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Do you know a Minecraft fan and need THE perfect gift idea? Surprise them with the ultimate gift for Minecraft fans, the hot new Gameband!
I know you’re thinking, “What is a Gameband?”. Well, it’s the first-ever portable Minecraft wearable by Now Computing*, which is affiliated with Minecraft. It’s not only a portable USB and watch; it has a customizable graphic LED display and more! Cool right?!
*Any feedback or questions about Gameband should be directed to Now Computing.
Our Minecraft adventure started in 2010 when my oldest son was 13 years old. Fast forward four years, and now there are four Minecraft players at my house. Yes, four! Both my boys and my girls play this game. However, the ultimate Minecraft fan award goes to my 13-year-old son, who loves all things Minecraft. He not only builds worlds, he enters Minecraft skin contests and has been in the top 100, twice! At one time, he even had a server. So of course, when he heard about the new Gameband for Minecraft, it immediately went on his wish list.
Thanks to #CollectiveBias, I was able to make my son’s wish come true. Do you see that big ole’ smile on his face? That’s the smile of a happy Minecraft fan!
He’s had the Gameband for around two weeks and LOVES it! He hasn’t stopped talking about it. One of his favorite features is the PixelFurnace App, which allows him to be creative and customize the LED animations. I think he’s changed the design three times. His newest creation is an animated fish with the words “Fishes!”
He also loves the preloaded maps* from Sethbling, Hypixel and Dragonz (popular Minecraft map makers). These maps are like little mini games, which challenge him to use thinking skills.
*The Gameband does not come with the full Minecraft game. If you are purchasing this as a gift for someone without an existing Minecraft account, you will have to purchase Minecraft in order to access the preloaded maps. Once logged into your Minecraft account, the preloaded maps will show up when the Gameband is plugged in. If playing without the Gameband plugged in, the preloaded maps will not show up.
Another feature he enjoys is being able to save his worlds, servers, and texture packs on the Gameband and cloud-based server. Yes, a cloud-based server! So, if he ever loses his Gameband, I can order a replacement and all his data will be intact. How great is that?!
Want to know why I love this portable Minecraft band? I love it because it keeps my laptop free from any Minecraft downloads. Since I’ve never allowed my kids to download Minecraft to my laptop, they could never play on it. Now, all they have to do is plug in the Gameband and play directly from the band! And because it features ultra-fast, long-lasting hardware, my son seems to think it helps the game run faster.
If you want to purchase a Gameband, hurry over to your local GameStop. This hot item is flying off the shelves and many stores have limited quantities. When I picked up the Gameband, my local store only had four on hand.
You’ll find the Gameband behind the counter or in the mobile gaming section of the store. If you can’t find it in the store, just ask an employee. Some stores will only have boxed displays and will ship the Gameband directly to you within 1-2 days. Just make sure you tell them what size you need, as these bands come in two sizes – Small (6.7 inches / 15.7 cm) and Large (7.2 inches / 17.3 cm). If you’re buying this for a teen, get the large. 
Want to learn more about the first portable Minecraft Gameband? Watch these two unboxing videos – here and here.
Don’t you think this makes an awesome Minecraft fan gift?
My wife’s brother would probably like this since he plays this game. This game band is pretty cool. Will have to check this out, could make a good gift.
My grandsons are all just getting into Minecraft now as they are outgrowing their Hot Wheels. Now I need to learn all the new characters. They will love the band to help them with their games.
This is pretty interesting and I have never heard of this before. I know a 13 year old that loves Minecraft and would love this.
We were going to get this for his birthday but he chose to get something else. He really likes Minecraft but he is skeptical how this works.
I have a nephew who loves minecraft. Might get it for him
If he likes Minecraft and making his own skins, he’ll like creating his own LED creations.
Minecraft has pretty much been a given in our home forever. I’ve never heard of these and I just know my fam would love it, but they probably already know all about it.
These are a fairly new product that came out in November 2014 and a great gift for any Minecraft lover.
🙂 My son loves creating his own LED displays on this and playing the mini games. He’s definitely having fun with it.
My 14 year-old son loves Minecraft and has it playing on his computer, XBox 360 and XBox One too. He would love to have one of these bands to play with. This would be a great present for his birthday. I’ll have to remember to get it for him. Thank you for the review.
I think he would love to have this. It’s really new and he might be the first one of his friends to have it. It’s pretty cool.
I don’t know anything about Minecraft. I had to watch the video, and then look it up on Google to even kind of understand. I think the bands are pretty neat. I guess I have been living under a rock because it seems like a pretty popular game.
Oh my gosh this is such a popular game now. My oldest son started playing this years ago and it’s just picked up so much momentum that even Lego makes Minecraft sets.
Only one of my girls is into Minecraft but I think she would have a blast with this! Thanks for sharing!
My girls play Minecraft too and I know my youngest daughter would love to have this too.
My son would be out of this world with this… Sssshhh don’t tell him plz!!!!
My lips are sealed 🙂 He’ll love it.
All 5 of my kids are hooked on Minecraft and have so much fun with it. Wish your son lived a bit closer to my kids, he could teach them some great things
My son learns a lot from watching Youtube videos on how to create a lot of things.
Many kids on my gift list would love this! Great idea for birthdays this year.
It would make a wonderful Birthday gift!
I don’t fullyunderstand Minecraft but my teen loves playing this. I think she would love this gift so maybe a birthday gift later this year!
I’ve never heard of this Minecraft before now. It looks really neat! Your son really looks like he is enjoying it himself with this Minecraft! Thanks for sharing it with all of us! I really appreciate it! Thanks, Michele 🙂
My grandson loves the minecraft game. Thank you for sharing this
I have not ever played Minecraft, but this looks really interested. People sure love their techy things 🙂 I will have to ask my nephew about it. He is all about video games.
My grandchildren would love this. Looks like great fun~
My son would go crazy for this !!!
What an awesome item! My son would be on the top of the world if he had one of these. Thank you for such a complete review and for including pictures and video!
Now I’m wondering if this would be something I would like even though I’m not into games :)…it seems like a lot of fun! I like the idea of being creative and customizing the LED animations when using the PixelFurnace app.
This would be a great gift for my son. He loves to play Minecraft. He would especially like the PixelFurnace App.
Okay so that’s it! My son has to have this now. He is so excited after reading your post. We are getting it from Target ASAP. Thanks for your review.
This looks like a gift my son would love…
My grandsons are big game fans…not sure if they are in to Minecraft but probably are 🙂 This would be great for them!
This is seriously cool!! Too back they don’t have this for WOW because I would get this for my son tomorrow. He would love this, and the fact that you can instantly download data to a laptop without downloading the game is awesome. I wouldn’t want WOW downloaded to my laptop either! Thanks for the review 🙂
My grandson will love this. He is a mindcraft fan!
Oh my! This is really awesome! I don’t know how I missed out on hearing or reading about this before Christmas, but am glad to know of it now! My nephew is a huge Minecraft fan and would love this! Thanks for the information!
Hi, am I understanding you that this comes with the minecraft game or do you need to have the game already?
Sorry if it wasn’t clear and I’ll update that. No, it doesn’t come with the paid version of the game. You’ll have to have the paid version of the game (around $27) in order to take full advantage of the Gameband features. According to my son, you’ll have to log into your Minecraft account with your user name and password and the preloaded Gameband maps will show up. If you use the computer without the Gameband, those special maps will not show up in your Minecraft account. I hope that answers your question.
Erlene, thank you so much for the reply! Happy Holidays!
This is an interesting concept. I don’t think anyone I know plays Minecraft though. #ProductReviewParty
I know my daughters would love this since they are starting to get into Minecraft games. This would be the perfect Christmas gift. #ProductReviewParty
Your daughter’s would definitely enjoy this.
Nice
One of my grandson’s used to play Minecraft and he was pretty serious about it then. It’s all greek to me but I can certainly see how those who enjoy it would love this. Thanks for partying with us! Great post. Your son does look very happy!
Lol Shirley. It was all Greek to me at first too, but any game that can get all of my kids to play together is a plus in my book. And yes, my son is super happy with his Gameband.
Wow. I bet my nephew would love this.
I think it would make a great Minecraft fan gift.
This looks like a totally awesome gift idea for sure. Both of my boys would love this gift I’m sure. Thanks for telling us so much about it.
They would totally love the Gameband! Plus, they can each make their own LED animations and save their own info on the bands.
My son loves Minecraft. I’m going to have to look into this for him!
Jana your son would be so excited to get this. It’s brand new and definitely a “must have” for a Minecraft fan.
Wow interesting. I am not sure I even heard of it. I guess when your kids are teenagers, you learn all kinds of stuff. That little portable ban is just so cool, too. Congrats to your son for being in the top 100 twice!!!
Thanks Zan. My kids really enjoy playing this game. I like that it’s a game they can all work together to build things (team work) and play mini games (strategy & thinking skills).
My son is a gamer and would love that! I am going to have to go check it out now because I didn’t know this product even existed.
This product just came out to the public in November. It’s definitely a hot new Minecraft item and the first wearable Minecraft Gameband.
That is so cool, especially the fact that it keeps your laptop free from downloads! And the smile on your son’s face says it all.
I LOVE that it keeps my laptop free from any Minecraft downloads. Plus, he can take this #GameOnTheGo to a friend’s house and play there too.
This is fascinating. Fun stuff!
It’s such a fun game and the kids really enjoy being able to build things and make their own worlds. It’s like a virtual building playground.
My son was a minecraft fan too, he would have loved the gameband.
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
I know right?! My oldest son doesn’t play as much anymore, but he would’ve loved this when he was younger.
I am so impressed that he’s created his own animations on the Gameband. I think that is so cool that you can do that – and I love his animation! #client
He loves creating the LED animations. He created a creeper getting hit by an arrow, a a sinking ship, and this diving fish.