Buying gifts sucks! Especially for the picky or those who just seem to have everything. Buying gifts for the geekier variety can be hard too. There are a whole tranche of interests out there and it’s worth getting to know someone a bit better to really nail the gift. If you know your target is a gamer, then there are many avenues to take. Try something different than the usual, don’t get him/her a game. They probably already have it. Or would have bought it if they wanted it. Try and go that step further. Think outside the box. Hopefully these can give you a hand. They’re designed for the closer friends, the ones you don’t mind spending a little cash on.
Go Retro
There’s nothing like tapping into the nostalgia of a gamer than going retro. Think about how old they are and what they would have played as a youngster. You can get mini SNES and NES these days packed with old style games. If they were into the arcades as a youth and enjoy a man cave or similar you can even think about some of the many arcade machines for sale. You can pick up an old Playstation for relatively cheap on Ebay if you’re going to go for preowned, the more popular games are cheap too. Having the option to go retro can be a break from the norm for any gamer and give you a great gift which shows you’ve put a decent amount of thought into. Just try and do some digging around first, make sure they’ve not already got what you’re planning to buy.
Virtual Reality
Some say it won’t catch on. Others think gamers are at the early stages of a revolution. If you’re feeling particularly flush going for a virtual reality package can be a great way to open your gamer friend up to a whole new world. Literally. There are a few out there. THe PSVR hooks up to the PS4, for the other ones they’re going to have to have a pretty decent PC, so make sure they have the hardware before you get started. If you know they really suffer from motion sickness it may be worth foregoing this gift too as the headsets can take their toll. They’re expensive, so try getting one in a sale somewhere and remember, games also need to be compatible with VR headsets.
Ditch The Hardware
Go in another route entirely. Why don’t you think about a gaming magazine subscription? If you know they buy a magazine often you could save them some cash and provide an on point gift too in the process. Remember to get the magazine which correlates to their preferred gaming platform. You can even go down the retro route again. Another different type of gaming gift could be tickets to a convention. If they’re into Esports this is a way to give them a chance to compete too. Just make sure your intended convention has an Esports component. The biggest is E3, but there are a myriad of further options if you didn’t want to go there.
