5 Last-Minute Christmas Gifts to Buy any Video Game Collector

Christmas is tomorrow. It is literally tomorrow and I still have SO MANY gifts I have yet to buy. What am I to do? I know, procrastinate by putting together a Buzzfeed-esque list/article instead of getting my affairs in order! What could go wrong? Be sure to post any suggestions for last-minute gifts in the comments section.

1. Amiibo (ANY/ALL)

"Impulse Buy"

Out of ideas? Panicking? Does your hapless gift-recipient own Super Smash Bros.? Then put literally no thought into a gift and buy them an amiibo! Don't know what it does? Don't worry, I'll explain. It is basically a USB memory stick embedded in a tiny figurine. Placing the figurine on a Wii U gamepad let's you customize a computer-controlled character in the game that you can fight against, or watch fight, or even have them fight against other amiibo. That's right, digital cock-fighting! You literally cannot go wrong with buying your friend an amiibo. You don't even have to worry about buying your friend a duplicate of one they already have. Each amiibo is different based on the experience it gains fighting in-game. Buy them two! Buy them three!

Availability: 8/10 (Most stores have them but a few of the characters are harder to find than Atlantis)

Price: $12.99+tax

Thought put into purchasing: 4/10

2. Tamagotchi

This is an actual photo of me.

This might not make sense at first but let's think about it for a sec. You probably had one of these bad boys way back in the day, yeah, it was fun-ish but easily forgotten. Well, think back to when you had one of these. It was probably way back in the 90's before everyone developed their current "I-have-to-have-something-in-my-hands-at-all-times" complex thanks to smartphones. Giving this to one of your collector friends might seem like a gag gift at first but what you are actually putting in their hands is the gamer equivalent of heroin. Trust me, I made a huge mistake when I accepted one from a friend. I got so addicted to it, I had to throw it in a lake just to get it away from me. The perfect Christmas present for all ages, genders, and budgets.

Availability: 5/10 (Bigger toy stores will have them, usually in the "Girls" aisles)

Price: $10-20

Thought put into purchasing: 7/10

3. Gift Cards

This is literally just money but more limited in scope. Awesome.

Availability: 10/10

Price: Whatever you put on them

Thought put into purchasing: 0/10 (Seriously, just give them cash)

4. Game Boy Generations 1989-2003 by S★T★A★R

This neat little book is an extensive photo guide to over a hundred different Game Boy classic, Light, Pocket, and Color special editions released between 1989 and 2003. The entire book includes tons of pictures and is written in English, Spanish, and Japanese. I have a copy and I love it. The bad news is that it ships from Europe and is expensive but this is the ultimate gift for the collector who has everything.

Availability: 1/10 (http://www.matranet.net/boutique/books/gb/gb.php)

Price: €28 [$35] (SPECIAL OFFER: €25 [$30] until December 31 2014)

Thought put into purchasing: 9/10

5. Any Shirt from The King of Games

Ever heard of The King of Games? The apparel company started with the Kyoto-based "EDIT MODE" design team creating a line of T-shirts called "The King of Games" in 2002 after Masaaki Enami convinced Nintendo to grant him a license to produce a line of high-quality, original, yet official, Nintendo shirts. Enami was given permission and the design group continues to produce new and WONDERFUL clothing. Currently, they haven't produced anything new since April. Are they going into hiatus? Are they going away? Who knows, most of their shirts are sold out and the few that remain are quite pricey. However, all collectors will appreciate the merchandise. The quality is boutique-grade and every single item is extremely limited, often no more than 200 are produced. Oh, and did I mention that they are all official, licensed Nintendo apparel? 

Availability: 2/10 (http://www.the-king-of-games.com/english/shop/index.php)

Price: ¥5,500 [$45]

Thought put into purchasing: 9/10

In the end, use your best judgement. You have 24 hours and you can always pull the, "it is in the mail" routine. Oh, and have a Merry Christmas.