Christmas and Black Friday are approaching at a pace faster than Mario after a Super Star and I feel like none of us are totally primed to deal with it.
What better, then, I pose to you, than indulging ourselves and our desires in a list of super cool gifts for gamers (that we can henceforth add to our Amazon wishlists)?
Nothing!
So let’s do this, let’s get our freak on!
(Freak meaning headsets, obvs).
1. Who Cares About the Next Generation When You Can Be Part of the Genesis Generation?
Source: AmazonOkay, I do. I'm impressed with modern day consoles to the point where I have trouble deciding which direction I want to go in, but nothing beats those memories of staying up way too late (10 PM) as a kid to play Jurassic Park (hey! Here are some Jurassic Park toys!) or Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on SEGA Genesis. Not even Final Fantasy X on the PS2. The great thing about technology now is that they can bring back all our old favorite consoles and they're so much more affordable than they used to be. I'd say that makes them the #1 gifts for gamers.
Get the Minigen Sega Genesis entertainment system on amazon.com
2. Get Lost in a Star Wars-style Vacuum Full of Gifts for Gamers
Source: I Want One Of ThoseBelieve me, I did, and it was insanely hard to chip down until there was just fifteen, let me tell you. Star Wars: The Last Jedi is out in a month. A MONTH. As usual around a release date, all of the ever-expanding Star Wars stuff is brought out to the shelves and cyber shelves. There are Star Wars action figures, Star Wars comforters, Star Wars pillow cases, Star Wars pops, Sta-- you get the picture. Star Wars gadgets exist too and this little R2-D2 desk vacuum will be the best thing ever to happen to the crumbs in your keyboard. (We're all gamers here, you're among friends).
Get this R2-D2 desktop vacuum on iwantoneofthose.com
3. Picard Has Had Enough of These Rocket League Ragers
Source: Think GeekYou could replace Rocket League with basically every game that you can play with an internet connection. To be a gamer is, for the most part, to be a rager. There are just so many feelings involved and losing sucks, even if you don't think you care about whether you win or not. Ragers have always been everywhere though. In the olden days, we used to rage by throwing our controllers down on the floor/bed/beanbag/couch and pacing. Now, it's a little more communal, but it's still raging. Make yourself laugh every time you get mad with this Picard mousepad. One of the most fitting Christmas gifts for gamers (and ragers). (Also: wear one of these Star Trek shirts to stay in uniform).
Get the Picard facepalm mousepad on thinkgeek.com
4. Log On to Steam and Pwn Noobs From the Couch
Source: AmazonNo longer will you have to sit at a table or a desk to game effectively, not with gifts for gamers that will totally enhance your life like this one. Getting a lap tray for my laptop is one of the best things I did, and not just for gaming. It comes in so handy for typing, for searching, and for comfort. Being able to game from your lap is just the frosting on an already delicious geek cake. With one of these, you'll be able to game and will never* be told you're antisocial!
Get the ultimate lap desk for gaming on amazon.com
5. Art Doesn’t Have to Be Fine, it Can Be Super
Source: Think GeekWe've spoken before about how much weight nostalgia has on generation X, Y, and the early millennials. Kids (adults now, I suppose) who grew up in the years before the world was in the state it was in when all of the toys were awesome (Transformer toys! Gremlin toys!) and not every household had a personal, handheld computer for every member of the family. You had to make your own fun and the games were just a bonus to that. These classic NES box art prints are Christmas gifts for gamers that will spark memories of their childhood so strongly, they'll want all four.
Get one of these classic NES game box art canvases on thinkgeek.com
6. You Don’t Realize How Useful a Gaming Mouse is Until You’ve Tried One
Source: AmazonLegit. My gaming mouse didn't make me play better, but it sure made playing easier. I was dubious at first, but since my last mouse broke under the pressure of shooting one-too-many zombies in Left 4 Dead 2 I figured, if I had to get one anyway, I might as well give a gaming mouse a shot. Here we are two years later; it hasn't broken from overuse (I game a lot, hit me up on Twitter to add me on Steam!) and it's so damn useful. Gifts for gamers don't have to be purely aesthetic, it can save us carpal tunnel in the long run!
UtechSmart Venus on amazon.com
7. Keep Your Coffee or Hot Cocoa Warm and Sound
Source: I Want One Of ThoseThis is one of these gifts for gamers that looks like it was made for me. I make a lot of coffee (as we know, look at every coffee article we've ever done; the Wonder Woman mugs one especially) both for writing and gaming. Coffee is my blood, but it's blood that runs cold if I don't drink it fast enough. Which I rarely do. Which makes for a lot of gulped down iced coffee that wasn't meant to be iced whenever I'm waiting for a match to start. If this USB mug heater keeps my drinks warm, then heck, I'm gonna start a religion to it. I'll call it, "YAS CAFFEINE".
Get this vinyl USB cup warmer on iwantoneofthose.com
8. Cool Down Your Gaming Laptop Until it’s as Cool as You Are
Source: AmazonLaptops can get pretty overheated, especially when you're playing a game that takes a lot of power and a lot of RAM to run, which, sadly, is a lot these days. Cooling trays like this can keep your laptop from overheating and adjusts so that you can change its position if you're switching between games or just writing and using the net like you would any other day. It also helps lazy asses like me recline on the sofa and still play my games. God bless gifts for gamers.
Get this adjustable laptop cooling stand on amazon.com
9. Lighten Up Those Dark Nights and Protect Your USB Hubs At the Same Time
Source: AmazonDue to what I can only assume uses a similar sorcery to the flux program, these lights for the back of your monitor or television set can help you to see in the dark without there being any flares on your computer screen. Additionally, this will help your eyes from straining, help you to avoid spilling your soda (or beer) of choice all over your equipment (again) and add an ambiance to your room. One that might even be powerful enough to diffuse your rage while you're waiting to spawn.
Get these LED lights to light up your monitor on amazon.com
10. There’s No Life in Here, But There Can Be Coffee
Source: AmazonAs to whether or not this brilliant Super Mario mug will fit on the USB cup warmer up there or not, it remains (for me to have both, and) to be seen. It looks slightly awkward to drink from in photographs, but if Tinder has taught me anything, filters on a person's computer can severely change the look of anything. Which is why we get those LED lights above. It all comes full circle, geeklets. It comes full circle and then develops a bottom and allows me to put coffee inside of it. As do these Ghostbusters mugs, Walking Dead coffee mugs, Batman coffee mugs and Star Wars must-haves.
Get this Super Mario question mark mug on amazon.com
11. Your Friend Has a PS4? WHO CARES! You Can Have a Super Nintendo
Source: TargetBack in the days after Atari, you either had a Nintendo or a Sega. Since I featured a Genesis/Megadrive system earlier, I figured it was only fair to feature a SNES one too. This console comes loaded with 21 of its best, classic games. Nintendo, as far as I know, didn't make many of them either, but there's more to come and Nintendo usually live up to their promises. All your favorite middle school games can be found on it, including Starfox, Mario Kart, and Legend of Zelda. This is truly one of the most epic Christmas gifts for gamers.
Get the classic Super NES console on target.com
12. Pff, And They Think We Gamers Never Shower
Source: AmazonThey would be wrong. They would be even more wrong if we all had bars of soap that looked like our favorite console games from the 80s and 90s. If you ask me, this is the best idea ever. I'm such a geek that this totally knocks scented bath bombs out of the water. Literally. It might end up like the Lion King flannel I had as a kid that I never touched or used because I didn't want to ruin it, but it might not. I suggest buying two so there's a backup and you won't smell. At least of anything bad.
Get a bar of soap that looks like a game cartridge on amazon.com
13. Desk the Halls With Long Nights of Counter Strike Because it’s Too Comfy to Move
Source: AmazonOkay, I'll admit: Sometimes, there's no replacing a desk. This desk is the perfect gift for gamers because everything about it was designed specifically for us. Cup holder, CHECK. Shelves for your devices, games, and controllers, CHECK. A place to hang your headphones so you don't sit on them and break them despite them being super expensive? Fricken CHECK. If there's anything that will get me off the couch to play some games, it's a badass gaming desk like this one. PS, one of these Star Wars posters would look pretty awesome above it.
Get the Atlantic gaming desk on amazon.com
14. BRBB-8 and Go AFK for Snacks, But Turn On Your Desk Light Before You Do
Source: Think GeekCombine this BB-8 desktop lamp with the LED lights behind your monitor and you'll have the best Yuletide gamer setup ever created. I've always enjoyed lamps. I used to have a lava lamp, even, because I was a 90s kid and that was, exclusively, how we rolled. Were BB-8 around back then, I might have wanted this instead of one of those. There's nothing about any of these gifts for gamers that I don't like, but when there's one that covers all my interests, I'm so there.
Get the BB-8 desk lamp on thinkgeek.com
15. Get Epic With the Best Affordable Gaming Keyboard EVER and Never Look Back
Source: AmazonSimilar to the gaming mouse, I didn't know the joy of a gaming keyboard until I housesat and was able to play some Fallout on my friend's computer. I wondered what it was about his keyboard that made it different to mine. His doesn't light up like this one, but the sound of the keys was unmistakable and every letter registered really quickly and on point, making me just a little less useless at the game. They're really cool and if you're serious about gaming or the person you love is, there'll be no disappointment.
Get this mechanical gaming keyboard on amazon.com
For more geeky gifts of the practical and nerdy type, try on some of these for size: gifts for engineers (or, The Person You Go To To Help You With Computer Stuff), astronomy gifts, Pi gifts, and robot gifts. And if you’re a gamer, well, we have so much for you. Click around! (You can start with a Mario plush).
