For many of us, Christmas Day and video games go hand-in-hand. As kids, we’d have to wait around all year for December 25th in order to get our hands on the games we were most excited for. Many of us received consoles, receiving new generations of video games from the back of Santa’s sleigh. Now that we’re adults, we may still put video games atop our Christmas lists, or spend the day kicking back with our Nintendo Switch while our families squabble around us.
Today we asked our editors: what’s your favorite Christmas gaming memory? With so many to choose from (not saying we’re old or anything…) it was difficult to nail one down, but we each rooted around in our brainboxes in order to come up with one stand-out memory from Christmas past. As always, leave your own favorite Christmas gaming memories in the comments section below, and we’ll feature our favorite later this week!
Paul Tamburro, executive editor: “Getting a Super Nintendo with F-Zero. All of my family piled into our house on Christmas morning to open their presents, but I just sat there 4 inches from the TV screen playing that game until Christmas evening. Who needs turkey and carols when you’ve got Mute City?”
Jason Faulkner, senior editor: “My favorite Christmas gaming memory is getting an N64. It came with Super Mario 64, and it was my first 3D game. I remember being amazed by how big the game felt, and how challenging it was to adapt to a camera that changed perspective. I also remember how damn creepy the basement of the castle was, and how menacing and empty the corridors felt. It was definitely a formative experience in my gaming career, and an amazing Christmas.”
Mack Ashworth, lead editor: “My favorite Christmas gaming memory has to be when I received the original PlayStation. Though I had played older consoles at my school club, finally having my own system was a dream come true. I played Crash Bandicoot 3 over and over again, absolutely addicted to the time trials. Over 20 years have passed, but I still love gaming!”
Bradley Russell, news editor: “Outside of family party games that seemingly never end despite being in a post-turkey coma, Christmas has been good to me when it comes to video games. I remember getting my PS2 in what must have been Christmas 2001 and that was probably the last console generation that felt properly new and exciting with endless possibilities. Imagine being excited for Wrath of Cortext. Imagine. That’s why children can’t be trusted.”
Michael Leri, Features Editor: “While getting Pokémon Yellow on Christmas 1998 was great, I have more fond memories of the holiday that I brought Rock Band 2 over. Everyone wanted to play and most of my family didn’t have the skills of a rockstar but the blood alcohol level of one, meaning most of it was a beautiful, hilarious mess. No Fail Mode was a lifesaver.”
Yesterday’s Best Comment
Question: What’s Your Favorite Anime This Season?
DJJ66: “I thoroughly enjoyed ZombieLand saga, you really can’t go wrong with headbanging zombie idols. Oh, Goblin Slayer was also surprisingly good, but I will admit that the Manga was miles better, but it was a pretty good brutal anime with a good meta-hook.
I need to get on with watching JoJo… I’m several seasons behind.”
