It's December and time for gift-giving. Hanukkah is this week and Christmas isn't far behind. Most of you probably have a gamer in your life, that person who spends most of their paycheck on electronic entertainment. That may be your child or your sibling or even your spouse. You know their habits and their interests and you figure the perfect gift that special someone is obvious: a video game. But do not think this is as easy as it seems, friend. There are lots of ways to screw up, and the last thing you want to get excited over that 'perfect present' you plunked 30+ dollars on, have your special someone open the package and see that weak smile of 'gee, thanks' appear on their face--the immediate sign you screwed up. Gift-giving to a gamer is a challenge, and this post will give you some tips to avoiding wasting money for you, and disappointment to your loved ones.

Follow up:

Know what system your loved one has For many gamers this isn't too big a deal, as most of the time they have all the systems. But the last thing you want to do is buy the wrong game for the wrong system. The fact is if the games and systems don't match, your loved one won't be able to play the game--even if the game is good. Also:
Xbox 360=Kinect Play Station 3=Move

Beware of Shovelware Shovelware is a term for cheaply made, boring games that have horrible graphics, bad gameplay and are just completely unenjoyable. The DS and the Wii tend to be the biggest targets for Shovelware. A good way to tell if a game is Shovelware is if: it's based on a movie or television show (there are exceptions, but these make the rule), it features multiple games on the cartridge (like 50 games in 1), is based off a toy or has the letter Z at the end of the title. They also tend to be much cheaper than other games without being on clearance.

Don't ask the sales rep for suggestions So you now realize that not all games are good games, but you still don't want to accidentally purchase Shovelware and those tips above don't give you confidence, and it might seem like a good idea to ask the young person working in the games department of Best Buy, or the person behind the counter in Game Stop for advice. Don't. It's a dirty little secret of the industry that these reps are often told by their managers to push games that are either in surplus or the most expensive to anyone who asks them. And some reps are just spiteful and will suggest bad games to be mean. Now, there are many, many honest game-playing workers who want to be helpful and suggest something good, but unless you know anything about gaming, you won't know who's actually helpful and who is pulling the wool over your eyes.

Check online reviews If the rep at the store is no help, where can you get good advice for what games to buy? Site likes Kotaku, IGN and Blistered Thumbs all have tons of reviews and many offer gift guides specifically for the holidays

If you are buying for a child CHECK THE RATINGS Not all (in all honesty very few) games are for children. All games have very clear ratings listed right on the label, indicating who the game is appropriate for and why. If you have a child, don't get them a T or M rated game and then get angry that it's full of violence, sex and swearing. If these things don't bother you, then well, they are your child, raise them how you like.

Don't assume a girl who plays games likes girly games I was a victim of this for many years (though admittedly a lot of the Barbie GBC games were actually decent sidescrollers). A girl who likes games doesn't automatically mean she only like the girl games with cute fluffy things. So remember to ask. And if your girl likes cute things and hates violence and gore, don't fall for shovelware, lots of good puzzle and RPG games and very cute and high quality--and don't end with a Z

Games aren't your only option A lot of gamers buy all their own games, most of the time on the first day they come out. So it's rather unlikely you'll buy them a game they've always wanted or didn't already have. A much cooler option is to get them something associated with gaming that isn't necessarily a game. A lot of the more popular franchises also have merchandising associated with them. A Halo fan might dig the special Megabloks Halo vehicles, Kingdom Hearts fans might like statues or plushies of their favorite characters, or you might find a funny t-shirt on sites like SnorgTee and ThinkGeek that features gaming. It doesn't hurt to think outside the box.

And remember, we give people gifts because we care about them and want to them to enjoy their gifts. If you are getting a gift for someone 'just to get them out of the way' rather than because you want them to have something they like, just don't get them anything. Because nothing says 'I don't care about you' more than a thoughtless gift.