Traditionalists might balk, but the holiday shopping season is already underway. Skeptical? Head to your local department store and you'll be inundated by Christmas trees and ornaments. Bargain hunters, though, know that the real deals are more than a month away.
Black Friday, traditionally, is when retailers truly slash prices. Early birds can save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars off of their holiday bills. Switched.com checked with a few elves, who gave a sneak peek at what you can expect deal-wise this year.
Blu-ray Players and Movies: Blu-ray is shaping up to be the biggest door buster of this year's Black Friday. de Grandpre expects at least one retailer will offer a Blu-ray player for just $49. Look for bargains on Blu-ray films as well, with last year's hit titles (such as "Iron Man") to fall as low as $5.
Laptops: With the proliferation of Netbooks this year, it's never been easier to find affordable portable computing, but Dan de Grandpre, CEO of DealNews.com says it will get even cheaper on Black Friday. Look for well-equipped Netbooks to sell for $199 – and basic 15" laptops to go for as little as $249.
HDTVs (Pretty big): The holidays are typically the best time to buy a new TV – and Black Friday is the time to do it. If you're looking for a normal sized set, you're in luck. Piper Jaffrey analyst Mitch Kaiser says he expects to see 32-inch LCD sets for as low as $299. GottaDeal.com is estimating 37-inch plasma and LCD sets will fall to $399 or less.
HDTVs (Really big): Need something bigger? How about a 46-47 inch LCD set for $599 – a 25 percent savings? Or a 52-inch LCD for $999? Dealnews says you can expect both. Plasma deals will be a little harder to come by, but a 50-inch set should run roughly $899.
HD Camcorders: You've wanted to shoot your child's school play in HD for a while, but haven't been able to spring for the pricey camcorder. This might be the year. Low-end, flash-based 720p models could drop as low as $60 (though you won't be able to zoom with those). Expect a high quality 1080p HD camcorder for $349.
GPS: While navigation systems have dramatically expanded their reach this year – even making it onto the iPhone – there's still a market for car-based systems. Dealnews predicts you'll be able to find a no-name entry-level system for $49, while a Garmin or Tom-Tom brand will be as low as $69.
Digital Picture Frames: Showcasing your digital pictures consistently gets cheaper. This year, skip the 7-inch screens and focus on the 8- or 9-inch ones, which should be available on Black Friday for as little as $30.
Monitors: Computer monitors might not be the sexiest of gifts, but they're usually welcomed with open arms – and they'll be cheap this year. Name brand 22-inch LCD models may go for as low as $99, while 24-inch models will drop below $150.
Memory: Don't know anyone who needs a monitor? External hard drives are always popular, since they're an easy way to back-up data. Dealnews expects a 1TB drive to fall as low as $49 this year. Gottadeal is looking for 8GB flash drives to hit $15.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ramone said 4:45PM on 11-01-2007
Did you even play Super Columbine RPG? How was it "were obviously made by guys living in Mom's basement with way too much time on their hands"? The game was about showing that the tormentors and the killers were wrong in their own way. The tormentors were wrong for treating people like they were sub-human and the killers were wrong for not finding another way to solve their problems. It also shows that what kind of music, movies and games you play ultimately won't affect you, crazy people are just that, crazy.
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SeeLifeInCode said 9:38AM on 11-02-2007
Correction: It's "Custer's Revenge" (not Cluster's)
Also there were many more adult titles for the Atari 2600 from a company called Mystique, including Beat'em and Eat'em, may be the most disgusting game of all time.
This article's history seems pretty...abridged. Of course it includes the obligatory Doom and Mortal Kombat, and it should as they are influential, but there other games before them that they were influenced by, and there have been may games since then influenced by them.
Including these homebrew titles, such as V-Tech rampage, kind of makes them the Paris Hilton's of gaming (undeserved celebrity) because while they are available to anyone, they are not well known commercial games. Anyone who sits down with a game and takes an hour or two to learn how to use a level editor can make their own violent fan fiction game too, so it's not that these games are remarkable or unique. They are just in incredibly bad taste.
I have to agree with Ramone, though, on SC RPG. It's an interestng concept and it doesn't rely on gratuitous violence and gore to achieve it's goals.
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friedemann said 11:19AM on 11-02-2007
to say that video games don't effect the average joe is a blatant lie. How many DRIVE their car like it was a video? You see it all the time. So to say that the violent ones cannot be an influence...
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