Electronics

[gardenman]

If you're giving anyone a gaming console (X-Box, Playstation, Nintendo Switch) it's a good idea to update it and install any games before gift wrapping it. You can do this by simply connecting it to your Internet and downloading any updates/games associated with the console. That way the recipient can simply hook it up and start playing with it right away. Servers for all three companies tend to get seriously overloaded come Christmas morning as millions of new console owners all look to update their systems and download games at the same time. 

Console sales over the Black Friday to Christmas period will likely top ten million, and game sales will likely be closer to fifty to a hundred million, so there will be lots of competition for online access come Christmas morning. There are reportedly around 115 million game consoles in use in 2019, and many of those users will be looking to download new games or updates also.

Setting up the system to prepare it in advance is typically very, very easy. Simply connect the power cord to the console. Hook up an HDMI cable from the console to a TV. Let it find your Internet, give it your password for Internet access and the consoles will update themselves with minimal input from you. Inserting any game discs after the console updates should allow those games to be installed and download any updates they need (and they often need substantial downloads.) If you bought any digital game codes, installing them early is also wise. Typically you simply find the code, sometimes hidden behind the grey scratch-off stuff like on a lottery ticket, or if included in the game package the code can just be printed on a card. Go to the respective online store for the console using the console and enter the code.

Fully updating a new console and installing three or four games can take hours on a good day with good Internet speed. On Christmas it can take all day or longer with literally millions of people trying to do the same thing at the same time. Doing all of that in advance is a smart move that will let your recipient start playing their new games right away with no delays. (I bought myself an X-Box One S all-digital console and even with fast internet (160 mbps) it was about a four-hour process to install and update everything. And that was on a relatively quiet time for Microsoft. 

If you don't want a sulky gift recipient moping around and sulking as their new console slowly, oh so slowly, updates and installs the games, doing it yourself now, or in the coming days, is a wise move.

[godi]

Great idea @gardenman  👍👍🎁🎅🎄

[Still Raining]

This is so true and planning ahead for the setup would be nice.

On the other hand, all the "big boys" seemed to have a good time fretting in the family room last Christmas.  Almost worth the price of admission 😂

[wildcat fan]

Good suggestions, @gardenman   Are you a gamer?  

Wow, 10 million in console sales + all those game sales!  Now that our son is older, we're not buying the games like we used to, but I'm a Ninento fan and wouldn't mind having that Nintendo Switch.  Pokemon Go is my current fave.

[alicedee]

@gardenman

What great advice!  It deserves to go viral!

[gardenman]

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@wildcat fan wrote:

Good suggestions, @gardenman   Are you a gamer?  

Wow, 10 million in console sales + all those game sales!  Now that our son is older, we're not buying the games like we used to, but I'm a Ninento fan and wouldn't mind having that Nintendo Switch.  Pokemon Go is my current fave.

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I'm a little bit of a gamer. If you get a Switch you have to get "Legend of Zelda, Breath of the Wild." It is by far the best video game I've ever played. The breadth and scale of the game are truly breathtaking. (I'm playing it on my old Wii U as I haven't invested in a Switch just yet.) I've played it all the way through twice and I'm planning to restart it again come Christmas and spend most of the day playing it from scratch again. It's an amazing game. I cannot recommend it too highly.

I got the X-Box One S all-digital version during the Black Friday markdown to $149 this November. I'm not a huge fan of it or the games. I used to love the Tomb Raider games, and I downloaded three Tomb Raider games to it, but so far, I'm just not into them. They seem too constricted now that I've gotten used to Breath of the Wild. I'm just starting to play one of the Ori games and that's okay. Halo is okay also, but I'm not really a big fan of the first-person shooter type games. I got three months of the X-Box Game Pass for $1 and six months of Spotify Premium for free, so the $149 investment isn't too bad, but I'm not thrilled with the games on the X-Box so far.

My favorite games are all of the Zeldas, Pikmin, Marios, and the like. I'll probably be buying a Switch soon, but I kind of want to be sure the sequel to "Breath of the Wild" (BOTW) will be a Switch game and not saved for a new console. I'd kind of hate to spend the $300 on a Switch only to have them replace it and use the new BOTW as a first day game on the new console. There's talk of Nintendo already working on a new Switch or new console that would be 4K ready and much more powerful. My gut says they might hold back the new BOTW for that updated version and I'd be annoyed to buy a regular Switch only to find it obsolete right after buying it..