The five gift mistakes we see most
Wrong platform. Covered above, and it is the one that matters most. The box says which system it is for; the person you are buying for owns exactly one of them unless you know otherwise.
A game they already own. The best-selling games are best-selling because regular players already have them. If they play a lot, assume they own Mario Kart, Smash Bros. and Minecraft. Gift the game they would not have bought for themselves - a two-player co-op story, a newer release, or gear.
An annual sports title bought late. Football and other yearly games are replaced every autumn, so a copy bought a few months after release is already the old one, and the person who wanted it bought it on day one. Skip the category entirely.
Ignoring the age rating.Several excellent games elsewhere on this site are rated for adults. If the gift is for someone else's child, read the rating on the listing and check with the parent. Our family guide keeps to picks that are broadly all-ages, and we say so where we cannot confirm it.
Buying the console the game needs, but not the second controller. A split-screen game for one controller is a single-player game. If the gift is meant to be played together, one more pad is the part that makes it work, and it is often cheaper than the game. Our second controller guide picks one for each system.
Physical or digital?
Physical when it needs to be wrapped and handed over: it is a real object, it needs no account details, and it can be lent or resold. Digital when they are far away - a code arrives instantly - but codes are region-locked and tied to one storefront, so check before buying for someone abroad. Where a game exists as both and the site links a digital code, we say so in the write-up.
The safest gift of all
If you cannot find out what they own or what they have played, a store gift card for their platform is not a cop-out. It has the lowest chance of being wrong and it stretches further if they spend it during a sale. Pair it with a note naming the game you would like to play with them and you keep the thought without the risk.
