Xbox One and PS4 bundle deals
The holidays are almost here again, and whether you're still putting together your Halloween costume or already dreaming of gift-wrapped presents, at some point you're going to need to do a bit of shopping.
While you can still look forward to our annual gift guide, if you've got gamers on your list - none of whom have upgraded to the current generation of consoles yet - there are a dozen great console bundles worth considering for a spot on your holiday shopping list.
Both Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PS4 come in a few different flavors, from systems with a small amount of hard drive space for the casual gamer to all-out monsters with 1TB HDDs, and almost always include one (or more) of the biggest games of 2015.
To help make the decision of which Xbox One or PS4 bundle to buy easier, you can find the specs listed on each page, along with a small description that you can use to match the console to the special gamer in your life.
Call of Duty: Black Ops III PS4
Does that special someone in your life know what a "bouncing betty" is? Do they dream of calling in air-strikes and spend more time plotting out the perfect kill-streak bonus than they do on their homework? If so, they're going to love the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops III Limited Edition PS4.
What's in the box:
Custom orange and black PS4 with a 1TB hard drive
Custom Call of Duty: Black Ops III controller
This PlayStation 4 Limited Edition also includes a physical copy of the game and a download code for the Nuk3town Bonus multiplayer map available on day one
One chat headset, HDMI cable, and power supply
Pre-order it in the US here for $429: Amazon
Pre-order it in the UK here for £385: GAME UK
Pre-order it in Australia here for AU$579: EB Games
Xbox One Limited Edition Halo 5: Guardians
Not interested in joining PlayStation Nation? Microsoft has plenty of special edition Xbox Ones to keep you entertained long after the snow melts. At the front of the pack is the limited edition Halo 5: Guardians Bundle that lumps a special version of the console, a 1TB hard drive, the game itself and a Covenant ship-worth of DLC into one package for around $500 (£399/AU$599). The only thing missing from this set? A membership to Xbox Live Gold needed for online play. But hey, those make pretty good stocking stuffers.
What's in the box:
Custom gray and black Xbox One with a 1TB hard drive
Custom Halo 5: Guardians-themed controller
One chat headset, HDMI cable, and power supply
A digital download code for Halo 5: Guardians
The Warzone REQ Bundle that includes 14 premium Requisition Packs, FOTUS-class armor and multiplayer emblem
Plus a Guardian model by Metal Earth, Halo: The Fall of Reach - Animated Series, Blue & Osiris team dossiers and Spartan Locke's Classified Orders
Pre-order it in the US here for $499: Amazon
Pre-order it in the UK here for £399: GAME UK
Pre-order it in Australia here for AU$599: EB Games
Limited Edition Destiny: The Taken King PS4
Remember five years ago when all anyone could talk about was Halo? Well Destiny: The Taken King - a living, breathing first-person shooter made by the same team behind the Halo series - is 2015's version. The game forces players to band together to take down an alien force invading the last bastion on Earth, sending you to intersolar system locals like Venus, the Moon and Mars to take the fight to the invading force.
What's in the box:
A 500GB Glacier White PS4 with Custom Silk Screen Artwork
One Glacier White DualShock 4 Wireless Controller
AC Power Cable, HDMI Cable, USB 2.0 Cable and Mono Wired Headset
A physical copy of Destiny: The Taken King Legendary Edition
Plus a digital voucher for the Destiny: The Taken King Digital Collector's Edition upgrade
Pre-order it in the US here for $399: Amazon
Pre-order it in the UK here for £320: GAME UK
Pre-order it in Australia here for AU$569: EB Games
Xbox One Fallout 4 Bundle
Not to play favorites here, but if I were to only get one gift this holiday season, I wouldn't be upset in the least if it was the Fallout 4 Xbox One Bundle. It might not come with flashy exclusive artwork or a limited-run controller, but it does come with one of the most anticipated games of the year - Fallout 4. Fallout 4 (or as I call it, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim with guns) puts you in the dust-ridden boots of a survivor of the apocalypse. Everything you knew of your old life is gone, and it's up to you to make sense of the crazy world that now stands in its place.
What's in the box:
A 1TB black Xbox One console
One wireless Xbox One controller
One chat headset, HDMI cable, and power supply
A physical copy of Fallout 4 on Xbox One
One digital download code for Fallout 3
Pre-order it in the US here for $399: Amazon
Pre-order it in the UK here for £369: GAME UK
Not available in Australia
PS4 Limited Edition Star Wars Battlefront Bundle
Now this is the PS4 bundle you've been looking for. For anyone with a Dark Side, the new limited edition Star Wars PlayStation 4 prominently features Darth and comes with a red, blue, white and black special edition controller and a copy of the new game. While a console and a new game would've been enough for most spice traders to cut a deal, Sony and EA are tossing in four Star Wars Classics - Super Star Wars, Star Wars: Racer Revenge, Jedi Starfighter and Star Wars Bounty Hunter - to sweeten the pot.
What's in the box:
Custom Darth Vader-inspired 500GB PS4
Custom red, black, blue and white PS4 controller
HDMI cable and power supply
The deluxe edition of Star Wars Battlefront
A download code for four Star Wars Classics games
Pre-order it in the US here for $399: Amazon
Pre-order it in the UK here for £385: GAME UK
Pre-order it in Australia here for AU$599: EB Games
Xbox One Limited Edition Forza Motorsport 6
Right behind Halo 5: Guardians in anticipation is the latest title in the long-running racing game series, Forza Motorsport 6. What's nice about this package is that it offers a custom (and inexplicably) blue system, a 1TB hard drive and full game download, but costs around $100 less than its sci-fi-themed comrade. It also includes the 10th anniversary car pack DLC, which is basically a bonus for any auto enthusiast who loves to virtually get behind the wheel of some of the fastest cars ever made.
What's in the box:
Custom blue Xbox One system with a 1TB hard drive
Matching custom Xbox One controller
One chat headset, HDMI cable, and power supply
A digital download code for Forza Motorsport 6
Plus a digital download code for the 10th Anniversary Car Pack DLC
Pre-order it in the US here for $399: Amazon
Pre-order it in the UK here for £365: GAME UK
Pre-order it in Australia here for AU$549: EB Games
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain PS4
While I have no idea how long Sony has planned on making a sweet red and black version of its console to commemorate the launch of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, I can tell you the game itself was in the oven, so to speak, for at least three years. In that time the team, led by Hideo Kojima, inserted dozens of side-missions and outlandish characters, endearing moments and a painfully rich narrative that dwarfs even the most paradoxical Japanese Role Playing Game. Need another reason to invest the $750 (£359)? If you have one of those almost preternatural abilities to keep things in the box for 20 years, this console could easily fetch 10 times its price in 2025.
What's in the box:
Limited Edition Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain 500GB Console
Matching custom DualShock 4 MGS controller
HDMI cable and power supply
A physical copy of Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain Day 1 edition
UK Version includes a strategy guide
Order it in the US here for $750: Amazon
Order it in the UK here for £359: GAME UK
Not available in Australia
Xbox One EA Sports FIFA 16 Bundle
Have a football fan on your list and don't know what to get them? Check out the EA Sports FIFA 16 Xbox One Bundle that includes the full game and download codes that will bring some of the best players in the world out on the pitch for their team. Also included is a year-long subscription to EA Access, a download portal and beta hub for all of EA's big titles. Your giftee will get to play sports games before anyone else and access a swath of the publisher's back-catalog, including games like Dragon Age: Inquisition, Battlefield 4 and Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare.
What's in the box:
Standard black Xbox One with a 1TB hard drive
Standard Xbox One wireless controller
One chat headset, HDMI cable, and power supply
Digital download of FIFA 16
Three FIFA Ultimate Team Loan Legends
one-year subscription of EA Access
Pre-order it in the US here for $399: Amazon
Pre-order it in the UK here for £349: GAME UK
Not available in Australia
Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection PS4 Bundle
GameSpot, a popular video game website, uncovered an interesting statistic the other day: 80% of PS4 owners haven't played the original three Uncharted games. Uncharted, as you may know, is a staple in Sony's game library and has been since the PS3 needed a new exclusive in a bad way. That's the beauty of the Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection PS4 Bundle - it's the ultimate "two birds, one stone" scenario. Not only will that PlayStation gamer in your life get a cool, new next-gen system, but they'll also get three of the games that put PlayStation and developer Naughty Dog back on the map.
What's in the box:
A standard black, 500GB PS4 console
A standard black DualShock 4 controller
HDMI cable and power supply
A physical copy of Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection on PS4
Access to the Uncharted 4: A Thief's End multiplayer beta in December
Pre-order it in the US here for $349: Amazon
Pre-order it in the UK here for £299: GAME UK
Not available in Australia
Xbox One Gears of War: Ultimate Edition Bundle
Ah, Gears of War, the game to revitalize our love of shooting really big virtual guns, using a chainsaw to solve all of our problems and bro-oping, the act of playing a game all the way through with your best friend. The Xbox One Gears of War Ultimate Edition Bundle offers a way to relive the experience of the Xbox 360 original in HD, alongside downloads of the entire Gears of War collection and early access to the upcoming Gears of War 4 beta test.
What's in the box:
Standard black Xbox One with a 500GB hard drive
Standard Xbox One wireless controller
Digital download code for Gears of War: Ultimate Edition
Digital download code for Xbox 360 Gears of War collection
Superstar Cole multiplayer skin
Early access to Gears of War 4 Beta
Pre-order it in the US here for $345: Amazon
Pre-order it in the UK here for £299: GAME UK
Not available in Australia
Xbox One 1TB Holiday Bundle
Microsoft's official Xbox One Holiday Bundle is an interesting mix of games from the system's storied past. For starters, it includes a digital download of Rare Replay - a collection of 30 games from Rare's heyday. On it, you'll find titles like the original Perfect Dark, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Killer Instinct, Battletoads, Banjo-Kazooie and even some Xbox 360 titles like Viva Pinata and its sequel, Trouble in Paradise. Pair that with downloads for the Gears of War trilogy, 1080p Gears of War Remastered and 2015's Ori and the Blind Forest, and there's plenty of content for the whole family.
What's in the box:
Standard black Xbox One with a 1TB hard drive
Standard Xbox One wireless controller
One chat headset, HDMI cable, and power supply
Digital download code for Gears of War: Ultimate Edition
Digital download code for Rare Replay, featuring 30 iconic games from Rare
Digital download code for Ori and the Blind Forest full game download
Digital download code for Xbox 360 Gears of War collection
Pre-order it in the US here for $399: Amazon
Not available in the UK or Australia
Xbox One Rise of the Tomb Raider Bundle
There was a lot of confusion around the new Tomb Raider when it was announced at E3 2014. First Microsoft said it was a system exclusive until the company later backpedaled (typical Microsoft) and said it was only exclusive for a limited time before heading to the PS4 and PC. Despite not staying an Xbox One exclusive indefinitely, Lara's home for the holidays is on Microsoft's system, and to that end she's getting her very own console bundle equipped with everything you need to survive another long trek home to your parents' house.
What's in the box:
Standard black Xbox One with a 1TB hard drive
Standard Xbox One wireless controller
One chat headset, HDMI cable, and power supply
Digital download of Rise of the Tomb Raider
The Tactical Survival Kit Content Pack DLC, which contains a new outfit and weapon skins
Digital download of Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, the HD remake of the 2013 Xbox 360 / PS3 / PC game
Pre-order it in the US here: Microsoft
Not available in the UK or Australia
Xbox One Elite Bundle
We saved the best for last. Announced at E3 earlier this year,the Xbox One Elite Bundle comes with a huge 1TB hard drive and new Xbox Elite Wireless Controller. If you're looking for an upgrade to an early Xbox One that's running out of memory, the Elite is probably your best bet. The Elite Controller costs around $150 on its own, and the larger hard drive is a definite boon for anyone who downloads and plays every free Games with Gold title or more than four or five games at any given time.
What's in the box:
1TB solid state hybrid drive Xbox One console
Xbox Elite Wireless Controller and carrying case
One chat headset, HDMI cable, and power supply
Pre-order it in the US here for $499: Amazon
Pre-order it in the UK here for £399: GAME UK
Pre-order it in Australia here for AU$599: EB Games
The post Xbox One and PS4 bundle deals: Up your console gift-giving skills appeared first on Nexttac Technology.