Christmas season is in full swing, and that means friends, family, and loved ones are scoping out the best Christmas gifts on the market. The multi-billion-dollar gaming industry is about to get a bolus of adrenaline with the upcoming Christmas shopping spree. Video games, a.k.a. electronic games played on computing devices, are all the rage. They include an entertaining selection of console games, computer games, and mobile games, all of which are designed for pulse-pounding entertainment.
From humble beginnings in the 1970s, the video game industry has evolved into a juggernaut of epic proportions. In 2016 alone, the value of the video game market in the US was $17.68 billion with tremendous upside potential. This industry supports multiple peripheral industries such as hardware, software, accessories, and online gaming platforms. A paradigm shift has taken place within the video game industry, as a greater range of demographics is adopting this technology. The video game market is associated with enhanced agility, mental acuity, and hand-eye coordination.
Leading the way are the premier video game providers: Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony. In the US alone, millions of consoles are sold annually in addition to the thousands of games making their way to market. In 2017, the value of the video game market in the US topped $18.4 billion, with strong upside growth potential in the offing. Not surprisingly, the run-up to the Christmas season is associated with the sharpest spike in video game sales. For example, in December 2016, some $3 billion in revenues were recorded in the US, with $3.29 billion recorded in December 2017, and an equally high number anticipated for December 2018. Such is the nature of the ‘retail therapy’ shopping session in December that video game sales figures are expected to reach epic levels.
What Christmas-Themed Video Games Are Players Seeking This Year?
The world eagerly anticipates the Christmas shopping season. Holiday shopping begins in earnest on Black Friday after Thanksgiving, continues with Cyber Monday and gains momentum through to Christmas Eve. It’s a month-long shopping festival punctuated by record online traffic at e-commerce giants Amazon, eBay, Groupon, Alibaba, and others. Video games are priority purchases for enthusiasts, and there are plenty of original Christmas games to choose from. It’s easy to get into the Christmas spirit with funky titles like Super Mario Odyssey’s Snow Kingdom – a fun-filled gaming extravaganza which takes players on an unforgettable voyage to fantasyland and beyond. This Christmas-themed, animated game is cute, cuddly, and competitive. Fans of Xmas entertainment will not be disappointed with this video gaming title.
Home Alone – The Video Game Adventure of Kevin McAllister
Back in the day, Home Alone was a box office sensation. It starred the uproarious Macauley Culkin in possibly his best role ever. As the young Kevin McAllister left at home over Christmas, he must protect his upmarket home from a pair of nuisance, bungling burglars with hilarious consequences . The film’s A-list actors did a fine job, and that certainly translates in the video game which is available on NES, personal computer, super NES, Game Boy, and Sega. Nothing says Christmas better than Home Alone. It is as unique as the action-comedy which preceded it, and it certainly makes for effective single-player functionality with an action-packed theme. Released in the early 1990s, this game has stood the test of time, and remains a unique attraction for fans of the Christmas genre.
Hitman: Blood Money – You Better Watch Out
Hitman is a video game which needs no introduction to fans of the action genre. This pulse-pounding adventure is part of a series of games where firepower is where it’s at. While there isn’t specifically a Christmas theme in the game, there is a level which takes place during Christmas time. Agent 47 gets decked out as Santa Claus packing some serious heat. During this game, Agent 47 attends a high-profile Christmas party, where he is tasked with doing what he does best – saving Christmas for players. After putting Santa to sleep… permanently… Agent 47 must assume his identity and continue to work as an undercover operative to achieve the mission objectives – that being to save Christmas. This game is a raucous adventure laden with blood and guts, rampant action, and an intricately detailed plot. In true Hitman style, the game is laced with intrigue and riveting entertainment. The game is best suited to adult players, no mistletoe needed!
Rushing Off with a Sack of Gold – Santa’s Super Slot!
Christmas games are blazing a virtual trail through Las Vegas and Atlantic City, with top titles like Santa’s Super Slot now available online. This dizzying Christmas slot adventure is also a jackpot-rich game with over $1.2 million up for grabs. Santa’s Super Slot is a Christmas journey in every sense of the word. It features 3D animation, 5 reels, 15 lines, and multimedia-rich entertainment. Players are instantly drawn into a fantasy-filled world of flying reindeer, magical sleighs, glorious gifts, mistletoe, gingerbread men, and Christmas bells. This high-flying slot adventure packs a wallop with enough Ho! Ho! Ho! thrills and spills to keep even the most discerning slots fans well entertained. With 15 fixed lines, 5 reels, and 3 rows, this slot game is filled with free spins, big wins, and the star of the show – Santa Claus. There are plenty of bonus symbols on reels 2, 3, 4 which go towards activating the bonus game. Santa’s Super Slot is mobile friendly, and peppered with exciting entertainment from the get go.
Any Takers for A Christmas-Themed Zombie Apocalypse with Dead Rising 4?
It comes as no surprise that the gaming universe is as diversified as the ocean of games that are available to players. Zombie-themed attractions are a top seller this Christmas season, and what better way to fire up a Christmas appetite than Dead Rising 4. At first glimpse, this game may appear to deliver somewhat of an anti-holiday message to players, but the red and white candy cane crossbows make it clear that this game is fully in the swing of the Christmas season. The game was originally released for Xbox One, then PlayStation 4. It is now widely available to players and it remains just as popular as we prepare to close out 2018. Dead Rising 4 tells the tale of a zombie uprising taking place at the local mall on Black Friday. Needless to say, the game quickly spirals out of control as a zombie hunter goes on a Christmas ‘a** whooping’ spree, clearing the mall of zombies. It’s certainly not a new concept, but the Christmas theme makes this a caper to remember!
Games like The Escapists 2, and Santa’s Sweatshop are surprisingly entertaining and graphically violent video games – but they are energizing and entertaining at the same time. For fans of these Christmas-themed attractions, there’s enough blood & guts, and Christmas cheer to go around to make them worthwhile. Even the caped crusader, Batman has enjoyed his fair share of Christmas-themed fun. Arkham Origins takes place during Christmas – Season’s Greetings – and that’s the wrong time for the assassins to hatch their dastardly plan on Gotham City. It’s up to the Dark Knight to save the evening from chaos and mayhem. Batman does a fine job, albeit not his most sterling performance in the series. Christmas-themed video games have become a popular choice for gamers. These holiday-themed games are now readily available on mobile, PC, Mac and other devices. They are available as freemium games, premium games and free-to-play video games too. It’s always wise to dig a little deeper to ensure that the games are true Christmas-themed attractions, and not some lame attempt at attracting holiday makers with nothing more than a candy cane or a couple of Ho! Ho! Ho! exaltations.
