Mike Minotti’s retro gaming gift guide

The holidays are right around the corner (or might already be here, depending on how you celebrate), which leaves you in a bit of a tight spot if you’ve still got some names to cross off your holiday shopping list. If you’re still struggling to find something special to gift to the gamer in your life, our collection of the best last-minute gaming gifts is here to help.

There are a few schools of thought when it comes to playing retro games in the present day. Some argue that the games from yesteryear were meant to be played on an old-school CRT, with concerns regarding their bulky designs and aging, decades-old electrical components chalked up to the cost of doing business. Others contend that retro games are perfectly serviceable when paired with an inexpensive scaler and a flat panel display, with no care paid to how these titles look when hooked up to a modern TV.

Considering that Capcom was ruling the fighting game roost in 1993, Saturday Night Slam Masters is such a low-key production. Street Fighter 2 blended together with a wrestling game sounds like such an amazing concept, but that’s absolutely not what Saturday Night Slam Masters is.

If you were impressed by how good the first GTA 6 trailer looked, you were far from alone: even developers who previously worked at Rockstar were blown away by the level of detail shown.

A long-awaited follow up from the artist and composer behind the ‘rhythm violence’ game Thumper, Thrasher will be releasing across Meta Quest and Steam VR in 2024.

Apple has several notable products that have come to the rescue of their owners and saved lives. The company's smartwatch, called the Apple Watch, carries a vast range of health and fitness features such as a SpO2 monitor, ECG, and heart rate sensor, and can even alert the wearer in case of abnormal heart rhythm or even if they have an accidental fall. But it isn't just the Apple Watch that can become a lifesaver in dire circumstances. iPhone 14 and later models come equipped with an Emergency SOS via satellite feature that allows users to contact emergency services while facing life-threatening situations. The feature now celebrates its first anniversary. Know all about this iPhone feature, and what first responders think of it.

If Alan Wake 2 didn’t completely melt your face, Poets of the Fall are back to finish the job.

If you're on the lookout for the best gift ideas for gamers or the top Christmas presents for PlayStation fans, we've got you covered. The holiday season is right around the corner, so we've been busy tracking down some of the best gifts money can buy to help you find a special treat or two for your friends and family.

Whether you know it or not, your phone might the most powerful gaming handheld you own. While the advent of handheld gaming PCs like the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally offer excellent solutions for gaming on the go, you don’t have to drop several hundred bucks to game away from your console or phone. The rise of cloud gaming services, remote game streaming apps, plus amazing dedicated mobile games make it easy to turn most phones into powerful and versatile handhelds.

The hype is real for Grand Theft Auto VI. Fans were waiting for Rockstar Games developers to bring out the next installment to the beloved franchise. While it was initially set to release yesterday, the developers were forced to drop it a day early. That was all due to some leaks of the trailer getting out ahead of time. Regardless, the first trailer was quickly viewed over a hundred million times, and it’s still getting new reactions and breakdowns from fans. However, one particular reaction video might offer a bit more insight into what we could see in this game. 

’Tis the season to think of what to buy for friends, family, co-workers, and, of course, yourself (self-care is important, after all). The good news is that, compared to the past few years, stock shortages of the most in-demand gaming gifts have finally wavered.

You can still sign up to this week's free webinar exploring ways video games companies can detect and prevent harms against children in online games.