The holiday season isn't just relegated to the real world. Robert "Sabrehawk" Cox of the WarCry Network has a new article up detailing how many of the popular MMOs celebrate the season. Anarchy Online, World of Warcraft, the EverQuest series and a handful of others are there. For those handful of players still involved in Star Wars Galaxies, there's always Wookie Life Day.

One MMO missing for Cox's list is Guild Wars, and our sister site Massively has the information on their Wintersday celebration.

[Via Massively]

'Tis the day for everyone to rip open wrapping paper and see just how much their loved ones care. So whether the present exchange was today, last night, earlier this month or some other time, we want to know how you made out in terms of video games (and if you want to share more, feel free, but we're only concerned with your gaming needs). If you have a chance to hit the pause button or get away from the family dinner table, tell us what you got. Happy Holidays!

WOW. We've posted about Space Invaders scarves before, but this one definitely takes the cake as the classiest , most fashionable implementation of Taito's classic shooter we've ever seen. Designed by Lendorff.Kaywa, the Space Invaders scarf features a "QR-code", which when read by special mobile phone software can be decoded to reveal a hidden message.

Of course, so much spiffyness doesn't come cheap. The scarf costs £32.50 GBP (approximately $65 USD). If you're going to get one for that special someone in your life, better act fast, too: the scarf is a limited run of 500, although more Space Invaders designs are promised in the future.

[Via DS Fanboy]

Gamasutra has received some clarification on GameStop's Wii Reservation program, which Reggie Fils-Aime first announced during a conference call.

Unlike our previous report stated, Wii reservations will only be taken this Friday, December 21st, and can only be placed in person at any GameStop or EB Games location in the US. The reservation will cost the full price of the Wii console ($249.99 USD plus tax), and the reservation slips come in DVD cases with an image of the Wii and Mario on the front, with Mario cheerily stating "Happy Holidays! Your Wii is on the way!" Gee. Thanks, Mario.

Reservation slips are limited at each location, though exact numbers have not been given. Only one reservation is available per household, and each customer will receive a phone call in January once their Wii is available for pick-up. All reserved consoles must be picked up by January 25th, 2008. Who's betting on long lines for these tiny slips of paper?

File this under "amazing gamer gift ideas." Sure, we haven't really touched slot car racers since we were ten, and all we can really recall is flying off the damn track every twenty seconds, but this still makes our hearts flutter. German slot car manufacturer Carrera has created a high-quality Mario Kart slot racing set, complete with star-laden track, and Mario and Wario racers in their own unique karts.

The Mario Kart Go! set is officially licensed by Nintendo, and features about 20 feet of track (we're not slot car racers, so we don't know if that's good or bad). The set is apparently popular, because it's already sold out, with a new shipment due in this Tuesday, December 12th.

We'd prefer to see Yoshi, Luigi, or even Bowser as Mario's slot car rival, rather than Wario, but who can complain? Mario Kart and slot car racing is truly a match made in heaven.

How serious is Nintendo about the Wii shortages? Serious enough to pull some of its advertising for the console, admitting that demand far exceeds supply, and further admitting that advertising a virtually unavailable product just doesn't fit with the holiday spirit.

The UK-based Times Online reports that Nintendo plans on moving some of its already-scheduled Wii advertising to early 2008, citing unprecedented demand for the console as the main factor in its retail vanishing act. It's the same story we've heard before -- that Nintendo is working at full capacity, pumping Wii's out as fast as possible in order to sate the insatiable consumer demand.

Pulling advertising, however, is an entirely new move. A Nintendo spokesman told Times Online that the ads were being pushed back to 2008 in an attempt to "act responsibly." Charles Dickens would be proud.

Sony Computer Entertainment America has announced its 2007 holiday lineup for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Network and PlayStation Portable. The full list (posted after the break) contains every released and unreleased title the publisher expects to add to the cacophony of "Buy me!" screams echoing throughout the aisles this festive season.

Highlights includes the cringe-inducing PAIN, stealth saga Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus and Lara Croft gender bender, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune for PS3. You'll also spot a burst of confidence regarding the timely arrival of one Unreal Tournament III, despite the fact that publisher Midway has written it off for 2007. Is Epic Games going to perform an unlikely Unreal miracle, or did someone miss the memo?

We were initially going to suggest that opposing analysts Jesse Divnich and Michael Pachter engage in battle to establish this holiday's winner (or Wii-ner, as it were), but this line of thought invariably winds up with two people hurling calculators across the room, yelling percentages and excitedly pointing at bar graphs. Not a very exciting showdown, really.

Quite unlike this holiday's battle royale, with Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft sending out their best troops to clash for consumer cash. While Pachter believes the Xbox 360 will come out on top this month amidst the pile of price-slashed consoles, simExchange analyst Jesse Divnich reckons the Wii will continue to be the top seller from now until the end of the year. "There is no cost effective strategy that either Sony or Microsoft could implement this late in the season to change the minds of the consumers," said Divnich. "The prediction market expects the current home console trend to continue through the holiday season with the Wii leading the pack followed by the Xbox 360 and then the PS3."

Divnich also throws in a prediction regarding the impending battle of the fake bands, predicting higher review scores and higher sales for Activision's Guitar Hero III compared to EA's Rock Band. "Given the month lead Guitar Hero III has and the projected higher review scores; it would take a strong marketing campaign by EA to convince consumers to hold their purchases until Rock Band's release." Of course, the fact that Rock Band is all bundled up until 2008 may also have a deleterious effect on its chances.

Tis the season for snowball fights in Alterac Valley! There's nothing like pelting a passing dwarf with a chunk of tightly packed snow, is there? In fact, we're surprised no one has released a snowball fight game for one of the consoles. We'll continue to hope and dream for that one day, but in the meantime this World of Warcraft video will tide us over.

Check it out after the jump, and be sure to watch your back out there.

Nintendo has a nice gaming advent calendar online called "Mission in Snowdriftland." Each little window opens a minigame into a snowbound Mario-esque world, and you guide a snowman around collecting snowflakes. It's simple and fun, and the music ain't half bad either. Sure, there are ads pimping Nintendo games in the bottom right hand window, but it's a small price to pay for a sweet little gaming diversion in your web browser.

[Thanks, Paul]