It’s that time of year again! With the holiday / Christmas / Hanukkah period coming up, we’ve compiled a list of gift ideas for the loved ones in your life for all price points so that, hopefully, you’ll find inspiration for the perfect gift.
From cheap and cheerful gaming stocking fillers to full-blown, extravagant gaming gift ideas, we’ve included some out-of-the-box suggestions that you may not have considered yourself, along with the best examples of items we have tested and love. If you want more information on any of these items, or other alternatives within the same category, you can email us at [email protected], or leave a message in the comments below, and we’ll be happy to help!
Contrary to what you might think, we don’t really recommend picking up surprise games as gifts, unless you already know what they want, because not only do most gamers pick up their games as and when they need them, the ideal game for a person depends on personal taste and current trends as much as anything.
Where possible, we’ve added links to where to buy these items. We do not receive any commission for these items, nor do we receive money from referrals, links are purely for your convenience. If you see something you like, it’s always worth checking up to date prices to find the best deals.
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Console Gaming Best Buys
With the next generation of consoles due out this time next year, you may want to hold off on picking up a new console, however, with the new generation on the way that means there are some great deals to be found on the current-gen systems, as well as huge libraries of great titles available for a good price.
Nintendo Switch – £279.99 / Switch Lite – £199.99 – Argos
The Switch is a great choice, with a huge library of popular titles. The Switch comes with a docking station to allow you to plug it into a TV, whilst the Switch Lite is a handheld only variant.
PlayStation 4 – £209.99 / PlayStation 4 Pro – £299.00 – PS4 with Modern Warfare or FIFA 20 / PS4 Pro with Spider-Man
The PlayStation 4 is the best selling console of this generation, and it has a great selection of exclusive games. If you have a UHD TV it’s worth going for the Pro variant, although you can’t go wrong with the regular version especially if you have a regular HD TV.
Xbox One S – £205.50 / Xbox One X – £369.00 – Xbox One S 1Tb HDD / Xbox One X with 4 game bundle
The Xbox One S is a great media consumption device with its UHD BluRay player, and you can watch and stream Ultra-HD and HDR video, although it cannot play games in 4k, whereas the Xbox One X is the current most powerful console and can play games at a true UHD resolution.
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Gaming Subscriptions
What use is a shiny new console without games to play on it? Both Xbox and PlayStation have their own monthly subscription services, and each offers exceptional value for money if you need to build up an instant and varied library of quality games.
Xbox Game Pass comes in three different flavours: Game Pass for Consoles, Game Pass for PC, and Game Pass Ultimate which includes Game Pass for consoles and PC, as well as including Xbox Live Gold, which is required to play multiplayer games.
Deals are often available if you buy several months upfront, so we recommend checking the latest deals. You can stack up to 36 months worth at a time, so if you see a good deal, snap it up!
At the time of writing, we found this 3 months + 3 months free deal for £32.92 from Amazon.
PlayStation Now is Sony’s streaming (and now downloadable) service, that gives you access to hundreds of games from the PS4, PS3 and PS2 back catalogue. Streaming is capped at 720p and audio is downmixed to stereo, so you will need to download games to enjoy them at their best, but streaming is a great way to quickly pick-up and play new games.
As with Xbox Game Pass, the best deals are found when you buy longer subscriptions, and there are many great offers if you shop around.
We found this deal for a 12 month PlayStation Now subscription for only £39.69 from CDKeys.
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Retro Gaming Consoles
Retro gaming has undergone somewhat of a resurgence recently. It’s possible to hunt down working examples of old consoles but they often have compatibility issues with modern TVs, and games can be hard to find and very expensive. Fortunately, there is an alternative in these mini-consoles, that come preloaded with some classic games and everything you need to hook them up to modern displays.
SEGA Mega Drive Mini – £69.99 – Available at Argos
The SEGA Mega Drive Mini console is loaded with 40 legendary games including Ecco the Dolphin, Castlevania: Bloodlines, Space Harrier 2, Shining Force, Dr Robotnik’s Mean Machine, ToeJam & Earl, Comix Zone, Sonic the Hedgehog, Altered Beast, Gunstar Heroes and many more. The package also includes 2 controllers, USB power cable, HDMI cable.
Here’s our article about the Mega Drive Mini.
Nintendo Classic Mini: SNES – £119.99 – from Amazon UK
The SNES Mini is increasingly hard to get hold of due to its overwhelming popularity and a great selection of preloaded games. You can find better deals for second-hand ones, but this was the best priced new unit we could find.
Sony Playstation Classic Console – £41.99 – buy it on Amazon UK
Sony’s hugely popular first entry into the console market has also had the retro treatment, and it comes preloaded with a selection of classic games. There are a few games that would have been better additions to the library, and with only 20 games it can feel a little light on content, but for the price, there’s enough here to give you a decent retro fix, as well as being an attractive addition to any gaming setup.
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Gaming Headsets
A good value gaming headset can be invaluable when you want a break from the noise of your children’s gaming, or for when you want to play at night without disturbing the household, but many of the current generation of gaming headsets also provide superior quality audio and surround-sound capabilities, as well as providing a means of communication and an audible advantage in today’s competitive multiplayer games.
Whether you want to spend £40 or £400, there’s a headset out there that’s perfect for you or your loved ones.
Best budget headset –
Turtle Beach Recon Spark – £39.99 – available on Amazon
We gave the Recon Spark 9/10 in our review, praising its excellent quality at this price point.
Best for competitive gaming –
ASTRO A40 TR Gen 4 with MixAmp TR Pro – £212.49 – from Astro
The ASTRO A40 TR is ideal for competitive gaming. Indeed, even the TR in the name stands for Tournament Ready. Customised sound profiles that amplify footsteps and enemy gunfire work exceptionally well, and they make a huge difference: The ASTRO A40 TR and MixAmp TR Pro really do give you a serious advantage.
Best for multi-platform use –
Audeze Mobius – £344.00 – from Amazon
This may seem a lot of money for a gaming headset, but for the audio quality and amount of features crammed into its lightweight shell, this stylish headset offers arguably the best sound you can get for the price, as well as being compatible with all your devices.
Here is our review from our recent hands-on with the Mobius.
Best for audiophile sound –
Audeze LCD-GX Gaming Headset – £849.00 – from Hifonix
The LCD-GX is a true audiophile headset, fitted with Audeze’s amazing planar magnetic drivers. Make no mistake, this is a very expensive headset, but you won’t find another gaming headset that recreates sounds as accurately as this, just the way the developers intended. There’s no fancy bells and whistles, just crystal clear sound and an incredibly comfortable headset. Whether you are playing games, listening to music or enjoying a movie, if you want pure sound quality there is no better gaming focussed headset you can buy.
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Gaming Stocking Fillers
POP! Games Vinyl Figures – from £4.99 to £59.99 – from Game
These awesome POP vinyl figures will look great adorning a gaming desk, display case or mantlepiece. Coming in a range of characters from popular games, there’s sure to be one that resonates with your chosen recipient.
Gaming Mouse Mats – from £5.00 upwards
There’s a huge amount of pre-made mousemats to choose from, in various styles, and some sites will even let you upload a picture of your choice and they will print it onto a mouse pad for you. Thoughtful and practical, these are a great gift idea.
Vistaprint will print and deliver a mouse mat for under £10.
Game Boy Colour Change Glass – £6.99 – from Amazon
This retro drinking glass has a screen that is blank until you pour in a cold drink. Officially licensed, this would make a great display item just as much as it would a practical gift.
Friars Chocolate Game Controller – £4.99 – for a twin-pack from Friars
Who doesn’t like getting chocolate for Christmas? These Belgian chocolate controllers are not only fun, but they also look delicious too, and they come in a nice presentation box.
Pokeball Coffee Mug – £7.65 – from Amazon
Coffee Mug, I choose you! This Pokeball coffee mug is the ideal gift for Pokemon fans. Before you head out to the gym, fill up with a cup of your favourite brew.
PlayStation Game Coasters – £8.80 – from Amazon
These officially licensed coasters feature memorable games from the original PlayStation. A great stocking filler for gamers.
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Gifts under £50
Corsair ST100 Premium RGB Headset Stand – £39.98 – from Amazon
Software controlled RGB lighting gives this headset stand a premium feel. Featuring 2 USB ports to charge devices, and a 3.5mm output so you can connect your wired headset directly into it for virtual 7.1 channel surround sound. Please note, this is not a headset charger, just a stand.
Crash Bandicoot Big Box Merch Crate – £18.99 – from GeekCore
Featuring a snapback cap, keyring, messenger bag, wallet and more, this is a great value gift that will put a smile on any Crash Bandicoot fans’ face.
Fortnite Monopoly – £20.99 – from Smyths Toys
Ok, for many people, this may be the demon offspring of two things you hate, but it’s a good way to get the family together at Christmas.
Guinness World Records: Gamer’s Edition 2020 – £19.45 – from Amazon
The 2020 edition of the Guinness World Records: Gamer’s Edition is jam-packed with your favourite gaming characters, and even reader challenges you can attempt yourself to try to earn your place in the next annual.
PlayStation Alarm Clock – £24.99 – from Firebox
There’s not much to say about this one. It’s an alarm clock, and it’s shaped like a PlayStation controller. It’s absolutely an awesome thing to have on a bedside table though.
Call of Duty Monkey Bomb Alarm Clock – £29.99 – from Truffle Shuffle
Everyone likes a cymbal banging monkey! Call of Duty fans will instantly recognise this monkey-bomb themed clock. If you like the sound of being rudely awoken by this cymbal banging simian, look no further.
PlayStation Icons Light – £24.99 – from Truffle Shuffle
These tasteful lights will look amazing on a display stand or shelving rack. Show off your collectibles and steel case PlayStation games in style!
Men’s Old School Gamer T-Shirt – £14.99 – from Truffle Shuffle
This smart printed t-shirt features classic controllers, and the faded design means that it isn’t garish. Dubious tattoos not included.
Bluetooth Controlled LED Strip Lights – £15.99 – from Amazon
Simply plug these lights into an available USB port for power, and enjoy a beautiful backlight for your screen. Choose from a load of colours, that (depending on which ones you buy) can fade between colours, operate in a strobe like fashion or maintain a solid colour.
Pixel Pals Light-Up Figure – £14.99 – from Argos
These awesome, 8-bit styled light up lamps come in a range of styles featuring characters such as Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, Lara Croft and many more.
Nintendo Switch Accessories Kit – £32.99 – from Amazon
This epic bundle includes a JoyCon charging dock, carrying case bag, screen protector, controller grips and more! A must-have for any Switch fan, and you get a lot for your money here.
USAopoly Super Mario Chess – £39.97 – from Amazon
This beautifully crafted chess set is also available with Destiny, Fallout and Zelda pieces. Great as a focal piece for a side-table but not so expensive you won’t want to break them out for a game with friends.
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Gifts under £100
Seagate Expansion Amazon Special Edition 4TB – £75.99 – from Amazon
Games are taking up more and more space, so chances are you are going to need more storage for your console or PC sooner rather than later. The Seagate Expansion drive comes in a lot of different capacities, but in terms for bang for the buck (or price per Mb if we’re being technical), the 4Tb drive is a great choice.
Xbox Design Lab Custom Controller – from £59.99 – from Microsoft
What could be better than a new, fancy, coloured controller? Why, one you designed yourself of course! With millions of possible combinations, you can have the controller of your dreams!
Xbox Adaptive Controller – £74.99 – from Microsoft Store
Designed primarily to meet the needs of gamers with limited mobility, the Xbox Adaptive Controller features large programmable buttons and connects to external switches, buttons, mounts and joysticks to help make gaming more accessible.
Nintendo Switch Pro Controller – £59.99 – from Nintendo
The JoyCon controllers are great when you are out and about, but when you have your Switch docked, you’ll be much better served by one of these.
M65 RGB ELITE Tunable FPS Gaming Mouse – £59.99 – from Corsair
If you’re in the market for a new gaming mouse, you could do a lot worse than the durable, stylish, accurate and reasonably priced Corsair M65 RGB Elite gaming mouse. Available in either black or white colourways, with RGB lighting.
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Gifts over £100
Xbox Elite Controller 2 – £159.99 – from Microsoft
Available from 4th November 2019, the Elite 2 is the highly anticipated new version of the excellent Elite controller. It’s pricey, but it is a premium product and once you’ve tried one, you won’t want to go back. It will be compatible with Scarlett when it releases, so it’s a sound investment.
Razer Raiju Ultimate PS4 Controller – £199.99 – from Razer
Sony’s third-party answer to the Xbox Elite controller, the Raiju Ultimate is a highly customisable pro-level controller, complete with RGB lighting. A must-have for serious Playstation gamers.
Karnox Legend Gaming Chair – £299.99 – from Karnox
We gave the Karnox Legend a 9/10 score in our review. It has an ergonomic design along with beautiful styling and it is an amazingly comfortable place to sit and game. If you spend prolonged amounts of time gaming, you owe it to yourself to have a chair as good as this.
Gears 5 Crimson Red Customized Lancer Mk3 Replica – £149.99 – from Geek Core
This full-size replica of the Gears 5 Lancer Mk3 will make a great focal piece for a games room. Featuring interactive elements, lights and sounds, this isn’t just a great display piece, it would also be ideal for cosplay enthusiasts.
Oculus Quest All-in-one VR Gaming Headset – £399.00 – from Amazon
The Oculus Quest is a standalone VR headset that runs on the Android OS. No wires, no external devices needed. If you don’t have a PC that can handle regular VR gaming, this is your next best option.
LG 27UK650 4k HDR Gaming Monitor – £339.00 – from Amazon UK
There is a slightly newer version available for 2019, but that means you can get an amazing deal on this superb 4k monitor. Perfect for console gaming, it has dual HDMI ports as well as a display port connector, so you can plug consoles and a computer in together. Colour reproduction is excellent and it even has HDR support. HDR is hindered by the max brightness only being 400 nits, and it doesn’t have full-array local dimming, but it still benefits hugely from the wider colour gamut of HDR signals and it’s simply outstanding for the price. (Our Editor in Chief bought this exact model as they were so impressed with it.)
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Gifts from £600 upwards
ASUS ROG Strix Scar III (G531GW)– £2,349 – from Amazon
The ROG Strix Scar III has a Full HD 240Hz display with a 3ms response time, 9th generation i9 processor, GeForce RTX 2070 GPU, a huge 1TB SSD as well as a 1TB SSHD, and 32GB of DDR4 RAM. Make no mistake, this is an absolute powerhouse of a laptop capable of running most games at extreme settings. Ultra-thin bezels and per-key RGB lighting mean this laptop looks as good as it performs.
Galaxy 80s Multi Game Arcade Machine – £895.00 – from Liberty Games
A decadent addition to any gaming room or lounge, the Galaxy 80s Multi Game Arcade Machine is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship, and it comes loaded with classic games, including Pac-Man, Space Invaders, 1942, Galaga and more. Seeing as this is new, it is also free from all the cigarette burns you would have seen on them in arcades in the ‘80s! Check the link to see their full range of arcade cabinets!
Xbox One Controller Coffee Table – £969.75 – from Etsy
LG OLED E9 (OLED55E9PLA) – £1,999.00 – from John Lewis & Partners
This 55” OLED UHD TV is absolutely top of the line. Including Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support, and LG’s excellent webOS platform, this set will last you more than long enough to justify the outlay, as well as being perfect for premium console gaming on a big screen.
(We linked to John Lewis for this TV because of the excellent warranty that comes as standard, as well as their very good extended warranties. When you are paying this much for a TV, it’s worth protecting your investment!)
Acer Predator Thronos Motorised Gaming Chair – £24,999 – from Acer
This insanely cool motorised setup features support for a triple monitor setup, has haptic feedback built into the seat, and is fully motorised. It costs a whole lot of money, but if you can afford it, you’re gonna be the envy of all your friends.
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What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments!