Gift Ideas for Xbox Fans - Other Than More Games
Xbox Gift Ideas That Aren't Just More Games
What can you give as a gift to an Xbox fan who already has all the games they could ever want? A lot, actually. This gift guide has suggestions for many different things Xbox fans will appreciate ranging all the way from cheap and easy stocking stuffers all the way up to more expensive things. This guide is for both Xbox 360 and Xbox One owners, and if there is anything only for one system we'll make a note of it.
Holiday 2014 Xbox Gift Idea - Xbox Gift Cards
One of the easiest gifts that any Xbox fan will definitely appreciate is an Xbox Gift Card. These gift cards come in many denominations from $5 on up to $100 and will allow the person you give them to to buy any games, videos, DLC, or whatever else they want on Xbox Live. The account balance is shared between Xbox 360 and Xbox One, so Xbox Gift Cards work on both systems. This is pretty much the safest bet possible for a perfect gift since it lets the recipient buy any games they want, which is a lot safer than buying a retail game they might already own.
You can buy physical gift cards at many retailers, as well as digital gift cards from places like Amazon. These cards are even occasionally on sale, so you actually can buy them for less than the denomination they are for, which is always a good deal.
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Holiday 2014 Xbox Gift Idea - Xbox Live Subscription
Xbox Live is the lifeblood of Xbox. With an Xbox Live subscription, you can play online with friends as well as get free games every single month with the Games With Gold promotion. Again, your subscription covers both Xbox 360 and Xbox One, so you can play on both and only have to pay once! Even if someone already has a subscription, your gift will just extend it, so you can't really go wrong here.
You can buy subscription cards at retailers or digital codes at online retailers. They come in lengths of 1 month all the way up to 12 months. Similar to Xbox Gift Cards, you can find these on sale for less than their marked price (such as paying closer to $40 for a year instead of the $60 MSRP for 12-month subs). Keep an eye out for sales and offers to get the best deals.
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Holiday 2014 Xbox Gift Idea - Rechargeable Batteries
Either with an official battery pack kit from Microsoft or just using a set of rechargeable batteries, this is a great gift idea as both Xbox 360 and Xbox One controllers run through batteries pretty quickly. It must be noted that the Xbox 360 and Xbox One controllers use different battery packs, so make sure to get the right one for the person you are buying them for. If you go with regular rechargeable batteries, they both use "AA" size, so no problems there.
It is best to have at least two sets so that one set can be in the controller while the other one charges. There are a lot of rechargeable battery brands out there, but we recommend Eneloop. You'll also need a charger, of course, which you can buy in a bundle with several sets of batteries.
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Holiday 2014 Xbox Gift Idea - External Hard Drive
This gift idea applies to Xbox One only. The Xbox One ships with a 500 GB hard drive (though a new Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare bundle comes with a 1 TB drive), which can fill up pretty quickly since many games these days are 20-40GB. The good news is that the Xbox One makes it easy to use extra storage on the system. You can't swap the internal hard drive for a bigger one, but you can plug in any USB 3.0 drive (which means you'll be able to use both the internal as well as external drives).
External USB 3.0 hard drives cost start at around $60 for 1TB and go up from there. This may seem like a sort of weird gift, but it is something any Xbox One owner will really appreciate.
Holiday 2014 Xbox Gift Idea - Action Figures
Many games have action figures and toys and they range from cheaper kid toys meant to be played with all the way up to higher end collectibles meant for display. The prices range from just a few dollars all the way up into hundreds of dollaers, with lots of choices in between. Halo, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, Street Fighter, Plants vs. Zombies and many, many other series have a wide range of figures available.
Check out what the favorite series of the person you're giving it to is, and they're sure to be happy with a cool new figure. Aside from video games, you might also check out the wide range of other figures based on pop culture or Japanese animation from brands like Revoltech, Figma, Funko Pop and many more.
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Holiday 2014 Xbox Gift Idea - Extra Controller
Extra controllers are always a good idea. Controllers wear out over time and need to be replaced anyway, but it is nice to have extras around to play multiplayer games with friends. We strongly suggest buying first party Microsoft-branded controllers rather than third-party controllers from other companies. Third-party controllers will be cheaper, but are generally not as high quality and oftentimes don't work as well as an official Microsoft controller.
Please note that Xbox 360 and Xbox One controllers are not cross compatible, so buy the proper controller for the system the recipient has. There are many, many different colors and styles available including designs based on specific games, so it should be easy to pick out something for anyone.
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Both the Xbox 360 and Xbox One have media functionality built in, so having a remote can be very useful. Again, the two systems have separate remotes, so make sure you buy the right one. The Xbox 360 lets you watch DVD movies as well as stream from Netflix, Youtube, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and many more as well as stream music and videos from your PC. The Xbox One can play DVD as well as Blu Ray discs and also stream from the providers mentioned above and more.
You can, of course, just use a controller to control these things, and Xbox One even lets you use Kinect voice and motion controls to control media, but having a dedicated remote with simple controls is a good idea if someone uses their system as a media hub frequently.
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Titanfall was the big Xbox One hit game earlier in 2014 that starred giant robots called Titans. Construction toy maker K'Nex used the Titanfall license to create a number of building sets (see our review) based on the game including both playsets with buildings as well as two really nice Titan robot models. We perfer the Titan models over the playsets as K'Nex pieces don't really lend themselvs to normal building structures, but the Titan robots are pretty awesome.
The two Titan sets are $35 each, and they also come in a larger set with a bunch of buildings for $99. Kids will enjoy the playsets well enough, but collectors that just want to display cool looking robots on their shelves will be better off buying the robots separately.
Titanfall K'Nex
Another suggestion along this same line are the Halo sets from Mega Bloks (you know, they're like LEGO but not LEGO). There are sets that feature all of the different vehicles from the Halo franchise and are mostly really cool. There are a huge number of different sets and many different price points as well. Similar to the Titanfall K'Nex sets, playsets are probably best for kids while the vehicle models like the Warthog or UNSC Pelican Gunship will be better for older collectors.
Halo Mega Bloks
What can you give as a gift to an Xbox fan who already has all the games they could ever want? A lot, actually. This gift guide has suggestions for many different things Xbox fans will appreciate ranging all the way from cheap and easy stocking stuffers all the way up to more expensive things. This guide is for both Xbox 360 and Xbox One owners, and if there is anything only for one system we'll make a note of it.
Holiday 2014 Xbox Gift Idea - Xbox Gift Cards
One of the easiest gifts that any Xbox fan will definitely appreciate is an Xbox Gift Card. These gift cards come in many denominations from $5 on up to $100 and will allow the person you give them to to buy any games, videos, DLC, or whatever else they want on Xbox Live. The account balance is shared between Xbox 360 and Xbox One, so Xbox Gift Cards work on both systems. This is pretty much the safest bet possible for a perfect gift since it lets the recipient buy any games they want, which is a lot safer than buying a retail game they might already own.
You can buy physical gift cards at many retailers, as well as digital gift cards from places like Amazon. These cards are even occasionally on sale, so you actually can buy them for less than the denomination they are for, which is always a good deal.
Compare Prices
Holiday 2014 Xbox Gift Idea - Xbox Live Subscription
Xbox Live is the lifeblood of Xbox. With an Xbox Live subscription, you can play online with friends as well as get free games every single month with the Games With Gold promotion. Again, your subscription covers both Xbox 360 and Xbox One, so you can play on both and only have to pay once! Even if someone already has a subscription, your gift will just extend it, so you can't really go wrong here.
You can buy subscription cards at retailers or digital codes at online retailers. They come in lengths of 1 month all the way up to 12 months. Similar to Xbox Gift Cards, you can find these on sale for less than their marked price (such as paying closer to $40 for a year instead of the $60 MSRP for 12-month subs). Keep an eye out for sales and offers to get the best deals.
Compare Prices
Holiday 2014 Xbox Gift Idea - Rechargeable Batteries
Either with an official battery pack kit from Microsoft or just using a set of rechargeable batteries, this is a great gift idea as both Xbox 360 and Xbox One controllers run through batteries pretty quickly. It must be noted that the Xbox 360 and Xbox One controllers use different battery packs, so make sure to get the right one for the person you are buying them for. If you go with regular rechargeable batteries, they both use "AA" size, so no problems there.
It is best to have at least two sets so that one set can be in the controller while the other one charges. There are a lot of rechargeable battery brands out there, but we recommend Eneloop. You'll also need a charger, of course, which you can buy in a bundle with several sets of batteries.
Compare Prices
Holiday 2014 Xbox Gift Idea - External Hard Drive
This gift idea applies to Xbox One only. The Xbox One ships with a 500 GB hard drive (though a new Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare bundle comes with a 1 TB drive), which can fill up pretty quickly since many games these days are 20-40GB. The good news is that the Xbox One makes it easy to use extra storage on the system. You can't swap the internal hard drive for a bigger one, but you can plug in any USB 3.0 drive (which means you'll be able to use both the internal as well as external drives).
External USB 3.0 hard drives cost start at around $60 for 1TB and go up from there. This may seem like a sort of weird gift, but it is something any Xbox One owner will really appreciate.
Holiday 2014 Xbox Gift Idea - Action Figures
Many games have action figures and toys and they range from cheaper kid toys meant to be played with all the way up to higher end collectibles meant for display. The prices range from just a few dollars all the way up into hundreds of dollaers, with lots of choices in between. Halo, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, Street Fighter, Plants vs. Zombies and many, many other series have a wide range of figures available.
Check out what the favorite series of the person you're giving it to is, and they're sure to be happy with a cool new figure. Aside from video games, you might also check out the wide range of other figures based on pop culture or Japanese animation from brands like Revoltech, Figma, Funko Pop and many more.
Compare Prices
Holiday 2014 Xbox Gift Idea - Extra Controller
Extra controllers are always a good idea. Controllers wear out over time and need to be replaced anyway, but it is nice to have extras around to play multiplayer games with friends. We strongly suggest buying first party Microsoft-branded controllers rather than third-party controllers from other companies. Third-party controllers will be cheaper, but are generally not as high quality and oftentimes don't work as well as an official Microsoft controller.
Please note that Xbox 360 and Xbox One controllers are not cross compatible, so buy the proper controller for the system the recipient has. There are many, many different colors and styles available including designs based on specific games, so it should be easy to pick out something for anyone.
Compare Prices
Both the Xbox 360 and Xbox One have media functionality built in, so having a remote can be very useful. Again, the two systems have separate remotes, so make sure you buy the right one. The Xbox 360 lets you watch DVD movies as well as stream from Netflix, Youtube, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and many more as well as stream music and videos from your PC. The Xbox One can play DVD as well as Blu Ray discs and also stream from the providers mentioned above and more.
You can, of course, just use a controller to control these things, and Xbox One even lets you use Kinect voice and motion controls to control media, but having a dedicated remote with simple controls is a good idea if someone uses their system as a media hub frequently.
Compare Prices
Titanfall was the big Xbox One hit game earlier in 2014 that starred giant robots called Titans. Construction toy maker K'Nex used the Titanfall license to create a number of building sets (see our review) based on the game including both playsets with buildings as well as two really nice Titan robot models. We perfer the Titan models over the playsets as K'Nex pieces don't really lend themselvs to normal building structures, but the Titan robots are pretty awesome.
The two Titan sets are $35 each, and they also come in a larger set with a bunch of buildings for $99. Kids will enjoy the playsets well enough, but collectors that just want to display cool looking robots on their shelves will be better off buying the robots separately.
Titanfall K'Nex
Another suggestion along this same line are the Halo sets from Mega Bloks (you know, they're like LEGO but not LEGO). There are sets that feature all of the different vehicles from the Halo franchise and are mostly really cool. There are a huge number of different sets and many different price points as well. Similar to the Titanfall K'Nex sets, playsets are probably best for kids while the vehicle models like the Warthog or UNSC Pelican Gunship will be better for older collectors.
Halo Mega Bloks