HAVE YOURSELF A VERY GEEKY CHRISTMAS

Giving a well received present feels pretty great, but sometimes choosing the right gift for someone who has interests you don’t share can be challenging. Especially if you’re hunting down a present for someone who is in to the cold, hard lines of technology and you think that a PlayStation is a wooden box you store toys in. With that in mind, we’ve put together a handy guide to some items that may help you find that something special.
Fun fact: gamers love games. It doesn’t matter what the occasion, but getting a free game, which in today’s economic climate is becoming more of a luxury item, is always awesome. But for non-gamers the difference between BoneStorm and Lee Carvallo’s Putting Challenge, or the difference between a cool game and an average one, can be hard to discern. First up there are some AAA titles that are obvious buys for fans of games with guns. Available on Xbox360 (X360) and PlayStation 3 (PS3) are Battlefield 3 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, the latter of which is on track to be the most sold game of all time. Other great titles on both systems include the most excellent Batman: Arkham City and the ridiculous Saint’s Row 3.
Buying something for a PS3 owner? The exclusive titles inFamous 2 and Uncharted 3 will always go down a treat and if your budget allows, the newly released Official Wireless Stereo Headset could be a win-win for both gift giver and receiver. The headphones are completely wireless and feature buttons that interact directly with the PS3 and virtual 7.1 surround sound, giving you a quieter house if your gamer is a night owl, and a handy fold down microphone for those online gaming sessions.
A safer option are gaming store cards. For PS3 owners, PlayStation Network cards can be bought at retailers in various dollar mounts, giving them money to spend on downloadable games directly on their PS3 while Xbox360 have a similar store with Xbox Live cards. Any gamer is sure to find a nice gift for themselves without leaving their couch.
If your gamer likes their games a bit softer and more to their roots, and digs on anything Nintendo do, then The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is a must own title for the Wii. Though you may have to look at their setup and figure out whether they have MotionPlus written on their controllers, because without a newer Wii controller Skyward Sword won’t even boot up and you’ll be in for one big anti-climax.
Unfortunately Nintendo have pretty much hung their portable DS system out to dry, with all new, cool, portable Nintendo games being made for the newer 3DS. But if they are lucky enough to own a 3DS then some great party games, including Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D Land, have just come out and are sure to put a smile on your loved one’s face.
Let’s change gears away from gaming, and check out some DVD box-sets that will be big sellers this holiday season. DVDs have certainly dropped in price in recent years, taking box-sets that contain every damn episode of a show down in to the affordable bracket. Some shows with newly releaseed, up to date box-sets include Lost with a staggering 38 discs, Dexter, The Office (US), Sons of Anarchy and the Seinfeld box-set containing all nine seasons is down to under $100, perfect for even the mildest Seinfeld fan.
For the person who can’t get enough Futurama and has a shelf in their room just for collectibles, the Futurama: Seasons 1-5 limited edition box-set, which comes packaged in robot Bender’s head, will surely get two birds stoned at once.
Tablet devices such as iPad or the various Android variants were hot items this year and chances are your geeky gift-ee has something with a touchscreen in their life right now. If they own an iPhone or iPad then an iTunes gift card will always go down well, as any iOS device owner can put it towards music, books or just a bunch of apps they were on the fence about.
Covers for tablet devices are obviously the hottest accessory to get with your precious, large-screened slab and come in just about any shape, size and colour. Cover company Incipio make some cheap but durable and popular designs for smartphones and iPad. But you can get some great handmade cases on etsy.com that are sure to have lots of personality.
Photography is a market of large dollars and some complex standards, so buying a present for your amateur photo enthusiast can be a bit tricky. One accessory that is easy to buy and every photographer can always use more of is storage cards, such as SD memory cards.
Not too long ago one or two gig cards were something to behold, but today you can grab a 16GB SDHC card for easily under $100 or even 32GB for a bit more. Staggering to us now, but with the ability for most modern DSLRs to take HD 1080p movie files, that storage will ultimately still not be enough in the future.
With serious money being spent on the gaming and gadget industry there are no shortage of presents to pick for someone with a more analytical mind.

_TOM VARIAN