🎃🎄🎁❄️Why Are There No Server Wide Events for Holidays?❄️🎁🎄🎃

Lots of successful online multiplayer games like Runescape and others for example have a limited-time event server-wide in the game that you can partake in for Christmas, Halloween, and many other celebrated holidays. For instance, at the minimum other online games have snow that falls in areas during the winter months & during Christmas and PoE could do something similar with having snow falling down in at least the main town act areas.

I understand that GGG makes decorations that you can buy related to these holidays, but having something in-game every year as an event or limited-time activity would feel special or make the game feel more alive with the holidays. Also, the devs could make a template for the events so that each year it would be the same server-wide event and thus save time and work since you wouldn't have to make a new event each year but instead use the one from previous years and just enable it during the holidays.

Some might argue that not everyone celebrates the same holidays but I see no harm in at least having some snow fall down server-wide on the game for the town acts. Or for instance, PoE could have pumpkin patch decorations in The Grove when Harvest comes back or even just pumpkin Halloween themed decorations in act towns during the Halloween month. Just a suggestion, but I think it would liven up the game during the holidays if the act towns would have some limited-time holiday decorations or even a holiday-themed event people can partake in if they wish.

GGG has a history of making plain stupid seasonal MTX cosmetics that had nothing to do with PoE lore or general atmosphere so for once I am glad they spared us from more nonsense.

Honestly though it had probably more to do with the fact that it required more work, and during this period people generally take days off. Not to mention it would be nice if they stay on track with preparations for next league rather than bother with such nonsense.

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respon wrote:

GGG has a history of making plain stupid seasonal MTX cosmetics that had nothing to do with PoE lore or general atmosphere so for once I am glad they spared us from more nonsense.

Honestly though it had probably more to do with the fact that it required more work, and during this period people generally take days off. Not to mention it would be nice if they stay on track with preparations for next league rather than bother with such nonsense.

Thanks, I'm glad most suggestions and/or valid criticisms on both the forums and subreddit is greeted with either giving some excuse for the devs, disagreeing while telling the person their idea is bad and/or claiming it hasn't been done yet so it must not be worth doing. Merry Christmas. 👍

People keep forgetting that GGG is no longer a small, indie company. If anything, it's their fault for not preparing anything special.

And yes, those non-PoE related snowmen with santa hat MTXes are...

sigh.

GGG is from New Zealand, and several of the game's prominent personalities and streamers (ZiggyD, mathil, Steelmage, etc) are from Aus/NZ. I'm in South Africa. This is our summer now, 35C heat. So the game does have a Christmas theme for us currently, especially if we run the desert areas like the Sand Pit. :P

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porous2 wrote:

GGG is from New Zealand, and several of the game's prominent personalities and streamers (ZiggyD, mathil, Steelmage, etc) are from Aus/NZ. I'm in South Africa. This is our summer now, 35C heat. So the game does have a Christmas theme for us currently, especially if we run the desert areas like the Sand Pit. :P

It does snow in NZ, Aus, and yes even in South Africa and the majority of other countries over the world, whether it's rare or not is irrelevant, and also saying it shouldn't exist because your place of origin doesn't have it is ethnocentric. Also, the devs don't seem to be so against snow either given that they've made a hideout decoration for it in 2014... (https://youtu.be/mBWEZljQhbo)(https://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Snowfall).

Besides this, if you're actually that against snow, I mentioned that at least some holiday-themed decorations can be added during the holidays in act areas or even some holiday themed event to partake in each year to make the game feel more alive. It's funny because the devs act like they care about the holidays when it comes to selling the consumer holiday-themed mtx but when it comes to actually providing something in the game that is tangible for everyone to enjoy or experience, it's non-existent. Yes it would make the game feel more special and alive but it's a matter of them putting in the effort as well as prioritizing so it likely won't be done, which is a shame.

I've no doubt it snows in NZ. Whether it will do so in December is debatable. In June or July, more likely.

Associating Christmas with snow is a Northern Hemisphere thing. Down south, we associate Christmas with sweltering weather, ice cold beer and watching cricket.

I reckon GGG should have replaced the Racecourse map with a cricket oval, so that we can introduce the N.Hemi to our December festivities and culture.

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porous2 wrote:

I've no doubt it snows in NZ. Whether it will do so in December is debatable. In June or July, more likely.

If you're going by that logic, then why do the devs introduce Christmas and Halloween mtx decorations at the same time as everyone else who celebrates these holidays? They even host a Black Friday sale every year, even though it originated in America, yet it's too much to ask for something holiday-themed in the game's town acts like snow, presents or pumpkins. They follow the same accepted norms during the times that everyone else celebrates these holidays when it comes to making holiday mtx available so what you're saying doesn't hold much ground.

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porous2 wrote:

Associating Christmas with snow is a Northern Hemisphere thing.

That's a really broad generalization considering many people across the globe universally celebrate various holidays towards the end of the year when snow is more likely. And it's not just about the snow anyway given there are other things they can add to town acts to make the game more alive during the holidays like presents, pumpkins, etc. They just won't because they have a lot of convenient excuses even if a lot of people request it and even if they know it would liven up the game.

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porous2 wrote:

I reckon GGG should have replaced the Racecourse map with a cricket oval, so that we can introduce the N.Hemi to our December festivities and culture.

Great comparison. Some rare sport most aren't aware of compared to a national holiday that is known to have snow during the winter season. I did not mention anything about any maps either but rather to have snow or other holiday-themed decorations in the act town areas or even some small event during the holidays. Yet you're acting like asking for some snow during the holidays or a pumpkin in the town areas during Halloween is some cultural intrusion. Many people in fact actually suggested these same things over the years so it's not that bizarre of a request as you pessimistically make it out to be.

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MLGonthorian wrote:

That's a really broad generalization considering many people across the globe universally celebrate various holidays towards the end of the year when snow is more likely.

Snow is only more likely in the N.Hemi towards the end of the year. In the S.Hemi, snow is less likely towards the end of the year. The only reason snow is globally associated with Xmas is because of Euro/US cultural hegemony. Christmas originated as a pagan tradition to celebrate the passing of midwinter and the days becoming longer. For us in the S.Hemi, that happens in June. It wouldn't make any sense to celebrate it in December. Nor yet would it make sense to celebrate Jesus's birth with snow. I highly doubt it was snowing in the ME when Jesus was born.

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MLGonthorian wrote:

Some rare sport most aren't aware of

Most Americans, perhaps. But cricket is the national passion of India, a country with three times the US population.

And before I get the direly predictable 'how many Indians play PoE?' response, I'll counter with the question how many Westerners use Tala Moana as a greeting? One thing I love is how GGG have introduced indigenous non-Western cultural aspects into the game's lore. If they chose to extend that by offering holiday themes that reflect how Maoris or Polynesians or other cultures of their area celebrate special annual events, I'd be all for it. It helps people to see beyond their own cultural bubble. Pandering to the crass commercialization of Christmas seems like a cop-out by comparison.

Besides, it's not like those who want Western Christmas themes can't find them. Jeepers, every retail store, every television channel, many internet sites and games. If you haven't had enough of Jingle Bells, snowmen and reindeer by now, you never will. I think it would be fresh to have something different for a change.

Bump. Still waiting for a rational answer from anyone.

Also, Merry Christmas to everyone and I hope the devs make some in-game holiday-themed events for the holidays in the future.