Pro, the Pro becomes just $199. And if you were counting on getting Red Dead Redemption 2 at full price anyway, that basically boils down to just $140 (if you’re optimistic enough to look at it that way.

Keep in mind, however, that this trade-in deal is only available to Pro members and that a Pro membership itself costs $15 per year.

That said, the membership sort of pays for itself if you’re making this trade, since right now the trade-in value on a base PS4 or PS4 Slim at Gamestop is $175.

So… Should You Wait To See What Happens On Black Friday Or Buy Now?

This is not an easy question to answer a crystal ball or some magic runes. But chances are we will see some kind of sale on the PS4 Pro two weeks from now. 

The question is whether it will actually be worth the wait, even in the best scenario.

If the PS4 Pro Red Dead Redemption 2 bundle gets replaced by something else and the PS4 Pro price drop is only $50 (and you were planning to buy Red Dead anyway), there won’t be much benefit in waiting at all.

And the Red Dead bundle goes down to $350 but you already have a PS4 that you can trade in to Gamestop this weekend, then only come out ahead a few dollars if you wait, if you come out ahead at all.

Furthermore, Black Friday sales, particularly on popular electronics, tend to be elusive, as stock can run out very quickly. So for some, there may be a certain comfort in getting the PS4 Pro now and avoiding the holiday rush. The dollar amount you put on that comfort, however, is up to you.

On the other hand, the analysts who predicted a $125 price drop on the PS4 might just know something. Not to mention, the PS4 Pro recently received a price drop in Japan, bringing it down to about 350 U.S. dollars. It’s likely that we will see a similar price drop in the West in the months to come.

In The End…

Black Friday sales are a gamble (especially ones that don’t get advertised). If you wait a couple more weeks to act, you might just get lucky.

But those are just some facts to ponder over as you make your decision, or to perhaps help explain why we have yet to see any advertised deals on the Pro.

While we can’t see the future here, we can do our best to keep you informed.

Let us know down in the comments what you decide to do, or if you have any suggestions for people who aren’t sure.

Have A Question? Ask Jessica!

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