Christmas is around the corner and you may be in need of gift ideas for the gamer in your life.
There’s always the option of buying them the latest game, but you may want to accompany this with something more personal.
Here are five gift ideas to level up your loved one’s Christmas.
Storage devices
Games can take up a staggering amount of storage space with their huge file sizes.
If the gamer in your life uses a PC, this is likely to be an issue they encounter and an SSD drive would be a great gift for them.
PS5 and XBox Series X users can also benefit from this gift, however, you may want to buy them an external hard drive instead.
These utilise a console’s USB ports but are slower.
Both SSD and HDD drives range in size and read speed so you can cater for your budget as well as your loved one, and 1TB should be able to cover all their storage needs.
For a Nintendo Switch player, you’ll want a Micro SD card.
Switch games take up less storage than those of their rivals so a 256GB card should provide sufficient space.
Gaming headsets
Regardless of what console your loved one plays on, you can guarantee they’ll want to hear their games better.
This can be achieved through a gaming headset.
A good microphone is a necessity if the gamer in your life plays multiplayer games.
Crisp audio quality is also key, making gaming an immersive experience.
There are both wired and wireless options, with the latter less restrictive but more expensive.
As with all of the items on this list, you’ll want to make sure the headset you choose is compatible with the recipient’s console.
If you go down the wired route, those with a 3.5mm connection tend to work with all consoles.
However, some gaming features may only work with console-specific software so you’re always best checking this before buying.
Gaming headsets vary in price and there will be plenty on the market which meet your gamer’s requirements.
Other features to consider are noise cancellation and design.
Controllers
Ask any gamer, regardless of console, and they’ll say that you can never have too many controllers.
Like with headsets, there are different styles of controller, with some having wires and others not.
A safe pick is going with an official controller for your loved one’s respective console.
There are also plenty of third party retailers, who sell joypads with unique designs or additional features that official vendors don’t offer.
This is perfect if you want to get the gamer in your life a personal gift such as a controller displaying their favourite video game character.
Make sure to purchase controllers from trusted sites.
Keyboards and accessories
Although PC gamers can use controllers, most would prefer to unwrap a dedicated gaming keyboard.
A gaming keyboard is an essential component of any PC gamer’s setup and they come in all shapes and sizes.
Most are mechanical variants and come with customisable buttons which can be programmed to execute specific in-game commands.
Important features include high key rollover and anti-ghosting.
You will also want to check for backlighting, if this is something the gamer in your life uses.
Comparing the specifications of your loved one’s current keyboard with those of products online is a great place to start if you feel out of your depth.
Alternatively, a new gaming mouse, mousepad or custom keycaps would make good presents.
Subscriptions
Most consoles require users to have a valid subscription to play games online.
There’s no worse feeling than booting up a game, only to find out that your online subscription has expired.
They are a great Christmas present and often go on offer at this time of year.
PlayStation users need a PlayStation Plus subscription to play games online.
The XBox equivalent of this is XBox Live Gold.
Nintendo Switch owners require an active Nintendo Switch Online membership.
These subscriptions can be bought for different time lengths.
There are other services like XBox Game Pass, PlayStation Now and the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack which grant members access to an extensive library of games for an annual fee.
If the gamer in your life prefers their phone to a controller, a Google Play Pass or Apple Arcade subscription will go down well.
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