Shopping Guide: Things to Buy the Gamer in Your Life

Struggling with what to get the gamer in your life for Christmas? Have no fear! WWAC Games Editor, Al Rosenberg, is here to help!

1. Games

This is the obvious one. What do the gamers in your life love the most? What makes them gamers? The games! If you know what they like this is really the best route to take. There have been several great releases in November with more to come in early December.

Some Suggestions:

• The Master Chief Collection for Xbox One
• World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor for PC
• A World of Keflings for Wii U
• Dragon Age: Inquisition for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC
• Never Alone for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
• Kill Shakespeare a board game

2. Jewelry and Clothing

Gamers love jewelry, it makes their fingers pretty as they roll dice, their wrists shimmer as they shake their controllers angrily, and their necks glint as they role-play in abandoned parking lots. Clothing is required in most group settings, so gamers who enjoy in-person multiplayer events will need some, and solo gamers need at least a shirt to make it through the drive-thru window for dinner.

Some Suggestions:

• A beautiful necklace inspired by the Elder Scrolls universe ($60-$96 USD Bethesda)
• Jinx.com has a ton of geeky clothing for gamers in the USA, France, Germany, Spain, and more!
• Bioshock: Infinite vigors bracelet ($16.75 USD/ €13.82 Etsy, ships from Bulgaria)
• Video game controller wooden cufflinks (€16.50/$20 USD Etsy, ships worldwide from USA)
• ThinkGeek has quite a few options for clothing and ships to many countries worldwide.

 3. Books and Novelizations

I believe that everyone is secretly a reader at their core, they just need to find the right book. A lot of great video games require quite a bit of reading, and I encourage my younger brothers to pick up gaming as a way to get them to read. For the reading gamers in your life, there are many books about games and gaming, as well as novelizations of many games.

Some Suggestions:

• Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation by Blake J. Harris
• The Masked Empire (Dragon Age #4) by Patrick Weekes
• The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers: Volume 1 by John Szczepaniak
• Earthbound (Boss Fight #1) by Ken Baumann
• Diablo III: Storm of Light (Diablo III #5) by Nate Kenyon

4. Game Geekery

My room is filled with stuff. I love stuff. There’s no purpose to “things” other than to look cute and remind me of the best parts of video games I have enjoyed in the past. There are also practical geeky things like bowls, light switches, curtains, and rugs. Everything can be geeky if you try hard enough.

•  D20 Bowl Set ($12.99 USD on ThinkGeek ships to many countries)
• Legend of Zelda Video Game Kokeshi Peg Dolls ($60 USD/ €49.51 ships to select countries from USA on Etsy)
• World of Warcraft Journals ($9.99 USD on ThinkGeek ships to many countries)
• Toys R Us offers many figurines from video games, as well as plush characters for the tiny gamers in your life.
• Chain Mail Gaming Dice Bag ($9.99 USD on ThinkGeek ships to many countries)

5. Gift Cards or an Audience

When it has drawn close to the holiday time and your gamer is too picky to shop for, a gift card is the perfect choice. You can purchase gift cards for Xbox Live, Playstation Network, Nintendo eShop, Steam, many websites that carry video game paraphernalia, and video game boutiques like GameStop. Gamers who game online also appreciate subscriptions to their services (Xbox Live, PSN, BattleNet, etc.)

Personally, I appreciate when people just want to sit and play with me or watch me play as I explain the ins and outs of my favorite games.