Looks like Microsoft weathered the first “oh God will we sell any Xbox 360s in this economy?” storm last week, and then some. Redmond sold 25 percent more Xboxen this Black Friday weekend then it did last year, which was well before the general public had their 401(k)s on their mind. The Xbox 360, we’re told, outsold the PS3 by a three-to-one ratio, which isn’t exactly surprising. Outside of being an inexpensive Blu-ray player—a really inexpensive Blu-ray player if your credit is still good—can you name three reasons to buy a PS3? Outside of Metal Gear Solid 4 and LittleBigPlanet, I’m struggling.

Notice, though, that Microsoft doesn’t even so much as mention the Wii, with the possible exception of this allusion offered by some senior vice president:

We entered into the Black Friday sales period with cautious optimism, knowing that dollar for dollar, Xbox 360 offers more social entertainment value than any other console on the market

You could make that argument, I guess. The Xbox 360 Arcade is $199.99, plus the yearly subscription to Xbox Live ($49.99) you’ll need to make it all the more “social.” You’ll also need at least a game. So that’s a minimum of $300, which is the same price as a Wii and one game (give or take). Except that, in social situations, outside of Rock Band (which is available for every system), the Wii is seen as the “social” system.

In conclusion, Microsoft sold a lot of Xbox 360s last week.

Our condolences to the man’s family and friends.

We received our first Black Friday report this morning from Florida where Best Buy was doing business as usual. Our spy went to the store at 4am and found no crowds or pushing. In a considerably sadder situation, a worker at a Long Island Wal-Mart was crushed and a woman miscarried. Holy crap, right?

That said, tell us what you saw today in your travels. Email us at tips@cg or drop a note in comments. I’ll go first: Today is my son’s birthday party and we found the little party supply store down the street to be completely empty. We were able to buy our balloons unscathed.

The longer we’ve had the Debaufre Aircraft-8 the more I’m convinced that these guys have finally gotten things right. For about the same price as a higher-end quartz you can get an ETA or Unitas mechanical watch with some nice styling. I’m still not happy with the B&R and Rolex knock offs on there, but it’s fairly common practice to create “homages” when you’re trying to build brand awareness.

Debaufre is selling their unique CSAR watch with Unitas hand-wind movement for $420. This is one of their most unique styles and I can recommend them for men and, interestingly enough, women: my wife wears the Aircraft-8 daily now.

Get thee to the Applery – or MacMall, MacConnection, or, better yet, Amazon – for some great deals on MacBooks, MB Pros, and iMacs. The Mac Pro, for example, is going for $284 off list at Amazon, making it about $2,500.

MacRumors has a full list of Apple deals.

CrunchGear is following most of the Black Friday sales including our Best Of that we launched last night.

Best Buy is posting some of their Black Friday sales online so you don’t have to leave the house this morning, ensuring those of us whose bellies have fallen over your belt and onto your legs won’t have to go flopping down the mall promenade.

Turns out you actually DON’T really have to sit in the cold hoping to get a magic ticket so you can buy Best Buy’s Friday doorbusters because a bunch of stuff that’s available in the stores is also available on Best Buy’s website. Most notably, you can get a 52-inch Samsung 1080p LCD TV with professional installation for $1,499, a 50-inch Panasonic 720p plasma TV for $899, and the Magellan Roadmate 1212 GPS for $79.

Actually showing up at your local store will still get you some good exclusives, though, like an HP notebook with free printer for $349, a Toshiba Satellite notebook for $379, a Dynex 32-inch LCD HDTV for $399, and, most importantly, Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey on Wii for $9.99. The stores open at 5 AM, the online stuff is available now.

Best Buy Friday Doorbuster Specials [BestBuy.com]

Starting at 3 AM Eastern, Amazon.com will be showing just about every retailer how it’s done when it comes to Black Friday sales.

Here’s a list of what’ll be available:

From 3AM Friday to 3AM Saturday:

PC

• Fallout 3 for $29.95
• Left 4 Dead for $19.95

Xbox 360

• Bioshock for $19.95
• Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway for $17.95
• Call of Duty: World at War for $49.95
• Dead Space for $29.95
• Fallout 3 for $39.95
• Far Cry 2 for $37.95
• Left 4 Dead for $39.95
• Madden NFL 09 for $29.95 (please leave one copy for me)
• NASCAR 09 for $29.95
• NBA Live 09 for $29.95
• NCAA Football 09 for $29.95
• Saints Row for $9.95
• Shaun White Snowboarding for $39.95
• The Orange Box for $19.95
• Warriors Orochi 2 for $29.95

PlayStation 3

• Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway for $17.95
• Call of Duty: World at War for $49.95
• Fallout 3 for $39.95
• Madden NFL 09 for $29.95
• NASCAR 09 for $29.95
• NBA Live 09 for $29.95
• NCAA Football 09 for $29.95
• Soul Caliber IV

Wii

• Okami for $19.95 (deal starts at noon Eastern)
• Boom Blox for $19.95
• Cooking Mama: Cook Off for $14.95
• Guitar Hero: Aerosmith for $25.95
• Namco Museum Remix for $15.95
• Resident Evil 4 for $9.95
• Shaun White Snowboarding Road Trip for $29.95
• Wii Fit Energy Pack for $7.95

Amazon will also have a bunch of other stuff on sale all weekend, so we’ll be sure to highlight any other outstanding deals. This is a great start, though.

Amazon.com Black Friday [via Joystiq]

Black Friday can be a tiring, stressful, and overwhelming ordeal. Here’s a list of which stores have the best deals on some of the top items for the holiday shopping season, along with our picks for Best All-Around Store, Biggest Disappointment, Biggest No-Show Product, Most Ubiquitous Bundle, and Most Confusing Ad.

If you see anything that you think should be changed or added to this list, drop a note in the comments section. Let’s try to keep things to nationwide brick and mortar stores, please. The true Black Friday experience entails actually leaving the house.

Blu-ray Player

• Magnavox NB500MG9 at Walmart for $128

Camcorders

• Flash Memory: Panasonic SDR-7K at Best Buy for $199
• Hard Drive: JVC Everio GZ-MG230 30GB at Walmart for $249

Computers

• eMachines desktop with 18.5-inch LCD at Best Buy for $299.96
• HP notebook with free Canon 3-in-1 printer at Best Buy for $349.98

Consoles

• Sony PS3 80GB with Ratchet & Clank + Casino Royale Blu-ray at Best Buy for $399
• Xbox 360 Arcade with Guitar Hero III and Wireless Guitar at Walmart for $199
• Xbox 360 Pro with LEGO Indy/Kung Fu Panda + $60 Gift Card at Target for $299

Digital Camera Bundle

• Kodak EasyShare C813 plus 7-inch Kodak digital frame at OfficeMax for $129.98

Digital Photo Frames (by size)

• Pandigital 3.5-inch digital frame at Sears for $29.99
• Nextar 7-inch digital frame at Sears for $37.99
• Sungale 8.5-inch digital frame at OfficeMax for $59.99
• Memorex 10-inch digital frame at OfficeMax for $89.99

DVD Player

• Memorex compact player at Target for $24.99

External Hard Drives (by size)

• 500GB Seagate FreeAgent at Walmart for $69
• 750GB Western Digital at Target for $88.88
• 1TB Maxtor OneTouch at Staples for $139.98

GPS

• Garmin nuvi 200 at Walmart for $97

LCD TVs (by size)

• Sansui 19-inch 720p LCD HDTV at Walmart for $178
• Westinghouse 26-inch 720p LCD HDTV at Target for $299
• Emerson 32-inch 720p LCD HDTV at Walmart for $388
• Polaroid 42-inch 1080p LCD HDTV at Walmart for $598
• Samsung 50-inch 720p Plasma HDTV at Walmart for $798

Monitor

• Acer 19-inch at Best Buy for $99, Soyo 19-inch at Office Max for $99

Best All-Around Store: Walmart

Walmart’s got the best all-around deals if you can stomach the 5am start time and the ravenous crowds. If you can only make it to one store, you’ll get the best bang for your buck here. The prices on Walmart’s TVs are especially nice.

Biggest Disappointment: Best Buy

What happened to Big Blue this year? It didn’t bring its A or B game. That’s what happens when all of your competition goes out of business, apparently. There are some okay desktop and notebook deals, but you’ll have to get there early and snag a special coupon-type ticket to get your mitts on the best deals. Aside from a few gems, most of Best Buy’s Black Friday ad was pretty nonchalant about doling out deals.

Biggest No-Show Product: PlayStation 3

With aggressively-priced Xbox 360 bundles and Nintendo Wii consoles finally in stock, Sony’s best showing this year is a $399 bundle with Ratchet & Clank and Casino Royale on Blu-ray at Best Buy? What’s that all about? When you can get an Xbox 360 with Guitar Hero III + guitar bundle for half the price at Walmart, it’s gonna be a slow holiday season for Sony. Yes, it has a built-in Blu-ray player. We know.

Most Ubiquitous Bundle: Digital Cameras

Look just about anywhere this year and you’ll find digital cameras either bundled with digital frames, printers, memory cards, cases, or a combination of those things. If you buy JUST a digital camera this year, you’re not looking hard enough.

Most Confusing Ad: Kmart

Four circulars? Really Kmart? There’s the Thursday ad (yes, Kmart is open from 8AM to 10PM on Thanksgiving – sheesh), the Friday ad, the Friday and Saturday ad, and the Saturday ad, each with specific deals during specific times on specific days.

Still, a solid gaming machine is a good machine in most every aspect, so if you’re looking for something quick, well-equipeed, and likely heavy, they start at about $1400 — $1200 with the extra savings. There’s also free shipping until the end of December, so hop to it.

Lady and gentlemen (get it, one lady?) I give you Walmart’s Black Friday ad, home of the $128 Blu-ray player and the $798 50-inch plasma TV. Notable deals include:

• Samsung 50-inch plasma TV for $798
• Polaroid 42-inch LCD TV for $598
• Emerson 32-inch LCD TV for $388
• Magnavox Blu-ray player for $128
• Madden 09, NASCAR 09, NBA Live 09 and NCAA 09 (Xbox 360/PS3) for $30
• NFL Head Coach 09 (Xbox 360/PS3) for $10
• Guitar Hero 3 + Guitar Hero Aerosmith for $50 (Wii)
• Guitar Hero 2 + Guitar Hero Aerosmith for $50 (Xbox 360)
• Guitar Hero + Guitar Hero 2 + Guitar Hero 80s for $50 (PS2)
• Samsung 19-inch LCD TV for $178
• Track Suits for $8! Not gadget-y, but… come on, full track suits!
• 15.4-inch Toshiba notebook with 4GB of RAM for $548
• 15.6-inch HP notebook with 3GB of RAM for $448
• Seagate 500GB external hard drive for $69
• A promise from Walmart that “We’ve stocked our largest inventory of Wii consoles ever – don’t miss out!” and a $249.24 price tag

Full list of items here, full ad scan here.

Apparently there will be at least two Staples ads for Black Friday this year – each being specific to a certain region or regions of the country. You’ll probably know which ad circular you’re dealing with by this upcoming Sunday but until then, here are some good deals from both of the available leaked Staples circulars so far. Keep in mind that some of these deals might not apply to you depending upon where you live.

Items marked with “Easy Rebate” are basically Staples’ version of mail-in rebates that can be submitted online. More info here.

Staples Ad #1

• TomTom One 125 GPS for $99
• eMachines 19-inch LCD monitor for $119
• Western Digital MyBook 640GB external hard drive for $79
• 7-inch digital photo frame for $49 after $10 Easy Rebate
• 8.5-inch digital photo frame for $79
• Maxtor One Touch 4 Mini 250GB portable hard drive for $69
• Verbatim 320GB portable hard drive for $99
• Samsung ML-2510 laser printer for $49 after $50 Easy Rebate
• Samsung CLP-315 color laser printer for $99 after $100 Easy Rebate
• Microsoft 6000 wireless mouse and keyboard for $39
• Garmin nuvi 205W portable GPS for $149
• Navigon 2100 max GPS for $199
• TomTom GO 730 GPS for $349
• Free Canon photo printer with the purchase of any advertised digital camera after $10 instant savings, plus $20 and $50 mail-in rebates
• Canon Rebel XS for $549, add 300mm zoom lens for $99
• Omnitech 7-inch digital collage frame (four photos at once) for $69
• Netgear Wireless-N router for $49
• PNY 2GB DDR2 PC5300 RAM kit for $39
• Maxtor OneTouch 4 external 1TB hard drive for $139
• Western Digital My Passport 320GB portable hard drive for $99
• Brother HL-2170W wireless network laser printer for $79 after $70 Easy Rebate
• Omnitech 4.3-inch GPS for $119

Staples Ad #2

• eMachines 19-inch LCD monitor for $99
• HP 15.4-inch notebook (2GB RAM) for $399 plus free printer after $70 Easy Rebate
• TomTom One 125 GPS for $99
• Western Digital MyBook 640GB external hard drive for $69
• 7-inch digital photo frame for $39 after $10 Easy Rebate
• 8.5-inch digital photo frame for $69
• Maxtor One Touch 4 Mini 250GB portable hard drive for $59
• Verbatim 320GB portable hard drive for $99
• Samsung ML-2510 laser printer for $49 after $50 Easy Rebate
• Samsung CLP-315 color laser printer for $99 after $100 Easy Rebate
• Microsoft 6000 wireless mouse and keyboard for $29
• Garmin nuvi 205W portable GPS for $149
• Navigon 2100 max GPS for $199
• TomTom GO 730 GPS for $349
• Omnitech 7-inch digital collage frame (four photos at once) for $69
• Netgear Wireless-N router for $49
• PNY 2GB DDR2 PC5300 RAM kit for $39
• Brother HL-2170W wireless network laser printer for $79 after $70 Easy Rebate
• Acer Aspire One netbook with XP and 120GB hard drive for $349
• Omnitech 4.3-inch GPS for $119

Full list of items here, full ad scans here.

In the ultimate test to see whether or not Blu-ray is ready for mainstream adoption, Wal-Mart will be selling a Magnavox player for $128. If it creates stampedes like Wal-Mart’s $29 DVD player from 2003, we’ll know Blu-ray is here to stay. If people casually mosey over to the electronics department, glance at the tag, and head elsewhere, we’ll know that the high-definition downloading initiative is in full swing.

Micro Center has apparently decided to beat the Black Friday rush by offering up some pretty enticing deals this coming weekend. There’s a small catch, of course: you’ll need to get your hands on a special coupon this Saturday. These coupons “will be distributed to customers in the line prior to store opening, or in the order of entering the store until gone” and must be redeemed by 2:00 PM on Saturday.

Stores will open at 10:00 on Saturday and, again, you’ll have to get there in time to grab a coupon. If you have a Micro Center near you and are willing and able to follow all the rules, there are some pretty outstanding savings to be had, such as:

• MSI Wind with XP and 120GB hard drive for $299
• Dual-core Acer Aspire notebook with Vista and 160GB hard drive for $299
• 19-inch LCD TV for $159 after $60 mail-in rebate
• 23-inch LCD TV for $199 after $60 mail-in rebate
• 32-inch LCD TV for $399 after $60 mail-in rebate
• 20-inch LCD monitor for $99 after $40 mail-in rebate
• 22-inch LCD monitor for $119 after $40 mail-in rebate
• 24-inch LCD monitor for $199 after $50 mail-in rebate
• Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200 RPM SATA hard drive for $59
• WD Caviar 1TB SATA hard drive for $99
• Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM SATA hard drive for $119
• WD My Book 750GB external hard drive for $79
• WinBook 7-inch digital photo frame for $39
• Refurb Magellan RoadMate 2000 for $59 after $30 mail-in rebate
• Garmin nuvi 205 for $119

Plenty of good deals to go around. Here’s the complete list and more info.

[via FatWallet]

Wow, Kmart will be open from 7AM to 9PM on Thanksgiving Day, which should leave just enough time for employees to make the traditional super late-night Thanksgiving dinner with their families. The store’s ads are spread out across four circulars, so here are some of the better deals from each:

Thursday (7AM to 9PM)

• Element 32-inch LCD TV for $399
• Samsung 42-inch plasma TV for $699
• Nextar X3-03 GPS unit for $79
• Buy one, get one free Hasbro board games
• Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock guitar bundle for $54 (PS3, Wii, Xbox 360)
• Various 2-packs of Wii games for $16.99 and 3-packs of PS2 games for $9.99
• Sylvania 20-inch LCD TV with built-in DVD player for $249
• Sony Blu-ray player for $179
• SmartParts 5.6-inch digital photo frame for $39

Friday (6AM to 11AM)

• Sylvania 20-inch LCD TV for $199
• Craftsman C3 19.2-volt drill for $39
• Kenmore 1,100-watt microwave for $54
• Nextar 7-inch digital photo frame for $37
• Kodak CD93 digital camera for $79

Saturday (7AM to 12PM)

• Element 26-inch LCD TV for $299
• Magellan RoadMate 1400 GPS for $139
• Samsung BL1050 digital camera with 1GB SD card and camera case for $99

Friday and Saturday (All Day)

• Sony Bravia L Series 32-inch LCD TV for $599
• Sony Blu-ray player for $179
• Samsung DVD camcorder for $199
• TomTom ONE 125 GPS for $99
• Coby 7-inch digital photo frame for $49
• Roomba 405 robotic vacuum for $99

Full item lists here, full ad scans here.

We’re admittedly a little late on the uptake for this one but in case you missed it, here are some good deals from Radio Shack’s leaked Black Friday ad:

• $80 to $100 off of select TomTom, Mio, and Garmin GPS units
• Memorex HD digital camcorder for $79
• SmartParts 10.4-inch digital photo frame for $99
• Casio EX-Z9 digital camera plus Canon photo printer for $99 after rebates
• Envision 32-inch LCD TV for $399
• Gateway 15.4-inch notebook (3GB RAM, 250GB hard drive) for $499 after rebates
• Netgear Super-G router for $29
• Whistler cordless radar detector for $49
• Sprint Palm Centro free with 2-year contract
• AT&T Samsung Propel free with 2-year contract and unlimited text package
• Canon PIXMA MX300 printer free with any digital camera purchase after rebate
• Memorex upconverting DVD player with HDMI output for $29
• Free alarm clock iPod dock with purchase of Nano, Classic, or 8GB iPod Touch

Full list of items here, full ad scan here.

Office Max looks to be a good stop to add to your list, as the store will have some pretty aggressive deals on various products, including:

• Nikon Coolpix P60 camera with Epson Workforce 30 printer for $119.99
• TomTom One 125 GPS for $99
• Maxtor OneTouch 500GB external hard drive for $79
• HP Pavilion 15.4-inch notebook for $429
• Garmin Nuvi 205 for $129, Garmin Nuvi 205W for $149
• SimpleTech 640GB Mini Hard Drive for $89
• Samsung 23-inch HDTV/Monitor for $299
• Epson PowerLite S5 projector for $399
• Linksys Wireless RangePlus Mimo router for $39
• Brother HL-2140 laser printer for $49
• Kodak EasyShare C813 digital camera plus 7-inch digital frame for $129

Full item list here, full ad scan here.

Costco will have a three-day in-store sale from November 28-30 along with online-only deals from now until December 15th. These in-store deals look okay, but not great:

• SmartParts 10.4-inch digital picture frame for $99
• Olympus FE-370 8-megapixel digital camera with 1GB SD card and case for $119
• $100 to $300 off of various LCD TVs
• Magellan RoadMate 1212 GPS for $99
• iHome iH27 iPod speaker dock for $49
• SanDisk Sansa Fuze 8GB for $59

Here’s the full list of items and here are the scans of the ads.

Target’s Black Friday ad got leaked over the weekend and in true CrunchGear form, here it is on Monday. Notable deals inside include:

• 26-inch Westinghouse LCD TV for $299
• Kodak MX1063 digital camera for $89
• Kodak 7-inch photo frame for $59
• TruTech in-car dual-screen portable DVD player for $88
• Magellan Roadmate 1200 GPS for $99
• Aiptek red handheld digital camcorder for $69
• Memorex Mit200 iPod speaker dock with CD player for $44
• Western Digital 750GB external hard drive for $88.88 (!!!)
• RCA 7-inch portable DVD player for $49
• iPod dock/clock radio for $29.99
• Audiovox 12-inch HDTV with DVD player for the kitchen for $249.99
• Memorex DVD player for $24.99
• Nintendo DS games starting at $7 each
• Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii games starting at $20 each
• Guitar Hero Aerosmith for Wii with two wireless guitars for $99
• DVDs starting at $3.98, certain bestseller CDs are two for $14
• Garmin Nuvi 200W GPS for $119.99
• Storm Rocker wireless gaming chair with built-in speakers for $44
• Philips Senseo single-serve coffee maker for $49
• Free $100 Target gift card with purchase of $349 Pink Dyson DC07 vacuum

You can find the full list of items here and the ad scan here.

So Photoshop was our nemesis this holiday season: the bundle in the “leaked” Sam’s Club ad is not $224 for a Wii and a bunch of games it’s $425. Not great but not bad, either. Considering the Wii itself will cost $249, less than $200 more for two games, three Wiimotes, and three Nunchucks isn’t bad.

BlackFriday.info just posted Circuit City’s Black Friday ad. Hopefully the company will live to see next year’s ad, too. Some notable good deals:

• SanDisk 1GB MP3 Player Express for $16.99
• HP Pavilion laptop for $399
• Good deals on video games
• DVDs from $3.99
• $100 off select Garmin GPS units
• $99 Tom Tom GPS
• Blu-ray discs from $8.99
• SmartParts 5.6-inch digital photo frame for $41.99