We've already brought you the perfect gift guide for PC gamers but today is the turn of the console lovers and there are many, many, many of them out there. Quick show of hands? Yep. Many.

Each of the three big players in the field have all sorts of accessories all of their own, but what we've done here is to come up with a list as universal as possible. So, whether it's PS3,Wii or Xbox you'll find 10 excellent presents right here. Enjoy.

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Points & Subscriptions

Whether it's for downloadable content, new outfits for your avatar or for movie rentals, everyone needs virtual points for their console of choice, with their upkeep is probably one of the biggest bug bears for gamers. You can never have too many. So whether it's Nintendo Wii Points, PSN Live Cards, Xbox Live Points or even an Xbox Live Gold subscription, you can guarantee that it will be appreciated.

Memory

Slightly less exciting this one but nearly as important is getting more memory space to save all your gaming adventures and whatever content you may have downloaded and can't bring yourself to prune. As far as the Xbox goes, a nice big 120GB expansion pack for ?56 would be very well appreciated and you can get just about any kind of SD card for the Wii that you have the budget for. The PS3 involves a little more effort for your giftee than the other two, but present them a whopping great 2.5-inch 500GB HDD like this one and they'll happily work their way through a simple online tutorial of how to upgrade it themselves.

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Controllers

There are tonnes of these things for all three of the consoles and it really depends on what your gamer does and doesn't already have. For the Wii, the obvious new addition is the Wii Motion Plus for finer movement sensitivity or you might find that an extra Wii Remote and/or a Nunchuck could well go down well if they only have one already.

On top of that, the Nintendo console is an absolute magnet for all sorts of weird, wonderful and very game specific devices such as bowling balls, machine guns, babies, jogging devices and of course, the Balance Board.

Comparatively, it's all rather more sedate on the Xbox but a racing wheel for the 360 is available if you think that a more useful wireless controller might be dull. It's a similar situation on the PS3, but if you happen to know what game your loved one is into then something like the Modern Warfare 2 controller or the Street Fighter IV game pad would be a well chosen idea.

Battery Packs & Chargers

There's little more annoying than the batteries on your wireless remotes running out, particularly when in mid-gaming flow. Multiply that by 20 if there are no spares in the house.

With the PS3, you're rather stuck with what's inside, so the best gifts here are the docking stations with models like the Venom Pyramid and more standard look dual charger to choose from. Neither costs much, they get rid of the cables, they look quite nice and they generally encourage you to remember to charge up your kit.

There's some choice with the Nintendo Wii. The Wiimote power packs are, of course, removable and a two pack of spares will only cost around ?14. That's enough for a two-player change mid-contest which buys enough time to remember to put the next lot on charge. For an absolute bargain, you can even go for a four-way charging dock which even comes with four spare battery packs too. All for just over ?20.

For the Xbox 360, there's a few different schools of thought. Each works equally well. The unexciting but practical suggestion is to by a job lot of AA batteries. After that, the choice is between the completely wireless Quick Charge station for around ?17 or the Charge and Play kit for ?13. Both solutions are excellent and either way, make sure to pick up a couple of spare battery packs.

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Headsets

Online play is now a massive part of gaming, so a headset to communicate with team mates is a must. The more wireless the better and the one of choice for the PS3 would be the Logitech Vantage Bluetooth headset. It's got a noise-cancelling mic, delivers more than 12 hours of play time and recharges via USB or a wall adaptor. Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR and complete cordless freedom up to 30 feet. Yours, or theirs actually, for ?17.99.

For the Wii, it's arguably less important with a much smaller number of games that use the Nintendo headset Wii Speak. Nonetheless, it's a decent addition to the console and only ?14 as well.

Last of all, the Xbox 360. There are plenty available and you don't have to spend the cash if you'd rather go for the standard wireless ones but the best headset in town is the Turtle Beach Ear Force X3. It's got an excellent boom mic system eliminating bleed and background noise, really thumping bass and they look good too. Around ?80, but worth it.

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Gaming Chair

It's tempting to go with a suped-up stereo rocker seat for bum-buzzing game involvement but, in actual fact, a lot of these things aren't actually that comfortable which is rather the point in the first place. If you do want to go down this route though, then the Pyramat Game Bag 2.1 is more bottom friendly than most, but instead we'd rather recommend the pure massive cushions of the Sumo Omni bag or the IEX Game Bag. All three around ?100. If you can really afford it though, then it's all about a La-z-boy.

Slanket

Winter's setting in and sitting still under the hypnosis of the console can be a little chilly. The ultimate antidote is the Slanket. The fleecy half dressing gown, half blanket bundle of goodness gives you total body coverage while allowing easy access to your game controller and bio-fuels. There's even a double version out specially for this Christmas but the single will probably do.

Faceplates

No, this is nothing to do with the gamer's face but instead are a bunch of stick on fronts to personalise ones game controllers. You can get them for just about any big name games you could care to think of and the best part is that they don't cost much either. Perhaps not the best choice for the older gamer but they might just rock a kid's world.

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Bags

Sometimes, you want to take your machines round to some Luddite's place who doesn't yet have a games console. Now, it's easy enough to stuff your unit into one backpack or another but there's nothing quite like using a bag that's been specially built for the job.

The Enigma Wii bag isn't hugely exciting but it has excellent compartments for all the bits and pieces and is both highly competent in its task and pretty damn cheap at just ?12. Things get a little more stylish for the PS3 with the 4Gamers messenger bag but the Xbox is probably where it's at with slightly more colourful merch such as this one.

Games!

Yes, of course. We wouldn't forget the most important part. Now, make sure you find out what your loved one has already got, but new titles we'd recommend are: Modern Warfare 2, Dragon Age: Origins, Uncharted 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Battlefield 1943, DJ Hero, Left 4 Dead 2, Wii Sports Resort and Wii Fit Plus, amongst many others.

Or...

...of course, if you feel really flush and actually want to buy someone an entire games console or anything else for that matter, then take a look our Top Products section which will help guide you through to a suitable model and offer you only the best of the ones Pocket-lint's reviewed. And, as always, if you have any red hot tips for gift ideas of your own, then do let us know in the comments below. Good luck.

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Related links:

• Features - 10 perfect Christmas presents for...Apple Mac fans
• Features - 10 perfect Christmas presents for...laptop addicts
• Features - 101 life-saving Christmas shopping websites

Tags: Gaming Christmas Features Xbox 360 Xbox Nintendo Wii Wii PlayStation PS3 PS3 slim games hardware Controllers

10 perfect Christmas presents for...console gamers originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:33:39 +0000

Exspect is promising Wii owners "the drive of their life" with its Wii Motion Racing Wheel that's fully compatible with Wii MotionPlus.
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For those without the MotionPlus add-on, the wheel can be used without it and is available individually for ?6.99 from Play.com, or as part of a ?19.99 15-in-1 Wii accessory pack available at Tesco and Play.com.

As well as the wheel, the 15-in-1 pack offers golf, tennis, baseball, snooker and sword adaptors, among other bits and bobs.

"Racing games have proven to be one of the big success stories on the Nintendo Wii, so we are delighted to enhance the experience with our new Wii Motion Racing Wheel", said Mike Sanderson, head of development at Exspect.

"Racing games will be high on Christmas lists across the country this year and now they can be enjoyed with added accuracy, as the wheel is fully compatible with the Wii MotionPlus".

Tags: Gaming Nintendo Wii Exspect Wiimote Controllers Tesco Play

Exspect launches Wii Motion Racing Wheel originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:11:25 +0000

In the States Thrustmaster has unveiled the T-Freestyle NW, describing it as the ultimate controller for snowboarding and skateboarding Wii dudes.

"Experience the extreme action of boarding this winter from the comfort of your living room", says Thrustmaster who is flogging the board at the arguably affordable price tag of $29.99 - but you'll need a Wii Balance Board to use it.

The claims for the new board is that it allows gamers to execute freestyle tricks and to control their boarding runs with the same "spirit of freedom" and the "sensation of no limit" as in real life.

Crafted from gen-you-ine maple the board gets a bad-ass skull design and attaches to the Balance Board for "endless hours of fun". We'll keep you posted on a UK launch.

Tags: Gaming Nintendo Thrustmaster Nintendo Wii Controllers Wiimote Sports Fitness Sports games

Thrustmaster announces the T-Freestyle NW originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:46:54 +0000

The amount of bonkers Nintendo Wii accessories cropping up never ceases to amaze, but during a visit to a trade show in Hong Kong, we spotted something that takes things to a whole other level.

Although we've seen gun-motes for the Wii before, a Chinese company at the show has upped the firepower with a 1:1 scale Heckler & Koch MP5 sub-machine gun for the Wii.

However, rather than using Nintendo's own controllers for the gun, the company implemented full Wiimote, nunchuck - and - MotionPlus functionality into it.

With a built-in rechargeable battery that juices up via USB, it boasts a built-in speaker and it will rumble when you get hit in supported games.

The model pictured is for the US market, and the company behind it claims that the orange highlights on the front of the gun is supposed to make it look less realistic, so that players using it won't get shot by mistake, be it by their neighbours or the police.

We're not sure if it actually will ever turn up in retail outside of China, but it might be the ultimate accessory for those that are into Wii games where the use of guns are required if it does.

Tags: Gaming Nintendo Wii Wiimote Guns Controllers

Wii gets custom-made Heckler and Koch MP5 controller originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:26:07 +0100