With all of the excitement surrounding big sales and doorbuster deals, the holiday shopping season can feel like a frantic sprint. Before you know it, Christmas is around the corner, and you’re out of time to pick up the perfect gift. We know it’s not always easy or possible to check everyone off your shopping list in a timely manner. Go to any store in the days leading up to Christmas, and you’ll see plenty of other people feverishly looking for last-minute gifts.

Purchasing last-minute gifts can be tricky, especially if you’re unsure exactly what they own already. To make your task easier, we’ve rounded up an assortment of surefire hits across gaming, tech, and entertainment they’re sure to love. Playing it safe when last-minute shopping is usually a good call. That’s why we’re highlighting popular subscription services, game controllers, headsets, and neat collector’s boxes that are tailor-made for the holidays.

While Amazon Prime members always get one- or two-day shipping, retailers such as Target, Walmart, and Best Buy are also offering fast, two-day shipping leading up to Christmas, with no membership needed. Everything you see on this list can be bought with the peace of mind that it will arrive by Christmas–as long as you aren’t literally shopping with a minute to spare.

If you need more gift ideas beyond these, we have a vast lineup of 2019 holiday gift guides to make shopping for your loved one so much easier this Christmas. Read on for the best last-minute gift ideas you can buy right now and receive within a day or two–or even faster.

Note that prices are accurate at the time of publication but subject to change without notice.

Best last-minute gift ideas

PlayStation Plus, Xbox Game Pass, Nintendo Switch Online

Digital gaming subscriptions

Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo each have worthwhile subscription services for their respective gaming consoles. These can make great gifts, especially when you’re unsure which games your friend or relative already has. Plus, you can often buy these gifts as digital codes, which means you could theoretically print and put it in a card within minutes. It’s not fancy, but you can be sure they’ll appreciate it.

For PS4, PlayStation Plus grants access to online multiplayer and gives subscribers two free games each month. And if they already have a subscription, the new subscription will stack. It’s a future-proof gift, as Sony will more than likely use PlayStation Plus with the PlayStation 5 as well.

Xbox One’s Game Pass Ultimate is easily the best value in gaming. A Game Pass Ultimate subscription bundles the Game Pass subscription program–which features an expanding library hundreds of awesome games–and Xbox Live Gold, which lets Xbox One owners play online multiplayer.

Nintendo Switch Online offers numerous benefits for Switch owners. First, it lets you play games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate online with friends. Members also get dozens of classic NES and SNES games for free and access to cloud saves, which is a very useful feature to have. Switch Online is available as a $20 individual or $35 family subscription. The latter grants up to eight users access to Switch Online perks.

Gift cards for digital games

Gift cards for digital game storefronts

If you know they probably want a new game but don’t know what they already have, another great option is a gift card to one of the various popular gaming storefronts. That way, they can easily snag whatever games they’ve had their eye on.

• Steam Wallet card (PC)
• Eshop (Nintendo Switch)
• PlayStation Store (PS4)
• Microsoft Store (Xbox One)

Game controllers

A new controller

Almost every gamer could use a new controller, whether because of normal wear and tear or simply to have an extra set of sticks to play multiplayer with family and friends.

• DualShock 4 PS4 controller — $46.96
• Xbox One wireless controller — $45
• Nintendo Switch Pro controller — $55
• Nintendo Switch Joy-Con controllers — $67

RAVPower portable charger

RAVPower 26800mAh Portable Charger | $36.03

If you have someone on your shopping list who has a long daily commute or travels frequently, a portable charger is a great gift. To be honest, portable chargers are even useful at home when you’re not sitting close enough to an outlet to charge your phone. This RAVPower charger holds a massive amount of juice and has three USB ports to charge three devices simultaneously. It also comes with an AC adapter. This would also be a great buy if you’re shopping for someone who owns a Nintendo Switch.

Disney Plus

Disney Plus 12-month subscription | $70

The brand-new streaming service from Disney is the only place you can watch Star Wars: The Mandalorian. Plus, it has a huge back catalogue of Disney animated movies, Marvel flicks, and much more. You can gift a 12-month subscription for $70. Though it’s a digital code, you can set it to deliver to an email address on the day of your choosing, so it’s a quick and convenient deal. If they already have Disney Plus, the subscription will stack.

Nintendo Game Boy Gift Set

Nintendo Game Boy Gift Set | $20

A neat and thoroughly nostalgic gift, this Game Boy gift set from Target features three products that are styled after the original Game Boy: a coffee mug, bottle opener, and notebook. The coffee mug even has a little pocket that holds a cookie.

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening Collector’s Box

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening Collector’s Box | $30

If you have a Zelda fan on your list, they may already have The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening for Nintendo Switch. But they probably don’t have this collector’s box. Featuring the gorgeous cover artwork from the game, the box includes a water bottle, pencil/pen holder, notebook, baseball cap, small Hylian Shield pillow, and set of puffy stickers.

Super Mario Collector’s Box

Super Mario Collector’s Box | $30

For Mario fans, this collector’s box features a reversible Mario/Luigi canvas bag and reversible Mario/Luigi winter hat, a green warp pipe cup, two patches, a decorative coin, and a mystery item.

Sega Genesis Mini

Sega Genesis Mini | $60

A brilliant ode to Sega’s heyday, the Sega Genesis Mini sandwiches 40 old-school games onto a pint-sized replica of the Sega Genesis. The storied library of games includes Sonic the Hedgehog, Streets of Rage 2, Castlevania: Bloodlines, and many more beloved classics. The emulation is fantastic, and the addition of save states make these games more accessible than ever before. The Sega Genesis Mini comes with two wired controllers, so you can play multiplayer on the living room floor like the good ole days.

Headphone stand with USB charger

Headphone stand with USB charger | $35

Anyone with a pair of over-the-ear headphones could tell you that setting them down flat over and over again can lead to some unwanted scuffs and tears on the cushions. This headset holder from Cozoo will solve that issue. On top of keeping gaming headphones in great condition, it also serves as a charging base with three USB ports that can charge phones, game controllers, and anything else that’s powered by USB.

SteelSeries Arctis 1 universal headset

SteelSeries Arctis 1 universal wired gaming headset | $40

Compatible with consoles, PC, and mobile, the SteelSeries Arctis 1 is a great and very reasonably priced gaming headset. The wired headset uses a standard 3.5mm audio cord and comes with a detachable, noise-canceling microphone. The Arctis 1 combines crisp audio with comfort to deliver a headset that works well across all gaming platforms.

Vizio 2.0-Channel Sound Bar with Bluetooth

Vizio 2.0-Channel Soundbar with Bluetooth | $78

Soundbars can give TVs the extra audio power needed to deliver a more vibrant listening experience when watching movies, playing games, and streaming your favorite shows. This Vizio Bluetooth-enabled soundbar is compact and equipped with high-quality DTS Virtual:X sound, which works to mimic surround sound.

Kindle

Kindle | $70

Amazon’s Kindle stores thousands of ebooks on one small device. The display mirrors the look of paperback to provide a less strenuous experience than glossy tablet and smartphone displays. Amazon recently released this new mode, which comes with a built-in front light to help make things even easier on the eyes. You can choose between black and white color options. The Kindle is an excellent gift for bookworms in your life, especially those who travel frequently.

Razer Mamba wireless mouse

Razer Mamba wireless gaming mouse | $50

Razer is one of the most well-known PC gaming peripheral manufacturers in the business, and the Mamba is one of its most popular mouses. Fitted with Chroma RGB lighting and seven programmable buttons, the Mamba is both stylish and practical for a wide variety of PC games. It also boasts an impressive 50-hour battery life.

Roku Premiere 4K Streaming Media Player

Roku Premiere 4K streaming media player | $39

For those who don’t own Smart TVs, streaming devices are extremely useful in today’s streaming-focused world. The Roku Premiere 4K is a compact device that turns your TV into an easy-to-use hub for all of your streaming apps, including Netflix, Hulu, Prime VIdeo, and Disney Plus. This particular Roku device is capable of streaming in 4K and HDR.

Motile Commuter Laptop Backpack with wireless charger

Motile Commuter Laptop Backpack with Qi wireless power bank | $80

This laptop backpack is fairly novel. On top of being a great-looking everyday bag, it also comes with a built-in 10,000 mAh wireless power bank to charge your smartphone and devices. If they don’t have devices capable of charging wirelessly, the charger works with USB. The Motile laptop backpack comes in four colors: Charcoal, Navy, Camel, and Bone.

Google Home Mini

Google Home Mini | $25

The Google Home Mini is a small smart speaker that acts as a personal helper thanks to Google Assistant. You can ask Google to play your favorite music, look up recipes, tell you the weather, and much more. You can pick between four color options: Chalk, Aqua, Charcoal, and Coral.

Poke Ball Plus

Poke Ball Plus | $45

Pokemon fans will love to receive the Poke Ball Plus for Christmas. When connected to Pokemon Go, it lights up and vibrates as you approach Pokemon. The Poke Ball Plus can also be used as a controller for Pokemon: Let’s Go, and you can use it to level-up Pokemon in both Let’s Go and Pokemon Sword and Shield (simply by carrying it around). As an added bonus, the Poke Ball Plus contains Mew, which can be transferred to all three games.

Risk: Game of Thrones Edition

Risk – Game of Thrones edition | $68.66

The board game Risk sets up perfectly for a Game of Thrones-themed variant. But this is more than just a rehash of the iconic strategy game about conquering territories. Game of Thrones Risk comes with a pair of custom game boards. In War of Five Kings, three to five players battle it out for the Iron Throne. A two-player variation pits House Targaryen against Ghiscari. You can also merge the boards and enjoy a seven-player game. Each house has its own special player boards to track progress, and each army has 45 game pieces (315 total). To make things more interesting, Game of Thrones Risk has 28 action cards that alter the standard dice-rolling skirmishes.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/19-last-minute-christmas-gift-ideas-for-gamers-and/1100-6472124/

Nintendo has dropped a new update for Tetris 99, adding a new team-based mode to the battle royale-style Tetris game. The mode is called Team Battle, and it gives players the option to join one of four different colored teams at the start of a match and vie to be the last group remaining. If even one member of the team is left at the end of the game, the entire team will be victorious.

There are a few other wrinkles to Team Battle mode. Since not every team will have an even number of players, smaller groups will receive a “boost in attack power,” evening the playing field. Those who are eliminated early in the round will enter spectator mode and be able to cheer their team on by sending “likes.” A new password matchmaking option has also been implemented to make it easier to get paired up with friends.

The new Team Battle mode will be the centerpiece of Tetris 99’s next Maximus Cup event, which runs from December 12-16. The top 999 players by the end of the competition will take home 999 My Nintendo Gold points, which is roughly equivalent to $10 in Switch Eshop credit. You can read more details about the next Maximus Cup on the official Tetris 99 website.

On top of Team Battle, the ver. 2.1.0 update introduces a few other new features to Tetris 99, such as new button configurations and new user emblems. Players can also now redeem tickets for the special crossover themes that were available as part of the game’s previous Maximus Cup events. You can now exchange tickets for the following themes:

• Game Boy Tetris
• Splatoon 2
• Fire Emblem: Three Houses
• Super Kirby Clash

Tetris 99 is free to download for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers, although all Switch players have the option to purchase a $10 Big Block DLC that features a handful of offline modes. Nintendo is also selling a physical copy of Tetris 99 that comes bundled with the aforementioned Big Block DLC and a 12-month individual Switch Online membership.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/switchs-tetris-99-gets-new-update-that-lets-you-sq/1100-6472123/

The Season of the Undying might be over in Destiny 2, but that doesn’t mean all the seasonal rewards you earned but didn’t claim are gone. In fact, with a little finesse, you can get an Exotic engram from last season’s rewards right now–even if you claimed it already. And thanks to recent changes with the new season, the free engram all but guarantees a new Exotic for your characters.

To claim the Exotic from the Season of the Undying season pass, you’ll have to have surpassed Level 98. As Redditor SecretAgentB pointed out, the engram seems to be available thanks to a minor glitch on Bungie’s website. Bungie’s page for the Season of the Undying season pass allows you to view your progress through that season and claim any rewards you might have neglected to grab before Tuesday’s start of the Season of Dawn. But even if you claimed the Exotic engram for level 98 on the pass, you can still get it again.

First, head to bungie.net/7/en/Seasons/PreviousSeason, which displays your progress through the season pass. A dropdown menu at the top lets you choose which character’s pass to see, and if you page through the rewards, you’ll spot any you haven’t claimed. Page to the end to find the Exotic engram at level 98 and click it. That’ll pull up a pop-up window with a button marked “Claim,” which will allow you to instantly claim the engram for the selected character (but no other character).

Choose wisely which character you want to claim the engram with, as you can only do this once per account. If you’re hoping to get one of the three new pieces of Exotic armor from the Season of Dawn, you’ll want to pick a character who already has all or most of the Exotics available from the random loot pool. SecretAgentB’s original post also suggested you be logged into the game when you use the glitch; we’re not sure it’s strictly necessary, but better safe than sorry. Thanks to a new change with Season of Dawn, all Exotic engrams are now Fated engrams, which means they’ll only give you Exotics you don’t have for that character until you’ve got everything (after that, they start dropping random Exotic armor so you can get different rolls). If you pick a character who’s missing a lot of Exotics, you’re more likely to unlock something from past seasons.

While it’s not a glitch, this page is also handy if you’ve got seasonal rewards from Undying that you never bothered to grab. Seasonal armor on the pass defaults to your current gear level, making this a useful way to shore up any armor slots that are lagging behind the rest of your loadout and boost your Power level up to the new cap of 960. If nothing else, grabbing those rewards and dismantling them will earn you materials and Glimmer you can use on other things in the game.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-2-how-to-get-a-season-of-dawn-exotic-right/1100-6472127/

Gears 5 has released its Operation 2: Free For All DLC as scheduled, bringing a load of new changes and additions to the game. Now that it’s out you can purchase all the goodies as a bundle as with real money or buy individual pieces with in-game currency. But a last-minute bug is keeping it from working exactly as intended.

The expansion’s namesake comes from the new FFA versus mode, in which 14 players battle to reach 30 kills. The Coalition sent word that FFA hit a snag, though, with a visual bug compromising two of the maps–Pit and Nethercutt. As a result the studio is only making one map, Core, available through quickplay for the time being. The maps and mode are planned to join Ranked in January.

Aside from FFA, the update adds an Arcade Blitz mode, and 2v2 Gnashers. It adds a handful of new characters including Lizzie Carmine, Damon Baird, Jermad, and a Locust Drone. A third villain character, Kantus, will join the lineup in early 2020. You can check out the new characters’ ability lists below. Allfathers Arena and Lift were added as Arena maps, and the update includes six new Hives to be dropped throughout the event.

You can pick up an Operation 2 bundle that includes the new characters, Eclipse weapon set, 1000 Iron, and 30 days of boost, for $20. You can also purchase heroes and villains individually for 500 Iron apiece.

Lizzie Carmine

A driver for the COG and member of the iconic Carmine military family, Lizzie is a total badass that never backs down from a fight.

• Horde & Escape Abilities (Tank)
• Ultimate – Summon and pilot a Silverback on the battlefield
• Passive– Enemies that die with your mark reduce the cooldown on your Ultimate
• Versus Arcade Abilities
• Loadout– Lancer, Auto Pistol, Smoke Grenade
• Passive: Taking damage makes you move faster for a brief time.
• Bounty– Multi-kills reward +1 skull

Damon Baird

An original member of Delta Squad, this sarcastic engineer brings humor and support to the battlefield.

• Horde & Escape Abilities (Engineer)
• Ultimate -Reinforce DR-1 – Summon a DR-1 that targets enemies
• Passive– Build new Fortifications at a small discount and move around Fortifications faster
• Versus Arcade Abilities
• Loadout –Enforcer, Snub Pistol, Flashbang
• Passive –Significantly reduced recoil on DeeBee Weapons
• Bounty –Multi-kills reward +1 skull

Locust Drone

Born and bred for combat, the Locust Drone emerges once more to enter the fight.

• Versus Arcade Abilities
• Loadout– Enforcer, Snub, Flashbang
• Passive Ability –Kills reward supply of Active Reload ammo to current weapon
• Bounty– Multi-kills reward +1 skull

Jermad

This Locust sniper hails from the ranks of RAAM’s vicious Blooded Vanguard where he played a key role in the defeat of Sraak.

• Versus Arcade Abilities
• Loadout –Retro Lancer, Snub Pistol, Flashbang
• Passive –Headshot Damage Reduction (except Explosive weapons)
• Bounty –Multi Kills +1 skull (6 second window frame)

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gears-5-operation-2-update-free-for-all-now-availa/1100-6472121/

Over the next few days, we will offer further insight into why we picked the 10 games we did for the best of 2019, with each article going live on-site in order of the games’ release dates. Then, on December 17, we will reveal which of the nominees gets to take home the coveted title of GameSpot’s Best Game of 2019. So be sure to come back then for the big announcement, and in the meantime, follow along with all of our other end-of-the-year coverage collected in our Best of 2019 hub.

With Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, From Software proved it still excels at making incredibly difficult action games that push you to be better. Though Sekiro is built with similar storytelling beats and mechanics as those found in From Software’s Soulsborne titles, the game is an altogether different beast to tackle–curating mentally taxing (but highly rewarding) combat encounters that are defined by both stealth and hyper-aggression. Combat is the best aspect of Sekiro, but the game has a lot more going for it, all of which helps make it one of the best gaming experiences of 2019.

Sekiro’s setting, Ashina, is loosely based on the Sengoku period of Japan. It’s a well-crafted world, one that’s supported by its detailed level design and storytelling. Save for a few areas, all of Ashina’s many locations are directly connected, allowing you to seamlessly traverse most of the map without the need for fast travel. This further makes Sekiro’s in-game world feel like an actual place–one its roster of characters, some of whom are friendly and many of which are not, call home. Lore isn’t given to you as an info-dump either; instead, the game encourages you to seek out the answers to its many questions by tying expositional history to useful in-game items or weapons. Your growing strength is directly tied to your growing knowledge of the world, and vice versa.

Sekiro’s biggest strength–even more so than its stellar combat–is that everything about the game so seamlessly fits together. The mentally taxing but deeply satisfying combat encounters work because they fit with the overall theme of the game: that, for better and worse, the people of Ashina are all connected with one another. Every challenging duel is a deeply personal affair as you learn how your opponent attacks and defends, and your victories slowly affect the growing conflict between Ashina and the invading Interior Ministry. Your deaths are marked by the spread of dragonrot in the allies you meet and befriend, so your failure to help your friends has a literal impact on their physical health and well-being. The game’s story doesn’t outright tell you that your actions have consequences; you experience the cost of your failure first-hand through the gameplay.

All of Sekiro’s systems interweave together in this way. Even the soundtrack matches with the movements of certain enemies to better inform you of when your foe has entered a more aggressive phase of combat.

Alone, Sekiro’s story and its individual mechanics make it seem like another Dark Souls or Bloodborne, and given the shared developer, it’s a fair comparison. But Sekiro breaks away from what From Software has created with its Soulsborne games (if only a little) by forcing the player to fight with only one weapon, follow a more unambiguous story, and endure an emotional component to failure that hits almost as hard as losing in-game progression. It creates a more cohesive whole, where all parts of the game are working in tandem to tell one extraordinary tale of a single shinobi risking the survival of an entire nation to save the boy entrusted to his care–all of which is why Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is one of GameSpot’s best games of 2019.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/best-games-of-2019-sekiro-shadows-die-twice/1100-6472098/