I'm a techno/media/music nut. I don't know if it has to do with being a gamer or not (I think it does) but I love new technology when it comes to anything with any form of media entertainment. I have no idea how most of these things work, I'm not quite smart enough, and don't really care. I just like the convenience and ease of having things I enjoy readily accessible. With all of that in mind, here is a short gift guide that other gamers might enjoy to spend those gift cards your sure to get this holiday on.
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Xbox 360/Nintento Wii/PS3 ($250-$600) - What? You think a video game columnist isn't going to start with consoles? Ha! The great thing about these three (if you can find them) is that there is something for everytype of gamer, from casual to hardcore, with every type of budget.
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Rocky III and Rocky IV - Most of these new consoles play DVD's right out of the box (don't blow a ton of cash on the yet to be resolved HD or Blu-ray movie system just yet) so why not buy something to play on it? With the newly released Rocky Balboa out, why not pick up the best two movies in this series, Rocky III and Rocky IV. For any child of the 80's, this is required viewing. Best of all, you can get these flicks on the cheap online.
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Video iPod ($250-$350) - These things are great! They play music, movies, TV shows and music videos. You can also buy games for it like Tetris, Pac-Man and Texas Hold'em for when you need to get your game on.
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iRecord ($200) - Can't find what you want on iTunes? Want to move some of your favorite movies or TV shows to your iPod and not have to pay for it? Want to movie that tape you recorded of when you broke your brothers heart in Madden on a last second Hail Mary to your iPod so you can show it to all of your friends (not that I would ever do that)? Then you need an iRecord, a device that lets you transfer your favorite movies and TV shows directly to your iPod. Check it out at www.irecord.com.
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Slingbox ($180 - $250) - I've been hearing commercials for these on Jim Rome for years and was never really curious until I got a laptop. This works in conjunction with your TV and TiVo so that you can watch what you've recorded on the road. Great for the traveling man to watch recorded episodes of GameHead or XPlay on. Check it out at www.slingmedia.com.
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In other news - Evidently as a Christmas gift to gamers, Microsoft announced today that its 90 day warranty that comes standard with the purchase of its Xbox 360 console is now a 1 year warranty. In addition, this warranty change is retroactive and includes any and all Xbox 360 consoles that have been purchased (which would have been great to have when I bought mine last November, then I wouldn't have had to buy the one offered at the store I got it at). The warranty last 1 year from the date of purchase. Here's a direct quote from the Microsoft press release:
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"Effective today, the one-year warranty is now the standard for the Xbox 360 console. Customers who experience hardware issues with their Xbox 360 within one year of purchase can have their consoles repaired at no cost. Moreover, the new warranty policy is retroactive, so consumers who may have already paid for an out-of-warranty Xbox 360 repair within one year of purchase will be eligible for reimbursement of their console repair charges."
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"Customers who have already paid out-of-warranty repair charges within their first year of ownership can expect reimbursement checks for the amount of their console repair in approximately 10 weeks. Reimbursements will be automatically distributed, so customers need not contact Microsoft. Customers who have questions regarding this policy change or experience any hardware issues should visit www.xbox.com/en-US/support/contact where they can check their warranty status, find troubleshooting information for common issues and find Xbox support contact information."
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And finally - I hope everyone has a great Christmas and an awesome New Year. I'm on vacation starting today so check back in a week for new posts. Peace out!
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