I think Super Monkey Ball is the second-to-last game I would come up with when thinking about Thanksgiving — the first being Modern Warfare 2.
Clearly Sega begs to differ though, with this spiffy Super Monkey Ball Thanksgiving wallpaper they posted to their blog. The wallpaper comes along with a hefty update on Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll for the Wii — screens, trailers, the works.
There's also a developer diary from Toshihiro Nagoshi that makes an interesting point about the transition from arcade gaming to console gaming. On the one hand, old arcade games were crazy-hard and a modern, Wii-owning audience might not care for that. On the other hand, though, you didn't really have to read instructions for old school arcade games. You could just pick up and play.
Nagoshi says that Super Monkey Ball has evolved from its hardcore arcade origins into one of those family-friendly video game titles. However, it keeps that pick-up-and-play arcade aspect and adds the mystique of monkeys in balls.
"A lot of people ask me how the monkeys get into the ball, unfortunately, that‘s a secret!" he said. "You will have to use your imagination!"
Just like I have to use it to make sense of monkeys in my Thanksgiving. You got it, sir.
New Trailer, Screens, Dev Diary and more for Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll [SEGA America Blog]