ince the days that video game playing was attributed only to the pasty and the antisocial, the medium has certainly come a long way. Arguably, now, instead of being a black mark on a person's social calendar (although the way we play World of Warcraft, the reality is that they often are), games are actually helping bring people together.. They're so popular in fact, that people are beginning to wear their gaming habits on their sleeves.

Quite literally.

There are a number of different ways in which you can rock video game apparel. The thing to bear in mind before you do is, are you sure you want to? While there are definitely cool bits of schwag and clothing to be had, as with any hobby, there's no sense in advertising your affiliation just for the sake of it. Without proper context, you're going to look like you're trying too hard.

We'd like to take you on a brief tour of the good, the bad, and the just plain ugly when it comes to video game schwag and apparel. We'll follow up with a photo shoot of the GameSpot editors dressed up in some of their favorite schwag. At the end of it all, we invite all users (that are legally able) to participate in our massive E3 schwag bag giveaway.

Paying Your Dues

One of the easiest ways to get video game paraphernalia is simply to buy it. There are plenty of people willing to take your money in exchange for a T-shirt that may or may not be clever, but is certain to reference a classic Nintendo game or a kitschy game-related phrase. You can buy game apparel of all kinds, from different shapes of T-shirts and sweatshirts to wristbands and even underwear. Are they worth it? Well, that is certainly up to you. Buying specialty T-shirts can get expensive, and what is it that you're paying for exactly, the opportunity to strike up small talk with a complete stranger about video games? (Actually, though, that's a pretty big advantage to wearing your affiliations on your sleeve.)

The following is a list of some of the more popular places to buy video game clothing. Of course, since video games are only growing in popularity, you can find clothes to wear at many more locations than these.

Gameskins/Penny Arcade
Hot Topic
Jinx
ThinkGeek

Alternately, you can go directly to game developer and publisher Web sites yourself. Many of them have stores with unique and well-made merchandise like the Double Fine
store, which has been constantly adding Psychonauts-related items long after the game's release. The Tecmo store, in fact, sells one of our favorite video game-related items ever, the DOA Kasumi 3D mousepad. We'd explain further, but it really only has impact if you see it for yourself.

The Good

The T-shirts from the formerly independent Gameskins (now a Penny Arcade affiliate hosted by ThinkGeek) range from the obvious, such as the "Konami Code" tee, to the slightly obscure, like the otherwise-unaffiliated-with-Half-Life "Crowbar" tee. We like a couple of the shirts that are nestled right in between, such as "Insert Credit," a clever nod at both evolution and the joy of good, old-fashioned arcades.

The Bad

Sometimes a shirt is so terribly conceived that we're hard-pressed to understand how anyone could have ever purchased it. The "Don't Make Me Go Zelda On You" T-shirt from Hot Topic is one such item. It seems to be out of print, so you'd have to try extra-hard to make this egregious fashion error, but believe us when we say we don't think it sends the right message. It's not funny, it's not subtle, and it doesn't even look that good. Stay away!

The Ugly

Not to pick on Hot Topic, but it hasn't replaced the Zelda shirt with a better selection of clothes. Our (least) favorite example is the "You Know You Are a Nintendo Geek When..." shirt, which is a cluttered mess of text and images that wouldn't make for a very good forum post, let alone a T-shirt. You know you're a Nintendo geek when you purchase this shirt, that's for sure.

Getting a Free Ride

One of the best ways to get free stuff on your own is to get the free stuff that comes with preordering. Preordering is the sometimes questionable practice that stores like GameStop and Electronics Boutique (or rather, the newly combined megacorporation that consists of both of them) use to convince customers that they'll get their games guaranteed on the day of release, if they'll only put a few dollars down on it now. Preorders are vital enough to the economy of these stores that they will often secure schwag to lure people to do it. Quite often, this schwag is really good and rare. Sometimes, though, it's not worth it.

Electronics Boutique
GameStop

The Good

If a preorder works, then you've received a nice piece of schwag for absolutely nothing! Some of the best preorder schwag over time has included the Mega Man "Eight Master Robots" shirt (which you can now buy), a Link statue for preordering The Wind Waker, and one of our personal favorites, the Nintendogs' lunch sack. Sometimes preordering will secure budget games by the same publisher, as well as shirts, wristbands, and other paraphernalia.

The Bad

Well, you have to preorder to take advantage of this, and for those of us who have had bad experiences with preordering, this might not seem worth it. By preordering, you're encouraging these companies to base their purchasing requirements on preorders, as well as allowing them to hold your money, when you can't help but think they're hoping you'll forget you've left your money there. Sure, sometimes preorders work without hitches, but it isn't the binding contract that they make it out to be.

The Ugly

These PN03 glasses are cool in theory, but they're absolutely ugly on everyone.

Seriously. They look good on PN03 protagonist Vanessa Schneider, and were a really neat giveaway idea, but they simply don't work. Don't believe us? GameSpot editors attempted to wear these glasses with style, but only one of our many numbers was able to pull it off. Who? Check the following page for the full GameSpot fashion shoot.