For those that have been active on Twitter today, it should be clear by now that today is National Video Game Day, but there is a good bit of confusion regarding what that actually means and what the best way to celebrate such a holiday is. Followers of these obscure daily holidays will know that two things are generally always true. First, there's a holiday for nearly every day, and even that may be a little generous. There are entire websites like National Today dedicated to tracking and celebrating these obscure holidays, so it seems there's always something for everyone.
The second well known fact about holiday enthusiasts is that most of these strange National Holidays have origins that are extremely difficult to track. In this case, some video game historians have already done a bit of research on National Video Game Day, but even still much of the holiday's origin remains a mystery. Of course, there's also the question of whether or not this holiday is even real or if it was just made up by some video game loving weirdo decades ago, and all of these are valid questions. Regardless, it's worth exploring the history of this day and recognizing its importance.
The Origin of National Video Game Day
Most video game historians believe that National Video Game Day dates back to the year 1991. According to Frank Cifaldi of the Video Game History Foundation, the first written account of a National Video Game Day can be found in a 1991 calendar of events from Chase. This calendar lists July 8th as National Video Game Day, and claims that it is sponsored by one David Earle. Not much is known about Earle except that he was supposedly the president of the Kid Video Warriors organization
Cifaldi's research took place in 2017, and there are still tons of questions unanswered. No one is entirely sure what the Kid Video Warriors organization is or why Chase Calendars accepted this submission as a national holiday. Furthermore, Cifaldi continues to explain that the date has actually moved around over the years. Though it was initially listed as a July 8th holiday, in 1997 it was moved to September 12th. This would explain why most obscure holiday websites list "National Video Game Day" on July 8th and "National Videogames Day" on September 12th. This does, however, answer the question of whether or not this is a bogus holiday.
The short answer is yes, it was basically made up by Earle and has somehow survived 29 years later and made its way into the current video game culture. The real question fans should be asking, however, isn't whether or not the holiday is real, but if that question even matters in the first place. Just because the United States government didn't sign a piece of paper declaring July 8th (and sometimes September 12th) as a national holiday celebrating video games doesn't mean that the day has no value. If anything, it provides more power to the holiday because it is completely sustained by the population.
How to Celebrate National Video Game Day
The calendar responsible for creating National Video Game Day claims that the holiday is "a day for kids of all ages who enjoy playing video games to celebrate the fun they have while playing them." If that isn't straightforward enough, then nothing is. Essentially, the best way to celebrate National Video Game Day is to play video games, which is something that most people had probably already pieced together. While the usage of the word "kids" may be offputting to some, others would argue that everyone's a kid at heart. With that in mind, some people celebrating the holiday in unique ways.
#NationalVideoGameDay is trending on Twitter, and briefly scrolling through the plethora of tweets reveals many different ways that people are celebrating. The most popular seems to be sharing what each individual's favorite game is, which in turn invites discussion about that title or titles similar to it. Others are taking the opportunity to share video game memes, and yet more share their first or most influential experience with video games. Another wholesome tag is #ThanksToVideoGames, in which people share life lessons or events which they contribute to video games as a whole. One user even shares their Animal Crossing wedding, attributing finding the love of their life to the medium.
National Video Game Day Survey Results
National Today, one of the many websites which catalogs, tracks, and promotes these various obscure national holidays conducted a survey with 1000 American participants to learn more about gamers' behaviors and preferences, and the results were actually rather interesting. Most notably, when asked what their favorite console was, both the PlayStation and the Xbox racked up 38% of the votes, resulting in a tie. Nintendo wasn't too far behind, however, claiming 21% of votes and landing in third place behind the two giants.
Despite not being at the top of the console food chain, however, Nintendo games dominated the favorite video game franchise poll. To no one's surprise, Super Mario received the most votes, with 47% of the votes, but other Nintendo games, including Donkey Kong, Pokemon, Zelda, and Sonic (who while technically not owned by Nintendo, is very closely associated with it) all make the top 10. Other mainstream titles find their place in the list as well, including Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, Final Fantasy, and Halo. The most shocking development, however, is the 10th place spot, which goes to Crash Bandicoot. While this is a great game, many were shocked to see it overcome other monolithic franchises like Assassin's Creed, Kingdom Hearts, and more.
Why Does National Video Game Day Matter?
Ultimately, video games bring people together. Online multiplayer games have been the primary method of getting social interaction for many during these times of self isolation, and even single player games allow people to share emotional experiences with each other. While in the grand scheme of things National Video Game Day may seem phoney or inconsequential, it represents something much greater than that and offers a slight reprieve from the harsh realities of the world at the moment. At any rate, happy National Video Game Day!
Today is National Video Game Day.