Christmas Memories of Gaming Disappointments, Lessons Learned, and Traditions Gained

Christmas; the one time of year a nerd can list everything he or she has ever wanted in the vain hope that Santa Claus (most likely their parents) will bring them the gifts they so eagerly anticipated over the last 11 months. But not all wishes are granted in the same way. So join the fine staff of Cerebral Pop as we relive some of our best and worst Christmas memories.

Alex Cronk-Young: Founder and Editor of Cerebral Pop
Every Christmas for my entire life I've had to describe in detail what I wanted from my mom. All video game titles must be carefully spelled out, and the platform they are for described in detail. Otherwise I'd get a game for a system I don't own, or an entirely different one altogether. That's why it was so surprising when on the Christmas of 1999 I unwrapped a brand new copy of the recently released PlayStation version of Grandia. I hadn't asked for that game, and in fact, I'd never even heard of it before.

This is the picture of ignorant disappointment.

My 14-year-old brain simply couldn't handle this surprise, and I assumed it was probably terrible and my mother had completely screwed up. Still, I mustered a fake smile and thanked her. I read the back of the box. It was a role-playing game? How did she even know I liked RPGs? I gave it a try later that day and begrudgingly made my way through the game. After an hour or so, when my character left his hometown and set out on his grand adventure, and the late title card appeared with the grandiose score playing behind it, I was hooked. I loved that game. I've replayed it many times. Sometimes the unexpected gifts are the best.

Harold Burnett: co-host of Sophist Radio
The year is 1996, I’m 12 years old and all I want for Christmas is a PlayStation. Having been released the previous fall, Sony’s first gaming console had my attention from the first time I saw it at the local Toys ‘R’ Us. In March of ‘96 at a friend’s house I experience the world of PlayStation for the first time, with a half hour of Resident Evil. This was a truly mind-blowing event. "What amazing graphics and sound!" was all my brain could think about the entire time the game was in motion. As a life-long Sega kid, I was used to a pretty presentation, but this was something different and I wanted it bad!

No, seriously, those graphics used to be mind-blowing.

Even though I was only 12, my mother had let me into the secret-parental Christmas circle. I knew that Santa Claus didn't exist and I didn't care as long as I still got gifts from someone. My look behind the curtain was necessary as my mom needed me to help find the perfect gift for my eight-year-old brother. The bonus was that I got to pick out my gifts in person.

Cut to Christmas Eve at Toys ‘R’ Us, it’s about 9:30 p.m. and the lines are huge. At the time I had never seen so many people in such a small area. Amidst the crowd of tired and desperate parents stood one Harold Pernell Burnett with the biggest smile on his face as he held the ticket for a Sony PlayStation. Having already dropped the hint to my grandmother that I wanted Crash Bandicoot and Tomb Raider, I had my Christmas day plan set: Wake up at 8 a.m., play my brand new PlayStation for an hour, wake up my younger brother at 9 a.m. to him show what Santa had brought for us, and then spend the rest of the day wrapping myself in Sony’s gamer blanket.

Everything was going according to plan as I got up and headed downstairs to begin my new life as a PlayStation owner. I tore through the box with a fury that would scare anyone that might have witnessed it. While I didn’t have my games yet (We would head to my grandma’s house later in the day for more gift giving) I would have to be satisfied with the demo disc included in the box. By now I had all the parts laid out and had began to hook up the power supply and controller. The final piece would be hooking up the RFU adapter to the back of my TV.

Destroyer of dreams.

There was just one problem: Sony did not include such an adapter in the box. I was heart-broken. Tears filled my eyes as I realized that all my planning had gone to waste. Not only would I not get a chance to play my games, but I would have to explain to my mom that the minute Toys ’R’ Us opened we would need to go there and retrieve said adapter in order to make her $300 Christmas present work.

I learned a valuable nerd lesson that Christmas morning: Know your component set up before buying anything. That day really helped to shape my life. Now when buying anything I do all my research beforehand and I am never caught with my consumer pants down by not having everything I need to properly nerd out.

Chris Ross: Cerebral Pop Contributor
A list was practically worthless in my house, something I realized very quickly growing up. I would routinely get one item off of my list, no matter the length. I'm sure it had everything to do with the price of the things I asked for, but I like to think my parents were cheap. Cheap and cruel.

One year, as I picked out my one gift to open on Christmas Eve, my mom said what I picked was a game that I had raved about for so long; she said it was the game that I could just play and play, never growing bored.

"Grand Theft Auto III?" I asked. My mom just looked at me, a tinge of disappointment spread across her face.

I ripped open the packaging and realized I had Tony Hawk 3 in my hands.

"Oh, yeah, I love it. I just...got some tinsel in my eyes."

"I thought you liked those Tony Hawk games. I thought you said you could never grow tired of them," my mom said.

"I did, mom. Thank you."

Although I was ecstatic to get a new game from my parents, and I did love the Tony Hawk series back then, I have always felt terrible that I guessed the wrong game, hurting my mom's feelings. What it showed me was that my mom actually listened when I talked about games. This was a better present than any game.

...except if she had actually gotten me Grand Theft Auto III.

Matt Giguere: Cerebral Pop Contributor
"When I was four, I remember my family and I gathered in the living room finishing the yearly task of trimming the Christmas tree. Every light had been strung up and all the glass ornaments hung. I remembered all the bells placed on the limbs so whenever our cat was running past them a choir of chimes would ring out in the living room. Everything was almost complete. All that was left was to crown our evergreen with the signature topping. What I remember to happen next was either a stroke of genius or dumb childish cuteness.

My mom had collected a lot of sea shells over the years (something to do with a college sea biology class). Every single one was strewn about the first floor bathroom. On the walls, around the sink and on the window. "It's to build the atmosphere," my mom would say. I never fully understood why, but all of it did look cool. There was one thing caught my eye each time I look at her collection, though. A pair of white sea stars.

These starfish were only husk of their former selves: stiff, ridged, brittle, but delicate and white as pure snow. "I think we should make one of them the star on the top of the tree," I said that one Christmas when I was four. Honestly, when I think about it now, it sounds dumb -- the concept of putting dead invertebrates on a Christmas tree as opposed to something like an angel or golden star. My parents didn't seem to mind my crazed idea though.

Nothing says festive like dried-out animal carcass.

So it came to be that each year no matter what happens -- be it our tree a fake, or a family member left -- we still hold on to that one Christmas tradition. Even if starfishes and Christmas tress never made much sense in the first place."

Cameron Pershall: Cerebral Pop Contributor
My interest in video games began to wane about half way into the 16-bit era. I had started playing guitar, and my interest in music and writing had taken control of me to the point that I felt I no longer had time for gaming. I was so convinced that I'd never play games again that I gave away most of my game collection (though I did, fortunately, hang onto my consoles).

In 1999, though, I went to Japan as an exchange student, and the prevalence of gaming culture there got me interested in my old hobby again. When I got back to the U.S., I picked up a PlayStation and some of the major titles I'd missed out on. I was excited when the PS2 was announced for the holiday season of 2000, but a short supply of both Sony's new console and my personal finances ensured that I wouldn't be getting one.

That's where this turns into a touching Christmas story. Even though I wouldn't be finding a new game system under the tree that year, my girlfriend at the time surprised me by showing up at my apartment one
day with her old SNES and a collection of classic games. Since I had dropped out of gaming right around the time the SNES was released, I had missed out on a host of amazing titles. That Christmas, while a lucky few were tearing into their new PS2s, I was experiencing Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, and Final Fantasy 6 for the first time.

It's never too late to experience true joy.

I had so much fun that its become a yearly tradition for me to play through a classic RPG during the Christmas season. More importantly, I learned that the gift you didn't even think you wanted can be the one you cherish the most.

We here at Cerebral Pop wish you all the best in creating nothing but wonderful memories this holiday season. Share some of your Christmas stories in the comments below.