It’s that time of year again. People are trampling each other for the Nintendo Wii U and deeply discounted copies of Lee Carvallo’s Putting Challenge, and it all gets me to thinking about video gaming stuff from Christmases past.
I have a great many holiday gaming memories. I got my Commodore 64, Nintendo Entertainment System and even my original XBox consoles as Christmas gifts. I still recall the sting from the rushed Atari 2600 E.T. and the Babbage’s store displays that only saw copies of Donkey Kong Jr. Math left behind.
One that always sticks out, though, is when video gaming became a Christmas special itself, as ABC aired Christmas Comes to Pac-Land on December 16, 1982. I watched that first airing and am mixed about it re-airing on cable television this time of year each year. It’s a fun piece of nostalgia and gaming history, but it’s really just so messed up.
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