© Venson Chou/Unsplash
In the video game market, there was a time when the Christmas period was conducive to the launch of new major titles. Recently, we came back to Donkey Kong Country on Super Nintendo, which brightened up Christmas 1994 for many gamers, but each year generally saw its “Christmas game“ arrive. The proof also in 1998, with Sonic Adventure on Dreamcast, launched on December 23, or even in 2002 with Zelda: Wind Waker, launched on December 13 (in Japan). A trend that also concerned consoles, since Nintendo's Wii was for example launched on December 8, not to mention the PlayStation of course, marketed on December 3, 1994 in Japan. But in recent years, the Christmas video game trend has gotten a bit lost.
What game for Christmas 2024 ?
Of course, this doesn't stop video games from finding a special place under the tree every year, with 2024 having been particularly rich in releases, with many (too many?) titles launched in recent months. But in December, the biggest blockbuster is a certain Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle, a very (very) successful Xbox exclusive, but which should not however end up under many trees, the game being accessible via the Game Pass.
© Bethesda
In addition to the everlasting Call of Duty and EA Sports FC, parents (and grandparents) will be able to spoil their children with titles that have already been available for a few months. We are thinking in particular of the excellent Astro Bot on PS5, which won the title of Game of the Year at the last Game Awards, but also that of Family Game of the Year.
For many publishers, rather than opting for December, we have chosen to focus on the months of September, October and November, and too bad for the monster traffic jam that this causes. Since September, we have notably seen the arrival of Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, Space Marine 2 (published by the French Pullup), Dragon Quest 2D-HD Remaster, FC 25, Call of Duty, Silent Hill 2, Dragon Ball Sparking Zero, Metaphor ReFantazio, Super Mario Party Jamboree, Sonic x Shadow Generations, Dragon Age Veilguard, Mario & Luigi: The Brotherhood of the Four, The Ants, LEGO Horizon Adventures, Stalker 2…
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© Stéphane Ficca/Presse-citron.net
It's a lot& ;#8230; Far too many in such a short period of time, and one can't help but think that some titles would have made perfect “Christmas games“. We are thinking in particular of Epic Mickey Rebrushed, which went completely unnoticed (and launched at an unreasonable price), but also of Sonic x Shadow Generations (whose price has already halved) or even Mario Party Jamboree . The good news is that many of them are already available at discounted prices.
For publishers, launching a game in December always poses a risk, namely that of arriving on the market a bit too late, after some Christmas shopping (and Black Friday), not to mention taking into account the fiscal calendar. Games are thus launched in September/October/November to best prepare for the end-of-year holidays… and too bad for the “Christmas magic“ side. While there was a time when Christmas was a great time for big productions or more “family-friendly games“, that's no longer the case.
However, on the gamers' side, many particularly appreciate the end-of-year period to discover one or more new games, warm under a blanket, watching the bad weather through the window. And as has often been the case in recent years, apart from Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle, you will have to look back a few months (and incidentally on our list of games that marked the year 2024) to find your “Christmas game“.
© Zoe Wood/Unsplash
And for the more experienced (old ?), failing to find his dose of “christmas magic” on PS5 Pro or Xbox Series X, we will often turn on a console from our childhood, the NES, the Mega Drive or even the first PlayStation, to reconnect with the sensations of yesteryear, caused by this Crash Bandicoot, by this Super Mario World, by this Sonic 2 or even by this Metal Gear Solid first of the name that we had unwrapped under the tree a few decades ago.
Now let's see what awaits us for Christmas 2025, with the possibility of seeing some highly anticipated new products emerge, starting with the new Nintendo Switch (but which should arrive before the summer), but also a certain GTA VI.
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