Pre-owned gamers, eh? Vagabonds the lot of ‘em, barely a step up from disc copying, free speech legislation exploiting pirates. They’d have your house away if you left your back turned for more that about ten seconds.

No, of course they wouldn’t. They’re simply videogame fans, caught as we all are in a time of economic uncertainty, attempting to follow a hobby that bizarrely releases all of its most prized assets within the space of about six weeks, in the run-up to Christmas. Because, you know, we’ve all got £240 stuffed in a back pocket in case of gaming emergency.

The rumours currently circulating about Microsoft’s upcoming next-generation console then, suggesting games might carry some sort of code recognition system that might cut out pre-owned titles completely, has us worried. We’re all for the industry attempting to claw as much revenue in as it can, but such a course of action seems to welcome economic disaster with open arms.

Firstly, won’t someone please think of the children? If regular adult consumers, buoyed by reasonable amounts of disposable income, balk at the prospect of shelling out £40-50 for each triple-A release, what place for the Kung Fu Pandas of this world? How might this hobby of ours usher in dedicated new fans, with such a huge barrier to entry?

Secondly, the point is seldom made that the record-breaking first-week revenue of, well, almost every videogame is propped up heavily by customers exchanging last week’s blockbusters, that are now worth about ten quid. Without this cache of value still provided by the ability to trade in for consumers to rely upon, might we see sales take a tumble as fewer find themselves able to make the financial stretch?

Thirdly, the labyrinthine array of DLC episodes, map packs and online passes introduced this generation to combat pre-owned purchases represents another significant stream of income publishers lose if there aren’t millions of their game discs ‘out there’, second-hand or not. If sales fall as a result of only new copies of a game being available, the potential for this follow-on business also drops. And, of course, one single second-hand copy of a game could in theory account for multiple DLC and online pass purchases, as it is handed from player to player.

Finally, if second-hand retail dies it’s likely specialist videogame retail will perish alongside it, killing off memories of filthy carpets and weapons grade BO forever? All joking aside, do we really wish to be pushed into the hands of ditsy supermarket attendants, who think Fracture’s a brand of skin cream? The only consolation this would offer is the chance to leave the store plied with alcohol, ready to weep in the dark, in the foetal postion, at how glorious things formerly were. We’re not saying that would be Microsoft’s direct fault if they chose to implement such a policy – that’s more for you to decide.

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There has never been an easier way to sit back and enjoy reading about old school computer games from Retro Gamers classic articles. Ironically, you’ll be reading about them on devices so advanced that if you showed them to a Mega Drive player, they would think you were a wizard – which wouldn’t be far from the truth.

5. Splitfish FragFX SHARK 360

£79.99

If your loved one is serious about shooters, here’s a tool that’s going to seriously elevate their game. It takes some serious getting used to, since it’s a completely different way of controlling things. While PC gamers will take to it immediately, the rest of us will need practice. Once it becomes second nature, however, this will seriously up your game. Just remember to max out the look sensitivity on whatever game you’re playing.

4. Fanatec Forza CSR Wheel Set

€459.85

“It’s way spenny!” as my grandma would say. If you’re planning to spend a lot of money on your gaming friend or family member and they have even the remotest interest in the racing genre, this gift is simply epic. Six-speed shifter, pressure loaded break pedal, clutch, strong force feedback, engine vibration, fantastic build quality. Fanatec’s CSR set is that absolute cat’s pyjamas of wheels. If you’re feeling especially generous, fork out for a decent racing seat to attach it all to.

3. Call Of Duty Elite – One Year Subscription

£39.99

Do they play Call Of Duty? More to the point, what gamer doesn’t play Call Of Duty? The best thing about this gift is that most Call Of Duty players are of the whole ‘Huff-puff, yeah, well I’m not paying to be playing, Activision’s not getting my money,’ school of thought. However, watch their faces when you give them this for free. All that gamer integrity goes straight out the window and they’re off like a shot to go study heat maps. If you don’t know what Elite is, don’t worry, they do.

2. Scuf FPS Pro Controller

£54.95-£78.95

We won’t mention cheating. Not at all. What we’ll say is that these controllers are ‘advantageous’ to their users, especially when engaged in first-person shooters. But, they’re no one trick pony; sure they have flappy paddles underneath for crouching, jumping and shooting all at the same time ( a feat impossible on a standard controller), but with their grippy domes sticks and other teaks are great for playing just about anything. It won’t make bad players suck less, but it will turn good players into great ones. True fact.

1. Turtle Beach EarForce XP500

£189.99-£239.99

These Turtle Beaches are expensive, but worth every single penny. Superb 7.1 surround sound quality will keep those noisy gamers quiet. It’s not an experience that translates well in words, but wearing these is like entering a whole new world of sound. You’ll be hearing things you never even knew existed in games you’ve been playing for years. This headset cannot be beaten.

Got kids? Then check out our guide to the best Kinect kids games for this Christmas.

If you liked this article, there’s plenty more where that came from. You can download the latest issue of 360 Magazine (also available in all good UK newsagents) through iTunes to your iPad or iPhone for just £1.99 per issue. Bargain!

NowGamer reached 1,151,450 unique visitors for the month of November. The figures include 402,309 visitors in the UK and over 2 million page impressions.

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If you like videogames it stands to reason that you’ll have been playing for the majority of your life. For that reason alone, going back to the classic games and hardware from the times of yore makes for the best coffee or bath time reading, ever.

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You know what, there’s a lot of stuff you can buy for your iPad and not all of it is that good. Trust us, we know. We’ve spent countless hours trawling through Apple’s store to bring you the very best content it has to offer and, because we’re good to you, we’ve brought it all together in this handy to use directory.

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1) Poor release timing

Sony’s Gamescom announcement that it’ll be taking care of its native Japan before Europe or the USA obviously means the company will be missing out on a whole lot of Westerners celebrating that obscure holy festival known as Christmas. It’s why the games industry only becomes interesting in September, and it’s why sales will suffer as a result.

2) Price

Considering how hard Nintendo is having to pimp their handheld on television right now, assuring customers it ‘isn’t a DS, but a 3DS’ like Marks & Spencer are manufacturing it or something, £279 just won’t fly. Because, after all, who buys the cheap model?

3) Software price

Arguably the most important factor. Though users will have access to PlayStation Suite software, for the stuff most people will be interested in, we’ll be looking at prices closer to PSP than PS3. In an age where iOS gamers can have their thrills for a few quid, if that. Madness.

4) Split functionality

Selling a device in staggered fashion, as Sony intend to do with 3G and barebones varients of their device, will lead to groups of gamers missing out on the collaberative experiences its protional trailers seem to suggest are its highlight. Do you want to play a game on a system you own that won’t work on your own machine?

5) Mobile friendly software

Does anyone, apart from about twelve ultra hardcore souls, really want to play games such as Uncharted and Resistance on a mobile device any longer? On the bus? Only the most committed won’t question why they aren’t reclined on an armchair somewhere, before a home cinema system and screen size appropriate to the task. Mobile gaming demands bite-sized snippets of fun, not overblown epics.

6) Developers don’t want it

Heavy Iron Studios have already described the Vita’s lauch as a ‘car wreck’ months ahead of time, suggesting that people simply don’t want to carry more than one electrical device around with them at all times. We’re inclined to agree. Surely, if the trend of history has been towards convergence – one device that will perform all mobile entertainment functions. Surely to multiply their number now would be to take a large step backwards?

7) Analyst pressure

Which seems to suggest Sony are being a little hopeful with its current RRP.

The time has passed

In short, does anyone realy want to be seen in public shouting at their device as Frobisher Says demands? That stuff might have flown when the DS was a novelty – that window of opportunity in which you won’t look like a person on some kind of register has been and gone.

9) Our thumbs will die

Though including two analogue sticks on a flat device seems impressive given the touch screened competition, we don’t want to grow old with a pair of wizened claws. Fact.

10) There’s a recession on

Petrol prices through the roof, utilities rising by double percentage figures, food continuing to edge upwards. The next home generation of consoles seems to be floating at a consistent distance away – what hope does the industry have of prising cash from worried consumers at this point?

After Epic’s president Mike Capps revealed his studio has a rather unlikely five games currently in the works, their identities seem relatively obvious to us. Allow us, then, to investigate…

1) Gears Of War 4

Because videogame series this popular just don’t end. In this risk-averse industry of hours, should Gears 3 be bought by every hardcore gamer, their mothers and their grandmothers this winter (and it will), some sort of spin-off is inevitable. Broadening out the stories of each character, as Epic have in their current title’s campaign, allows wriggle room for one or more of them to star in their own title, too.

2) Unreal Tournament 4

It’s inevitable that this veritable tech demo will some day return, and what better place than as a launch title for the next generation of home consoles? How else would the slew of action titles we’re to eventually play feature characters with right-angled shoulders and textures that arrive a second late?

3) Shadow Complex 2

After shifting over half a million units in its first year – and with the vast majority of any technology that would constitute a sequel already safely stored on some hard drive somewhere, surely Epic is currently hard at work on another Metroid-a-like? The higher profit margin DLC offers must surely make this a formality?

4) A Kinect shooter that isn’t Gears

Epic is notable among high-profile studios yet to embrace Microsoft’s motion control peripheral, wisely choosing not to sully one of the purest shooters around with its presence (though oddly 3D seems fair game). Nevertheless, we feel confident in predicting the developer will blend familiar and fresh turf with some FPS/Kinect crossover. Though it’s guaranteed to be 500% less manly.

5) Jazz Jackrabbit 2

Because corporate mascots of a fluffy variety didn’t die in the mid-nineties, suffocated by a compination of Spyro, Bug! and Crash Bandicoot. Oh wait, they did. Still, it’d be amusing to see Cliff Bleszinski try his indoor sunglasses, cool routine while fielding questions about that…