AWESOME HOLIDAY GIFTS YOU CAN BUY ON THE CHEAP FOR THE GAMER IN YOUR FAMILY
It's that time of year kiddies. Whether you're shopping for the younger, adolescent gamer in your family or the more mature significant other game-guru in your life these gifts are sure to make an impression. In no particular order, here we go!
PERSONA 4: THE ANIMATION
The First installment in the "Persona 4: The Animation" series remastered for HD on Blu-Ray. Contains 2 awesome, action-packed discs with episodes 1-12.
Persona 4: The Animation Collection 2. Contains two discs with episodes 13-26.
If you love the Persona series or are just a fan of great anime, you can't go wrong with this beautiful Hi-Definition Collection mastered on Blu-Ray Disc
Want to kill two birds with one stone? Then you can't go wrong with this remaster of Persona's serialized TV-run anime for Hi-Definition Blu-Ray Disc. Each Collection sells for around $25 - $40 per set, incumbent upon where you make your purchase. Both sets are fully-dubbed with professional English voice-overs and include subtitles for most other languages. For the video gamer that loves the Persona franchise, then this box set certainly won't fail to impress and only further their interest in the video game, since the the anime is a complete retelling of Persona 4 the video game. And for fans of anime, they will definitely appreciate the unique characters and story that is synonymous with the Persona universe. Either way, this stylistic anime iteration of the successful video game franchise won't disappoint the gamer or anime fan in your family.
NI NO KUNI: WRATH OF THE WHITE WITCH
Ni No Kuni has recently be added to Sony's "Greatest Hits" signature line of games. You can now own this masterpiece of adventure based game play and beautiful anime-blended graphics with real time 3D effects for a MSRP of $19.99 brand new.
Ni No Kuni is a marvelous PS3 exclusive developed by LEVEL-5 and revered animation house STUDIO GHIBLI, creators of such excellent full-length anime movies as "Spirited Away" and "Princess Mononoke". For the adventure or RPG gamer in your family, Ni No Kuni will certainly not disappoint. Featuring beautifully drawn animation fused with gorgeous 3D backdrops, Ni No Kuni was a brilliant joint effort from Level-5 and Studio Ghibli. Oh yes, and it's also absurdly fun to play as well. You can now buy the game BRAND NEW FOR $19.99 ON SONY'S "GREATEST HITS" SERIES of PS3 top-sellers.
SONY PSP (MODEL 3000) OR NINTENDO DS/LITE
Sony's foray into the lucrative handheld gaming market has proven to be very successful after an initial sales slump during those first few growing pain years, recently achievingover 100 million units sold. Although the PSP can't match the stalwart marquee exclusives and pedigree of Nintendo's unique DS handheld that doesn't make the PSP any less cooler or attractive, with 1000 s of great games, unique JRPG's crafted just for the PSP, many niche games that found a home on Sony's handheld and AAA titles that were completely remade into a new experience for the PSP (Grand Theft Auto, Tekken 6, God of War, WipEOut, Perona series). Pictured above is the 3000 series, the 3rd H/W iteration and most refined. Forget the clunky and over sized 1000 model, the 3000 revision is the definitive model
The DS in it's shut-closed state, making it easy to slip in and out of your pocket, backpack, purse whatever. Also, the DS comes in a variety of colors so you can accessorize your H/W as you see fit with your other apparel. Nifty Swifty!
Nintendo has pioneered and dominated the handheld gaming market since the advent of the original Gameboy. The Nintendo DS is no different, featuring a touchscreen display via a stylus pen, a unique portable clam shell design and backwards compatibility with the Gameboy Advance. Now that the 3DS has superseded the original, the DS and DS Lite are dirt cheap with an absurd library of Triple A titles available for $3 - $10 a cartridge. Oh yes, and did I mention just how cool the damn thing looks too? PICTURED ABOVE: NINTENDO DS LITE. Essentially a more compact version of the original DS with a slightly larger screen and other minor H/W refinements.
The best Holiday gift for the gamer in your life is undoubtedly a new games console that their fingers have yet to grace. While the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS may be from the previous handheld H/W cycle, they are no less impressive, extremely fun as game devices, each have an absurd lineup of great games and best of all, each unit can be purchased used for less than $50 - $60. New units may cost $70- $80 or more, but for those on a tight budget you can typically find a used unit in good condition on Craigslist or from GameStop. When buying from Craigslist always make sure that the seller has pictures to show and always try renegotiating the price, even if they have the item listed as FIRM. There is always room for negotiation. If the seller wants to sell a package that includes several games and other tangibles such as plastic cases, screen protectors or memory cards, however you only need one or two particular items then always offer a lower price then advertised, they might agree to keep everything together and you'll get all the extras for virtually nothing! If they separate the desired item from everything else you can always try and haggle a few things back in for a couple extra bucks. Also, it doesn't hurt if buying as a gift to buy a small bundled deal with a few games and a memory card (THE MEMORY STICK DUO IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE PSP OTHERWISE YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO SAVE GAME PROGRESS). For the DS and PSP, ensure that both items come with an AC Wall Charger and that with anything you buy from a stranger online, TO HAVE THE SELLER DEMONSTRATE TO YOU THE HARDWARE DOES INDEED WORK. Finalize the deal by instructing them to insert a game and turn the H/W on, so you can see for yourself that it plays and is fully functional (don't forget to test it and make sure all the buttons, directional pad and or analog stick(s) are working as intended). If everything is on the up and up and a price is agreed upon between both parties then go for it! Buying a Nintendo DS/Lite or PSP from GameStop isn't much different than Craigslist, except their is no haggling over price and what you see is what you get. All used handhelds sold via GameStop include the basic necessities, such as AC Adapter. GameStop also provides you with a 30-day warranty on said hardware, with the option to buy into a 1 or 2 year warranty for a couple extra bucks. Whichever route you take in buying either handheld for the gamer in your life, make sure that if you are buying a PSP that the model is 3000 and as for the DS, you'll also want the DS LITE model. Each variation comes with larger or brighter screens, have their capacity or size reduced and feature other important refinements. It's also important to note that the Nintendo DS and DS Lite both can play Gameboy Advance games, which is a nice addition and automatically gives you another entire catalog of games to play from. The DS XL DOES NOT FEATURE GBA BACKWARDS-COMPATIBILITY.
Both Sony and Nintendo have a healthy amount of games for each of their portables. It should be noted that the PSP, however, is definitely a more well-rounded multimedia device capable of video playback (via special UMD video discs or MP4 file format I believe), music playback, radio tuning, skype, internet connectivity and displaying a variety of image files. By contrast, the Nintendo DS is really only meant for gaming and because it's Nintendo H/W, it comes with all the great first-party titles that are exclusive to only Nintendo (ie: Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Pokemon, Mario Kart, Starfox, Donkey Kong). So if the gamer you are shopping for has a soft spot for Nintendo titles or characters, then certainly the DS is a purchase they'll be sure to love. Graphically, their is no comparison: The PSP has graphics comparable to a PlayStation 1/2 hybrid in the palm of your hand giving it a distinctive edge for visuals. The PSP renders 3D and 2D graphics very fast, with games like "GTA: Liberty City Stories", "God of War: Ghosts of Sparta", "Pursuit Force" and "Need for Speed Most Wanted" running blazing fast. THE PSP IS ALSO AN "RPG MONSTER", FEATURING MANY GREAT 3RD PARTY RPG EXCLUSIVES SUCH AS THE PERSONA SERIES, "KINGDOM HEARTS: BIRTH BY SLEEP", "TACTICS OGRE: LET US CLING TOGETHER", "PHANTASY STAR", "STAR OCEAN: SECOND EVOLUTION", "JEANNE D'ARC" AND "DISGAEA 1 OR 2 . The DS, by contrast, may not push as many polygons but still has a plethora of great titles, "Metroid Prime: Hunters" and "Super Mario 3D" were both very visually impressive game for the DS. ALSO, THE DS HAS A TON OF GREAT EXCLUSIVE RPG'S SUCH AS "THE WORLD ENDS WITH YOU", "SMT: STRANGE JOURNEY", "SMT: DEVIL SURVIVOR 2AND "RADIANT HISTORIA". So now that you know the fundamental difference between the two handhelds, go and make an educated decision that surely will impress friends, family and gaming geeks alike.
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