I’ve never gone Black Friday shopping – waking at 5 AM to fight my way through hordes of shoppers, just to save a few dollars isn’t exactly high on my priorities list.

But this year is different – stores are opening even earlier (meaning there’s a greater chance I’ll still be awake from the night before), and more and more companies seem to be catering to gamers and geeks. And of course, an essential part of Black Friday is the prep work.

One does not simply walk into Black Friday without doing a little research first – but lucky for our readers, I’ve done the research for you! Here are the best Black Friday deals of 2011 for geeks and gamers:

Read On

The the new black colored Nintendo Wii is coming to Gamestop as confirmed on a leaked print ad thanks to a Gamestop employee.  We all knew this was coming since the release of the black colored Wiimotes. The new system will be bundled with both Wii Sports, Wii Sports resort, and a Wiimote with a Motion plus accessory.

[via Electronista]

[Thanks John!]

Pokémon fans are being offered another chance to get a free Pokémon starting this Saturday, February 27, at Gamestop. Anyone who brings in their Nintendo DS with a copy of Pokémon Pearl, Diamond or Platinum will be able to receive the free gift. Jirachi, a dual-type Steel/Psychic legendary Pokémon,  is available until March 13. A nice bonus since March 14 is the release of the new Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver bundles. Anyone that takes advantage of the free Pokémon will have access to a special training route on the Pokéwalker, the pedometer accessorie included with the new games.

Gamestop is currently offering a crazy deal on trade-ins. All games are now receiving a 50% trade-in bonus. This deal also stacks with the 10% bonus you get from having and Edge card. With most new and popular games getting around $30 in trade-in credit, this deal would offer you a chance to purchase a new game with very little money needed. This promotion is going on until March 14.

We all know that Diablo 3 isn’t coming out for at least another year.  But that doesn’t Gamestop in trying to snag up some early pre-orders. Right now, on their website, you can pre-order Diablo 3 with no incentives.  Well, except for the thought that you theoretically own a copy of it.

[via Gamestop]

I got to play DJ Hero over the past weekend at my local GameStop.  After just playing 2 songs, I immediately knew that this game would be an instant hit.  This game hit my musical heart and made me very happy.  It’s a bit like the iPhone‘s Tap Tap Revenge, but with “scratching” and use of a crossfader.  The game is extremly easy to pick up.  The only learning curve is the crossfader.  I could see a lot of people getting hung up on that aspect of the game, but just like any other rythem game out in the market, all it takes is a little practice.

I really can’t wait for this game to come out.  I’m most excited about the track list of the game.  You see, I’m a huge fan of mash-ups and rhythm games.  If you’re like me, you’ll definitely be getting this game. But, there are some people that are already giving it a thumbs down, like monkeymanD from reddit:

If I could sum it up in one thought, it would be this. Playing DJ Hero felt like playing some new fancy digital form of Bop It. It felt too much like you were just juggling a few different odd actions rather than actually coordinating your actions to accomplish an end. A toy, good for a short burst of amusement, but it will never even get close to the success of that good ol’ plastic guitar.

I could see his point of it being another “digital form of Bop It.” But I think the huge difference, to me, is the track list.  I doubt Bop It will ever have a Daft Punk track on it. So, readers, did you get a chance to play it over the weekend? If so, will you be pre-ordering or buying it?

Photos from Shoryuken forum troll, ohgee, snapped the photo above of a new Street Fighter 4 tournament stick design. It looks like Madcatz and GameStop will be pushing out more tournament stick and gamepad designs for you fighting game junkies. For more photos of the new designs, go past the break.  There is also a (Disney/)Marvel VS Capcom 2 design. Read On

Back when I was a pubescent teenager, I always wondered how to get the lady types to want me.  If Gold4Jetpack.com existed back then, that would have been my answer.  Kids these days have it so easy now.  All they have to do is go to GameStop or Gold4Jetpack.com, pre-order Darkvoid, get the special Gold Jetpack and ladies would magically appear on my lap. Wow!

Last night, GameStop got a taste of their own medicine. Instead of robbing people by selling games out of their original packaging and selling them as new, a couple of robbers robbed FROM GameStop.

San Diego Union-Tribune says:

“About 9:30 p.m., two men entered the store on Plaza Bonita Road after it closed and one of them was armed with a gun, according to National City police. They ordered employees to the floor, hit one of them in the head and tied them up.

The robbers took every video game system in the store, along with other merchandise and an undetermined amount of cash, police said. Police were called about 11:40 p.m. ”

If these robbers are smart, they wouldn’t say or do anything on the internet that has to do with this robbery.  If these robbers are dumb, which I’m sure they are, they would probably start using craigslist or ebay right now to sell off their “five fingered” discount items.

[source]

Jamie is currently at the finals of the GameStop/Capcom Street Fighter 4 National Tournament in San Francisco. She has been there all day and has just called in with the two people that have made it to the finals. But first, here is the list of players that made it to the tournament:

Plano, Texas – David Hem – C.Viper
San Jose, California – Chris “CSB” – Balrog
Chamblee, Georgia – Mike Ross – E.Honda – RUNNER-UP
New York, New York – Justin Wong – Rufus – CHAMPION
Irondequoit, New York – Rahsaan “EvilRahsaan” – Dhalsim
Glendale, Arizona – Juicebox Abel – Abel
Chicago, Illinois – Ari “Floe” Weintraub – Sagat
Tukwila, WA – Jason “A-Dhalsim” Cole – Balrog – SECOND RUNNER-UP
Louisville, Kentucky – Jason “DreamTR” Wilson – M. Bison
Bloomington, Minnesota – Kyle “Coyotegrey” – Zangief
New Jersey, New Jersey – Christian “CapMaster” O’Hanlon – Sagat
Orlando, Florida – Trent “GimmeThemShoes” Vandeven – ???
La Place, Louisiana – “jakob002″ – M. Bison
Halethorpe, Maryland – Eric “Ramza” Kim – Sagat
Maumee, Ohio – Antwan Ortiz – Balrog – SECOND RUNNER-UP

Michael Ross VS Justin Wong. – Finalists

One will be using E. Honda, and the other will be using Rufus. More on this story as it unfolds. Here is a video of the final round:

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Update: Justin Wong won using Rufus (4 to 1). Congratulations, he has just won the GameStop black belt.

Update: Justin moved on to play some champions from other countries.

Update: The international matches were a round robin. International finals happening now between Justin Wong and Daigo. Winner gets a trip straight to the EVO finals. Here is a video of the match:

Update: Daigo wins in a clean sweep. Congratulations to Daigo. Jamie will post photos from the event when she can.

Picture of trophy, linked from Capcom Unity.