I’ve seen a lot of Valentione’s Day celebrations in Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV, but I’m going to be honest, I don’t think that Valentine’s Day is really a good holiday for an MMO. It’s not just because I don’t much care for the holiday in real life (and neither does my wife), it’s that it just doesn’t translate well. It feels like trying to drag the real world into a game in a way that a lot of other holidays don’t.
There are, of course, holidays that translate perfectly into MMOs. Halloween is pretty much perfect, especially in games like Guild Wars 2 that go out of their way to make the holiday fit in the game lore; Christmas, too, is more or less a shoo-in. But there are always holidays that feel tenuous in their own way. Valentine’s Day is one of them, and I’ve never cared for games that try to include Easter. I probably would feel much the same about a game bringing in, say, Flag Day or President’s Day.
But that may just be me; I’m sure there’s someone out there waiting for The Secret World to take on Flag Day. So what do you think, readers? What holidays don’t make sense for MMOs? And on the same topic, are there some holidays that don’t show up nearly often enough?
Every morning, the Massively Overpowered writers team up with mascot Mo to ask MMORPG players pointed questions about the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre. Grab a mug of your preferred beverage and take a stab at answering the question posed in today’s Daily Grind!
