Editorial: Happy Holiday? Or Not-So Happy Holiday?

One day, when I was in the world of Azeroth, I took my Elemental Shaman into Stormwind to check my bank and do some business. I was blown away by the large amount of characters in the city. I had almost forgot that there were in-game Christmas celebrations going on. Blizzard and other game companies hold real life holidays in their MMORPGs. The fact that all these games have different worlds with their own unique, or not-so-unique, world lore begs the question; Should MMORPGs hold real life holidays in-game?

I love in-game holidays. My friends and a lot of my family live too far away to get together, I’m not into bars and I don’t know many people where I live. Not only do I have a chance to meet some friends in-game, but I also get to celebrate with others. It works out well for me, and I don’t mind suspending my disbelief to enjoy the real life holidays. I’m sure everyone doesn’t share this sentiment.

There are many types of MMORPG players who feel differently at different times. I hardly feel I need to mention role players who don’t want to destroy immersion into imaginary worlds, but there’s also a whole real life world of people who gather into these games. This past 4th of July saw fireworks launched in Azeroth, but what about holidays from other countries?

Many games seem to draw distinctions in what real life holidays they decide to incorporate by where the games developers come from. Most free-to-play MMORPGs have been imports from Korea and surrounding areas, so they “naturally” celebrate holidays originating in the Far East. Yet these games aren’t only published in their home countries. There are other games that transcend that divide and have players from different countries together in the same servers. On top of this, there are players that may feel they don’t want any world holidays because of server lag or other personal annoyances.

With all the different people, cultures, and player types should anything be done that could improve player experiences, when it comes to celebrating real life holidays in MMORPGs?