Walmart is one of the largest retailers where video game hardware and software can be purchased. As such, Walmart has released its Black Friday 2021 ad showing just how buyers can go about acquiring PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles if they act fast enough.
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a tremendous toll on the video game industry, with hardware becoming nearly impossible to find, and developers delaying their content. As millions are still trying to snag the next-generation lineup of consoles in the PS5 and Xbox Series X, Walmart has restocked the consoles from time to time, though the continued presence of bots has made these avenues especially difficult. With the holidays coming into view, many are hoping for increased console availability at these leading retailers, it now being over a year since both have launched. Walmart has already begun hosting early Black Friday deals online and in store.
Ahead of Black Friday, Walmart has released its ad containing this year's biggest sales, as well as information on PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles. Wario64, a gaming deal informant on Twitter, uploaded images of the sales ad, giving buyers a first glimpse of Walmart's Black Friday offerings. Starting November 22, Walmart will have limited supplies of PlayStation 5, PlayStation 5 Digital, and Xbox Series X consoles for purchase online only. Walmart Plus members can begin shopping four hours early, though users must be fully subscribed and not just in the trial version.
There are an incredible amount of deals on games themselves, with Walmart offering tiered prices for a variety of games. At $35, people can buy the just-released Guardians of the Galaxy, Far Cry 6, as well as a host of Nintendo Switch games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe. The $25 tier offers a similar blend of recently released games including PS5-console exclusive Deathloop, Back 4 Blood, and the excellent Mass Effect Legendary Edition. Walmart stipulates that not every item listed is guaranteed to be at every store, though potential buyers must select at least two titles per tier if shopping in that bracket.
Whether shopping online or in-person, this year's Black Friday at Walmart will likely be scrappy as there are some pretty solid deals. One has to hope Walmart will institute some sort of queue for purchasing PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles, like Sony has done with its PS Direct queues. As history has shown, without some sort of security vetting for authentic buyers, November 22 could be flooded once again with bots, taking all of the consoles. Without any in-store offerings for consoles, shopping online at Walmart may be the best bet for some people.
