Somehow, I've only recently learned that there are a metric ton of Christmas themed video games out there. I'm not even exaggerating. There's even a Christmas Shopping Simulator! Their ubiquitous nature is hardly surprising, but they still managed to fly under my radar aside from one: NStorm's Elf Bowling from 1998.
I'm certain that Elf Bowling is one of those games that just about everyone found themselves sitting in front of at some point or another. I even saw my grandfather playing it at once. I know for sure that I didn't spend too much time with it, but its cartoony graphics and silly voice-overs remain memorable many years later.
The appeal of Elf Bowling's innocent humor and easily picked up gameplay ultimately became the grounds for a modestly successful franchise. I had no idea it lived on beyond the initial release, but there were actually several sequels and a Nintendo DS port. Bizarrely, there was even an animated movie adaptation! What the what?
It's been quite amusing to find out Elf Bowling was milked to that point. I can't imagine anyone out there actually clamored for sequels or a feature length adventure. Just look at the DS release, which was almost universally hated. Even so, I remember the first installment of the series quite vividly despite only playing it briefly. The premise is undoubtedly simple, but it managed to travel quite a ways from its humble freeware origins. There must be something to that.
"Elf, elf, baby" indeed.
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