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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) – So how's your holiday shopping coming along? Mine? Well, I've got most of my family covered, now I just need to take care of a few friends.
Here's the problem: My friends are gamers – and they're all pretty wealthy, so I can't just get 'em a copy of "City of Villains" or something. They demand more, even the folks I've just met.
Take the Queen of England, for example. We've just started hanging out in the past few months, so I don't want to go all out for her this year. I'd hate to snub her, though. Therefore, I've decided to pick her up the TSW Formula 26.
Liz just can't get enough of racing games, you see. And this controller, with its suede steering wheel, teardrop shift knob and three foot pedals should help feed her need for speed. And at just $1,003, it's really just a drop in the bucket.
Now, if we were closer, I'd definitely pick her up the IndyCar Series Simulator that's listed in this year's Neiman Marcus Fantasy Gift catalogue. I mean, there's really nothing cooler than playing a racing game on a high def monitor while sitting in a life-sized replica of Dan Wheldon's winning car. However, until she either gives me that castle I've been hinting at or a couple of the British Virgin Islands, there's no way in Hades that I'm going to spend $65,000 on her. Heck, she won't even pick up the tab at lunch!
Steve Jobs now... he's always buying the first round down at the pub. That's my kind of guy. And while Apple computers aren't exactly known for their gaming functionality (to put it mildly), once you sit Steve down in front of a PlayStation, you can't drag him away. Home boy has some mad "Katamari Damacy" skills, yo!
I was going to pick him up an Xbox 360, but when I mentioned it to him, he broke out in hives for some reason. As a result, I'm getting him one of Claro's holographic TVs. Truth be told, the TV isn't really holographic. A rear-projection screen is hidden in a sheet of glass, but if you're not standing near it, it's easy to believe the image is simply floating in air.
Price isn't a problem. With speakers, the set is a mere $43,000. Finding one might be tough, though, as a limited number were available exclusively at Harrod's earlier this year, so this could be tricky.
Warren Buffett, believe it or not, can kick butt in "Halo". Problem is, he's not a fan of online gaming. Like me, he enjoys the single player experience much more. In fact, he gets kind of irked when people interrupt his game time.
So when I saw the Oculas, I knew it was the perfect gift for him. This egg-like multimedia shell not only lets you shut yourself off from the rest of the world, it offers 5.1 surround sound and the built-in leather chair will even give you a massage as you blast away the Covenant Elite. Everything from lighting to the whisper quiet door is controlled by a touchscreen within the Oculas. The price? Just $43,166.
Of course, if I get Warren something, I'll need to get Bill Gates something, too.
I'm going to tell you a little secret about Bill: While you can't turn a corner without seeing him pimping the Xbox 360 these days, he actually prefers PC gaming. Most folks think he's dreaming up the next big thing for Windows when he's locked away in his office. Uh-uh. He's working to level up on the Mal'Ganis server in "World of Warcraft".
Now, as you might guess, Bill has a pretty sweet monitor, but I think he can do better. So, I'm going to wrap up 9X Media's X-Top Expandable multi-screen monitor. This baby combines 30 flat-screen monitors into a single video wall. I've decided to go for the 30"x40" monitors, so he's gonna have a monitor measuring roughly 8'x33' to admire his Night Elf. It's pricey at $252,000, but I'm nothing if not generous.
You just watch, though; he's going to get me another damned sweater this year.
Of course, I'm saving the best for my beloved Angie Harmon. Ah Angie, our scandalous weekends together are always the highlight of my year. A jewel such as yourself deserves nothing less than jewelry – specifically, jewelry that you can use to play games.
As such, I'm picking you up one of the E-Go diamond notebook PCs as soon as they become available. They seem like good gaming machines, with their AMD 64 processors, beefy 100GB hard drives and ATI Radeon Xpress video cards, but what makes the E-Go really shine are the white gold plates with thousands of tiny inset diamonds (totaling 80 carats), along with the ruby that's set in the machine's two tulip designs. At just shy of $331,000, it's a sacrifice, but you're worth it, Ang.
Just give me a call and we'll arrange a time to meet so I can give it to you. I'll bring some mistletoe along – just in case.
See the gifts! Click here for the gallery
More gift guides for the obscenely rich? Read the 2004 edition and the 2003 edition.
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Morris is Director of Content Development for CNNMoney.com. Click here to send him an email.
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