We’re in a bit of a post-holiday 2010 lull at the moment, so I thought it’d be a good time to reflect. It’s time to look back at 2010 and pick out some “deals of the year”.
If you’re curious about last year’s result, just head over here.
Digital Distribution Deal of the Year
Winner: Fallout: New Vegas Digital Collector’s Edition for $29.71 ($20 off) @ Direct2Drive
 |  |
A non-Steam sale for “Digital Distribution Deal of the Year”? Blasphemous? Not quite. Allow me to explain.
Just a little over a month after release and this game gets a hefty $20 off on Direct2Drive. It was a timely sale, there was plenty of time take advantage of it (weekend sale) and it was a deal for a game people wanted. We wouldn’t see a similar deal like this for another 30+ days on Steam. Plus, since this title was a Steamworks game,we were activating it on Valve’s service anyway.
Runners up: Super Meat Boy (PC) for $3.75 on Steam, Amnesia: The Dark Descent for $9.99 on Steam, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit for $19.95 on Direct2Drive
Gaming Hardware Deal of the Year (Retail)
Winner: Xbox 360 S 4 GB for $129.99 ($60) (BestBuy, FutureShop, Staples & More)
|  |
Kudos to Microsoft and retailers for their excellent hardware deals. For the second year in a row, we were given an excellent deal for a brand new console. I was amazed by the $129.99 price tag for their newly released Xbox 360 S 4 GB. It was available across every major retailer during Boxing Day week which meant plenty of opportunities for people to take advantage of it.
If only I could have convinced myself pick one up…
Runners up: Nintendo Wii for $169.99 ($40 off) @ Staples, PSPgo for $99 ($80 off) @ Archambault
Software Deal of the Year (Retail)
Winner: Call of Duty: Black Ops (PS3, 360) for $39.99 ($20 off) @ Amazon.ca & Walmart
|  |
A Call of Duty game for under $50 in December? That’s a rare one and that’s why I picked it. You can’t even find Modern Warfare 2 for that price nowadays. Even if you were a bit weary of the franchise — for $40 — why not? Amazon.ca had plenty of stock and if you were really anxious for a copy, you had the in-store option with Walmart.
Staples had it for $35, but since the game didn’t amount to over $50, the $15 delivery charge killed it. And while it was available in-store, I think the $5 premium for convenience outweighed braving Boxing Day shopping.
Runners up: Call of Duty: Black Ops (PS3, 360) for $34.99 ($25 off) @ Staples, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood for $39.99 ($20 off) @ FutureShop & BestBuy
—
That’s all folks!
What were your personal favorites? Please feel free to share them in the comments below or via Twitter or Facebook!
--matthew
The best deal I found was a 360 deal that Future Shop was running: 250gb model with Black Ops and a Turtle Beach headset ($120 value in extra stuff) for the regular price of $300. Especially great considering that I was able to exchange both Black Ops and the headset for things I actually wanted. Can’t beat that.