Enlarge image
Photo: Nintendo
Many players have to be brave: Your perhaps greatest wish will hardly be able to be fulfilled.
In order for a so-called next-gen console to stand under the Christmas tree, you need well-prepared donors with a good portion of luck.
Sony's Playstation 5 is currently sold out everywhere, with Microsoft's Xbox Series X the situation is similar.
There are numerous offers on platforms such as Ebay classified ads, but often at exorbitant prices.
And if you are careless, you will even fall for a fake shop when hunting for a new console, which ceases to operate after receiving the payment.
So what can you give game fans for Christmas if you've failed to secure one of the coveted consoles in time?
Beyond, of course, new games, for example for the Playstation 4 or the Xbox One, there are at least some interesting options.
Nintendo Switch / Nintendo Switch Lite / Nintendo Switch (OLED)
Initially ridiculed, the Nintendo Switch has now become one of the most popular consoles, often as a second device next to a Playstation or Xbox.
It's not nearly as powerful as the new consoles, but thanks to the built-in screen it can also be used on the go or when the TV is busy.
The Switch is an excellent device, especially for families with children, as there are many child-friendly games for them.
They often rely more on being together than on solo sessions in front of the screen.
Basic switch equipment with an additional controller and “Mario Kart 8” will help a small family well through the turn of the year.
But be careful: The smaller - and significantly cheaper - version of the console, the Switch Lite, is especially interesting for people who play a lot alone or on the go.
It cannot be connected to the TV.
The latest model of the standard console is the Nintendo Switch (OLED), it offers a better screen and small improvements such as a revised stand.
Nintendo Switch,
from approx. 300 euros (also available in a bundle with games)
Nintendo Switch Lite,
from approx. 200 euros (also available in a bundle with games)
Nintendo Switch (OLED)
, from 360 euros (also available in a bundle with games)
Playstation 5 controller and media remote control
Accessories for the console are currently much easier to get than a Playstation 5 itself. Perhaps it is therefore also an option to give away a self-made voucher for a console purchase or for financial support with the purchase sometime in the next few months - garnished with an official accessory as a waiting aid.
An extra controller, for example, is essential for multiplayer games on a screen; controllers from the previous console can no longer be used for exclusive Playstation 5 titles.
In addition, it can already be used on the PC.
The media remote control meanwhile makes the control of films and music much more comfortable, after all, the controller is not made for this: it can happen, for example, that you accidentally restart a film with it when you get the subtitles changed.
Playstation 5 media remote control,
approx. 30 euros
Playstation 5 dual-sense controller,
approx. 70 euros
"Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros."
This mini console is a little pearl for retro fans: the first "Super Mario" game appeared around 35 years ago, and the first "Game & Watch" devices came onto the market over 40 years ago.
For many older gamers, they are responsible for their first encounter with video games; they formed the entry point into hobby gaming.
To mark the anniversary, a new edition of the device with completely renewed graphics was published in 2020.
It combines three games - "Super Mario Bros.", "Super Mario Bros. - The Lost Levels" and "Ball" - with a clock.
"Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros.",
approx. 60 euros
"Minecraft: Builders & Biomes" and "Anno 1800"
For a long time, the path between the different types of game was only going in one direction: a board game became a video game - not always with good results.
In the meantime it is often the other way around: There are more and more good board games that are based on games.
"Minecraft: Builders & Biomes" and "Anno 1800" show that well.
"Minecraft: Builders & Biomes" picks up individual aspects from "Minecraft" and uses them to build a successful game.
It lets players explore the world, collect resources, and finally build buildings, and does it so well that even kids who are used to Minecraft will find the game exciting enough to skip the screen.
"Anno 1800" is meanwhile an adaptation of the successful German construction simulation.
The parlor game of the same name focuses on trade as well as industry and building a city.
It lets players explore new islands and just forego military conflicts, which are also optional in the PC game.
Even if the rules seem very complex at first, a nice flow of the game soon develops that is not far from the model.
“Minecraft: Builders & Biomes”,
from Ravensburger, approx. 25 euros,
“Farmers Market”
extension
approx. 15 euros,
“Anno 1800”,
from Kosmos, approx. 45 euros
"Lego Super Mario"
Why should you recreate "Super Mario" levels with Lego parts?
So that you can invent traps and obstacles or hide opponents in the course, for example, or so that you can put a little Mario world in your room.
It's also fun to move a block-shaped Lego-Mario with a built-in coin counter through the level, let it bounce or balance on platforms - while enjoying the nice "pling" sound.
That only gets a little annoying in the long run.
"Lego Super Mario
"
starter set,
approx. 50 euros
Xbox Series X and S memory expansion
With the Xbox Series X and S, too, accessories are easier to get than the console: A memory extension for the device of your choice, for example, is a good - albeit not exactly cheap - gift for frequent gamers.
Especially for gamers who buy their games online or use the Xbox Game Pass, the console's memory space is running out far too quickly.
The Seagate storage expansion, specially made for Xbox Series X and S, brings an additional 1 TB.
The advantage over other hard drives connected via USB 3.X: Games optimized for the new consoles can be played directly from the memory expansion without the games first having to be copied to the console memory.
Xbox Series X and S, 1 TB storage expansion from Seagate,
approx. 220 euros
"Mario Kart: Home Circuit"
The apartment becomes a race track: "Mario Kart: Home Circuit" is a switch game, but actually more of a high-tech toy - that's why we're listing it here separately. Players use a switch to steer a real little racing car through the apartment and build tracks that can lead through cardboard gates, under sofas and around cooking pot obstacles. The race itself is then followed on the switch screen, as the image from a camera built into the kart is transmitted there. Using augmented reality, opponents and other obstacles even appear on the screen. It's great fun, showing you your own apartment from a completely different perspective - and at the same time a good tool for finding lost things under the bed.
“Mario Kart: Home Circuit” by Nintendo for Switch (game plus kart)
, approx. 100 euros;
a Nintendo Switch is required
Playstation lamp
Triangle, circle, square and X: they have been the most important buttons on the Playstation controller since the first generation of consoles.
The colored symbols are likely to be recognized immediately by almost all gamers.
A lamp in the shape of the symbols can therefore be a nice gift - at least if you are a Playstation fan.
Official merchandising is also available for Xbox or Nintendo fans.
It can also be worthwhile to keep an eye out for T-shirts related to popular video game series.
Playstation lamp,
around 25 euros
Nintendo amiibos
Many game fans like small collectible figures.
The so-called Amiibos from Nintendo are also useful: They are recognized by many games and then release new items, weapons or healing potions.
In some Wii-U or Switch games, the character can also be transferred to the game itself.
In addition, the Amiibos are beautifully designed and often enough become collector's items.
So if a child likes to play "Animal Crossing" or "Zelda", a museum director Eugen or a Link with a sword can be a nice gift.
Amiibo figures,
from around 7 euros
Nanoblock figures
It doesn't always have to be Lego: The Japanese nanoblock bricks are something like a miniature version of Lego.
This makes jigsaw puzzles a lot more challenging.
But if you like Japanese games - or cartoon characters - the company offers great little kits, including many "Pokémon" and "Sonic" figures.
»Pokémon« figures by Nanoblock,
from approx. 12 euros
