With Mothers Day quickly approaching, it can be hard to pick the best and most exciting gifts for the game and tech mothers out there. From the wide range of new games to the most fun and exciting hardware, it can be hard to know where to even start. To help guide you on your way, we’ve compiled a list of the best, and most desirable choices for all the moms out there. From consoles and robots to accessories and storage, here are some gifts that are sure to bring joy.
Seagate Barracuda Fast SSD
Whether you are stuck inside or working on the go, the need for a hard drive that can safely travel with you is ever-present. While countless standard hard disks can do the basic job, for anyone who demands the ability to do real work and know it is safe, nothing is better than a solid-state drive, and few stack up to the Seagate Barracuda Fast SSD. This little drive gives the power, performance, and design that will make any mother smile.
With a sleek, quality build, the Seagate Barracuda Fast SSD delivers 540MB/s though USB-C interface. With the space options starting at 500GB and going up to 2TB, this drive is built to deliver the performance needed for today’s intensive workflows. Thankfully the Seagate Barracuda Fast SSD is not just built for gaming, and is a fantastic addition to any gaming setup, be it console, or PC. Starting at $149.99 CAD, the Seagate Barracuda Fast SSD is a sure-fire hit for any mother, be they a workaholic, gamer or some combination of the two. A great dive, and the right flash of style to make it a practical gift, no matter the situation.
iRobot’s Braava jet m6
No one enjoys chores, least of all when they pile up throughout the week. From sweeping to mopping, these while essential is always at the bottom of everyone’s to-do list. This is why iRobot and their rage of smart vacuums and wet mops are so popular and are only getting better as time goes on. With people home more than ever, the help of a little robot buddy like the Braava jet m6 is a welcome gift for anyone.
Retailing at around $400 USD, the Braava jet m6 is a smart mop and sweeper tailor-made for the hard floors of homes and apartments. This little robot has a range of features that make it easy to set it and clean, and while it is not a cheap product, the smarts and efficiency it cleans with, make up for the initial investment. With its range of cleaning modes, the ability to clean both dry and wet, and a range of different pads that can be added — including some that are reusable — the Braava jet m6 is the perfect choice for the mother that has it all, including hardwood and tile floors in need of a good cleaning. Better still, if you already have some iRobot products, it can be added alongside other cleaning robots, making for a whole house suite of little robots, ready to take one more chore off that ever-growing list.
TurboGrafx-16 Mini
For anyone that grew up in the ’80s or ‘90s, the TurboGrafx was the system that few of us owned, but all wanted to try. It boasted some amazing titles, a unique design, and was one of the first systems with a CD ROM drive. While it can be a process to get the original system and hook it up to modern TV’s, Konami has released a new, mini version that will no doubt scratch that itch.
The TurboGrafx-16 Mini is a time-capsule of a system that never caught on in the west. From unique experiences to platformers that never saw the light of day in North America, this is a system that the west forgot, and now is a great time to revisit it. The TurboGrafx-16 Mini is a tremendous value and has some titles you can’t find anywhere else. If you are even remotely interested in this special era in gaming, do yourself a favour and give this system a try. And while it is a bit hard to find right now if you can snag one, it is not only a great value, it is also the perfect gift for this Mother’s Day.
ASUS ZenWiFi AX (XT8) Router
In the modern connected world, the router that came with the internet is no longer enough. From smartphones, tablets, to the laptop you need for work, everything uses Wi-Fi and as the internet becomes more ubiquitous in life, the more that Wi-Fi will be pushed to its limit. This is where devices like the ASUS ZenWiFi AX (XT8) Router fill that void and look stunning while doing so.
With a price tag of around $449 USD, and offering top of the line performance, the ASUS ZenWiFi AX (XT8) is a WiFi 6 mesh router setup that is hard to beat. It looks good, performs well above much of the competition, and is easy to set up and use. While there are a few issues at the time of testing, these are bugs that are easy to deal with, and hopefully will be squashed with a future firmware release. As it stands now, the ASUS ZenWiFi AX (XT8) is a no brainer for anyone looking to upgrade their WiFi or any mother desperate to finally upgrade her home Wi-Fi setup this May 10th.
Nvidia Shield TV (2019)
With so many people stuck inside, streaming and watching media has quickly become the activity of choice to help make the days fly by. As more people upgrade to 4K and more content being offered in higher resolution, the need for a proper streaming device has never been more evident. That is where the Nvidia Shield TV (2019) comes in. This little streaming stick delivers one of the most powerful under the hood devices currently available. It is simple to set up, and neatly hides behind your TV while offering unparalleled performance.
With one of the most robust feature sets on offer and the price point that makes it an easy purchase, the 2019 Nvidia Shield TV is easily one of the best options for people that demand the best. It is powerful, comes with a slick, clean interface, and has some features more boxes should offer. While not the cheapest option on the market, anyone looking to give their mothers the best way to stream in 2020, should look no further than the Nvidia Shield TV (2019).
Sonos Move
Sonos has always been the go-to choice for home audio with their amazing sound pedigree, and easy to use interfaces. Also, just because we are all stuck inside, does not mean we want to be delegated to one room of the house. There are times, you want to soak in the bath, get the epsom salts, put on a facemask, and treat yourself with an at-home spa day, and music is a great way to set the mood, and help you relax. Thankfully, the Sonos Move delivers on the Sonos experience while still being easy to move around, and has a few extra features to make the purchase price well worth it for the audiophile in your life.
Setting you back $499 CAD, the Move is in the upper echelon of portable speakers. But for that money comes one of the best portable speakers currently available. Sonos set out to make the ideal Wi-Fi portable speaker, and they succeeded with the Move. This is a testament to the quality and time Sonos spends on its products, building devices that both last and sound great. If your mother is already a part of the Sonos ecosystem and is in the market for a new speaker, look no further than the Sonos Move.
Xbox Elite Controller Series 2
While chores and relaxing are fun, there are many mothers out there that love to jump into a game, with or without family. And if they are on the Xbox One platform, there is no better way to enjoy games than with the Xbox Elite Controller Series 2.
It is one of the best Xbox controllers built, but that luxury comes at a cost, ringing in at $229.99 CAD compared to around $80 for a standard controller. That being said, it has been confirmed the Xbox Elite ControllerSeries 2 will work with the next-gen Xbox, so it will be a device that will last well beyond this generation of console.
Despite the cost, the Xbox Elite ControllerSeries 2 is one of the best controllers we at CGMagazine have ever used. The improvements Microsoft has made address any concerns I had about past iterations, and the overall fit and finish make the controller a joy to hold and use. If you can look past the price tag for your mother this May 10th, and she demands only the best from her gaming accessories, give the Xbox Elite ControllerSeries 2 a look, she won’t be disappointed.
Nintendo Switch Lite
With everyone stuck inside, and the TV time being at an all-time premium, a system like the Nintendo Switch has never been more appealing. And while having fewer features, the new Nintendo Switch Lite offers most of the same library, feels a bit better in the hands, and at $259.99 CAD costs quite a bit less than its $369.99 older brother.
If your mother is someone who would never dock their Switch, and are okay with giving up a few features for a more portable system, the Nintendo Switch Lite is a perfect option. Nintendo has done a fantastic job with the Switch Lite, and while compromises had to be made, overall it’s a great system for the mother on the go.
Amazon Echo Studio
If you are stuck inside, it can be nice to sit back, relax and put on some room-filling music. While there are many options out for this purpose, few offer the bang for your buck, carrying sound of the Amazon Echo Studio.
The 3D audio sounds fantastic, and the Dolby Atmos makes the Echo Studio perform like a much more expensive speaker than it is. Amazon has done a fantastic job building a high end for its echo line, and the Studio stands as one of the best speakers you can get for the money. While we at CGM hope Amazon improves on the inputs if they iterate on the Studio next year, the Echo Studio is currently a great value and an all-around fantastic sounding speaker. And for anyone looking for that perfect gift for the mother that loves audio, the Echo Studio is hard to beat, especially at its sub $300 CAD price point.
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Final Fantasy VII was a pivotal game for the Final Fantasy, the PlayStation One, and gaming in general. It shaped a generation of RPGs that followed and is still one of the most beloved entries in the series to-date. So when Square Enix finally released the newest entry in the series, it was a no brainer it would make the best Mothers Day gifts for 2020.
While a divergence from what the original release offered, it delivers on nostalgia while crafting something new, exciting and visually stunning. The team have crafted a new Final Fantasy VII experience, one that invites you to revisit old locations, old characters, and an old story, in a new touching way. While it may only be the first in a series of instalments, Final Fantasy VII Remake is a journey that any mother that grew up loving the series will enjoy taking, offering hours of enjoyment, old faces ready to build new memories you won’t soon forget.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
While many of us are stuck inside, there is something magical about living the life of a little character, going through their day in a fantasy world filled with animals. This is the promise of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the latest entry in the series recently released for the Nintendo Switch.
CGM reviewer Jordan Biordi always felt Animal Crossing worked best as a handheld game, given the nature of its gameplay is best suited to short bursts of pick-up-and-play, rather than dedicating time to a stationary system. New Horizons maintains this same feeling, probably being best played in handheld mode on the Switch. While it may not be possible to celebrate Mother’s Day outside, Animal Crossing: New Horizons gives a little taste while being fun, engaging, and truly wholesome.
