[Finishing the special holiday round-up, GameSetWatch makes available notable Xmas cards from game developers worldwide - from Nintendo through Namco and beyond.]
After
the first round-up was posted pre-Xmas, we're finishing up (for now!) our round-up of the most fun game publisher and developer 2009 Christmas cards we got into the offices of
GDC,
Game Developer magazine, and
Gamasutra.
Reminder: our
full Xmas card archives, including cards from 2006, 2007, and 2009, are available on GameSetWatch. We took a break in 2008, but
the C&VG folks,
the Joystiq chaps, and
the GamerTell guys were on the ball last year.
[
UPDATE 2: There's still
a GamerTell gallery with 2009 cards, but Kotaku just posted
a number of 2009 holiday cards they got. Also, Crispy Gamer
rounded up a number of the electronic cards, and 1UP has
photos of their cards.]
In addition, if you're a game company who would like to be considered for our late Xmas card round-up or add us to your list for subsequent years, our HQ address is on the
parent company page, mark c/o Gamasutra or GameSetWatch.
In any case, here's the third and final Xmas set for 2009 - we'll round up stragglers and Japanese New Year cards on
GameSetWatch in the New Year:
The Warner Bros. holiday card showcases their move into games with a bunch of their franchise characters, including those from
Batman, F.E.A.R., Scribblenauts and the
Lego games, hanging out and playing a cute retro game featuring... themselves? Blimey.
Square Enix's card is themed around - what else -
Final Fantasy XIII, which just launched in Japan, and features the game's protagonists posing in fine form alongside a pleasant holiday greeting.
Take-Two's card references the upcoming 2K-published
Mafia II with a sinister mafioso Christmas scene, complete with references inside to the 'silent night' they hope you will all have. Yes, we're officially scared.
One of our favorite cards for this year, the folks at LA indie dev
Giant Sparrow, currently fleshing out IGF paint-splatter flecked student finalist
The Unfinished Swan into a full game, crafted a special handmade card with black paint and cut-out swans. V.cool.
Nintendo's holiday card has another of those neat cut-out effects that people seem to be using a lot, and is obviously themed around
New Super Mario Bros Wii and its perennial cast of quite adorable characters. It's a me, holidays!
This is the only electronic card we're featuring in the round-up (sorry to others who we neglected on this front!), but it's a cute
Pac-Man 30th Anniversary holiday scene from Namco Bandai, and it was sent to us at an opportune moment, so there you go...
The Japanese import publisher NIS America sent out one of its customary Japanese-style postcards with all kinds of characters, including plenty from fan favorite series
Disgaea, hanging out with panache.
Ending with a bang, the holiday card from the Japanese indie devs at Nigoro (the
folks behind upcoming MSX-inspired WiiWare platformer
La-Mulana, as well as period slapping drama game (!)
Rose & Camellia) cook up some gorgeous retro artwork for their game. And that's all, folks.
