I am part of the first generation to transition from “normal” Christmas presents like toys to getting video games for Christmas.
I vaguely remember my last Christmas where I only received toys. The presents were indicative of my era. I received Hot Wheels cars, Lincoln Logs, toy soldiers, LEGO blocks, and an electric slot car set that year. I felt like I had been the best child in North America that year to receive such a bounty from Santa Claus.
That was back in 1976. I would feel very different about my gifts one year later.
Christmas 1977 became the first year I received a video game gift. The gift was the Telstar Ranger, a Pong console produced by the Connecticut Leather Company, better known as Coleco. I thought it was the pinnacle of home video gaming at the time. It included four “ball” games – hockey, handball, jai-alai, and tennis – and two target games that utilized the included light gun.
That same year, an arcade manufacturer named Atari would release their entry into the home video game market: the Video Computer System (VCS). I would be gifted the VCS the following Christmas by Santa. Every Christmas to follow would include at least one video game-related gift ever since.
I figured it would be a good thought exercise to look back and recall the Christmas video game gifts that I remember the most fondly. I am limiting this list to a top five. The list will include gifts given to me by others, as well as self-bought “gifts.” I am ranking them based on significance as well as overall impact.
5) 2016: MSI Armor Radeon RX 480 4GB OC
This upgrade was a long time coming.
I begin my list of best video gaming Christmas presents with the most recent one. My gaming rig was very long in the tooth. I had been sporting two Radeon 6850s in CrossfireX for quite a while, and gaming performance was suffering. I had long disabled Eyefinity for my three monitors as a way to regain some FPS, but it wasn’t enough.
Although I knew my AMD A8-3870K was still a bottleneck, I decided to upgrade my video card first. The MSI Radeon RX 480 was almost a no-brainer for $180 on Amazon. It’s a 4GB card, which is fine. I game at 1080p, and I don’t expect huge VRAM consumption because of ultra-large textures.
The difference so far has been significant. I can finally play The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt at 1080p with a good amount of detail and tickle 60 fps. That makes the upgrade a very worthwhile present for me.
The old 6850s will go towards a good cause: upgrading my son’s PC. Now I just have to upgrade the CPU and motherboard.
4) 2015: Sony PlayStation 4
Prior to Christmas 2015, my only experience with the eighth generation of video game consoles was the Christmas 2014 purchase of my Nintendo Wii U. I didn’t regret my purchase at the time; Mario Kart 8 and Bayonetta 2 were awesome, Super Mario 3D World was equally so, and my later purchase of Super Mario Maker was just icing on the cake. Since then, however, my purchase seems much less worthwhile.
I spent the majority of 2015 missing out on gameplay with my Digital Crack mates because I did not own a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One. I knew I was going to rectify that for Christmas; the only decision was which one I would buy first.
After a bit of inner debate, I decided to go with the PS4. I have not regretted my decision since.
After a bit of time getting used to the transition from the PS3 to the PS4, I adopted the newer console fully. Some of my best game time has been on the PS4 with my mates, blasting through Overwatch, Gauntlet, Alienation, Broforce, and Dying Light. My only gripe is with PSN’s weak network infrastructure. I frequently watch YouTube while I work, and the PS4 seems to choke with YouTube regularly, while the PS3 motors along without fuss.
Still, the PS4 was a great self-gift. I was able to enjoy gaming with my friends more thanks to that purchase.
3) 1983: Mattel Aquarius
Back in 1980, I had my first exposure to the Atari 800. I was in the fifth grade, and my elementary school had invested in a few of them for educational purposes. I fell in love with Atari’s chunky personal computer. I instantly asked “Santa Claus” for one.
Fast-forward three years, and I finally received my first personal computer: the Mattel Aquarius. To say it was quite the departure from the Atari 800 I lusted after is a gross understatement.
In the midst of the Video Game Crash of 1983, Mattel Electronics, makers of the Intellivision, decided to enter the personal computer market. They turned to Radofin, the Hong Kong manufacturer of the Intellivision, to design the new personal computer. The Aquarius, codenamed “Checkers”, was announced in 1982 and released in June 1983. Because of the climate around video games – and its inferior design – it was discontinued by October 1983.
I received my Aquarius in Christmas of 1983. By then, it had been heavily discounted to move stock. I never asked “Santa” how much it cost, but I figure it was extremely cheap. Unfortunately, my beloved Atari 8-bit computer was priced too high. Cost trumps desire every time.
Turns out, the chicklet-keyboard-equipped Aquarius was a blessing in disguise. The games I received with it – Biorhythms, a shit “personality predictor”, and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Treasure of Tarmin – were absolutely underwhelming. It was the Aquarius’s BASIC interpreter cartridge that sucked me in.
Prior to the Aquarius, I had no interest in any programming languages. With BASIC, I discovered just how awesome it is to write code and see the results on-screen. I must’ve spent MONTHS playing with new code. I got pretty advanced in my tinkering, learning to craft elementary sprites that animated based on controller input. I briefly flirted with the idea that I could become a game programmer. If only they coded in BASIC…
In 1983, I learned that there is something better than receiving video games for Christmas. For a brief time in 1983, I toyed with the idea of making my own video games.
2) 1989: Nintendo Entertainment System
I was never directly affected by the Video Game Crash of 1983. While Atari, Coleco, and Mattel Electronics hemorrhaged money, I kept buying video games. Turns out, I wandered away from video games due to a more human process: puberty.
By the time I reached 15 years of age, I was way less interested in video games. Girls occupied the majority of my mental – and biological – activity. My Atari VCS and Mattel Aquarius were relegated to the closet as I focused more on clothing, hair products, and my anger at not being able to grow a full mustache. The only video games I played were arcade cabinets at movie theatres or bowling alleys, during dates.
Things changed in early 1989. I had completely bypassed the NES revolution before then, but I wasn’t going to remain immune forever. My former DJ partner at Cherry Grove Nightclub was the one to enlighten me. I loved playing Super Mario Bros. and Ice Hockey on his NES, but it was The Legend of Zelda that officially ruined me. I was back into video games in a major way.
There was a problem, though. I had a girlfriend, and I wasn’t sure how she would react to me becoming a gamer-head again. Thankfully, she was initially okay with it. I gave her the money, and she bought me my NES one day in December while I was working. She even bought me my first non-Mario NES game with the console: Capcom’s Willow. I was so impressed, I married her.
Not sure if that was a blessing or a curse. Bottom line: the NES was one of my favorite Christmas gifts ever.
The next few years after the purchase of the NES were absolute video gaming bliss. She initially railed against my love of the NES, actually pondering divorce when I refused to turn off the console so I wouldn’t lose my place in Mega Man. She relented, eventually getting into Super Mario Bros. One of my favorite gaming memories is still attached to her.
I was at work. They told me my wife is on the phone. I grab the phone to ask if everything is okay. Her screaming reassured me everything was fine.
“I SAVED THE PRINCESS! I SAVED THE PRINCESS!”
Yup! I made a gamer out of her. The NES helped make it happen.
1) 1981: Missile Command, Atari 2600
As much as I revere my memories with the NES, it’s Missile Command that cemented my love for video games forever.
I received three games that year. The first, Space Invaders, was the arcade port that catapulted Atari into the stratosphere. The second, Asteroids, was another popular arcade port. It was the VCS port of Missile Command, though, that pulled me in and refused to let me go.
From the moment I popped this game in, I was hooked. Dave Theurer’s take on nuclear war was an arcade favorite of mine, though I was terrible at the coin-op version. The home port allowed me to start out slower, giving me a chance to get into a better groove while playing it.
The creation of the arcade version plagued Dave Theurer with nightmares. He would dream of nuclear annihilation. When I went to bed at night, I dreamt of playing the VCS port. It was far from a nightmare; it was the first time I looked forward to waking up and playing a video game.
I would play the game for hours on end, unwilling even to stop playing and meet up with friends at the park. My mom would eventually take my meals to my “battle station” so I wouldn’t starve to death. One of my greatest accomplishments, occurred while playing the game. I played for so long that I actually “flipped” the score, gaining so many points that I reset the counter. From that point on, I would consider a play session a bust if I didn’t repeat the feat.
Of all the games I was gifted for Christmas, Missile Command is the one I love the most. I still play the game on occasion; I still have the cart I received in 1981. No other Christmas present has upended it yet.
