It’s a tradition as unavoidable as fruitcake: Around this time every year we produce a video gamers’ gift guide, in the hopes of directing holiday gift buyers away from the hokey plastic Wii tennis racket attachments and toward game-related gifts that the recipients might actually, y’know, enjoy.
We’ve broken five game-related gift suggestions down by budget, and we daresay you can’t miss with any of these. Take a look.
Around $10 – Online points
Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii each have online services that allow gamers to download new games and other digital goodies. Assuming your gamer giftee has his console set up to go online, points cards are a perfect low-cost gift. For about $10 you can get 1000 Nintendo Points (good for downloads on both the Wii and Nintendo DSi), roughly 800 Microsoft Points or $10 in PlayStation Store credit. It might be tough to find actual gift cards in the lower points denominations, in which case a crisp tenner with a note indicating what it’s for is the next best thing.
Around $25 – GelaSkins
Toronto-based GelaSkins now sells their incredibly cool, artwork-adorned vinyl skins for the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS and DSi, the Sony PSP and guitar controllers for Rock Band and Guitar Hero. (Skins for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 will be available within a couple weeks.)
What makes this an especially tasty gift="new window">www.gelaskins.com – prices for custom-designed GelaSkins range from $20 to $30 depending, on the device – and let your gamer giftee choose or even design her own skin. A cool and customizable gift that doesn’t require going to the mall? Win!
Around $50 – Another controller
Unless your giftee is a complete hermit who shuns contact with the outside world, a second (or third, or fourth) controller is never a bad gift. Controllers for the PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 go for about $45 to $55 each – when in doubt, get the models made by the respective companies themselves instead of cheaper third party units. Although nifty specialty controllers, like the Mad Catz Modern Warfare 2 Combat Controller for PS3 ($55 from Amazon.ca) or the Halo 3: ODST Limited Edition controller for Xbox 360 ($100, includes a copy of the game) are worth considering, too.
Around $100 – Video game collector’s editions
A typical video game goes for about $60, but high-profile game releases often include collector’s editions that sell for a bit more and come with goodies like artwork books, action figures or other tchotkes. Like the Assassin’s Creed II Master Assassin's Edition ($90 at Gamestop.ca), which includes the game plus an art book, action figure and more. Or the Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Edition ($170 at Gamestop.ca) which comes with a pair of working nightvision goggles. How do you top that?
Sky’s the limit – My personal wish list
Money no object? Are you rich and/or eccentric and really love your gamer giftee? Then how about the Modern Warfare 2 Limited Edition Xbox 360 console ($430), with its 250 GB hard drive, two controllers and copy of Modern Warfare 2? Or, for the PlayStation 3 owner, the amazing Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series on Blu-ray ($350)? Or also for the PS3 owner, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Fortune Hunter Edition, a collector’s edition so rare it can’t be bought in stores and sells for more than $1,500 on eBay? Santa? Are you listening? I’ve been really, really good.
