Fan Fest News

News for Fans, By Fans!

The Case Against Gaming Being A Big Part Of The Christmas Season

The Christmas season is one filled with the joys of giving. It is one where we can spend time with family. It is one where we can enjoy big dinners and overindulge. So with gaming being at its pinnacle during the fall, why am I arguing against it being so prevalent during the time of year when we could give it the most?

The Case Against Gaming Being A Big Part Of The Christmas Season
Super Smash Bros Ultimate is one of the very few Triple A games to release in December the last couple of years(Photo credit to Nintendo)

First, the timing of releases today. The fall releases hit a lot earlier than they usually do. Besides the likes of Pokémon Let’s Go and Super Smash Bros Ultimate, every triple A title fell before November. Part of this was the Red Dead Redemption 2 effect where everyone wanted to get out before they did, but gaming releases have started to move up for quite some time. Marvel’s SpiderMan released back at the beginning of September along with Tomb Raider a week later, and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey was not too far away on October 5th. Games are simply coming out quicker.

This leads to less being held onto for Christmas Day. A lot is bought on Black Friday, but so much is just being bought to play immediately. Red Dead Redemption 2 made over $700 million in its first three days. Marvel’s SpiderMan sold over 3 million copies in three days. People are not waiting any longer to buy, and I am guessing very few of those games are being unwrapped this morning. I had many a time over the last month of a husband looking at his wife when buying a new system and saying, “This is not going under the tree.”

The Case Against Gaming Being A Big Part Of The Christmas Season
Sora will be visiting in January, so yet again a big release hits the first quarter instead of Christmas (Photo credit to Square Enix)ames

We have also had the addition of “#Christmas2” change things. Big games that would usually force their way into the holiday do not have to anymore. Right after the New Year we have games like Resident Evil 2 Remake and Kingdom Hearts 3 launching in January. February is absolutely loaded with Metro Exodus, Crackdown 3 (hopefully), and Anthem. “#Christmas2” is here to stay for now. Because of this more gift cards will be given and less gaming gifts will arrive from the North Pole.

This is not to say there are not plenty of gaming gifts given. As many great games that have released this year many are sure to have only picked up a fraction of them. I have watched plenty of holiday sales on systems turn into a kid’s Christmas gift. It just seems the gaming holiday season is not what it once was, especially when free-to-play games like Fortnite dominate children’s wishlists.

What do you think? Has Christmas turned away from gaming gifts in your home? Do you wish we could experience the joys of gaming Christmas again, just like the Nintendo 64 kid did? Put your present under our comment tree!