There’s never been a better time to be a gamer. Consoles are affordable, ripe with games, value-packed, and — most importantly — fun! There’s a console for every need and purpose, so whether you’re looking for 4K, VR, fun on the go, or just anything to play, we’ve got you covered with the very best suggestions for buying a gaming console this holiday season
Overview
| Best 4K
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Best Overall
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Most Versatile
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Best Handheld
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Best Cheap
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| PS4 Pro
Price: $399
Buy it |
Xbox One S
Price: $299
Buy It |
NVIDIA SHIELD
Price: $199
Buy it |
New 3DS
Price: $199
Buy it |
Xbox 360
Price: $199
Buy it |
Buy from AmazonMicrosoft has come a long way with the Xbox One. It had a shaky start, but the company has since gotten a renewed focus on games, and its catalog has built to be one of the best. It features a wide variety of both third-party and first-party titles from every genre you can think of, and its great integration with Windows 10 — including cross-platform gaming for the newest titles — makes it a fantastic option for anyone. Throw in things like Games With Gold which gets you free games for your Xbox Live subscription, a solid online experience, and frequent updates, and the Xbox One S wins a lot of love in 2016.
Buy from AmazonIf 4K gaming is what you’re after, the PS4 is what you want. At just $399, you’ll get a console that can output super crisp 4K graphics which makes its games and movies absolutely gorgeous. Sony’s vast library of quality first-party titles and growing army of indie games means there’s no shortage of content to enjoy. You can even get yourself a VR headset for another $299 if you want to step into an entirely different dimension.
Buy from AmazonNothing like getting 2 games in one package. The PS4 Slim is normally $299 on its own, but if you’re willing to add another $27 to that price tag you can get both Uncharted 4 and the Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Legacy Bundle. Those 2 packages — which house a total of 3 games — retail for $59.99 and $79.99 respectively, so you figure to save over $100 on the whole shebang.
Buy from AmazonThe Xbox 360 might have been supplanted by the Xbox One, but that also means its price was driven way down, making it the very best gaming console you can buy if you’re on a tight budget. There are thousands of games to enjoy on the console at steep discounts, and thanks to the Xbox One’s backward compatibility support the online communities for multiplayer games are still plentiful.
Buy from AmazonThe Nintendo Switch is coming, but the Wii U still remains a top option for Nintendo fans. The console is inexpensive and also has a great deal of child-friendly games to choose from, such as Mario, Donkey Kong Country, and more.
Buy from AmazonNintendo’s 3DS is one of the best selling handhelds of all time, and for good reason. An intuitive and fun control scheme that uses a secondary touch display gives more control and secondary information than ever before. It lets you focus more on fun and less on the pitfalls which come with handheld gaming. Combine that with Nintendo’s great first-party exclusives, a ton of quality games, cheaper alternative hardware for those wanting to save money, and the fact that it’s currently the only console to play a true Pokemon game on, and you’d be foolish not to go for the 3DS.
Buy from AmazonSometimes, all you want to do is kick back and take a blast to the past. With the NES Classic, Nintendo gives you a cool and nostalgic way to do that. This console takes on the classic looks of the original NES complete with that iconic controller, albeit in a smaller size. NES Classic comes pre-installed with 30 games, including
Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, PAC-MAN, Dr. Mario, Mega Man, Final Fantasy, and more. Not bad if you don’t have your original console anymore but want to take a trip back to simpler times.
NVIDIA SHIELD ProWhile the NVIDIA SHIELD is shaped as a multimedia machine, it has some serious gaming chops. NVIDIA uses a Tegra X1 GPU with enough power to deliver console-quality gaming, which means you not only get all the latest Android games in higher quality than available on phones, but you also get console classics from the likes of the PS2 and even the Xbox 360. PC gamers with supported NVIDIA graphics cards can even stream their game over to the SHIELD to play on the big screen. When you’re not gaming? It becomes one of the best 4K Plex machines ever.
