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Nerdcaster talks about some holiday gift ideas for your nerdy family members or friends. Below is a list of everything they talked about. Listen in to what their thoughts are on each, and whether Joe and Lori agree that they are gifts worth giving.
NES Classic. If you can get your hands on this device, it makes a perfect gift for the retro gamer. It has 30 built in games from the days of the NES allowing the retro gamer to spend hours reliving his glory days of gaming. While the unit does not have network capability or expandability, for $60 dollars, the system comes with 30 games, and a controller (an extra controller costs an additional 10 bucks), it’s really not that bad of a deal when you realize how hard the old NES games are. This even makes a perfect gift for kids who may not have been able to play the old school Nintendo Entertainment System or parents who want to show their kids what gaming really is.
Raspberry Pi 3 Kit– For the nerdiest of all nerds. The Raspberry Pi is a micro-computer that is put together using an SD card, HDMI Cable, and a USB cable for power (any old school Samsung charger will suffice). Once assembled the Raspberry Pi can be loaded with Linux and be used to create programs in various languages or be used for a multitude of difference projects. Some fun ones are, Creating a motion detection system, a wireless print server, or even create an NES Classic or Sega genesis system that will hook up to any HDMI TV. This item though does require some computer smarticles to get this going, but there are tons of tutorials all over the internet. Check our show notes for some links.
Custom Made Lightsabers. With Rogue one coming out soon the light saber craze will no doubt be in full force (no pun intended). The custom made lightsabers that can be ordered off of Etsy or from Ultrasabers are definitely high on my list this year as Rogue One is due to be released. I have been wanting one for a few years now, but have been waiting for them to get better. This year, I feel that they are ready and worth the $130 to $500 price tag listed on them. The sabers are made from quality materials and have real sound effects when swinging or crashing against objects. While not made for actual Light Saber battles, people on youtube.com may disagree.
Honorable mentions: Any VR
Harry Potter and the cursed Child. This book has been out for a while, but if you are buying for the Harry Potter fan that has not yet read this book. This is definitely a great purchase as it will complete the Harry Potter book collection.
Subscription to Crunchyroll This is the perfect gift for your anime nerds. It’s like Netflix for Anime shows (and movies?) and can be used from any device that has access to the Crunchyroll app. If you don’t have an apple TV or an iTunes account on an iPhone, then you can always watch via a web browser.
Movie Gift certificates/Gift Cards. This one needs no explanation. With Rogue One coming out, Assassin’s Creed, the Power Ranger movie, The Marvel movies next year. This is a great gift for the all around nerd if you have no idea what to buy at all. Since they don’t expire and can be used at any time for any movie, just make sure the certificate is good for a theater local to the nerd you are buying it for.
