GTA IV, last year's big hit, now $20.

First things first: This post should be ignored by anyone buying gifts for a hard-core video-game nut -- the kind of person who already has the new "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" in his console. Those game geeks are just too far ahead of the curve for the strategy to be discussed herein.

But for the rest of the population, this holiday season offers a chance to save money and still give a great gift by avoiding the hot new thing and looking instead for what might be considered a recent classic -- that piece of hardware or software that has been on the market long enough to be discounted but not so long that it's no longer cool.

Exhibit A is the consoles themselves. A round of price cuts this fall means that the major consoles can be had for considerably less than in past holiday seasons. Nintendo's Wii is available for $200, down from the original $250. Microsoft's 120GB Xbox 360 Elite, previously $400, now goes for $300.

The PS3 has experienced the biggest price drop over time, because it cost so much to begin with. Today's model, with 120GB of storage, sells for $300 -- half the price that Sony charged for a 60GB model when the PS3 debuted three years ago. (And that was before its built-in Blu-ray technology prevailed in the next-generation DVD wars.)

But the console price cuts are kind obvious. More interesting are the deals to be had if you study up a little on the games themselves. Perhaps the best example, as long as you're buying for an adult, is "Grand Theft Auto IV" -- the big 2008 game that can will be found on sale for as little as $20 this holiday season.

If you're buying for people getting their first Xbox 360, look for the 2-year-old "Halo 3" for $40 rather than the follow-up "Halo 3: ODST," which sells for $60. And you could avoid the $200 "Band Hero" Band Kit in favor of the "Guitar Hero World Tour" Band Kit -- which dates to 2008 but sells for half the price.

Looking back at the NPD Group's top titles of 2008, other games worth considering -- if you can get them at a discount -- include "Call of Duty: World at War" (rather than the new "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" and "Left 4 Dead" (rather than the new sequel, "Left 4 Dead 2").

Of course, you have to know the person you're buying for. Michael Pachter, a Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst who covers the video-game industry, draws an analogy to movies. You're probably not going to buy the DVD of "Slumdog Millionaire" for someone who saw it in the theater last year. But knowing which video games they haven't played opens the door to some interesting options.

Pachter's personal buying tip: Look for a discounted version of Batman Arkham Asylum, a game-of-the-year candidate available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows. And depending on the preferences of the person you're buying for, don't rule out used games. Pachter says he expects some game retailers to make a strong push to sell used games to budget-conscious shoppers, because their profit margins actually end up being better in many cases than on new titles.

Seen any great holiday deals, on any type of tech item? Email techflashtips@bizjournals.com, and we'll consider your suggestion for a follow-up post.