The arrival of the holiday season always brings its customary slew of new video game developments. Whether marketing new games or new technology, big companies like Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo all want you to do your holiday shopping with them.

Usually, this isn’t a problem since the newest product is typically the best available. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case this year. Despite wonderful innovations like Xbox 360’s Kinect, PlayStation 3’s Move and the Wii … wait, Nintendo didn’t really do anything new.

The point is, these “”revolutionary”” gaming technologies have just been released and are being shoved down gamers’ throats. They’re more gimmicky than anything and hardly have the kind of entertainment value gamers want. Plus, since it’s all so new, it’s also buggy. Wait to buy any of these until some real developments are made.

So then, what are you supposed to buy for your special gamer this Hanukkah or Christmas? There are a couple of games you can’t go wrong with, like Ubisoft’s spectacular “”Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood”” or Activision’s “”Call of Duty: Black Ops,”” but there isn’t much else out there.

So let me help you, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo. Here’s what you need to do if you want gamers to stay excited about what you’re doing.

Microsoft’s Xbox 360

The 360 is arguably the best and most popular game console out there right now. There are always quality games to play on it and there are also a few you can’t get on another system.

The Kinect has just been released too, giving a new hands-free aspect to gaming on the 360, but it’s really just an attempt to create a suped-up version of the Wii. To their dismay, it hasn’t worked out that way yet. Granted, it’s still a young addition, but the novelty of new games wears off quickly, and some of them are practically impossible to play.

Still, the Kinect isn’t what they need to really focus on. Everyone knows it was a matter of trying to get a piece of the lucrative motion-gaming pie. Instead, they should have just focused on coming up with a new innovation that isn’t remotely similar to anything gamers have seen before. Real innovation rather than copycatting would solidify the Xbox 360’s spot at the top.

Sony’s PlayStation 3

Only recently has the PlayStation 3 seen the success people thought it would have on its release. After struggling for years, sales are picking up. The Move is apparently doing well, but it’s also a knockoff of the Wii, which isn’t what Sony needed either. Lucky for them, the Move functions better than the Kinect, but, again, it shouldn’t be their priority.

What Sony needs are more exclusive titles. At this point, while the PlayStation 3 has a fine series in the form of “”God of War,”” there isn’t much else worth mentioning. Yes, exclusive titles exist, but hardly any have become truly memorable in the face of Nintendo’s Mario or Microsoft’s Master Chief and Marcus Fenix. Sony once had the “”Final Fantasy”” series exclusively for years, but those days are gone.

At this point, there’s hardly anything PlayStation has that you can’t get on an Xbox. PlayStation 3 needs to prove to developers that a title on only their system will still be widely successful.

Nintendo’s Wii

For a long time, Nintendo has done very well by appealing to casual gamers. Yet, despite the monetary success, they’ve lost the majority of their hardcore gaming fan base. Only the most loyal remain, and even those numbers are dwindling. The Wii has become more of a toy than a real gaming console, aside from the occasional new releases in their oldest and most beloved series — like Mario, Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong or Kirby.

That’s exactly the problem, though. Nintendo is stuck in the past. Yes, there are new games, but these characters are ancient. No one is ever going to complain about getting a new game in any of these series, but they need something no one has seen yet. Mario and the gang will always have a place in gamers’ hearts, but the stagnant Nintendo could use a new addition to the gang.