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Best Holiday Gaming Seasons Ever?
Thanks to GameSpy for their feature discussing the best videogaming holiday seasons of all time, as they point out: "Most of the biggest and best games, and many of the best game consoles, have all come out during the final months on the calendar." Their nominations include 1982, in which "Ms. Pac-Man ruled the arcades, and the previous arcade king, Donkey Kong, could finally come to our homes, packed in with the snazzy new ColecoVision", and 1996, where: "With the introduction of Mario 64 in September, gamers discovered the joys of games in 3D. With the release of Tomb Raider that same month, gamers discovered their hormones." What was your all-time favorite gaming Christmas?
1994... that was the year I got Tie Fighter.
1996... that was the year I got Civilization II.
It's tough to choose which one gave me more entertainment:
Tie Fighter: My routine when high school clases finished:
2:30-4:30 = sports (fall soccer, winter track, spring tennis).
5:00 until dinner (~6:30) = Tie Fighter.
7:30 = homework/tv (depending on the day)
Civ II: Routine: Didn't have as much of a routine as Tie Fighter, but I usually started playing around 8-9, earlier or later depending on homework volume. It was NOT uncommon for me to not realize that it was 1am and I had been playing for 4+ hours, even though I only meant to play for "a few minutes..."
Man, I'm not one of those cynical "games today aren't what they used to be" people, since I've loved some recent games (Battlefield 1942, Super Mario Sunshine, Metroid Prime), but nothing since Civ II has given me a "can't wait to play it later!" feeling. Anyone know a more recent game like that? I would love to have that attachment to a game again (not that I really have the time, but still...)
My parents got me an Atari 400 with Pac-Man. I was 5 and it was teh shit!
Well, I'm pretty sure developers try to release their games during the holiday season simply because people already have money to spend, on gifts and games. You might as well make it a new release, so that it can be the new cool thing to buy. Many games for the xbox were delayed this holiday season, ninja Gaiden, Halo 2 was intended for this holiday season, and I'm sure a whole slew of other games. Fact of the matter is, publishing houses and developers wanna push for a holiday release. My 2 cents.
was given a SNES with Super Mario World. That game was so simple, so fun, it's still my all time favorite game. Now i get to waste even more hours of my study time with the GBA version :D
got a sega genesis w/ sonic 2... i was hooked
...and that's all there is to it.
that Mario 3 came out.
Hands down.
The GeekNights podcast is going strong. Listen!
besides the fact that this is an obvious troll, I'll bite...
:)
I love these pot-calling-the-kettle-black statements that you see on Slashdot more and more lately - i.e. the people on Slashdot themselves calling other people nerds
And to address your idea that simply getting a videogame means, to quote you, that we would have to "try to pretend [we] had social skills" is insane. That's like saying if getting a book that you can read over-and-over will cause you to have few social skills. Ridiculous!
Besides the fact that most videogame systems released in the last 2 and a half decades have this fascinating device called a "second-controller port" (which, strangely, would require a FRIEND to use the second controller), the article is asking about the best holiday GAMING seasons ever. It's not saying "what videogame gift made your holiday better than the family get-togethers, dinners, homemade gifts and company put together?" My family celebrates Hannukah, so we personally had 8 days where we did this stuff. Usually, one gift was a videogame that we'd asked for. All of my Chritmas-celebrating friends also got one videogame toy during the holidays. So, based on the article, I answered which GAME was the best out of the 10-or-so years which I'd received them.
Geez, I'll bet you got your ass-kicked by some geek in 4th grade and ever since you've been on a futile mission to get revenge. Ha! Nice try...
Half-life 2!
Oh. Wait...
I am one of many. My idea is not unique, nor do I expect my voice alone to sway you. I speak in a chorus of opinion.
other games that I really enjoyed in the final months of the previous years include Half-Life (1998), Quake III Arena (1999), No One lives forever 1 and 2 (2000, 2002), Diablo 1996 ...
The IT section color scheme sucks.
Pff!
I remember quite a few NES and SNES games that required the second controller to enable cheats!
We don't need no stinkin' friends!!
OH! so that's what the other three ports are for! and there I was, playing with both hands and my feet, trying to figure out why my right hand always won and my left foot always lost...
While most remember the colecovision, few remember the ADAM. It was a PC + a full fledged colecovision.
Though I was very young and with no adult help (my step father was the anti-geek) so I never used the computer for much more then word processing. But still, on a nastalgic geek scale the system itself is a 10. Of course, when I opened that box Xmas morning I was a tad bit dissapointed. I had been asking for an Omnibot 2000 and the box was the right size.
I didn't see the first post (since it was modded troll) until I read your response. Then I changed settings and read it.
While it was stated in a strong way, I can see the poster's point. I wouldn't have modded it troll, but I have noticed that often when someone says something about someone else, and that person doesn't have the strength to accept the truth in what was said, they'd rather blame the first person than deal with their own problems that were pointed out in the first place.
In other words, I think the person had a point, but was modded to troll because someone couldn't deal with their own issues.
As for 2nd controllers, I've noticed that playing with a partner can be fun, but that it's just another way of interacting without actually communicating -- something that is becoming more and more common in our culture.
I had bought a PlayStation earlier in the year, but had to return it when I really needed some money. Then for Christmas, I unwrapped a PlayStation game from my fiancee's mom and thought, oh geez, what am I going to do with this, while thanking her a lot and saying I could play it on somebody else's system. I didn't get it -- my fiancee's gift which I opened next was a PlayStation. Pretty cool gaming Christmas, especially since my fiancee bought herself Tomb Raider for us to play also :)
MORTAR COMBAT!
Most people realized the sheer idiocy in being attracted to a 2000 polygon.
That's no small moon
Somebody's been on the $3 crack again.
Sure, the OG has a point...however, it's totally irrelevant in the discussion of which was the best gaming holiday. If you don't like gaming in the holidays, then don't post. It is most definitely a troll and should be modded as such.
Or what about Metal Gear Solid, a pure single-player game where the second controller port is used in a rather innovative way?
I had a bloody christmas 1998 when I received a used virtual boy... The snow is now only tinted red, or a melting chicken soup yellow from fearing that mask of death...
The parent is a troll because it offers nothing constructive and just tries to makes fun of people. On top of that it misses the point entirely.
Also, not everyone has tons of family to fill up all that time. So tell me, when is it acceptable to go play some games? December 27th? Jan 2nd? What if you're Jewish? Are you an anti-social loser if you're playing games on X-mas eve?
I can think back to when I got X-Wing I was so excited, got to install it on X-Mas day and start it up for about 10minutes. It wasn't until after new years that I really got to play it, but I still consider it to be a great GAMING Holiday Season. I believe I got Mario Kart for SNES. So taken together the amount of fun I eventually had playing those games made it a great GAMING Holiday Season.
It's like asking what year do you think was best for pick-up trucks?
-- taking over the world, we are.
You must mean mainstream, "cool" gamers. I mean, we don't like those old games anymore because you said so. You said it, Mister God of Opinions. So it must be right.
"I wonder what it's like living in a constant haze of stupidity" - Hiei, Yu Yu Hakusho
That is a rare exception, where the 2nd controller is needed for 1 person to play. It's like shooting hoops by yourself. It can obviously be done with one person, but "Playing sports" usually implies with at least 1 other person.
SNES centric comments:
1993. Secret of Mana, and the multitap. Makes your friends forget about their families and come over to play it.
Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening came out about this time too for gameboy.
1994. Donkey Kong Country, Super Metroid, FFIII, and Breath of Bire, Megaman X. I was broke as soon as I had saved up my 69.99 each time. Damn that was expensive.
I think it was 1979. Why so great? First 2600. You have no idea how long Combat and Space Invaders could keep you occupied when you're 6 years old.
All the other things you have mentioned were mere set dressing. Evolution, not revolution.
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
I was 11, and the only game system I had was a NES that I'd purchased with my own money. My parents thought that video games were a waste of time and money, and so everything I had I'd bought myself.
I'd recently discovered this incredible game in the arcades, Street Fighter II, and I fell in love with fighting games. Of course, there were no fighting games for the NES, so I just went to the arcade and burned quarters there.
When I heard that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters was going to be released for the NES, I was ecstatic. Since it was due out right around Christmastime, I begged and nagged my parents to buy it for me. On Christmas morning, as I tore through my presents, I came across a suspiciously video-game-shaped one. I opened it up, and found TMNT: TF all right... but for the Genesis.
I was heartbroken. I turned to my folks with what must have been a pitiful look on my face, and told them "Thanks guys, but you guys got the wrong one..." My dad just grinned, and without saying a word reached behind the couch and pulled out a brand new Genesis.
Of course, TMNT:TF wound up being pretty bad, but that was still the greatest gaming Christmas ever. =)
I remember growing up and not having a Nintendo or anything. So when my mom married my step-dad, I was thrilled to find out that they had a NES. Waking up Xmas Day and finding a SNES under the tree was just like sheer bliss.
Yeah, I'm Muslim. I spend Christmas break playing games and eating :) I wouldn't consider myself anti-social but my non-Muslims friends are usually busy or out of town and I refuse to go to a place like the mall during the break, to hectic.
This year? Disgaea, Mario Kart, Mario and Luigi, and gotta finish FFTA...
"There is no time, sir, at which ties do not matter," Jeeves, (Jeeves and the Impending Doom)
Christmas of '97 was one of my best/worst seasons. The combination of getting a Playstation and Final Fantasy VII for that Christmas and the release of Quake II did terrible things to my freshman year of college.
In 1988, I got a Sega Master System for Christmas, along with 4 games, including the original Phantasy Star. I was 10. My parents and I spent my entire Christmas vacation parked in front of the living room TV, taking turns with the controller and making detailed maps of the caves in a notebook. We eventually beat the game, and then took turns replaying the final battle. I was the first to beat Lassic with all of my people still alive, which was probably the first time I ever did anything better than my parents. This stands out in my mind as not just my favorite gaming Christmas, but my favorite Christmas, period.
I still play Super Mario Kart (SNES) regularly with my friends. I can do things in Battle Mode that you would swear were impossible.
I love how GameSpy continually puts out these best gaming etcetera opinion pieces to simply spark the fanboy debates. The last page even has some useful essential links (scroll to the bottom) that must not be missed. :)
:)
I am not immune, however. So...
Nintendo rules the artificial demand department with the "chip shortage" of 1988 which affected Zelda II more than any other title. Hmmm.... They also seemed to have a low supply of N64 consoles in 1996. One of my fondest Christmas-ish moments was walking into a toy store on Black Friday and asking if they had any N64s. The clerk told me that he had just got off the phone with someone who had to cancel their layaway and asked if I wanted it. I simply said "no thanks."
Sony had the hype/demand machine chugging in 2000 when they launched the PS2 at more than twice the price of the Dreamcast that had a bigger library of quality games. Those lucky enough to get a PS2 that year were treated with marginal titles, a way to play their PS1 games and DVDs and not much else. Majora's Mask came out in 2000. This is one of the most misunderstood games of all time. Most players hated it due to it's manipulation of time, but it is a very fine game.
My personal favorite holiday gaming season would have to be 2002. Some of the finest games of all time came out during this season. GTA: Vice City and Metroid Prime are must have games for any (mature) gamer. Platform lovers who usually stuck with Nintendo systems would be shocked as Super Mario Sunshine proved to be a slightly above average game. The PS2 meanwhile had the incredibly superb Ratchet and Clank. Even the Xbox had a slight edge as Jet Set Radio Future was being shipped with the system, unfortunately, the only other platform game for the Xbox was the terrible Blinx so it didn't have that big of an edge.
When I got my NES (1987?)... Super Mario Bros., Zelda I... how could you possibly beat that? :)
pb Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate.
One Christmas in particular stands out amoung them all. I was quite young at the time. My mom tricked me and put it in a square box (looked like a package with clothes in it). I never liked getting clothes for x-mas, and would put opening them up until the end.
After getting a lot of random junk, I opened the last clothes box, and in it was Mario 3! I don't ever remember being so happy.
Also, not everyone has tons of family to fill up all that time. So tell me, when is it acceptable to go play some games? December 27th? Jan 2nd?
My family was always in the kitchen making dinner etc, so there was definately time for the kids to go play games etc.
Although now it's even better. My wife and I go to one set of parents on the 24th, open presents, then go home, open presents, then on the 25th drive up to the other set of parents and open even more presents.
90% of my presents are still video games after all these years. I'm banned from buying any games for myself starting november... which sucks because I really want to play Prince of Persia.
It's probably somewhere in the early 90's for me when I first got Dune 2.
But, really, isn't this year a shocker? There are no good games out right now. HL2 is delayed, Doom 3 is no existent. XIII looks interesting but gets iffy reviews. Project Gotham Racing 2 is hardly the epitome of gaming. GTA:VC (PC) is now too old to quality for this season, as is UT2003 or Simcity 4.
What's up with 2003?
mogorific carpentry experiments
I dont renember what year but it was the christmas of warcraft. I renember christmas morning opening the gifts and having to download some graphics library for windows to play it. I love the sea battles...
Can't buy starting november eh? Is renting still against the rules? ::)
-- taking over the world, we are.
I'm really diggin Railroad Tycoon 3 right now. Great game for any fan of the Civilization/Colonization/Sim City-types of games. Of course, everything is much better on my new Samsung 213t 21" LCD :)
"I either want less corruption, or more chance
to participate in it." -- Ashleigh Brilliant
The Atari 400 was shipped in late 79, but by fall of 1980 I had mowed enough yards to buy one (slightly used).
hip hop hooray for Asteroids, Missile Command, Star Commander, and later on Canyon Climber and Shamus.
I pulled a jack move to cop this sig