Sun, Dec 25, 2011 | 10:41 GMT

Christmas 2011: We’ve called it

If you have a merrily on high, it’s time for the ding dong. We’re stopping the full-time news here, but we’ll have any major stories and monthly retrospective features every day throughout the Christmas break.

Here we are again. Johnny and Brenna have both finished for the Christmas holidays, and Steph’s got one last shift which she’ll probably spend typing obscenities through a sherry haze, so I’m calling Christmas. A few things first, though.

Brenna’s worked herself into a revisionist frenzy compiling daily features for the holiday, each one looking back at a month in 2011. Together, they give you a complete picture of a vintage year in games news, from PSN-Gate to Wii U, from Xbox 720 to the Japanese earthquake, from Skyrim to Saints Row, from Modern Warfare 3 to Battlefield 3. It’s all there. Come back every day for 2011′s full story. We’ll be putting the January feature live later today.

We’re only going to be updating major news stories between now and our full return in January, so if someone tells someone else that something may or may not be cancelled, you’ll have to read it somewhere else for a little while. Sorry.

The news team will be back full-time on January 2. This means Brenna will begin updating from Australia on the night of January 1 European time, to be followed by myself and Johnny the following day.

And that’s this year done. VG247 is nearly four years old. In 2011 we’ve doubled our traffic, and we hope to be announcing audience figures very soon. We now run one of the most updated video games websites on earth. This year we published nearly 13,800 articles, and we’re one of only very few games sites in existence with a 24 service focused directly at news.

I want to say thank you to Steph, Johnny and Brenna, VG247′s central news team. I’ve worked in games editorial a long time, but it’ll always delight me to see passionate people apply themselves completely to writing jobs, and I feel extremely lucky with our team. Every member works incredibly hard and constantly strives to be better, to produce better work, and to serve our readers to the best of their ability. They travel all over the world to see games and cover events, but their ability to maintain constant pressure in the face of the grind of daily games news is amazing. This is not an normal job, and VG247 is staffed by extraordinary individuals. To see people fight to improve both themselves and our site is a joy, and watching people respond to training and develop their skills is one of the main reasons I still do what I do. I’m proud of them all.

I’d also like to thank you, the reader. There are more of you visiting VG247 now than ever, and the development plans we have for the site in 2012 will increase our audience further. Without you there is no VG247, and the fact you return day in, day out for our content makes us very happy indeed. Thank you.

So Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Come back every day to read Brenna’s news wrap features. Open some presents. Don’t get pissed and set fire to the Christmas tree. I hope you get what you wanted this holiday. And thanks again; have a great break.

Patrick Garratt
December 23, 2011

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44 comment-trail-alt Posted in: VG247
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44 comments

#1

Chockster
23/12/11, 7:25 am

Merry Christmas to you all, and thanks for all your hard work this year.

Have a great holiday, and all the best for the new year!

Chris x

#2

The_Red
23/12/11, 7:26 am

Merry Christmas to the wonderful team of VG247. Thanks for this great year and looking forward to everyone’s return in 2012 :)

#3

Johnny Cullen
23/12/11, 7:39 am

No word of a lie, I nearly choked up because of the sense of relief that struck me in a “we made it” type fashion. But this year’s been incredible to us, as Pat’s already touched upon in the story, and for me personally speaking. Big highlight wasn’t Utah for the pre-E3 Bethesda trip – my first stateside visit too – it wasn’t gamescom, but rather Eurogamer Expo. As well as – selfishly, it must be said – it being amazing to me on a personal level, I got to see countless VG247 readers who genuinely love the site. If I seen you, you came up and said thanks, I’m gonna say thanks too for you reading. Always much appreciated.

Have a great Christmas and see you on January 2 (in no way am I throwing a huff that I have to come back on my birthday right now)

#4

Telepathic.Geometry
23/12/11, 7:41 am

Yeah, merry Christmas and a happy new year gang. VG24/7′s been like a constant companion this year, looking forward to more of the same in the new year. ^-^

/hugs

#5

Dralen
23/12/11, 7:51 am

Merry Christmas guys and girls! You’ve earned this break. I hope you all have a great Christmas.

#6

Andrew Groen
23/12/11, 8:20 am

I’ve had the distinct pleasure of working with VG247 on a freelance basis, covering Steph’s shift whenever she gets a break or goes on a business trip (you may have seen me around the last two weeks, and periodically over the past six months.) I’d just like to say that VG247 really is an amazing community of readers and gamers, they’re not just flattering you.

I’ve written for dozens of sites and too many of them are full of jerks who will rip you at any opportunity just so they can look smart in front of the Internet. But at VG247 I’ve found the community to be incredibly respectful and understanding. I still make mistakes from time to time (I wrote a few hundred of those 13,800 stories Pat mentioned, so mistakes happen) but when it happens I never hear “lol bloody idiot.” I hear people helping me out by drawing my attention to something that needs to be corrected; I hear from smart, sharp gamers who are as passionate as we are about getting the story right.

#7

Razor
23/12/11, 8:27 am

Great site, great bloggers, great community.

Happy health, happy holidays, have a great Christmas and New Year, and see you all in 2012 :)

#8

Yoshi
23/12/11, 8:42 am

Sounds like it would be pretty amazing to work for you guys :) Got a very good community feel within the staff, not to mention the actual VG247 community itself.

Merrry Christmass to all and all a good night. Have a lovely New Year <3

#9

Golden
23/12/11, 8:47 am

Merry Crimbo dudes and dudettes.
Its been a fun year, heres to the next

#10

Matthew7
23/12/11, 8:49 am

Thank you all, VG 24/7, you’re the best! Wish you a Merry Christmas and great New Year holidays!

#11

Patrick Garratt
23/12/11, 9:09 am

I’m so broken. Hope you all have a good break.

#12

Peetry
23/12/11, 9:25 am

Happy Christmas everyone, here’s to another year of checking vg247 every few hours

#13

JonFE
23/12/11, 9:27 am

Merry Christmas everybody and -especially to the vg247 crew- enjoy your well-deserved rest; you’ve earned it!

#14

Joe Anderson
23/12/11, 9:37 am

Merry Xmas guys, good job this year as always :)

#15

Hell-Raiser-85
23/12/11, 9:52 am

Merry Christmas to you all and see you in 2012

#16

Talkar
23/12/11, 10:02 am

Merry christmas, happy new year, and also a very happy wintersolstice! xD

#17

mojo
23/12/11, 10:21 am

thanks vg247 for yet another great year.
Great articles, news, reports. but also great community and especialy the connection between staff and community is awesome.
easily one of my favourite games related sites and easily the best site regarding gaming news.
keep it up!
merry christmas and have a nice holiday!

#18

Alex Donaldson
23/12/11, 10:39 am

Merry Christmas all! I just wanted to mirror what Andrew said above and say that I’m always incredibly impressed by both the staff and readership of this place and I count myself as incredibly lucky to have been able to work with the staff and write content for you lot in any capacity at all.

I have no hesitation in saying this is the news site I love the most on the internet for both its content and community. I know that the staff and the community can be really trusted, and that says a lot.

Here’s to another great year!

#19

sonny
23/12/11, 10:47 am

I do not post very often, but I have to say that I really love this site and its community! Loving the comments as much as the articles ;)
Merry Christmas to Pat, Steph, Johnny, Brenna, Nathan, Keza, Martin and the whole community!

#20

AHA-Lambda
23/12/11, 10:53 am

thanks for the great year in games guys ^_^

and a merry xmas to all of you! =D

#21

minxamo
23/12/11, 11:21 am

Merry christmas, and thanks for the ridiculously good gaming news coverage.

#22

Dirk_Dexter
23/12/11, 11:40 am

VG247 and NeoGAF are my two favorite sites. Thanks for the excellent gaming coverage. Merry Christmas :-)

#23

Cozzy
23/12/11, 12:00 pm

Thanks to the staff for all your hard work this year. Have a great Christmas and New Year everyone! :D

#24

Colin Gallacher
23/12/11, 12:31 pm

A big thank you to everyone at VG247 for an excellent 2011 and for making my year something special for a change. :)

#25

Lewis247
23/12/11, 1:47 pm

Merry Christmas everyone! One of my favorite websites in general, visit it pretty much daily! Always great posts and the comments are always full of surprises! :) All the best everyone!

#26

RayEMTFF
23/12/11, 3:15 pm

Thank you for another great year and all the hard work you guys have done. Merry Christmas everyone and Have a happy New Year!!!!

#27

viralshag
23/12/11, 3:57 pm

HO HO HO HOOOO!

MEEEERRRY CHRISTMAS!

To all of the VG247 crew and community, I want to say thanks. It’s been a blast reading all the fantastic articles you guys put out and the conversations that follow.

I hope everyone has a lovely holiday and happy new year!

#28

Debabrata Nath
23/12/11, 4:14 pm

Ho Ho Ho! Wishing all dear readers and the VG247 team a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Have a blast folks!

#29

reask
23/12/11, 5:37 pm

Merry Christmas all. :)

#30

wishdokta
23/12/11, 6:55 pm

Happy, Merry and so on to the vg247-guys !

#31

deathgaze
23/12/11, 7:26 pm

I suppose you’re lucky that the name of the site isn’t VG24/7/365, eh?

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays, etc. Thanks for a great year!

#32

Erthazus
23/12/11, 7:29 pm

Merry Christmas to everyone. Wishing everyone here great holidays and great games for the next year for Everyone. Have a good time… Nope. Have a Great time everyone.

#33

Blerk
23/12/11, 7:51 pm

Merry Xmas all! I’ve not been able to post as much in the last few months, but I do still keep an eye on you all. So I know who’s been naughty.

#34

DaMan
23/12/11, 8:36 pm

Merry Xmas and thanks for the great news coverage, guys.

#35

TD_Monstrous69
23/12/11, 11:01 pm

I’d like to wish the staff and editors of VG247 a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. The moment I found this site for news on games, it made it hard for me to go back to other games sites (mainly because by the time I read any news here, it was over a few hours old on G4 or IGN [a lot of the times] when they were just breaking it, though I guess you benefit from a time zone difference). I look forward to reading more info about games come 2012 from your site, as well as your insights on games. Now I only hope that come Chrsitmas day, that I shall be journeying through the Northmost region of Tamriel, as well as fighting WWIII through many remote regions of the globe (though not simultaneously). Until then, I shall be fighting my way through many opposing forces on the Battlefield, as well as trying to shoot some Warhawks out of the sky within the Starhawk private beta.

#36

fearmonkey
23/12/11, 11:28 pm

Merry Christmas everyone :)

#37

Charlie Sheen
23/12/11, 11:42 pm

Merry Christmas you little fuckers, more trolling next year, hope i hear alot of cool storys and make you mad bro!

#38

mathare92
24/12/11, 2:53 am

You more than deserve the break guys. Looking forward to some more top class news coverage next year :) .

#39

szu
24/12/11, 10:01 am

Merry Christmas and enjoy your holidays! All the best!

#40

KrazyKraut
24/12/11, 1:58 pm

Merry X-Mas and Happy Holidays you krazy horses!
Thank you for giving us news and reports all the year!

#41

monkeygourmet
24/12/11, 7:20 pm

Merry Christmas everyone and thanks for the great game coverage VG247!!! :)

My Xmas ritual has now begun:

Games:
Skyward Sword
Batman Arkham City
Child of Eden (kinect)
Trine 2

Movies:
Kung Fu Panda 2
Ratatouille
Family Guy Star Wars Trilogy
National Lampoons Chirstmas Vacation
Ghostbusters
Planes Trains and Automobiles

Plus Morgans spiced rum, coke, FIsh eye Cabernet Sauvignon and as much cheese as its possible to eat!!! :)

#42

KrazyKraut
24/12/11, 8:39 pm

Here:
A bottle Corona
A pocket station “Doko demo” Edition
Skyward Sword Limited
Xenoblade Chronicles Limited
Alone in the Dark 4 for Dreamcast
Ralph Lauren Sport Shower Gel
U2 Achtung Baby Remastered Edition

#43

Len
24/12/11, 8:54 pm

Happy Christmas to all. A great site that just gets better.

Enjoy… :)

#44

Dimaco
25/12/11, 10:11 am

Merry Christmas, everyone! Thanks VG247, and see you all in 2012!!!

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