2009 Deal of the Year Awards

It’s time to look back at the year that was — gaming deal wise, that is.

I started tracking deals via GameDealsCanada back on May 1^st and while that may not be the beginning of 2009, I’m confident with the choices I’ve made for this year’s awards. So without further delay, let’s get right down to it.

Best Deal via Digital Distribution

Winner: Steam and its plethora of deals

Alright. This isn’t just one deal, but Steam holds this title for their weekly deals and end of year Steam Holiday Sale going on right now. No other digital distribution service even comes close to what Steam offered which is why it’s so difficult to choose one deal as the winner. Did you want Street Fighter IV for $9.99? Torchlight for $4.99? Or how about Borderlands for $33.49?

All great deals and all from Steam.

Runner-ups: The other remaining Steam deals

Best Software Deal via Retail

Winner: Walmart and its Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3, 360) for $38.83 ($30 off) deal

This deal started as an exclusive Walmart deal advertised via Xbox Live! days before the release date. However it didn’t take long before other major retailers followed suit including BestBuy, EB Games and FutureShop.

What makes this my top deal of 2009 is the combination of price, timing, availability and the fact Batman: Arkham Asylum was an excellent game. The runner up’s may have had deeper cuts, but they were either limited in availability or came into effect a month or so after the game’s release. And while I recognize the fact Borderlands received similar treatment during its release, Batman: Arkham Asylum started the trend.

Runner-ups: BestBuy’s InFamous for $29.99 ($30 off) deal, EB Games’ Assassin’s Creed 2 for $29.99 ($30 off) deal and the Borderlands‘ for $39.99 ($30 off) deal.

Best Hardware Deal

Winner: FutureShop and its Xbox 360 Elite Holiday Bundle for $239.99 ($60 off) deal

It’s tough to find deals on gaming hardware — especially in a year of price cuts across all major console manufacturers. However, if you’re patient and attentive, you may come across console hardware deals that offer more than the weekly bundling of games.

This Xbox 360 Elite deal from FutureShop is the finest example of the aforementioned deal. $239.99 for an Xbox 360 w/ 120GB hard drive and two games is really impressive and edges out FutureShop’s other Xbox 360 Pro 60GB for $199.99 deal. Both deals were great, but adding $40 for two additional games and doubling the storage space is worth it, in my opinion.

Runner-ups: FutureShop’s Xbox 360 Pro 60GB for $199.99 deal, BestBuy’s PlayStation 3 Slim for $274.99 via coupon deal, BestBuy’s Wii console for $179.99 deal

Deal of the Year 2009 and Closing Thoughts

Winner: Walmart and its Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3, 360) for $38.83 ($30 off) deal

My personal “Deal of the Year” goes to the Batman: Arkham Asylum deal. It was well advertised, there was plenty of stock and it was timely. It’s the mark of a great deal which everyone had an opportunity to take advantage of. Can’t say enough good things about this one.

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With the economic downturn and the end of the $10 off coupon via Amazon.ca (remember that trick?), I didn’t think there would be so many deals for newly released games. I was proven wrong and while keeping closer tabs on deals via GameDealsCanada, I was able to find just about any game for less than the suggest retail price.

With $40 price tag on games, manufacture and retail price cuts on hardware, 2009 turned out to be quite the year for gaming deals. Early 2010 is going to be quite busy with many big releases, let’s hope for some deals to accompany them!

Happy New Year, everyone!