Top 2011 Christmas Gifts for Handheld Gamers: Kids and Teens

Welcome to our third and final blog post about the Top 2011 Christmas Gifts for Handheld Gamers. With Christmas now only ten days away, finding that perfect gaming gift is even more important, thus Mini Gamers now looks at what is available for the younger gamers - Kids and Teens.

Top 2011 Christmas Gifts for Handheld Gamers:  Kids and Teens

KIDS ONLY (5-12yrs)

Cooking Mama 4 (3DS)

Yes, Mama is back, and this time she is cooking up a storm in an entirely new dimension! With over 100 brand new recipes to try out all displayed in full autostereoscopic 3D, this seems like the perfect game to turn kids into the next generation of super-cooks, what's more, this game also features a  multiplayer mode and it encourages kids to tidy away the plates and untensils after they have finished cooking with a special set of mini-games! 

This game is best suited to children aged between 6-10 years of age and will probably appeal to girls slightly more than boys. The game can be found at all good video game retailers, and is expected to cost around £30 to buy.

FLIPS: INTERACTIVE BOOKS (DS/DSi)

Produced by EA Games, the Flips videogame series turns the DS/DSi console into an E-reader. Each standard game cartridge contains between 6-8 unabridged novels from several popular children's authors.The books are aimed at both boys and girls aged between 6-12 years of age. Obviously, basic reading ability is necessary for this product. Each book is completely interactive. As well as using the stylus to turn each page, the stories contain sound effects and animations, hidden items to collect, (such as coins or codes,) simple explanations about various characters, and the chance to unlock bonus content such as interviews with the author or further short stories.

The Flips videogame series is available from most videogame retail outlets and usually retails at around £14.95.

FIREMAN SAM (DS/DSi)

Does your little one desire to be a Fireman when he gets older? If so, this could be the perfect game for his Christmas stocking. Join the  famous TV Character and all his friends as they explore the local town of Pontypandy and play lots of exciting mini-games which will encourage children to develop logic, memory and basic problem-solving skills.

The game can be found in all good videogame stores and usually retails for around £19.99.

KIDS & TEENS (10-16 yrs)

The following games and or/game bundles will appeal to both children and teenagers:

CORAL PINK 3DS/

NINTENDOGS + CATS BUNDLE

This sweet little bundle will appeal to most female gamers, including young teenagers (up to fifteen years of age.) The bundle includes the latest 3DS  Coral Pink console, and a copy of Nintendogs + Cats: Golden Retriever and friends. This game bundle will appeal most strongly to animal lovers.The bundle is available in all good video game stores and retails for around £164.99.

ICE WHITE 3DS/ SUPER MARIO 3D LAND BUNDLE

This Ice-white 3DS and Super Mario 3D Land Bundle could be just the thing if your man happens to be a retro Mario fan. The ice-white 3DS is the pefect colour for male gamers who found the Cosmic Black 3DS a bit boring and the Flare Red or Aqua Blue 3DS colours a little over-powering.

Meanwhile, the game itself contains many elements from the original Super Mario Bros franchise, but can now be viewed in full glasses-free (Autostereoscopic) 3D. To read a full review of the game itself, please click HERE.

The Ice White 3DS Bundle is available from all good videogame stockists, and retails for around £164.99.

LIMITED EDITION LEGEND OF ZELDA 25th ANNIVERSARY 3DS BUNDLE 

 This exclusive 3DS bundle includes a special version of the Black 3DS console which features the Zelda Gold Crest design, and a copy of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3DS game. This bundle will definitely appeal to both male and female gamers, despite being marketed more at male audience.

However, parents who wish to buy this for their children should also be aware that the game carries a 12+ certificate, which means that it is unsuitable for gamers under twelve years of age. Once again, this bundle can be found in all the major videogame outlets, and retails for around £299 - a price which clearly reflects its Limited Edition status.

This marks the end of our exploration of the Top 2011 Christmas Gifts for Handheld Gamers. We hope you have found it useful.

If you are still unsure about what to buy, you could try checking out the following posts to see if they can provide you with a further spark of inspiration:

Top 2011 Christmas Gifts for Handheld Gamers: MEN

Top 2011 Christmas Gifts for Handheld Gamers: WOMEN

Unique Christmas Gifts for the Gamer in Your Life (2010 post)

Half-Term Boredom Busters For Kids (NINTENDO DS) (2010 post)

Good Luck and Merry Christmas to all!

Top Christmas Gifts For Handheld Gamers 2011: MEN

It appears that Christmas is upon us once more, and once again it sends people scurrying up and down the highstreet in search of those perfect presents. If you have a gamer in your midsts, however, the whole thing does seem more complicated,  especially if you have no idea what is 'Hot' and what is 'Not' in the world of videogaming yourself, and this becomes even more restrictive if the person in question happens to be a handheld gamer, with many Christmas adverts choosing to target the larger consoles like Wii or PS3.

Never fear though - Mini Gamers has plenty of suggestions about what Gamers will want to unwrap on Christmas Day, so relax, put your feet up and have a quick read of this... Here is our guide to the Top Christmas Gaming Gifts of 2011.

 Each week in the run-up to Christmas, we will give our recommendations for the perfect gaming present for your loved-ones. This week, we look at the perfect (and sometimes unusual) games and gaming accessories for the Special MAN in your life:

Top Christmas Gifts For Handheld Gamers 2011: MEN

ICE-WHITE 3DS/

SUPER MARIO 3D LAND BUNDLE

This Ice-white 3DS and Super Mario 3D Land Bundle could be just the thing if your man happens to be a retro Mario fan. The ice-white 3DS is the pefect colour for male gamers who found the Cosmic Black 3DS a bit boring and the Flare Red or Aqua Blue 3DS colours a little over-powering.

Meanwhile, the game contains many elements from the original Super Mario Bros franchise, but can now be viewed in full glasses-free (Autostereoscopic) 3D. To read a full review of the game itself, please click HERE

However, this console bundle is definitely NOT cheap and can cost between £159.99-£164.99 even in local supermarkets like Tesco or Asda.

MARIO KART 7 (3DS)

If the person in question already owns a 3DS console, then a good game for them to have this Christmas is Mario Kart 7. This game incorporates some of the most beloved Mario Kart gameplay from yesteryear, but adds some paragliding and underwater races, and polishes it up with some stunning  glasses-free 3D visuals like you have never seen before. Mario Kart 7 is available from all good retailers, and costs between £34.99-£39.99 to buy. A definite winner for fans of Racing Games.

APPLE iPAD 2

Probably one of the hottest handheld gadgets right now is an iPad 2. Not only does this nifty little gadget allow users to watch films, play music, and of course, download and play top game titles such as Madden NFL 12 or Asphalt 6: Adrenaline HD, amongst others, but it can also have access to thousands of downloadable Educational software and Business Apps (such as the fantastic OmniGraffle, which allows people to create simple presentation flowcharts and/or diagrams with a simple touch of the screen), direct  from the Apple Store.

Now for the bad news...Whilst this handheld device is great for both gaming and general entertainment and work needs, it does not come cheap. In fact, the various purchase options for the iPad 2 depends upon its downloading capacity and whether it uses Wireless 3G or not.

Thus the iPad 2 is available in most highstreet Electronics and Home Entertainment stores such as HMV, and is available either in Black or White, and comes in various downloading capacity sizes ranging from either 16GB, 32GB or 64GB  and can also be purchased with an additional 3G package.

 For this reason, the actual iPad 2 device can cost anywhere between £399-£599, with some of the downloadable 'Apple Store' applications costing an extra £40-50 to download. NOT an easy present to buy if you are feeling a little bit cash-strapped.

A GAMING CHAIR

Okay, so we admit it - a gaming chair is hardly a handheld device or accessory. However, a gaming chair comes with extra audio connectors, and can help gamers to relax whilst challenging their fingers, thumbs or styluses with various virtual delights, so we thought that we would include it...

There are a surprising number of gaming chairs on the market at the moment, depending on your price range and gaming mode of choice. Of course, the more sophisticated your gaming needs, the more expensive your chair will be.

 However, sticking with the overall theme of handheld gaming, the Senior X-Rocker Gamebag chair (available in a Football design, if desired) was one of Mini Gamers personal favourites, and was being sold relatively cheaply at just £29.99 in some cases.

The Gamebag chair is a type of bean bag seat, which features two surround-sound speakers for quality audio, and connectors that work with all types of home console and handheld devices such as the iPod, Nintendo DS consoles and PSPs.

To see examples of the different kinds of Gaming Chairs on offer at the moment, and their current price ranges, please click HERE.

A SONY ERICSSON XPERIA PLAY PHONE

Yes, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is a highly-functional Smartphone, which also allows users to play their old Sony PSP games like Little Big Planet and God of War in an entirely new format.

The Xperia Play is available with tariffs from Orange, O2, Vodafone, T-mobile and the 3 network. However, the price of each individual tarrif and contract does vary. Nevertheless, the Xperia Play phone itself tends to retail at around £189.

We also should mention that the Xperia Play is not the only Gaming Smartphone on the market at the moment, even though it has been extremely popular. To read our side-by-side comparison article,
'Gaming Smartphones: Xperia Play VS. Windows Phone 7 ,' Please CLICK HERE.

STILL UNSURE OF WHAT TO BUY?

Have we failed to help you find your perfect gaming gift? You might find it helpful to check out Mini Gamers 2010 Christmas post entitled: Unique Christmas Gifts for the Gamer in Your Life, which is packed with even more brilliant gift ideas. Who knows, you might find just what you were looking for...