Gaming has been at the forefront of holiday shopping for many years now. There’s nothing better than opening a gift and finding it to be the best game of the year, the latest and hottest gaming platformers, or even gift cards to GameStop. In recent years, as gaming has grown, it has become much more complicated to shop in due to the number of platforms, Black Friday deals, games, subscription services, and more.

The easiest way to think of shopping for gamers, especially when a non-gamer, comes in the form of the big four: first, games are always the most important gift. A PS5 may be a great gift, but if there’s nothing to play on it, it becomes a temporary paperweight. Second, then, are consoles. The PS5 and Xbox Series X will have restocks this Black Friday, but fans will need to keep an eye on them. Third are the biggest subscription services per platform, specifically PS Plus, Game Pass Ultimate, and Switch Online. Fourth, but certainly not last, are controllers.

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There’s a stereotype of angry games constantly throwing and breaking their computers, but that’s a very bad generalization. Truth is, most gamers take pride in their controllers, and there are certainly standard workhouses out there like the standard DualShock, DualSense, Joy-Cons, and Xbox Series X Controllers, but oftentimes, there are ways to personalize these or get custom controllers that take these to the next level.

Xbox Controllers

xbox series x s controllers fan colors

Potential Colors: Carbon Black, Pulse Red, Shock Blue, Robot White, Aqua Shift, Electric Volt, Forza Horizon 5 Limited Edition

Xbox Series X Controllers

Xbox Elite Series 2 Controllers for the Competitive Edge

Xbox Charging Dock

Xbox Design Lab Controllers for a Personalized Experience

Shop Controller Chaos for Unique Tailor-Made Controllers

PlayStation Controllers

Girlfriend Makes Their Partner A Plushy PS5 Controller For Their Birthday

Potential DualSense Colors: White, Cosmic Red, Midnight Black

PS5 DualSense ControllersPotential DualShock Colors: Jet Black, Glacier White, Gold, Green Camo, Midnight Blue, Magma Red

PS4 DualShock Controllers

PS5 Charging Dock

PS4 Charging Dock

Shop Controller Chaos for Unique Tailor-Made Controllers

Switch Joy-Cons and Controllers

Potential Joy-Con Colors: Black, Red/Blue, Fortnite Edition Blue/Yellow, Purple/Orange, Green/Pink

Joy-Cons

Potential Pro Controller Colors/Editions: Black, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Monster Hunter Rise, Super Smash Bros

Switch Pro Controllers

Shop Controller Chaos for Custom Joy-Cons and Switch Pro Controllers

At the end of the day, having additional controllers benefits everyone, and if it’s something special, tailor-made, or picked out especially, it makes it all the better. That’s one thing common across all PlayStation, Switch, and Xbox gamers—passion for the items that define gaming.

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