The holiday season has begun in earnest, and the clock is ticking on your gift-giving obligations. While I'm sure the list for what you want rolls out the door and down the street, coming up with ideas for others is tough. That's where I come in, with my personal picks and a rock-solid who's-who of the hardware, peripherals, and games that every gamer worth their thumbs wants.
Aside from the inescapable minefields that are always going to be individual genre tastes and preferred controller colours, you really can't go wrong with what's presented below. Worst-case scenario: gravitate to those gift card options and slap them into an amusing pop-up and/or scratch 'n' sniff bit of foldable cardboard. People who don't appreciate those probably don't deserve presents in the first place.
My Top Picks
Before we get into the usual fare, here's some stuff that's burning Rudolph nose bright on my radar.
This was the year where I saw an explosion in not only Steam Deck (grey) import sales but also the official launches of some third-party competitors to Valve's venerable handheld. What they all have in common: base models with humble storage that can be cost-effectively supersized with your choice of a 2230-S2 M.2 form factor SSD.
That being said, my choice is Seagate's FireCuda 520N SSD as the perfect storage upgrade for the aforementioned PC handhelds, plus it'll work like a charm in a Microsoft Surface, your laptop, and a ton of other compact devices. Better yet, it offers an impressive read/write speed of up to 5,000 MB/s for the 2TB capacity and up to 4,800 MB/s for the 1TB model.
If you have an artistic bend or the simple desire to have an incredibly well-built, ultra-portable second screen for on-the-go work, welcome to the Espresso range of products. I've tested one of these bad boys on an overseas trip and was mightily impressed with its low weight, crazy-thin footprint, durability, and willingness to connect with whatever screen I had available out in the field. (Impressively, it'll power up and play nice with 1000s of devices using nothing but a single USB-C cable.)
If you refuse to take the massive productivity hit that comes with downgrading to a single screen for your complex day-to-day tasks, this screen truly is a brilliant solution. Better yet, it can be augmented further with either a cleverly designed magnetic base stand or a dual-purpose screen protector/stand. Lastly, there's the extra option to get your sketch or 'Shop on with the touchscreen variant and a specialised espressoPen stylus. For a talentless hack like me, that means next-level adult colouring book fun! I love this thing and now refuse to work remotely without it.
Every holiday season (if we're lucky), there's a new console SKU that is the hot item to buy—the rough hardware equivalent of a Turbo Man. This year, it's the PS5 Slim, a revision that practically everybody saw coming, though it still wowed us with its svelte sexiness and some clever surprises.
Let's get into the nitty-gritty of this itty-bitty and dispel some misconceptions. This is not PlayStation's answer to the Xbox Series S—these innards are just as beefy as your OG PS5. If anything, the blueprint has been improved with an additional USB-C port on the front (which makes charging and VR-ing easier), plus there's the hybrid nature of this beast. If money or stock levels prevent your purchasing a disc version, simply get the cheaper digital variant and upgrade it with a disc drive at a more opportune time. Brilliant!
Table of Contents
Best Nintendo Switch Console Gifts
If you are able (and you're lucky enough to find it in stock), there is no better gift to open up than a brand new console!
Best Nintendo Switch Game Gifts
Games are a great gift and will go well with a brand new Switch.
Best Digital Nintendo Gifts
If you're not sure what to get, digital subscriptions, online memberships, and gift cards are always appreciated.
Best Nintendo Switch Accessories Gifts
Help make a Nintendo Switch owner happy with accessories to make their experiences better.
Best PC Handheld Gifts
The mighty PC platform is a gateway to many a gaming experience. Here are the best ways to maximise the fun.
Best PC Games Gifts
These are the top games to showcase the not-inexpensive innards of your batcomputer.
Best Digital PC Gifts
If you're not sure what to get, digital subscriptions, online memberships, and gift cards are always appreciated.
Best PC Accessories Gifts
The greatest strength of a PC is its modular design and wide compatibility with tons of peripherals. These are some of the best...
Best Xbox Console Gifts
It's been a bigger than usual year for Microsoft. Here are the must-owns...
Best Xbox Games Gifts
These are the top games to show off the envy-inducing power of the mighty Series X.
Best Digital Xbox Gifts
If you're not sure what to get, digital subscriptions, online memberships, and gift cards are always appreciated.
Best Xbox Accessories Gifts
Game gifts always run the risk of that individual taste factor. Peripherals are safer crowd-pleaser choices.
Best PlayStation Console Gifts
If you're of a PSPersuasion, we have the stuff you want right here.
Best PlayStation Games Gifts
These are the top games to show off the considerable grunt of PS5, with some games also available on PS4.
Best Digital PlayStation Gifts
If you're not sure what to get, digital subscriptions, online memberships, and gift cards are always appreciated.
Best PS5 Accessories Gifts
For those who like to accessorise, there are two new PS5 DualSense colours, headsets, charging solutions, and more.
Please stay safe on the roads these holidays, and our thanks to Seagate, Sony, and Espresso for the use of their test units.
