
Remember when you were a child and Christmas or whatever holiday you celebrated came around, the excitement that filled your every fiber? The anticipation and obsession for the event and when it came, you were drenched in a euphoria that caused you to speak louder than usual, or move around excitedly. I still get that feeling, but now it's brought on by games more often than events. Awaiting the next AAA title and the first time it boots up on your screen still has a magic to me that I can only describe as the Christmas effect. Nothing else fills me with this sort of reliable joy like gaming does and it got me to wonder how many other people can relate to this. Do you get butterflies the day of a big game release? Is your face froze in a permanent smile as you take the cellophane off your latest game? Or is one game the same as the next to you and while you enjoy it, you're not overwhelmed by the experience? Have any games on the PSP made you feel this way?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-22-2007 @ 1:36PM
theMediaman said...
I'm not a huge gamer, but I felt "The Christmas Effect" when I first heard the rumour that PS1 games might be coming to PSP for download. The hope of playing Final Fantasy VII on-the-go filled me with childlike anticipation.
Now I feel like all I got was socks.
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2-22-2007 @ 1:46PM
Shadowfox85 said...
The last time I remember having the christmas effect was when I used all of my gift cards from xmas to buy a psp system, which I waited for 1 year to get one. Before that, I had the xmas effect when Valkyrie Profile 2 came out, being a huge VP fan from the PS1 days. And before that, had it with KH2, after loving the first one.
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2-22-2007 @ 2:06PM
Anony said...
I never get that feeling anymore. The last time that happened was with Resident Evil 3, back in 1999.
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2-22-2007 @ 2:14PM
Alien said...
I do get this fealing , and for the PSP for me it was Lego SW 2 and Ace Combat X , both got it on that day ( and some for other consoles to ... read PS2 and PC :P ) .
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2-22-2007 @ 2:16PM
spir00 said...
I don't get that feeling anymore. The last console that brought that feeling to me was a imported Dreamcast. Then the american dreamcast and some of its games.
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2-22-2007 @ 2:41PM
PigBoss said...
MGS:PO
I almost wee'd my pantz when my brother hooked me up.
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2-22-2007 @ 2:45PM
txa1265 said...
I'm too darn old for that anymore (my first gaming 'addiction' was Castle Wolfenstein on an Apple ][+ in college ... 27 years ago!). I have had disappointments - most of the handheld RPG's for the DS and PSP have been major disappointments. But nothing on either handheld has given me the 'Deliverance' feeling that PC games like 'Deus Ex Invisible War' or 'Dungeon Lords' gave me ...
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2-22-2007 @ 2:46PM
symphony1125 said...
Only on rare occasion. I got that feeling with Guitaroo Man Lives! and Tetris DS.
I think that nowadays the beloved publishers that we waited for with baited breath stopped listening to their fans and think more 'corporate' now. It's a shame because it's almost guaranteed that if they did things the other way, the revenue would be rolling in.
I mean Sega slaughtered their Shining Force series, and we still have yet to see another 'real' Phantasy Star game in the key of the originals that made it so awe isnpiring. And any attempts like the new Golden Axe game thats supposed to be released in the beginning of March seems... well, it looks like there's going to be a delay. I can't even find that game on the Sega of America page, and GameStop and EB still list it as coming out, but there's no box art available, hardly any info, and it's still being listed as 'Rating Pending'
Square killed Final Fantasy for me after FFVII. I really wasn't a big fan of the ones that came out after... although I haven't played XII yet. I'm really crossing my fingers for FF:Crisis Core to be the killer app for the PSP.
There's other companies that have done the same thing but I don't want to go off on a rant about it... although it seems as if I've already done so.
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2-22-2007 @ 2:49PM
rpsp said...
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops. Still playing it. I was also psyched when Pirates! came out. PSP has had a stelalr year for games and I definitely got the Christmas effect on those two. Alien: how is Ace Combat?
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2-22-2007 @ 4:47PM
Omen_20 said...
Twice for PSP. The possibility of playing my favorite game of all time on the go: Chrono Cross. And GTA:LCS. For some reason it brought me back to when I first played GTAIII and I was just amazed I was playing it on a handheld. Even though everyone online knows the DS is doing much better than the DS, at my school everyone thought the DS was crap on a stick after they say my PSP games.
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2-22-2007 @ 4:48PM
James said...
Man, that's messed up. I love games and all, but I'm a little old for a new game to give me that "Chrishmashy" feeling.
Sleeping through the night without having to get up and pee. Now THAT'S Christmas!
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2-22-2007 @ 4:56PM
Omen_20 said...
The times I got that feeling were when I first played SFII on an Arcade Machine at Taco Johns, Chrono Cross (my first 3d rpg), when I first played GTAIII at a friends house, Christmas morning when I played MGS2 on my PS2 that I just got about a month before, when I finally got to buy my PSP after months of saving, when I first played GTA:LCS at school and everyone freaked out, and most recently when I got my PS3.
If it weren't for them moments I wouldnt play games. You keep playing, waiting for the next big thing.
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2-22-2007 @ 5:11PM
Bored said...
Actually, I got that feeling the day before I bought my PSP. I had decided to buy it, along with a copy of Wipeout Pure... I felt a good deal of anticipation, and when I went to shop to pick it up, it was great, I was amazed at the PSP's beautiful screen. It was indeed just like christmas.
I still play Wipeout Pure today, amazing game.
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2-22-2007 @ 11:40PM
lewdvig said...
My Christmas like game experiences:
PSX, N64, Voodoo 2, Dreamcast (almost every game gave me that felling), PSP, every Ratchet and Clank game, Oblivion.
Mas Effect and Fallout 3 are giving me butterflies.
PS2, XBox, GC, 360 and PS3 meant nothing to me.
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2-23-2007 @ 6:40AM
adorna said...
The Final Fantasy games usually give me that feeling becasue its that delicuous mix of knowing what you get and having to learn everything anew. I'm not totally sure Crisis Core will fit the bill since there's so little info and no demo. I find demos and extensive manuals and the like help that effekt too .. its like slowly unwrapping. I remember taking the manuals for Wizardry 7 to school and brooding over my party stats and charcters for hours before even touching the game and then finally turning it on and really relishing in the intro instead of just clicking it away...
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