SECRET SANTA 2K4: THE CAT'S OUTTA THE BAG!

[punkoffgirl]

Okay, boys and girls, cats and kittens, let's do this!

If you've managed to have some self restraint, and haven't ripped into your gift yet, go ahead and do it now!

Be sure to post and tell us what you got, who you got it from!

Best of all, Merry Christmas to everyone!

/me hands out eggnog

[Kroogah]

Got 4 awesome Saturn games from John Southern:

Virtua Fighter Kids
Valora Valley Golf
Darklight Conflict
Thunderstrike 2

All complete! Thanks man!!!

[Funk Buddy]

Ok, I needed something to lift my mood last night so I opened mine.

It was from Sniderman. I will get a picture tonight and post it, but this is off the top of my head.

3 Sonic toys
Sonic Plushie
Sonic Book
2 Sonic VHS tapes
4 Complete Genesis games
3 Complete Saturn games
CD with Sonic game music
Custom Christmas card
Custom Nights clock (I already bought one, but two is better!)

Thanks a million Sniderman!

[norkusa]

Maxlords was my SS. Got...

3 Stooges (PSX)
The Haunting Staring Polterguy
Broken Sword-The Shadow Of The Templars (GBA)...new & sealed!

Thank you very much for the goodies, Maxlords. Very nice grab-bag of games that'll keep me busy well into the new year!

[Rogmeister]

I must confess that I opened mine a bit early as I wanted to take photos...I took a shot as I took each item out of the box. My cat Cindy was there to supervise. Unfortunately, I don't know who my Secret Santa was...he didn't identify himself so all I can say is that the package came from De Soto, Illinois. Whoever he/she is, my Secret Santa either knows me or did his/her homework! Onward...

http://photopile.com/photos/Rogmeister/various/162543.jpg
Silent Bomber for the PS1. I'm not familiar with this game but the DP Guide gives it a + so it must be fun!

http://photopile.com/photos/Rogmeister/various/162544.jpg
Xenogears, also for the PS1. Like the above game, this gets a + from the DP Guide...and it's from Square so you know it's good. I don't think I asked for any of these two games (though I could be wrong). Since I have nearly 200 games for my PS1, my Secret Santa may have been taking a chance but luckily I didn't already have either of these.

http://photopile.com/photos/Rogmeister/various/162545.jpg
Johnny Cash! This is a set of burned copies of the five discs from his "Unearthed" box set that came out earlier this year. He is simply my all-time favorite entertainer and I love the recordings he made with American Recordings. In fact, I already have this box set...but I still love getting these. I now have a set of these I can take to work where I have a portable CD player...

http://photopile.com/photos/Rogmeister/various/162546.jpg
Robotron 2084 for the Atari Lynx. This is one game I definitely asked for and is one of the few games I still wanted to get for the Lynx. It's my favorite item of the actual games included.

http://photopile.com/photos/Rogmeister/various/162547.jpg
Finally, here's a shot of everything (with my favorite model, my cat Shadow, in the background). If you'll notice, my Secret Santa even sent stuff for the cats! There's catnip, a catnip-filled flexible mouse and a Bungee Buddy doorknob dangling toy. Suffice to see, this has been my favorite Secret Santa exchange so far! Thanks, Santa!!!

[Gapporin]

bigdaddychester was my SS. Here's what he got me:

OPM Issue 83 with demo disc
PSM Issue 88
NewType USA Vol. 3 No. 8 (someone's been reading my posts, ha ha)
America's Army: Special Forces (PC)
Front Mission 4 demo disc with mini-strategy guide (PS2)
Syphon Filter: Omega Strain demo disc (PS2)
Black Fire (Saturn)
D (Saturn)
FIFA Soccer '96 (Saturn)
Minnesota Fats: Pool Legend (Saturn)
Panzer Dragoon (Saturn)
Virtua Fighter (Saturn)
Virtua Fighter II (Saturn)
HAL's Hole In One Golf (SNES)
Pilotwings (SNES)
Starfox (SNES)
Super Star Wars (SNES)
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 (Genesis)
...and last, but certainly not least, a jar of homemade apple butter! (Yum!)

A huge thanks to bigdaddy for all of these wonderful games! And thanks must go out to POG for organizing this another year! Merry Christmas everyone!

[YoshiM]

For the second time since we started the DP Secret Santa, Queen of Felines got my name. So to keep myself out of my wife's and in-laws hair as they prepare supper for tonight I tore into the box today and received the following:

-Diablo Battle Chest (includes Diablo II strategy guide, Diablo, Diablo II and Lord of Destruction expansion for Diablo II) for PC (new/sealed)

-Sim City 3000 UK Edition for PC (new/sealed)

-Donkey Kong 3 for NES (complete)

-10 Yard Fight for NES (complete)

-Hogan's Alley for NES (complete)

-Normy's Beach Babe-O-Rama for Genesis (complete)

-ESWAT for Genesis (complete)

-Bimini Run for Genesis (complete)

Thank you very much Kristine! Very awesome!

[MarioAllStar2600]

I don't know who got mine, I only had his name and my dad threw away the box! So I have no clue who sent mine, will the real secret santa please stand up.

Well anyway this guy noticed my love for the DS and Nintendo and sent me an awsome package.

- Red Nintendo Lanyard
- Nintendo DS Lanyard
- Interactive Gamecube demo disk 13
- Gargoyles Quest 2 complete (nes)
- Nintendo DS beanie
- Nintendo TimeBoy pocketwatch (new)
- Bulbasaur pin
- Davis cup tennis complete (tg-16)
- TV Sports Basketball complete (tg-16)
- 4 kinder egg suprise candys, I have never had these before but man they were good/cool

Thanks a bunch. This present was awsome!

[maxlords]

Noahsmybro was my secret santa and he got me a nice minty copy of Feel the Magic XX/XY for the DS! Very cool!

[Qixmaster]

well... i gave in as well and opened mine as soon as i saw the email

anyways, my Secret Santa was Davidleeroth (although i figured it out since the package came all the way from finland :) )

Let me tell you this guy is great and very thoughtful! He knew that i was a nut for nintendo and it shows in my gift

I recieved:
Complete in box Japanese Vtetris for virtual boy
Nes Max Controller
Swamp Thing for the NES (this game has elluded me for quite sometime, thank you so so so so much :D )
Solomon's Key 2 PAL (VERY COOL and very neat artwork! my fourth Pal game :) )
Three packs of Nintendo Sticker Cards with bubble gum from back in the day unopened and from europe :)
Super Jeopardy Complete in Box for the NES
a David Lee Roth Finland Exclusive CD signed Merry Christmas to Qixmaster on the cover
and what looks to be a BRAND NEW IN BOX NI Fighter Quickjoy NES Joystick. I collect NES joysticks and i have never seen this bad boy, could it be Euro release only? It is AWESOME! thank you SO much Davidleeroth, you have made my 1st secret santa expericence a VERY memeroible one.

Pics are below :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/qixmaster/picsdp1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/qixmaster/picsdp2.jpg

Once again i thank you davidleeroth, your gift was well recieved :)

-Josh

EDIT: Just so you guys know he went out of his way and wrapped each gift individually. Also, a big thanks for going out of your way (if you did) to get me NTSC games. I just checked my list and those two (swamp thing and super jeopardy) put me at EXACTLY 100 NES games away from a complete NTSC collection (not including sachens)

[Lady Jaye]

My secret santa was Sph1nx. He wrapped my gifts into one big box with Care Bears wrapping paper! :D

His note apologized for not having more than one item from my list, but it doesn't matter: the whole package was just so perfect!!! There was:

Killer Instinct complete sealed (at last! it only took me 8 years to get it!)
Super Star Wars SNES (which I already had, but it's okay, it's a great game)
Shockwave for the NES (never heard of the game, but sometimes you can find gems among little-known titles)
Game Genie for SNES (I already had the NES one, so I'm now all equipped to use the GG with all my NES/SNES games)
2 Christmas tree ornaments (which went into the tree)
a Mario "I (heart) video games" sticker
Sealed packs of trading cards for the following: Robocop 2, Back to the Future 2, Super Mario (the movie) and Ghosbusters 2 - NEAT!!!!

And, last but not least, my favorite part of the whole gift: a ziploc bag containing about 20 mini buttons, mostly pertaining to videogames (there was also a Care Bears one and a GI Joe one...) These are really amazing!!!!!!

Sph1nx, thank you, thank you, thank you!!! That was a great SS gift!!! :D

[Querjek]

SoulBlazer was my Secret Santa. I can't express how happy I am from my package... all of the things that I got are now scattered throughout my collection now, but I'm most thankful for getting a copy of Dog's Life (PS2). THANK YOU!!

EDIT:
1) Dogs Life -- PS2
2) Animal Crossing #1 sealed pack
3) Famicom Sports mini CD
4) Nintendo Power -- don't know the number, with the full review and coverage of Super Mario RPG, plus the cover
5) Animal Crossing Guide from Nintendo
6) Nintendo Advance #1 guide from Nintendo
7) Martin Gothic -- PS1
8) NES Game -- I don't recall which one, sorry. It was loose
9) Kings Bounty for Genesis
10) Outlaw Red Hot Volleyball --XBox
11) GameCube demo disc and book -- Christmas 2002
12) Sealed Konami demo disc for PS2 -- from last month
13) Game Genie for NES -- loose
14) SNES game -- again, don't recall which one. Loose
15) Atari Anniversary -- PC
16) 3 Pokemon Game Reader cards for the E-Reader
Very great stuff from a very great guy.

Oh, and I realized that I forgot to add a note for Blackjax's SS package. That was from me :embarrassed:

[downfall]

I apologize in advance to whom I sent my Secret Santa gift for the horrible rush job of wrapping I did, as well as the "wrapping paper" that I had to use! A big stack of Spider-Man 2 PS2 case inserts does not make good wrapping paper, but it's all I had! LOL

YoshiM was my Secret Santa!

I knew it was from him even though there was no name on the outside of the package, simply because I remembered a thread titled "Holy Sheboygan". LOL

Anyway, thanks Dan! You made my day when I opened my gift!

EGM - August 1994 - Again, perfect! I love my classic gaming magazines!

GB - Super Mario Land 2! - I haven't played this for years!

GBC - Bust a Move Millennium
PC - Phantasmagoria

Haven't played either of those two games before, but they both look like fun!

The two coolest things in the whole box though:

N64 - Winback: Covert Operations - Awesome. I'm always looking for boxed N64 games - that's the only collection I really care to complete, and this is one that I've never even seen around here.

GBC - Super Mario Bros. DX - Could've just sent me this and I would have been thrilled! Completely unexpected - I've been wanting to give this a shot for quite some time!

Awesome! Thanks again Dan!

Hope everyone else received as cool of a gift as I!

[Cmosfm]

Well, my Secret Santa experience requires telling a story.

When I made my Wish List for my Secret Santa, I included a list of items I want ranging from 5.00 - 50.00. I also included my collection list, I stated that I'm not too picky, I will take anything I don't have, but I only collect NTSC games.

Well, I get my package last week, I was too hyped NOT to open it, it was a decent size so I was pretty stoked. I tear into it and notice most of it is newspaper, but my gift was at the bottom, it was...

PAL version NES game Corvette Challange
Bubblegum Crisis VHS - Part 2 of an 8 part series

...Yeah, so my Secret Santa didn't follow my rules, sent me two items that I really don't need. I figured I'd let it go, but than it started to bug me, seemed as if my Secret Santa just sent me some trade fodder so he could get a free gift. I'm not one to complain, even if I got a simple 5.00 NES game I needed I would have been satisfied. I PM'd POG with my concerns.

She got in contact with my Secret Santa for me, my Secret Santa turned out to be Blackjax. Seemed as if he was having some money problems, which is 100% understandable, but still it's something that should have been somewhat anticipated before he decided to participate. POG told me that he felt bad once he was contacted and wanted to send another gift and that I should get in contact with him and handle the situation from there.

I PM'd him explaining that I understand his situation, and to not worry about sending me another gift. I let him know that I was a bit upset with what he sent be, because there was no effort put into it. Well, In a matter of...5 days I believe...I've sent him 2 PM's and he hasen't responded to a single one, even though they are not in my sentbox anymore, so he has recieved them.

So anyways, that's the end of my story, Blackjax seems to be ignoring my PMs. Either way, in the end, I didn't really get a gift that I wanted or needed so I'm pretty bummed about it. Don't think I'm just being ungrateful here or greedy or anything of that sort, the whole idea behind secret santa is to get another user something they want or need, and I got neither.

Well guys, Merry Christmas to all, I really hope my Secret Santa enjoys all the gifts I sent him. I put a lot of effort into it! Hopefully everyone else got something they wanted.

[Mr.FoodMonster]

DavidLeeRoth, I was your SS, I forgot to put a note in there.

Well, my gift was from A Boy, and here is what I got.
Gradius V (PS2)
Megaman Collection (PS2)
General Chaos (Genesis)

Thanks a lot, I'll be having LOTS of fun with these :D

Next year, I'll try and put some more... 'mmph' into my gift, I had no idea how all out you guys went with this!

[Ninja Blacksox]

DavidLeeRoth, I was your SS, I forgot to put a note in there.

Well, my gift was from A Boy, and here is what I got.
Gradius V (PS2)
Megaman Collection (PS2)
General Chaos (Genesis)

Thanks a lot, I'll be having LOTS of fun with these :D

Next year, I'll try and put some more... 'mmph' into my gift, I had no idea how all out you guys went with this!

Sorry I couldn't land you the instructions for "General Chaos," man. Having you ask for that game brought back memories! I was a HUGE fan of that back in middle school... I'll have to pick it up for myself sometime.

As for my gift, I forgot who it was from... I threw away the packing loooooong ago. Anyhoo, I got "North and South" CIB. Thanks much, whoever you are!

-A Boy

[Mayhem]

I don't know who my Secret Santa was, as he didn't put his forum name on the package! So whoever it was, let me know to say thanks :)

I got...

Robot Panic loose (Vic20)
Actraiser complete (SNES)

Which at least WERE two things that were on my list! ;)

@A Boy - that was my gift... admitedly I didn't have a lot to work with, FDS titles aren't easy to find and I could find some of your NES stuff but only PAL around my way. So I had hoped to get more US NES titles, but could only really find this one. Glad you liked it though :)

[junglehunter]

Not sure exactly who my SS was but they're from Illinois, I believe.

I got:

- Super Mario Bros. Party Invitiation
- Nintendo Sticker/Decal
- Set of Acclaim Wireless Controllers (NES)
- Bucky 'O Hare (NES)
- Escape From Monkey Island (PS2, big want)
- Katamary Damacy (PS2, sealed)

I want to say thank you to my SS (whoever you are). I am really happy with what I've been sent. You didn't have to go through all of that trouble though. :embarrassed:

Thanks! :)

[Achika]

Cmosfm: :roll: It's called tact. And where did the spirit of "it's all about the giving, not the recieving go".

Atar1G1rl was my Secret Santa and I LOVE IT ALL!!!

Ratchet & Clank PS2 Demo
Double Dragon VHS
Galaxy Fight for Saturn
Playstation sticker & window cling
Hello Kitty Notepad
Power Up by Chris Kohler
Great Basketball for SMS
Whitmans mini Chocolate Sampler
Pac Man stickers & rub off game cards
Spyro Topper thingy... (is this for a pencil or an antenna :P )

and last....

most important...

biggest suprise...

the best thing in the package...


ORIGINAL SLY COOPER PS2 DEMO

Ok, for some people this may not be a big deal since it's a demo for a game that was released years ago. But this is by far one of the best games I've ever played. I love the series, I've got the games, the demo for the second one, and I've got the polo shirt for the first one. However, when the game first came out I borrowed the store demo to play from the GS that I worked at, since we only had one I gave it back although my manager even though he said I could keep it. I wanted it played in the demo unit. I left for college and by the time I came back months later, of course it was gone! So getting this was a really pleasant suprise :D

THANKS LAURA!

[Jibbajaba]

I don't know who my secret santa was, but they rock! I got:

Nintendo Sticker
Bug! for Saturn
Mortal Kombat for Game Gear
Dr. Robotnk's Mean Bean Machine for Game Gear
Marble Madness for NES ( I REALLY wanted this one!)
Kung Fu for NES
Sonic 3 for Genesis
A CGE pass from 2002 (put it on the lanyard with my CGE nametag from this year)

And the Coup de Gras: Splatterhouse 3 for Genesis!!!! Freakin Awsome!!!

Whoever my SS was, please make yourself known. Many thanks!

Chris

[Cmosfm]

Cmosfm: :roll: It's called tact. And where did the spirit of "it's all about the giving, not the recieving go".

If it's all about the giving, then why did PoG have us make out want lists?

[katchoo]

I don't know who my secret santa was, but they rock! I got:

Whoever my SS was, please make yourself known. Many thanks!

Chris

/me waves

I'm glad you liked it :D

[Jibbajaba]

Cmosfm: :roll: It's called tact. And where did the spirit of "it's all about the giving, not the recieving go".

If it's all about the giving, then why did PoG have us make out want lists?

IMHO, because it's more fun to give someone something that they really want. I usually agree with your posts, man, but not this time. All I can say is that I had a lot of fun buying the stuff for my SS, and when he dropped out I had even more fun contesting it off. Recieving a gift was just sort of a fun bonus. Sounds like you participate in SS just to get stuff. I would probably be a little dissapointed if I were you, but I wouldn't be so vocal about it.

Chris

[Jibbajaba]

I don't know who my secret santa was, but they rock! I got:

Whoever my SS was, please make yourself known. Many thanks!

Chris

/me waves

I'm glad you liked it :D

Thanks, lady! You rock!

Chris

[Cmosfm]

Sounds like you participate in SS just to get stuff.

Actually, once you see all the stuff I sent my Secret Santa, that statment will be considered null and void.

[gamergary]

Achika was my secret santa and I got (everything wrapped and it came with a card):
Fatal Fury Hat
Metroid Echo of Dreams shirt
RE4 preview disk
the Wizard vhs
bunch of nintendo pez
2 SNK gachapon model kit action figures.
Ps2 Demos:
Jak 3
Rachet & Clank: Up your Arsenal
Syphon Filter:The Omega Strain
Athens 2004
Hellsing Bonus Dvd (Making of Hellsing and Game trailer) not shrinkwrapped
Fight Club not shrinkwrapped
ATV Offroad Fury 3
Square Enix Sampler Disk Volume two: Front Mission 4 and demo disc guidebook
Galactic Wrestling Featuring Ultimate Muscle (Smaller square packaging)

Although I didn't get anything on my list, I still recieved an awesome gift. Thanks Achika.

[katchoo]

Okay okay, i WAS gonna wait to open my box, but :)

I asked for random pokemon & nintendo stuffs and i wasn't let down. I got a very cute pikachu and yoshi doll 8-)

Also got a very neat plug-in-play, "vs MAXX", which is made by a company in the next town over :eek 2: I didn't even know they were there!

Thank you very much to Max 330 Mega :D

[kainemaxwell]

I got Capt. Yash, who was nice enough to write his name on the box too. :D

Anyhow, got Vice Project Doom (Woo!) and some Mario Bros related toys (?), are they ones from McDonalds??

[Kroogah]

I got Capt. Yash, who was nice enough to write his name on the box too. :D

Anyhow, got Vice Project Doom (Woo!) and some Mario Bros related toys (?), are they ones from McDonalds??

Some from McDonalds, some from Wendy's...lots of random crap. I couldn't find any of the games on your list besides Vice so I tried to compensate with merch, which I always have a lot of. Glad you liked it!

[Chunky]

My SS was Spoon! came nicely packaged with crazy xmas card and he nailed everything from my lists!

and he got me too much stuff:

nes Bad News Baseball
tg16 Bonk's Adventure!!!!!
ps2 Xenogears
gc Metroid Prime
complete Star fox 64!!!!
and Yoshi's Story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

way too much stuff here Spoon, didn't have to go and do that much! sheesh.

Thanks again!

[Pop Culture Portal]

Although, traditionally, we open presents on Christmas, I just can't stand it any more! I'm rippin' in to this sucker!

WooHoo!

Here's my haul (all complete!):

Intellivision Boxing
Sega Saturn Midway Arcade's Greatest Hits
Texas Instruments Football - I actually remember playing this at school. Copyright 1979? @_@ God, I feel ancient.....

Sega Dreamcast Evolution
Sega Dreamcast NFL2k (All-Stars packaging, Sealed!) - believe it or not, I didn't have this game until now :) .

Atari 7800 Asteroids (Sealed!)
Atari 7800 Robotron: 2084 (Sealed!)
Sega CD Prince of Persia - I have SO missed playing this game.

My SS was scooterb23! Thanks, Scott, these are perfect!

/me turns tv to channel 3 and plays football :D

[Ninja Blacksox]

Sounds like you participate in SS just to get stuff.

Actually, once you see all the stuff I sent my Secret Santa, that statment will be considered null and void.

I'd like to add that Chris sent me an X-mas package...

...for no reason, whatsoever.

The guy definitely believes in the "giving" aspect of the holidays.

He's a good kid. Play nice, boys and girls.

-A Boy

[classicb]

OK I'm not too sure who my Secret Santa is because they didn't include their DP name. The gifts totally rocked. I opened them right before I took off for Grandma's house where I am now. Hopefully people will still be talking about this when I get back on the 27th so I can post a pick.

Here's what I got.

Bard's Tale (PS2) I was playing this non stop before I left.
Duel Masters (PS2) I look forward to getting into this when I get back.
Duel Masters (GBA) I took this one with me and played it the whole drive down and has helped me out with some of those waiting around for family to show up times. I'm just starting to get the hang of it and I'm having allot of fun with it.

A huge stack of PS2 Demo's :) I can't remember them all. Like I said I'll post a pick when I get home. Also some cool stickers and cards.

What I liked best about my gifts was that they were games I wouldn't normally pick up and have proved to be very fun.

Thanks Again
Secret Santa

[spoon]

My SS was Spoon! came nicely packaged with crazy xmas card and he nailed everything from my lists!

and he got me too much stuff:

nes Bad News Baseball
tg16 Bonk's Adventure!!!!!
ps2 Xenogears
gc Metroid Prime
complete Star fox 64!!!!
and Yoshi's Story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

way too much stuff here Spoon, didn't have to go and do that much! sheesh.

Thanks again!

Merry Christmas Chunky.

I am sure you already knew I was your SS, as I am no "Sneaky mofo".
Ha! Anyhow, I Hope you enjoy your stuff. Consider it a Christmas present and a thanks for all the deals throughout the year.

I haven't been to my parents house yet, so, I am not sure what I got/Who is my secret Santa. Will post on that once I find out.

[PapaStu]

My Secret Santa was DrumGuy79.

Boy does he know the way to a PS collectors heart.

The box everything came in was one of the big EyeToy Boxes (that was sent to the store with an EyeToy demo kit in it)!!!! Included in there was Terminator: Dawn of Fate and Gladiator: Sword of vengenve for the PS2. Also in there was an LCD Intellivision 2player game and a shitton of Game store schwag! I got PS2 demo's I didnt have (a feat when ive got 40+) a grip of Display boxes for various PS2/XBox and GCN games. I also had a few posters thrown in for good measure.

Thanks alot Micah! I love my presents!!!

[DDCecil]

My Secret Santa was den68, and I received the following (all wrapped in neat paper):

Qix (GB)
Donkey Kong Jr. (Colecovision)
Smartball and Super Return of the Jedi (SNES)
Wanted, Rambo III, Penguin Land, and Ys for Sega Master System!
Super Mario Super Show: Mario's Magic Carpet VHS
Mario's Cement Factory Hand Held game
How to Master the Video Games book
Plus a little card!

Awesome stuff. Thanks again, Dennis!

[boatofcar]

Ok, I can't remember who my SS was....sorry! Please let me know, because you rock! I got:

Zelda Collectors Edition :rocker:
Summer of Fear DVD
A bunch of Ozzfest promo cds.


AND....from somebody in Elkview, WV, (downfall?) who else is from WV here? I got a BRAND NEW DS, STARTER KIT, and SPIDER MAN!

Who sent me this? Like I said, it came to my home address, in WV, from a PO Box in Elkview WV. Whoever it was, thanks!

[NoahsMyBro]

I haven't read through this whole thread yet - in a hurry to spend a night alone with my wife (son's sleeping at grandma's tonight!) - so I hope everybody's gleefully and blissfully enjoying all the new loot!

Also, I apologize to Maxlords for the rush-packing job I did on his present. I was really bad about getting my act together and getting his gift wrapped and shipped (though I actually bought the item well in advance), so I did a very lame job with the note and the wrapping - sorry about that.

Now, on to the good stuff -
Neopolitique got me an amazing assortment!
And the wrapping was wedding-gift grade! I don't know how he did it, but bud, I was stunned by how cool this all was.
He got me:
For the Atari 5200, all boxed with instructions, and most with both keypad overlays:
Kaboom
Vanguard
Kangaroo
Pole Position
Defender
Missile Command
Realsports Football
Soccer
Super Breakout

Dreamcast:
Web Browser (shrinkwrapped)
Expendable
UFC: Ultimate Fighting Chanpionship

AND:
a Wireless Playstation 2 Controller!!

Very cool, Neo!

Thanks again guys!

Oh, and Norkusa -- this afternoon in the grocery store I saw a copy of GBA Broken Swords. It looked interesting. After you've had a chance to play, I'm curious to hear what it's like.

[SoulBlazer]

Querjek, if you don't remember everything that was in my SS box to you, let me know -- I can post it here, as I have a list. :D

I opened my SS gift on Monday night because I was leaving the next day to fly home for the holidays.

Turns out it was from Goatdan :D

I wonder where he got my real name from? ;)

Anyway, he sent me two things from my list:
MGS 2: Substance for XBox
R-Type Final for the PS2

And two bonus things:
Feet of Fury for the Dreamcast, from his own store. Are you trying to get rid of some stock? :P I don't have a DC but I'll probaly pick one up at some point.
A stuffed DK lincenced from Nintendo.

Many thanks for the great stuff!

[SamuraiSmurfette]

I don't know who got mine, I only had his name and my dad threw away the box! So I have no clue who sent mine, will the real secret santa please stand up. Well anyway this guy noticed my love for the DS and Nintendo and sent me an awsome package.


It was meee!

...and I'm not a guy ;)

Glad you like it!

[Rogmeister]

I got a PM from skoldpadda who told me he was my Secret Santa so I want to take another opportunity to tell him he did a great job and I love everything. I noticed in his profile he has just under 300 total posts so this shows you don't need to have posted thousands of messages to be a great Secret Santa! :D

[skoldpadda]

jgenotte was my SS and let me tell you, he came through big time... :-P

as you may know, I'm mostly into colecovision, so this was a real treat:

Up 'n Down (R7!), a game that by itself is above the recommended limit...

but there is more...

Mr. Do's Castle (R6), DAMN! another game that by itself is above the rec'd limit

oh, you thought that was it?...

the icing on the cake (and a game I see on ebay maybe once every 2 months)...

Galaxian (R4 but seems much harder to come by)

I had really been wanting these for quite some time. All for Colecovision, and all rare fun games. Wow @_@

Thanks a ton, James! and thanks to Jaime for putting this together :)

[maxlords]

Also, I apologize to Maxlords for the rush-packing job I did on his present. I was really bad about getting my act together and getting his gift wrapped and shipped (though I actually bought the item well in advance), so I did a very lame job with the note and the wrapping - sorry about that.

LOL! No worries there...I didn't even notice! I didn't gift wrap nork's gift either on account of I didn't have any gift wrap! I guess we're a couple of scurrilous rogues!

[scooterb23]

Hey ho everybody...

Here was my take: it came from a Jared Bottorff, no DP name though.

2 Sears Video Arcade II joysticks - I've never seen these before. Combination jaystick and paddle for the 2600 very \m/

GBA SP Mini Folio - Since I just started on my quest for a full Gameboy library, this bad boy will get a lot of usage.

Road Rash II for Genesis - \m/ \m/ \m/ One of my all time faves, so happy to have it again.

Atari 2600 Plug & Play TV Games - Funny story...in fact, in various Secret Santa's I've been in this season...this is the 3rd one of these I've gotten!!! I assure you, that this one is going to go into the hands of a good friend who has been wanting one of these for quite a while.

So to whoever my SS was, thank you, you made 2 people very happy with just one gift!

Also, Mr. Pop Culture Portal, very happy you enjoyed what you got :) , and I'm sorry I had to send a dreadesd"Greatest Hits" version of a NFL2K, but I couldn't find a regular one!!

Merry Christmas to all!

[The Brown Eye]

Ok, I can't remember who my SS was....sorry! Please let me know, because you rock! I got:

Zelda Collectors Edition :rocker:
Summer of Fear DVD
A bunch of Ozzfest promo cds

I was your SS, there should've been a Best Buy gift card in there too. I hope you just forgot to include that. :eek 2: Otherwise I have to find out what happened to it.

But hey, I'm glad you like the gifts. Couldn't find the boxed DK Jr. Math unfortunately. LOL

My SS was wizardofwor. He got me a complete Warcraft II for Saturn. Thanks!

[AB Positive]

My secret santa was Flack, and Flack is the Mutha F'n man!

9 Sega CD games, some of which include Eternal Champion (is it me or is it harder than the cart version?), space ace, dragon's lair, and microcosm...

Also he sent me 3 of the "2k" series of DC sports games I was missing, as well as Elemental Gimmick Gear, and also gave me a couple DC emu discs as well as Propeller Arena and Half Life!

An awesome boost to my Sega collection, thank you Flack!


I'm still waiting for my SS to post his stuff... I KNOW he'll love the special 'extra' I threw in :-D

-AG

[allsport11]

RaceCar was my Secret Santa, I received:

ESPN Football 2K5

So I can kick some ass on live!!

Thanks Gary. ;)

[Gapporin]

Here was my take: it came from a Jared Bottorff, no DP name though.

That was me. Glad you enjoyed everything! :D

[TRM]

Cmosfm: :roll: It's called tact. And where did the spirit of "it's all about the giving, not the recieving go".

If it's all about the giving, then why did PoG have us make out want lists?

I can understand where you are coming from dude. On my dad's side of the family we have a gift exchange of sorts, every year. Similiar events had happened, for instance someone getting a gift certificate to a bookstore when they didn't even like to read that much. If you put effort into your gift, then it isn't exactly fair to get little in return. I admit, I wish I had sent a bit more to my dude, but I had trouble finding the stuff that he had asked for, since all of the game stores didn't have used Genesis/(complete) N64 titles.

On the other hand, I agree, that in the end it is the thought that counts. Just my 2 cents.

[neuropolitique]

Not sure who my SS was, but (s)he came through for me. Here's my haul.

Double Dragon Game Watch
Game Boy Body Wash - not sure what's being said there ;)
DP First 50 issues CD!
Saturday SuperCade DVD
Magic BattleGrounds Demo Disk - sealed
Konami Preview Disk - sealed
Socom II preview disk - sealed
True Crime Uncovered - sealed
Earth Worm Jim - GB
and lastly, what appears to be an animation cell from a Q*bert cartoon. Very cool.

Whoever you are, Secret Santa, Thank you!

@NoahsMyBro
Glad you liked it. I wasn't too sure about that controller, let me know who it works out. About that wrapping, I'm glad you liked that too. Took me for ever. That ribbon was a royal pain.

[Cmosfm]

Cmosfm: :roll: It's called tact. And where did the spirit of "it's all about the giving, not the recieving go".

If it's all about the giving, then why did PoG have us make out want lists?

I can understand where you are coming from dude. On my dad's side of the family we have a gift exchange of sorts, every year. Similiar events had happened, for instance someone getting a gift certificate to a bookstore when they didn't even like to read that much. If you put effort into your gift, then it isn't exactly fair to get little in return. I admit, I wish I had sent a bit more to my dude, but I had trouble finding the stuff that he had asked for, since all of the game stores didn't have used Genesis/(complete) N64 titles.

On the other hand, I agree, that in the end it is the thought that counts. Just my 2 cents.

My employee came to my store today and handed me a Christmas Bag, inside was a bottle of Hand Sanitizer. I was ECSTATIC over the fact that she thought enough to bring me something. I've been needing hand sanitizer for a long time.

The thing is, if the Secret Santa contest wasn't going on, than Blackjax wouldn't have sent me anything. Basically, he DIDN'T think of me, POG gave him my name and told him to think of me. See what I'm saying?

I'm still debating whether or not it was a good idea to post what happened, I don't want people thinking I'm a jerk and that I'm ungrateful, but I have been very bummed over this.

[kainemaxwell]

I hope my guy gets his soon...

[TRM]

I had opened mine a bit early, taking out a bit of stuff every day. I just needed something to cheer me up, and the gift was there so...

Anyway, Grandam Chandler had my name. I just want to send a big thank you to you dude. When I had been sent the initial email that all of the stuff on my list was too hard to find, I was a bit concerned as to what I might receive. I should have never underestimtated 8-)

Anyway, this is what I received:

Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy (box, manual, and map)
Crystal Mines (box, manual)
Tony Hawk Underground/Game Stop t-shirt (XL)
Monster Rancher 4 Playing Cards (Tecmo)
Spy Hunter 2 Motorcycle
Battlestar Galactica DVD demo
Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault demo
Rocketeer (loose, NES)
Home Alone (loose, NES)
Excitebike (loose, NES)
Top Gun: The Second Mission (loose, NES)
720 (Loose, NES)
Dr. Chaos (loose, NES)

All I can say is wow! The NES games were a good choice, as I haven't bought any new NES games for a looooooooong time...they're really hard to find around my part. The Crystal Mines box and manual were nice surprises, and so was the Dizzy stuff. How did you know I liked Dizzy? That map is wicked cool...it is so going in my game room, framed, whenever I get my own residence :)

About those playing cards. How did you know that I used to collect playing cards? I don't have too many sets left from my collection, though I do have some neat TMNT cards, Greek cards, and now those Monster Rancher 4 cards. Also, I take it that Monster Rancher 4 is a game. What system is it for? I thought the cards were wicked cool, and want to try the game out now.

Thanks for everything dude. I really appreciate it. Merry Christmas everyone.

[Chunky]

Not sure exactly who my SS was but they're from Illinois, I believe.

I got:

- Super Mario Bros. Party Invitiation
- Nintendo Sticker/Decal
- Set of Acclaim Wireless Controllers (NES)
- Bucky 'O Hare (NES)
- Escape From Monkey Island (PS2, big want)
- Katamary Damacy (PS2, sealed)

I want to say thank you to my SS (whoever you are). I am really happy with what I've been sent. You didn't have to go through all of that trouble though. :embarrassed:

Thanks! :)

i glad you liked everything, i was determined to get you katamari over anything really on your list, ha!

and oh,,,, thanks again POG, who takes time off her 20 hours of work to find the time to get this all straightened out not to receive a ss herself. Kudos again for another great round of santa'ing

[punkoffgirl]

Twenty hours of work? LOL Don't I wish :)

[classicb]

I'm still debating whether or not it was a good idea to post what happened, I don't want people thinking I'm a jerk and that I'm ungrateful, but I have been very bummed over this.

Don't worry about it too much I think everyone understands. Maybe it should have stayed between you POG and your Secret Santa but I don't think anyone thinks you're a jerk over this.

:)

[Pop Culture Portal]

and oh,,,, thanks again POG, who takes time off her 20 hours of work to find the time to get this all straightened out not to receive a ss herself. Kudos again for another great round of santa'ing

Wait a minute...POG didn't get anything? That seems a little one-sided (or a whole buncha-sided, since she refereed this huge shin-dig). Hope Santa brings you something extry special...this SS stuff was loads of fun...thanks :-D

[kainemaxwell]

Another great job with SS this year POG!

[Sniderman]

OK, let's see. First I need to address two folks:
Funk Buddy: Glad you liked the "Very Sega Christmas" package! I *completely* forgot that you got a Saturn clock from me earlier! But, when I saw your "Saturn/Sega-centric list," I thought a Saturn clock would be a no-brainer! LOL Enjoy the duplicate! :D :roll:

Neuropolitique: There was some problem with your original Secret Santa, so some of us stepped in as replacements. I contributed a few of those items. Be sure to frame that cel from Q*Bert, as that's a bonified cel from Saturday Supercade! (I also enclosed the DVD with a few of those episodes.) Glad you like the package! Merry Christmas!

Finally, for my OWN SS package! My gifts caused me to jump back in pleasant surprise AND to laugh out loud! There was no DP name enclosed, so pipe up SS so I thank you properly!

Anyway, I'm collecting primarily for the PS, PS2, and Sega Genesis systems. When I opened my package, the first items I came across were these:
http://tinypic.com/z8mxs
Acme All-Stars - complete - and Rocket Knight Adventures - loose! I've been wanting Rocket Knight for a while, so both of these were great to get!

Next in the game department, I got these:
http://tinypic.com/z8p3q
Mojo for PS2, and MedEvil and No One Can Stop Mr. Domino for PSX!
Here's the surprise: I'VE BEEN TRYING TO WIN MR. DOMINO OFF EBAY FOR *WEEKS*! Yes, somehow my SS read my mind and sent me the very game I've been trying to collect since Thanksgiving! HUge score, SS! THanks much! (PLus, MOjo is a great Marble Madness-like game which I'm really enjoying, and MedEvil has zombies in it! HOw can I *not* like that?!?)

And, finally, the laugh-out-loud moment:
http://tinypic.com/z8paw
An "everything Democrat" necktie! LOL Clinton, saxophone, a donkey with a "Go Dems" placard. The whole shebang. I pulled this out and just about bust a gut. My wife asked me, "You gonna burn it?" I said, "Nope, I'm wearing it to work on Monday!" Whether this was a dig at the DP Repub or a great joke, I thought it was really a great gift. Why? Because it's obvious my SS knows enough about me to take the shot and knows I have a good enough sense of humor to appreciate it. ;) Well played, SS!

Anyway, I'm very happy with this year's exchange - both as a receiver and as a giver. I'm glad both of my folks enjoy their gifts and I love mine. Thanks again to my SS and to POG for pulling this together again this year. Merry Christmas everyone!

"Your Friendly Neighborhood Sniderman"

[Flack]

My secret santa was Flack, and Flack is the Mutha F'n man! 9 Sega CD games, some of which include Eternal Champion (is it me or is it harder than the cart version?), space ace, dragon's lair, and microcosm... Also he sent me 3 of the "2k" series of DC sports games I was missing, as well as Elemental Gimmick Gear, and also gave me a couple DC emu discs as well as Propeller Arena and Half Life! An awesome boost to my Sega collection, thank you Flack!

Awesome Adam, I'm so glad you liked your loot!

Qixmaster was my Secret Santa, and man, did I score big! I provided lists of what systems I collect for as well as what I had, and said I would take anything I didn't already have. I also mentioned that I like Star Wars -- boy, did Qixmaster take that and run with it!

My List:

Outlaw Golf (XBOX)
Outlaw Volleyball (XBOX)
Altered Beast (Genesis)
Buster's Hidden Treasure (Genesis)
Astroblast (Atari 2600)
Super Challenge Football (Atari 2600)
Star Wars -- The Arcade Game (Atari 2600)

And that's just where the Star Wars goodness began. I also got:

Star Wars band-aids
Star Wars promo posters
Near complete set of vintage Star Wars trading cards
Star Wars Episode 1 Soundtrack (in Spanish!)
20 Star Wars vintage action figures.

Thank you so much for the awesome package Josh. I couldn't believe all the awesome things you crammed into this package! My advice to everyone participating next year would be to make your list as easy as possible and leave as much as possible up to your Secret Santa. Adam made it VERY easy for me to shop for him as I did for my Secret Santa as well, and both of us scored pretty well!
Star Wars Episode 1 Soundtrack (in Spanish!)

[jgenotte]

Wooo, Hooo. Merry Christmass everyone! I finnaly broke down and opened my present. My SS did not put his DP name on the gift but his last name is: Warmington. Dude, you rock!

Here is what I got (In order of awesomenes starting with the least awesome):


2600 - Super Football (MINT complete!) - (A game I dont have have in my collection, it looks like its only been opened once!)

SNES - Zelda: Link to the Past - Another game that I dont have. (I know, I know, how could you have not owned that?)

GBA - Excitebike Classic (Complete) - I cant wait to play this one. This was on my want list.

NES - Mega Man 4 - Only 1 mega man left top go! This was on my wants list. (The NES is the main focus of my attraction.)

And the best, saved for last...
NES - Arkanoid with Arkanoid Controller!!! - Awsome! I have been looking for this for a while. Again, a nice piece for the focus of my collection.)

Nice work SS!!!

Thanks again SS, you rock, :D
-james

[ubersaurus]

Mine was Funk Buddy, and man, he sent some cool stuff. Lots of really good wrapping jobs, too-my ma remarked it must've been a woman LOL

Halo Soundtrack
AV cord with connectors for Cube, PS, and Xbox
2 copies of Contra for NES
Mega Man action figure
Cleaning supplies
the Nincyclopedia
Game Hunter for PSX
a gamestop gift card for 10 bucks
Some reese's pieces and a payday, which happens to be one of my favorite candy bars
and a Mario Kart toy from Wendys. This was totally awesome, because it was one of the two that I didn't get.

Thanks alot dude, I loved all the remarks you wrote in the packaging too :P

[TRM]

SNES - Zelda: Link to the Past - Another game that I dont have. (I know, I know, how could you have not owned that?)


I never owned that either :D

[max 330 mega]

I got some awesome stuff from Classicb.

I asked for complete genesis games and TG-16 stuff and he came through big time.

i got these genesis games complete:
altered beast
bubsy
exmutants
ghouls n ghosts
jurassic park
mickey mania
socket
sonic 3
sonic 3d blast
sonic n knuckles
batman n robin
and he also got me a complete victory run for TG-16!
Thank you Classicb, you rock!!!!

[GrandAmChandler]

Mad Props to Gamer Gary!

I got:

2 famicom to NES converters!!
1 Stellar Track cart - 2600
1 Beats of Rage Disc for Dreamcast
1 Weird, NJ magazine! (Weird!)
1 Crazy, Sadistic comic book
1 Mint Front Mission 4 PS2 Demo
1 Gamecube Promo DVD
1 GB SP promo flyer
1 Ngage flyer

WOW! Now for questions!

Okay, I did some research and I still have NO IDEA what exactly these things are on the DC beats of rage disc?????? DO I need a bootdisk to load them?? hmm......

NES to famicom converters: Can you use ANY famicom cart on a regular NES with these? Explain!

Note on Stellar Track, I have never heard of this until today and I have a pretty extensive 2600 collection

Merry Christmas and thanks Gamer Gary!!!

[neuropolitique]

Neuropolitique: There was some problem with your original Secret Santa, so some of us stepped in as replacements. I contributed a few of those items. Be sure to frame that cel from Q*Bert, as that's a bonified cel from Saturday Supercade! (I also enclosed the DVD with a few of those episodes.) Glad you like the package! Merry Christmas!

I hope all is well with my original Santa. Thank you and those who joined forces with you.

[Qixmaster]

Qixmaster was my Secret Santa, and man, did I score big! I provided lists of what systems I collect for as well as what I had, and said I would take anything I didn't already have. I also mentioned that I like Star Wars -- boy, did Qixmaster take that and run with it!

My List:

Outlaw Golf (XBOX)
Outlaw Volleyball (XBOX)
Altered Beast (Genesis)
Buster's Hidden Treasure (Genesis)
Astroblast (Atari 2600)
Super Challenge Football (Atari 2600)
Star Wars -- The Arcade Game (Atari 2600)

And that's just where the Star Wars goodness began. I also got:

Star Wars band-aids
Star Wars promo posters
Near complete set of vintage Star Wars trading cards
Star Wars Episode 1 Soundtrack (in Spanish!)
20 Star Wars vintage action figures.

Thank you so much for the awesome package Josh. I couldn't believe all the awesome things you crammed into this package! My advice to everyone participating next year would be to make your list as easy as possible and leave as much as possible up to your Secret Santa. Adam made it VERY easy for me to shop for him as I did for my Secret Santa as well, and both of us scored pretty well!
Star Wars Episode 1 Soundtrack (in Spanish!)

I am glad you liked the stuff Rob. It didn't take me too long to dig all of it up. I had to search a little for the genesis and atari games but they are all over my town so those weren'ttoo bad to find. Everything else was either in my own collection or in my trade box so enjoy :)

Let me tell you, Flack's list was great! He had it posted online for me to view and he listed all the games he HAD for what systems he was focusing on and said he would take any game he didn't own on those lists. Now talk about easy to buy for :D . A fine example of how we should all do our lists for our Secret Santas

Thanks to everyone for making this happen. I will definately be doing this next year and i can't wait :)

-Josh

[Cauterize]

Okay, I did some research and I still have NO IDEA what exactly these things are on the DC beats of rage disc?????? DO I need a bootdisk to load them?? hmm......

Most likely as it is homebrew software, Beats of Rage is amazing!

[Gemini-Phoenix]

Ok, so I missed all this "Secret Santa" thing - Not quite familliar with the concept, so can someone please explain what was involved and how it all works (Just so I can be prepared for next year!)

Sounds like fun though! Must be an American thing, cos never heard of such a thing being done in the Uk before... Maybe i'm just not well educated enough in these festive traditions...

[downfall]

Yay! My first double post! What a superb Christmas gift!

[downfall]

It's basically a gift exchange.

Everyone that qualifies to participate is matched up with one other person from the list by the lovely punkoffgirl, who generously runs this shindig every year.

Whomever you are matched up with then provides a wanted list - some things they're looking for, or would like to get as a gift. Nobody knows who has drawn their name until after it's over (or they open their gift) - hence the "secret" in Secret Santa.

Example: Flack's giftee was AdamG - Flack got AdamG some things and sent them to him. Qixmaster's giftee was Flack - Qixmaster got Flack some things and sent them to him. Flack did not know that Qixmaster was his Secret Santa until he opened his gift.

Anyway, it's just a fun way to give and hopefully brighten each other's Christmas with some fun video game gifts - but it's really a blast to read reactions - it makes you feel good when someone really appreciates the time and effort you put into their gift.

Hope that explains it well enough!

Anyway, thanks again pog for all your hard work and time! It's greatly appreciated!

I just hope my Secret Santa giftee really enjoyed their gift. I did a lot of homework, so I'm pretty sure they will! :D

[hydr0x]

Merry Christmas :)

well, my SS was k8track and i got:

All-Star Baseball 2k3 (GC, US)
Test Drive 6 (DC, US)

along with a nice christmas card with nice christmas wishes :D

thx mate, i know some might think, uh well, yeah, 2 sports games, but i would have killed someone to finally play a decent Baseball game on my Cube so i was very happy with my gift 8-) i hope Test Drive 6 works with my Boot Disc, can't wait to play it (last TD i played was 2 LOL )

oh yeah, in case he didn't notice (and he didn't, explained later), i was the SS of wizardofwar who did send me the crappiest wishlist of all (at least i can't really imagine a worse one) with just 10 budget current gen US games on it, sorry mate, i have to say this so you LEARN to do a better one next time. well, my only option was to buy one of those games of ebgames.com and so he just got an ebgames package instead of a real SS gift, maybe i'm a little overreacting just because i wanted to make up for my late delivery last year this time and had the plan to include quite a lot of stuff and goodies and that didn't work out. i don't know. just thought i'd share this story with everyone so you realize to make good lists. if there would have been something on the list i could have tracked down over here he would have gotten a really nice bigger package and not just an ebgames order :/

well, anyways, i'm off to watch some dvds and play some games i got :D

[Gemini-Phoenix]

So are the "Gifts" of a similar price range?

Also, how does one qualify? Do you have to post your interest before hand?


I think I understand how it works now. I may participate next year - Depends.

[racecar]

thanks LADYJAY... for the great computer game's(mech warrior's x3 ) and demo goodie's !!! :hail: :D :D

[Lady Jaye]

You're welcome, Racecar! I wasn't sure whether MechWarrior 4 was your cup of tea (especially since I didn't know whether you were on Mac or PC), but I'm glad that you like it! And I wanted to keep it in the same spirit with the Front Mission 4 demo disk, which seems to have been a popular SS stuffer this year!

Enjoy MW4 and the 2 mechpaks! :D