The Arcade Lover’s Holiday Gift Guide: 5 Gifts That Actually Get Played With

What if the best gift under your tree this Christmas isn’t in a tiny wrapped box at all — but stands four feet tall, lights up the living room, and has the whole family fighting over who plays next?

Christmas morning has a way of revealing which gifts were worth it. The socks get a polite smile. The novelty mug gets used twice. But the gift everyone crowds around — the one with a line forming before breakfast is even cleared — that’s the gift they remember for years.

An arcade gift is that kind of gift. It doesn’t get played with once and shelved. It becomes the center of the game room, the reason friends come over, the thing Dad and the kids actually do together.

In this guide, you will find five arcade gifts for every kind of player on your Christmas list — from the retro purist who still remembers the smell of the arcade to the fighting game competitor who needs tournament-grade hardware. Each one is built by Rec Room Masters in the USA with genuine arcade parts, and each one is a gift that gets played with long after the decorations come down.

1. The Showstopper Under the Tree: Upright Xtension 4 Player Arcade Machine

Every Christmas list has one showstopper — the gift that makes everyone gasp when the wrapping comes off. This is it.

The Upright Xtension 4 Player Arcade Machine is the full-size, 32-inch cabinet experience: four players, an included controller, a backlit marquee glowing over the living room, and space for your own monitor or TV. It assembles in about an hour, splits into two halves so it actually fits through doorways and around the Christmas tree, and the top section lifts off to convert it into a pedestal.

One gift, four configurations. It works as a full-size cabinet, a pedestal, a standalone controller setup, or a 2-player or 4-player machine — and you can swap between Xtension controllers in minutes. If you want to be a legend this Christmas, start here.

2. For the Fighting Game Competitor: Xtension 2 Player Pro Controller “Pro Edition”

Know someone who spends their evenings grinding combos? The Pro Edition is the gift that says you actually understand their hobby.

This is tournament-grade hardware: genuine Sanwa buttons and joysticks, and a Brook board that connects natively to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC — no adapters, no excuses. It works as a standalone controller on any flat surface, or docks straight into any Xtension cabinet when they’re ready to build out the full game room. Starting at $525, it’s the most serious gift on this list for the most serious player.

3. For the Retro Purist Who Still Remembers Quarters: Xtension 2 Player Plus “Emulator Edition PLUS”

This one is for the person who grew up feeding quarters into machines and can still hear the sounds. The “Emulator Edition PLUS” is built for authenticity: a 3-inch trackball for Golden Tee and Centipede, a spinner for Tempest and Arkanoid, and — the detail purists will love — a dedicated 4-way joystick for Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and Frogger, the classics that just never felt right on an 8-way stick.

Pre-wired, plug-and-play, and pre-configured for MAME. Unwrap it Christmas morning, plug it in, and be playing before the coffee’s done.

4. The Perfect First Arcade Gift: Xtension 2 Player Controller “Emulator Edition”

Not ready to go full cabinet? This is the smartest first arcade gift you can give.

The 2 Player “Emulator Edition” works as a standalone tabletop controller for PC, Mac, or Raspberry Pi — real arcade parts, with Cherry/ZF microswitches and IL competition joysticks, the way the old cabinets felt. And here’s the clever part: if they ever add an Xtension cabinet down the road, this controller drops right in. Starting at $400, it’s the easiest way to put genuine arcade controls in someone’s hands this Christmas.

5. For the Whole Family on Christmas Morning: Xtension 4 Player Controller “Emulator Edition”

Picture it: Christmas afternoon, four players shoulder to shoulder, grandparents versus grandkids. That’s what this controller is for.

The 4 Player “Emulator Edition” brings the same genuine arcade parts with room for everyone — 14 illuminated menu buttons, an optional 3-inch trackball, and plug-and-play simplicity across PC, Mac, and Raspberry Pi. Holiday parties, family game nights, cousins home for the break: this is the gift the whole house shares. Starting at $450.

The Smartest Gift Strategy: Start With a Controller

Here’s a little Christmas strategy from people who think about this all year: give the controller this year, the cabinet next year.

Every Xtension controller works standalone today and docks into a cabinet tomorrow. It’s a gift that fits under the tree now and grows into a full game room later — one holiday at a time. No other gift on your list does that.

The Bottom Line: Give the Gift of Play This Christmas

Socks wear out. Gadgets get replaced. But a great arcade gift becomes part of the house — the thing that pulls everyone into the same room, laughing, competing, and making the kind of Christmas memories that don’t need a photo to stick.

All Xtension products are proudly manufactured and assembled in the USA with genuine arcade components. Order early enough to have it under the tree, and get ready: you might just become everyone’s favorite gift-giver.

Happy holidays — see you on the leaderboard.