This post has not been edited by the GamesBeat staff. Opinions by GamesBeat community writers do not necessarily reflect those of the staff.

Christmas is something that loses it’s lustre the older you get. As a kid, you count the days until Santa’s visit, using a complex method of determining what each item under the tree is and pretending not to notice where the presents are stashed. In a less extreme way, I think almost all of us had a “N64 kid” type of reaction to one gift in particular.

As an adult, the holiday almost creeps up on you, and it never feels like you have enough time to prepare.




Like what every guard in Metal Gear Solid experiences, but the last thing you hear is sleigh bells.

I can remember still my reaction after unboxing a Super NES as a young boy. I ran laps around my parents, thanking them profusely, bounding across couch cushions at the prospect of playing a brand new Mario game. Super Mario World would be the only new game I received all year, and I was thrilled just to have it.

This year I bought myself a Nintendo 3DS, and I’ve played it for maybe three hours since then. What happened to that excited little boy? I’m not saying we should be jumping on the sofa and screaming, but for adults, the sense of wonder is pretty much completely gone. The Nintendo 3DS is a handheld device that makes 3D images, can browse the Internet, play streaming TV shows, and project Samus onto my friggin’ coffee table! To my 8-year-old self, that would be nothing short of science fiction. But now it’s just another device that takes up a wall outlet with its charger.


Are we so jaded by modern technology that we can’t take a step back and just be awed by the fantastic new technology, the sleek design, or the general excitement of a new gaming experience? Can’t we start up the Xbox on Christmas morning and just marvel at the sheer magic of controlling a game by waving your hands through the air?

One of the follies of growing into an adult is that as you begin to work at real jobs and have grown-up responsibilities, the more money you have to spend, the less time you have to actually enjoy it.

Along with celebrating the togetherness and all the usual warm fuzzy crap that falls under the “spirit of the season,” we should take a moment to experience Christmas the way that N64 kid did.



Although some of us never lose our sense on child-like amazement.