Holiday Gift Guide 2012
Need help gift-buying for gamers this holiday season? Here are some items to look out for.
RC Mario
Efforts to re-create Mario Kart in the real world have, to date, been hampered by a shortage of red shells, blue shells, bloopers, and mega mushrooms. This 1/8th-scale (huh?) RC Mario does absolutely nothing to rectify this unfortunate situation, but throw down some banana skins and pick up an RC Yoshi, and you can enjoy Nintendo-brand racing anywhere with a lot of floor space.
Sphero
Balls don't usually cost over $100, but they also don't usually have robots inside them. Sphero does. It's a robot that you can drive around using an iOS or Android device. There are already a good number of different Sphero apps available, including a shooter that's played using the ball as a controller and a multiplayer game that uses its color-changing capabilities. Cats love it.
Minecraft Jacket
Far more comfortable than Minecraft outfits created with leather, gold, iron, or diamonds, this fleece jacket is perfect for those cold nights when you're stuck outside of your cave, cabin, or castle. There's not enough of that green lining for this to double as a crappy creeper Halloween costume when turned inside out, but get yourself a hat and a beard, and maybe you can go as Notch.
Black Swann
Flying RC helicopters isn't nearly as easy as those folks selling them at malls make it look, and the Black Swann is no exception. What differentiates this one from the competition, though, is that it incorporates a video camera. Learn to fly the Black Swann well, and you might be able to get some great footage; crash too badly, and the camera can serve as a black box.
USB Monitor
If you've ever tried to check your email, your bank balance, or a game guide while playing on your computer, you know that sometimes one screen just isn't enough. This 16-inch monitor isn't one that you'll want to play games on, but it's powered by USB, it has a stand that supports it in both landscape and portrait orientations, and it's light enough that you can carry it around with your laptop.
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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