Black Ops III and PlayStation won Black Friday, marketing study finds

Black Friday was a Black Ops III day.

Call of Duty: Black Ops III commanded the lead position in video games on the start of the holiday season on Nov. 27, according to a marketing study by researcher Infoscout. And of the console brands, Sony’s PlayStation also edged out Microsoft and Nintendo on Black Friday among millennials. InfoScout tracks purchases made by a network of 300,000 users over three mobile apps. The study was based on 250,000 receipts from those users on Thanksgiving night and Black Friday.

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Infoscout also said it was no surprise that individual game sales came out on top over console purchases, as the consoles have been out for a couple of years. Games accounted for 44.2 percent of such sales on Black Friday, followed by 37.1 percent for console bundles, 10.7 percent for consoles, 4.6 percent for accessories, and 3.4 percent for memberships. The top console bundle pick this year was the Xbox One 500GB bundle with Gears of War (and a $60 gift card), which Target discounted to $300 (from $350).

Call of Duty: Black Ops III captured almost 10 percent of all game dollars, and it got a boost from Walmart, which slashed PS4 and Xbox One game to $49 (down from $59) and Xbox 360 game for $29 (down from $49).

Of the console makers, the marketing study said that PlayStation brands won in the 18 to 35 age group, while Microsoft won in the older 36 to 55 age group in the U.S.

Sony actually picked up influence on Black Friday at 48 percent share, compared to 40 percent on an average sales day, among millennials. Microsoft, meanwhile, Microsoft had 32 percent share on Black Friday, compared to 39 percent on an ordinary day. Nintendo had 19 percent share on Black Friday, compared to 20 percent on an average day.

Among the middle-aged group, Microsoft had the lead on Black Friday with 37 percent, followed by 33 percent for PlayStation and 30 percent for Nintendo. On an average day, the middle-aged group opted 35 percent for Microsoft, 34 percent for Nintendo, and 30 percent for PlayStation.