Who doesn't love the holiday season? Really, apart from the crass commercialism, deadly mall crowds, increased crime rates, terrible new movies, freezing weather, brutal traffic, awkward family gatherings, and the inevitable war each Christmas about whether there is a war on Christmas, this is the best time of year. We at GameCyte can't be there in person to share the revelry with you -- we seem to have lost your invitation in the mail (we're sure you sent it). Still, that's no reason that we shouldn't pass along the awesome presents we've got! Here, this is for you...
Oh, I almost forgot. We can't give out presents until we finish singing the holiday carols! I can't believe I almost broke the tradition that I just now made up. What a faux pas! Right, then, you know the words; sing along!
On the twelfth day of Christmas, for console and PC,
Twelve Italians Plumbing,
Eleven snipers sniping,
Ten Fords a-leaping,
Nine haters camping,
Eight raids on Blackwing,
Seven Sonics sprinting,
Six Gears a-slaying,
Five Pilotwings!
Four Brahmin herds,
Three trench guns,
Blue Turtle Shells,
And a cartridge of Mother 3!
How was that? Completely terrible? I know, I know -- these old holiday standards seem so dated; so out-of-touch. Perhaps you know a better one? If you can sing us a good one, we'll give you your present!
That's the rule, in fact, for our first GameCyte Holiday Giveaway. We would like to hear your finest gaming carol! Write a game-oriented interpretation of your favorite (or most easily mangled) holiday song, send it to us, and in return, we shall shower you with finery and swag. The song needn't be a Christmas tune; we welcome tunes about Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Saturnalia, Berchtoldstag, or any mid-winter celebration you can think of -- even secular tunes like "Let it Snow" or "Winter Wonderland" are fair game.
Put a gaming twist on any such song, and if our judges deem you to be sufficiently clever, you can win one or more of the following:
- Mirror's Edge 8GB iPod Nano
- Prince of Persia (Xbox 360)
- Sonic Unleashed (PS3)
- Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)
- Boogie Superstar (Wii)
- Last Remnant (Xbox 360)
- EA's "For Dummies" Bundle (DS & PC)
- Air Traffic Chaos (DS)
- Far Cry 2 (PS3)
- National Geographic Panda (DS)
- Castlevania Judgement (Wii)
- Tom Clancy's EndWar (Xbox 360)
- KORG DS-10 Synthesizer (DS)
- Settlers of Catan Travel Edition (Tabletop)
- Castle Crashers (XBLA)
- Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine Online T-shirt
- Aion Hat
- Nyko Wing T-shirt (3 available!)
- HAWX patch
- Sacred 2 Battlemat Mouse Pad
- Warhammer Online: Empire in Chaos (Book)
- Microsoft Reclusa Keyboard
- The Conduit T-shirt (3 available!)
- Nintendo Business Card Holder
The official rules are as follows:
To enter the GameCyte Holiday Giveaway, email your submission to jesse@gamecyte.com, under the subject "GameCyte Giveaway Entry." complete entries must list the original song they are based upon, and can be as long or as short as you please. Entries will be accepted until December 24th, 2008, 11:59:59pm Pacific Time.
Winners will be decided by GameCyte's discerning panel of non-celebrity judges, and entries will be ranked and posted on New Year's Day. Creators of the highest-ranking entries will get first pick of prizes; i.e. 1st Place may choose any prize from the list, 2nd Place may choose any prize that is left, 3rd Place may have any prize left after that, and so on.
Entries laced with profanity or otherwise deemed inappropriate will not be accepted. Each person may enter as many entries as they wish, but can only win once. GameCyte employees are ineligible to enter this contest because we would crush you we're on the naughty list.
As you can see, we've got plenty of presents to give out, so tell your friends, invite your relatives, and send in as many gaming carols as you like! You have until Christmas to email your entry, and we'll share your creations with the world on New Year's. For now, we leave you with one more gaming song of our own, to show you what a properly formatted entry will look like, and to show our highly multicultural leanings.
To the tune of "Oh Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah"
Oh Elika, Oh Elika!
(She's from Prince of Persia)
Your game is so pretty,
And nothing can hurt ya
Gather up the light seeds,
They glow and they're neat
If I miss a wall-run,
You'll drop me on my feet
But while the corruption
Is scary and made out of slime
I have to say, I would still rather play
With the hot girl from The Sands of Time
I have to say, I would still rather play
With the hot girl from The Sands of Time
Happy holidays, everyone!
December 18th, 2008 at 7:17 am
This one should get the creative juices flowing. I can hardly wait to read the winning entries!
December 18th, 2008 at 7:47 am
Am I eligible?
December 19th, 2008 at 1:50 am
Hey you, guy (or girl) reading this. If you don't enter this contest, I will come single Christmas carols in front of your house. Loud. And horribly off key. So yeah, you better enter!
(And if you STILL don't enter after reading that, I'll have Jesse tag along and we'll sing a duet the likes of which would make the short-lived Cher and Alanis Morissette tour look like R. Kelly and Johnny Cash.)
December 19th, 2008 at 7:09 am
whats a nintendo business card?
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:20 pm
I totally entered. Three times.
December 24th, 2008 at 11:55 am
Me too! Oh wait... I can't...