Gift Guide 2012
2 CommentsPolygon Gift Guide: The lap of gaming luxury
By Brian Crecente on Dec 21, 2012 12.21.12
Gift guides are an important part of every holiday season. How else would you figure out what you really want someone else to buy you.
We've been running gift guides all month. They've included guides for crafts, lost classics, gear and books. But really none of them mattered, because those were gift guides for other people. This one is just for you. That's right. Next time someone asks what you want for the holidays just send them a link to this guide.
Inside we've got ten perfect gifts that range from a paltry $4,000 up to a cool $6 million. Don't even bother telling them what you want on the list, because I'm pretty sure you'll be happy with whatever they select, be it a genuine wave gun, the world's largest outdoor television or an actual, sort-of-weaponized mech.
Happy holidays!
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Gift Guide 2012
12 CommentsPolygon Gift Guide: Downloadable Games
By Megan Farokhmanesh on Dec 18, 2012 12.18.12
During the holidays, it’s a given that you want to bestow the greatest gift of all: gaming. But with developers cranking out big name console titles at an alarming rate for most of the year, it’s easy to miss the little guys.Downloadable games are often short and sweet, but they're also some of the most inventive, original and just down right fun games you'll find today. And, more importantly, they come with a much prettier price tag. They are the perfect way to introduce new friends to gaming, or to gift old dogs with something special.
But navigating the world of Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, Nintendo's eShop and even Steam can be tricky. Games crowd their listings in the hundreds, and not every one is a diamond in the rough. Whether you yourself have missed a must-have...
Gift Guide 2012
7 CommentsPolygon Gift Guide: Special Editions
By Samit Sarkar on Dec 14, 2012 12.14.12
We've all got those people in our lives.You know, the ones who just can't say no to a special edition. The ones whose walls are covered with shelves bearing sundry toys and trinkets, most of which come from their favorite video games. "I'm a sucker for a statue," they tell you, "and I adore art books." These are the folks who shun the garish green of an Xbox 360 case or the bland translucence of a PlayStation 3 box, because, well, "Doesn't everything just look more classy in a Steelbook case?"You'd point out the irony of worrying about how a video game looks on a shelf, but you love them too much to tell them how to live their lives or spend their money. And come Christmastime, you figure that you might as well be an enabler, buying them yet another big box o' goodies that they'll...
Gift Guide 2012
6 CommentsPolygon Gift Guide: Crafts
By Alexa Ray Corriea on Dec 11, 2012 12.11.12
So it's Christmas, and you want to get that someone special something special. But proffering up a gift card or a copy of the latest AAA title in shrink-wrapped plastic just seems impersonal.
You want to gift something with personal flare, something that really speaks volumes about the person who is receiving and how closely the person giving has been paying attention. T-shirts off ThinkGeek and thematic mugs won't cut it either, and so we turn to the last bastion of originality without having to get our own hands dirty with glue and glitter: artisan crafts.Forgo those official brand and company stores for Etsy and DeviantArt, where people who make money off crafting and who actually enjoy doing it hawk their wares. Both sites give browsers the opportunity to search for and likely...
Gift Guide 2012
29 CommentsPolygon Gift Guide: The Lost Classics
By Chris Plante on Dec 07, 2012 12.07.12
These days, a month doesn't go by without a new "must have" game. It's near impossible to keep up.
I'm not talking about indie games. I'm talking about games from major publishers that dozens if not hundreds of people worked tirelessly to create. Bold, inventive and expensive games that, for one reason or another, came and went all but forgotten. You might call them cult favorites, hidden gems or bargain bin specials. We call them lost classics.From a cursory glance, a lost classic might appear to be straightforward genre fare. But beneath the surface, these games tend to twist what we expect from a shooter, a role-playing game or an action-adventure title. On this list alone, there's a Tony Hawk-inspired gore fest, a literary post-apocalyptic puzzle-platformer and a spaghetti western...
Gift Guide 2012
32 CommentsPolygon Gift Guide: Gaming Gear
By Russ Pitts on Dec 04, 2012 12.04.12
Now that gaming is cool (again) the breadth and variety of "gaming" items you can spend hard-earned money on is increasing exponentially. But who needs another pair of shoes that's $50 extra just because it's green? If you're looking to gear up for gaming, what you'll want to spend money on first is a good set of input/output accessories. (Assuming you already have a PC or console.)
Some of these items will work with either one of the major core consoles (Xbox 360 or PS3) and a PC, and for most we've selected a high-end and an "everyday" offering. The High-end gear is what the pros use, and if you're serious about getting competitive, you could do worse. The everyday gear is the stuff that won't break your bank, but also won't let you down.
WASD the Night Before Christmas
WASD the...
Gift Guide 2012
16 CommentsThe first entry in our gift guide series covers game-related merchandise to put on your shopping list.
Polygon Gift Guide: Books, art and movies
By Polygon Staff on Nov 30, 2012 11.30.12
High quality video game merchandise seemed to be everywhere in 2012, in part thanks to the Kickstarter boom motivating companies to design creative items. Art and history books. T-shirts. Limited art prints. Custom sketches. Action figures. Jewelry. Collectible baseball cards. It's been, in many ways, the best thing to happen to game merchandise since the rise of the collector's edition. If you want rare, or in some cases one-of-a-kind, items based on games, there's no better time to be a fan.
But once those Kickstarter campaigns ended, so did your chances for acquiring most of those items. At least, short of eBay and the secondhand market.
So what to do, if you're looking for high quality stuff and missed out on the best Kickstarter had to offer? Here's a handful of ideas, based on...
Deals
85 CommentsBlack Friday 2012: Your one-stop shop for video game deals
By Dave Tach on Nov 21, 2012 11.21.12
Black Friday is nearly upon us, its yearly sales ready to coerce our money away from us like so many plucked Turkey feathers. The sales are great, but the ubiquity of Black Friday deals can be overwhelming. So we went about making the complexities of Black Friday simple. Welcome to your one-stop destination for a veritable cornucopia of Black Friday deals.
Below, you'll find our roundup of nationwide video game and consoles sales. The best of them are open to interpretation, but rest assured that there are many, many deals and likely more to come.
This is a living document, so be sure to check back for more links and more deals as they're announced. And if you've found a sale or a deal that doesn't appear here, friends and Polynauts, feel free to let everyone know in the comments...
