If you’re not a gamer yourself, it can feel next to impossible to know what to buy for the gamer in your life for the holidays. To help you find a winning order gift online for any gamer — whether they have a huge following on Twitch (or took that following to Mixer) or just play for themselves —
we talked to 11 gamers about the consoles, games, collectibles, and accessories they’re wishing for this year.
Consoles
For the last three years, Nintendo Switch has been the most wanted game console around, and according to the gamers we talked to it’s just as popular as ever. Joshua Rivera, a staff writer at Kotaku, recommends buying the portable console for gamers of all ages, including beginners. Jamin Warren, founder and CEO of Kill Screen, says, “Not only does it easily dock to your television, but there are also lots of great new games on it. For those who are looking for something really versatile and social, it’s a perfect device.” When we talked to tween boys and girls about what they want to unwrap this year, many of them mentioned a Nintendo Switch. If they already had one, they said they were asking for new games and accessories.
When we talked to Emily Heller, a writer at Polygon and a gamer, she recommended the Nintendo Switch Lite over the regular Switch this year. “It’s great for casual gamers,” she says “specifically for adults who commute on the subway to work.” Both Heller and her husband have Switch Lites and she told us they haven’t used their regular Switch that’s hooked up to the TV since getting the Lites.
According to Jenn Stolfa, the mother of a 10-year-old gamer named George, Xbox One is the system her son and all his friends want this year. Grant, a 13-year-old gaming enthusiast agrees. This version of the console comes with the newly released Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, which Sasha, a 12-year-old who is into gaming and also wants an Xbox One, told us he is looking forward to playing.
Last year, Susanna Pollack, president of Games for Change, told us that the Oculus Rift was a great gift for the avid gamer. “It offers a premium consumer experience in virtual reality, with stunning visuals and controls that let you interact naturally,” she says. This year, Matthew Mason, a sixth-grade gaming and movie enthusiast, says he wants the Oculus Quest and its carrying case. The updated VR headset is the brand’s first-ever portable all-in-one VR gaming device that comes with two wireless controllers — and it lets you play all the same games you enjoyed on the Rift. The main difference between the two is that the Rift has to be tethered to a PC in order to function, where the Quest is a stand-alone system. Mason wants it to play VR Chat and to watch movies. “There’s also this thing called a virtual desktop on it where you can have a virtual computer and send emails that way,” says Mason. And Polygon calls it the best value you can get in VR right now. The Quest is currently back-ordered most places until early January. So if unwrapping the real thing on Christmas morning is important, the Rift or the Oculus Go — which Heller describes as a home theater for your face with the option for some light gaming — are great options as well.
Games
Rivera mentioned a few of this year’s big game releases like Call of Duty and Death Stranding, both of which he called “cinematic” and “intense.” If you’re looking for, as Rivera put it, “friendlier stuff,” however, he recommends Luigi’s Mansion 3 for Nintendo. “There are all kinds of games out there,” he says. “So you have to kind of figure out what kind of video game someone would like in the same way you would figure out what kind of book they might like.”
Untitled Goose Game was a breakout hit this year and the subject of hilarious conversation on Twitter. Rivera calls it “a delight.” He says that “it’s a funny game about being an awful goose” that is intent on wreaking havoc on townspeople by stealing their hats, playing pranks, and honking a lot.
source - https://nymag.com/strategist/article/best-gifts-gamers-according-to-gamers.html
