Consider these non-game gift ideas for the gamer who already owns all the software.
by Greg Orlando
If there's one thing every sane human being can agree upon, it's that socks suck, sweaters don't say "I love you" as much as they do "here's a crappy present to hide at the bottom of your drawer," and don't even get us started on the fruitcake. That's something to be dropped on hostile nations in times of war, and not, in any way, shape, or form, a real present.
For those shopping for a fan of video games, there's a wealth of excellent game titles and consoles to choose from. But that's just a good starting place. Games have leapt out of the monitor and into the real world, and people looking for presents for fans of the medium might want to seek out some of these products.
Films
It's certainly not classic cinema, but consider titles such as Silent Hill, DOA: Dead or Alive, or one of the Resident Evil or Tomb Raider films. All are out on DVD and provide moderate amounts of entertainment based on popular video games. Other excellent DVD-based choices include anime (Japanese cartoons) based on Capcom 2D fighting games Street Fighter II and Darkstalkers or Sega's zippy mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog.
For the extremely naughty (or perhaps downright evil), director Uwe Boll's video game films are like poison. Titles such as Alone in the Dark, House of the Dead, and Bloodrayne are largely terrible -- okay, hugely terrible -- but have managed to squeak out an existence as DVD curiosities. It would be hard to recommend these titles even as prank gifts, but some might be acceptable as cautionary tales for would-be film students or, perhaps, as a precursor to a really good gift that's not an Uwe Boll film.
Clothing
Fashionably conscious game fans might love to wear their allegiances on a T-shirt, sweatshirt, hat, or hoodie. There's been an explosion in game-related fashion, with everything from the super old-school (the classic Atari logo, three lines forming a giant block "A") to the relatively obscure (T-shirts heralding the quirky Nintendo DS lawyer adventure Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.)
Here, it's best to go with something subtle. A green T-shirt claiming "All I Know I Learned From Zelda" is probably trying too hard. Instead, opt for the more referential, but certainly less overwhelmingly blatant stuff like, say, a faded Zelda Triforce T-shirt. For other neat options, check out web sites such as Panic Goods Apparel, Cafe Press, 80s Tees, and Way of the Rodent.
