We're
not sure how many posts we'll get to on Christmas Day (if we get to any more after this), but we certainly want to wish
you a Merry Christmas -- or, simply, Happy Holidays, if
you'd rather hear that instead.The point is that we want you to share a meaningful day with your friends and family -- to get some games on if possible, but to keep things in perspective even if you don't. It's hard to find people to play with offline if you don't nurture those all-important relationships in what can be the most wonderful (and, at times, most trying) time of the year. As this blogger learned over the weekend, an EyeToy can be a great intro to non-gamers of what's possible even with a five-year-old system and a USB camera, to say nothing of what the Revolution will bring to the table (and under the tree) in '06.
The same goes for the gamers who have separated into bitterly divided camps against one another. Let's have our own version of the Christmas truce of WWI and reach out to those on different sides of the platform battleground, enjoying great games regardless of hardware allegiances and console-specific upbringings. Rather than waste our time (and breath) entrenched in petty squabbles, why not spend more time playing the titles we've come to know and love, while taking in genres and styles we've passed on every other day of the year? This could be the start of something fresh, something new... even on an original Xbox feeling unloved in the wake of all that next-gen buzz swarming around it. Let's pull out what we've already got (including that pile of unfinished or even unopened games that's been slowly building), and make this the best gosh-darn Xmas for games ever! Until next year, that is.
So Merry Christmas, and we wish you and yours all the best in the new year. [Disclaimer: don't worry, you'll see lots more posts up before the end of December; a Happy New Year just seemed to fit with the holiday greeting somehow. See the Usage Note for the word "Xmas" if you feel upset about the use of that word right about now, but we hope you don't mind us mentioning it.]
