Holiday Gift Guide 2012
Need help gift-buying for gamers this holiday season? Here are some items to look out for.
WOW Monopoly
Remember when every game of Monopoly used to be preceded by an argument about who got to play as the car and who would get stuck with the iron? Well, now you can argue about mechagnomes and flight path boots instead. World of Warcraft Monopoly is one of many themed sets available. Other video-game-themed sets include Nintendo, Street Fighter, and Sonic the Hedgehog.
iCade 8-Bitty
Purportedly compatible with "thousands of games" on iOS and (most) Android devices, this boxy little Bluetooth controller works well with the kinds of games that were originally released on cartridges and cassette tapes. Assuming your touch-screen device's protective case of choice incorporates rainbow and faux wood motifs, the 8-bitty will look right at home alongside it.
Minecraft Lego
Last year it was Skylanders figures; this year it's Minecraft Lego. Sold out everywhere, this diminutive Lego set is, at the time of writing, available only to those who are willing to pay around double the recommended retail price on eBay, or to put it another way, around 15 cents per tiny brick. There are definitely more impressive Lego sets and Minecraft items available for that sort of money.
Retro Duo Console
Looking to spend significantly less than $300 on a new Nintendo console this holiday season? Not hung up on what the word "new" really means? For just $50, you can get your hands on a RetroDuo console that functions as both an NES and an SNES. Back-of-the-box features include a power switch, air vents, two controller ports, and more! It comes with two controllers and zero games.
Halo Risk
Like Monopoly, Risk is a game that's available in a myriad of different licensed flavors at this point. Unlike Monopoly, the different licenses have a significant impact on how Risk plays. This Halo Legendary Edition comes with a couple of two-player maps in addition to its oversized Halo ring map, for example. Other gaming editions of Risk include Metal Gear Solid and Starcraft.
Aperture Gear
No doubt engineered using science of some kind, these matching Aperture containment and carrying apparatuses are no longer reserved for test subjects. Available in orange and orange, they can be used to transport cake, potatoes, hopes and dreams, and even other, smaller containment and carrying apparatuses. Well, except for the small one; that's designed specifically for your iPad.
Minecraft Vinyls
Given that their primary means of human interaction is to pursue you and then blow up, why you'd willingly invite a Minecraft creeper into your home is a mystery. Fortunately, this vinyl creeper is both inanimate and explosive-free, so it's relatively safe. Vinyl models of Steve and Diamond Steve are available at the same 6-inch scale, but only the creeper comes with a sweet diamond block.
Mini Portal Gun
Portal guns can be tricky to get a hold of; limited-edition life-size replicas sold out within 30 minutes of going on sale, new replicas won't be available until December, and real portal guns simply don't exist. Yet. These mini replicas, on the other hand, are available right now. They also cost less than the life-size ones and have the added benefit of making you feel like a giant.
42 comments
Ever since I got my husband Blockbuster @Home through DISH we haven?t been spending nearly as much money on buying games as we were before. He rents all kinds of games, new and old, so now I have to come up with other things to get him for Christmas. One of my coworkers from DISH thinks I should get him a new headset, but I think that he?d like a Street Fighter chess set even more. Thanks for the idea!
You have WoW monopoly and Halo risk, but you don't Gears of War the Board game (which is incredible). Here was a chance to show other gamers some of the awesome boardgames out there.
The chess set looks cool but the price just doesn't work for me. The different characters for the same pieces for different colors can get confusing though.
I don't know about this list. I've been a gamer for a couple a decades now and I wouldn't want anything on that list lol. Not sure where this list came from...hmmmmm
The Skylanders' description is so bad!!
Basically it's saying: "no need to be creative, forget imagination, everything's already been created for you, generic kid n. x"
The 8-Bit glasses and Retro keychains look like getters.
Me? I'd just be happy if my folks sent me a Steam card, or gifted me a game on Steam or GOG.
1 Like @games_are_fun71 I suspect someone with a screen name of games_are_fun71 doesn't need a guide telling him or her what games to buy.
Seriously? No Scumbag plushie?http://store.supergiantgames.com/collections/frontpage/products/scumbag-plushie
Alternatively, one can wait for the Steam christmas sale, and buy games you'd normally pay at retail price for dirt cheap.
1 Like Um, you do realize not even close to everyone is a PC gamer, or even has a PC capable of it.
@tightwad34 A fair point, though games and movies are still a better choice than overpriced merchandise.
1 Like I'd love that Astro headseat. Anybody gonna get it for me as a gift? No? Ah well, it was worth a shot.
3 Like Wow. Its amazing. In this list, there are so many things I DON'T WANT AT ALL. Not even as a gift. But seriously, a $300 chess game? , a NES/SNES hybrid console?, Lego Minecraft? The only thing that I want (videogames) is not listed here. Beats me
2 Like @avatarIVN This whole site is a "list" of video games. Take a look at the Top Rated list if you'd like recommendations for games.
Mass Effect weapon replica is cool, although I'd want a Viper SR and a Harrier AR instead of the Predator.
I lol'ed at the chess set.
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