The chaos of PlayStation 5 Black Friday 2024 wasn't just about the usual inventory scrap. It was weirder. Usually, by the time November rolls around, we have a pretty clear script: retailers dump old stock, prices tank by fifty bucks, and everyone goes home happy. But 2024 threw a massive wrench into that logic because Sony decided to launch the PS5 Pro just weeks before the shopping holiday.
You had this bizarre tension.
On one hand, the new PS5 Pro was sitting there with its $699 price tag, mocking everyone's budget. On the other, the PS5 Slim was finally hitting that "sweet spot" price point we’ve been waiting for since 2020. Honestly, if you were looking for a PlayStation 5 Black Friday 2024 deal, you were navigating a minefield of "is this actually a discount?" versus "is this just MSRP with a free game?"
Most people missed the boat on the disc drive shortage, too. While shoppers were hunting for console discounts, the real war was being fought over the detachable disc drives for the Digital Edition and the Pro. Those things were rarer than gold.
The Reality of the PS5 Slim Price Floor
Let’s get real about the numbers. For a long time, the "deal" was just finding a console in stock. In 2024, the floor finally dropped. We saw the PS5 Slim Digital Edition hit $379 at major retailers like Amazon and Walmart. That’s a significant move. Why? Because Sony has historically been very protective of that $399 barrier.
The standard Slim with the disc drive generally sat at $449 during the peak of the sale. Some bundles, specifically the Stellar Blade or Spider-Man 2 packs, were basically throwing the game in for free. But here is the thing: a lot of "deals" were actually just the standard price with a $25 gift card tacked on. You’ve gotta look at the net cost. If you bought a console at Target, you might have paid full price but walked away with enough "Target Circle" rewards to buy a second controller. That’s a win, but it’s not a "price cut" in the traditional sense.
The hardware hasn't changed much internally, despite the Slim moniker. It’s smaller, sure. It runs a bit hotter in some tests conducted by tech outlets like Digital Foundry, but for the average person playing College Football 25, it’s the same machine.
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Why PlayStation 5 Black Friday 2024 Was Different for the Pro
The PS5 Pro changed the math. Period.
Sony didn't discount the Pro for Black Friday 2024. Why would they? It had just come out. But its presence meant the base Slim had to look like an incredible value by comparison. This is a classic "decoy pricing" tactic. When you see a $700 machine next to a $400 machine, that $400 machine suddenly feels like a steal, even if it was $450 six months ago.
Actually, the smartest shoppers weren't even looking at the Pro console itself. They were looking at the internal SSD upgrades. Because the Pro pushed the conversation toward 2TB of storage, we saw a massive ripple effect in the NVMe SSD market. Brands like Western Digital (the SN850X) and Samsung (the 990 Pro) saw deep cuts. You could grab a 2TB drive for under $130 if you timed it right. That’s arguably a better "PS5 deal" than the console itself because it fixes the most annoying part of the system: the tiny storage space.
The Hidden Gem: PSVR 2 and the PC Adapter
If you want to talk about the biggest price slash of PlayStation 5 Black Friday 2024, it was the PSVR 2.
It’s no secret that the headset struggled out of the gate. To move units, Sony and retailers like Best Buy knocked the price down by $200 in some regions. We’re talking about a $549 headset going for $349. When you consider that Sony also released the PC adapter earlier in the year, the PSVR 2 suddenly became the best mid-range VR headset for PC gamers too.
It was a weird moment where the "failed" peripheral became the star of the show.
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Controller Colors and the "DualSense Drift" Tax
Don't get me started on the controllers. Every year, people wait for the $49 DualSense deal. In 2024, it happened again, but with a catch. The "fancy" colors like Volcanic Red or Cobalt Blue were usually excluded or sold out in seconds. You were basically stuck with White or Midnight Black if you wanted the deep discount.
But check this: the DualSense Edge—the pro controller with the replaceable sticks—almost never goes on sale. If you saw it for even $10 off, that was a miracle. Most people just buy a new $50 controller every year to deal with stick drift, which is honestly a racket.
Avoiding the "Renewed" Trap on Amazon
One thing that really caught people off guard during the PlayStation 5 Black Friday 2024 cycle was the surge of "Renewed" or "Refurbished" units. Amazon’s search results are messy. You search for a PS5 deal, and the first three results are third-party sellers offering "Excellent Condition" used consoles for $350.
Is it worth it?
Maybe. But you lose the Sony manufacturer warranty. In 2024, the price gap between a brand-new Slim on sale ($379) and a refurbished OG model ($340) was so small that buying used was a terrible move. You’re saving $40 to risk a liquid metal leak or a blown power supply from a console that’s been sitting in someone’s dusty cabinet since 2021. Not a good trade.
The Digital Content Shift
We also have to talk about PlayStation Plus. Sony has been aggressive—and not in a good way—with their subscription pricing lately. For Black Friday 2024, the discounts on PS Plus were mostly reserved for new subscribers or people upgrading their tier (from Essential to Extra/Premium).
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If you were already a loyal subscriber looking to stack another year? You were largely out of luck.
This led to a surge in people buying physical media again. The irony is delicious. Sony pushes a digital future, hikes the sub prices, and suddenly everyone is scouring the bargain bins at Walmart for $20 physical copies of God of War Ragnarok.
What to Do Now (The Aftermath Strategy)
If you missed the primary Black Friday window, don't panic. The "Holiday Sale" on the PlayStation Store usually runs through early January and often matches the game prices we saw in November.
For hardware, keep an eye on "Open Box" inventory at Best Buy. Now that the gift-giving season is peaking, a lot of people are returning consoles they couldn't afford or didn't want. You can often snag a PS5 Slim "Open Box - Excellent" for about $330-$350, which actually beats the Black Friday doorbuster prices.
Actionable Steps for the Current Market:
- Check the Serial: If buying second-hand post-Black Friday, ensure it’s the CFI-2000 series (the Slim). The older 1000/1100/1200 models are bulkier and have older Wi-Fi chips.
- Prioritize Storage: Don't buy a 1TB SSD. The price difference between 1TB and 2TB has shrunk so much that 1TB is a bad investment. Look for at least 7,000MB/s read speeds.
- Monitor the Disc Drive: If you bought a Digital Edition, set a restock alert for the disc drive attachment immediately. They are still the bottleneck in the supply chain.
- Skip the Official Charging Dock: Third-party docks from brands like NexiGo or PowerA are literally half the price and do the exact same thing using the same contact pins.
The window for the absolute "lowest" price on a new unit might have closed, but the secondary market is currently flooded with trade-ins from people who upgraded to the Pro. That is where the real value lives right now. Check local marketplaces, but always test the HDMI port before handing over cash; it’s the most common point of failure on these machines.