We are on the far side of the hill that is Black Friday 2014. Looking back over the battlefield, let us take stock of the lessons learned and money lost in our annual clash of consumerism.
Wally World's Cyber Monday Deals Make Buying A PS4 Even Easier
The Xbox One, that 'love/hate' next gen system, was the clear winner at retailers this year. According to InfoScout, which tracks sales trends in the industry, the Xbox One claimed 53% of the market share here in the States. Added with the Xbox 360, Xbox owns the market with 62% total of all consoles sold.
Additionally, due to the lack of new console releases this year, bundles were big. Again the Xbox was victorious at major retailers Walmart and Target, where the bundled versions of consoles were the top sellers at both outlets. Reports of terrible glitches aside, the Xbox One bundle that sold the most? Assassin's Creed Unity.
Amazon's Cyber Monday Deals Are Real, Spectacular And Ever Expanding
The PlayStation 4 console bundle with GTA V and The Last of Us Remastered staked a claim at #2.
PlayStation continues to dominate the market, with last reporting as of August 2014 putting the next gen Sony console at 10 million, with the Xbox One at "roughly half of that". But in terms of immediate purchasing power, $329 for an Xbox One versus $399 for a PS4, it's easy to see why Microsoft's beefy system may have been the winner during these brutal economic times. Why pay more when I can essentially get 95% of the exact same product, regardless of system?
Black Friday is the first big shopping day for Christmas, and as such, people are looking to buy family and friends gifts. Most people hanging out in line weren't purchasing a console for themselves and unsurprisingly, the Wii U was overwhelmingly bought by parents for their kids.
On the other hand, people purchased the PS4 for themselves more than 50% of the time, according to InfoScout's numbers.
What did you buy this Black Friday? And why? Tell us in the comments.