Kotaku Gift Guide: T-Shirts

At GamesCom 2010, a certain publisher (let’s call them Schmarner Schmothers) gave out a few free t-shirts to publicise a popular video game that never got released in Australia (let’s call it Schmortal Schmombat). It was so ugly that one games journalist (let’s call her Schmacey) said: “Man, I would give this shirt to someone I really hate.” Well, Christmas isn’t about hate, so here’s our pick of aesthetically-pleasing t-shirts worth giving this Christmas.

[imgclear]
ARCADE EXPRESSIONISM
This is a fantastic gaming t-shirt for so many reasons: aside from being aesthetically pleasing, it’s subtle and only those familiar with Donkey Kong would pick up on the design – everyone else will just think you need to start wearing an apron.
Threadless.com, $US20
[imgclear]

[imgclear]
MICKEY THE HEDGEHOG
I am dizzy with confusion: Is it a mouse? Is it a hedgehog? Is there such a thing as a medgemog? Schmedgeschmog? Whatever. This Meat Bun shirt (Meat Bun is the t-shirt company founded by former Kotaku US editor, Michael McWhertor) is a delightful collision of two icons – it’s clever enough to not be obnoxious and confusing enough to inspire words like schmedgeschmog. We like it!

Meatbun.us, $US24

[imgclear]
HALO TEABAG

First thought: “What a delicious hue of blue!” Second thought: “Oh hey it’s Master Chief!” Third thought: “And he’s… oh.” This may not be the classiest of t-shirts in terms of subject matter, but it is certainly the most pleasant depiction of teabagging that we have seen on a t-shirt. Which is to say that this can probably be worn to grandma’s house without inducing any heart attacks.
Nerdyshirts.com, $US13.49

[imgclear]
HISTORY OF ZELDA
If your gift receiver enjoys Zelda but would feel like a bit of a doofus wearing brightly coloured graphics of a pixie-like Link, then this subtle design may be the key! I have seen people wear this shirt in the Real World and they don’t look like psychopaths, so that is an encouraging thing!

80stees.com, $US20

[imgclear]
DIABLO RAINBOWS
When Diablo III screenshots were first revealed a few years back, there was outrage on The Internet about the rainbows in the game. Because, y’know, the worst thing a developer could possibly do to a game is give it a bit of colour. In response to The Internet’s Reaction, Blizzard printed a bunch of these t-shirts. You can still buy them!

Us.blizzard.com, $US22

[imgclear]
World of Warcraft Alliance Hoodie
So a hoodie is not a t-shirt, but I felt that this was worth including because it actually looks like a wearable item of WoW clothing. In fact, some might suggest that it is quite a stylish hoodie! Available in male and female sizes, it is a little bit pricey, so you probably want to give it to someone you really like. In my case, I will be gifting it to myself (lol).

Jinx.com, £58.49

Do you know of any gaming t-shirts that would be good stocking stuffers this Christmas? Share them with us in the comments!


The Cheapest NBN 1000 Plans

Looking to bump up your internet connection and save a few bucks? Here are the cheapest plans available.

At Kotaku, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

Comments


22 responses to “Kotaku Gift Guide: T-Shirts”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *