Electronics

[gardenman]

My yearly reminder that if you're buying a game console for someone, open it up in advance and connect it to your WiFi to download any updates (and there are always updates) to limit Christmas morning frustration. Updating a new console on a good day can take a half-hour or longer. On Christmas morning, with literally millions of new consoles getting connected within hours of each other, the game companies' servers can get bogged down and slow things down even more. Getting it ready to go in advance can make for a smoother Christmas morning for everyone. 

[FranandZoe]

But wouldn't the person you're buying it for want to use all of their own info - personal info, login, password, etc.  - if you do it for them how would that work?  

[gardenman]

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@FranandZoe wrote:

But wouldn't the person you're buying it for want to use all of their own info - personal info, login, password, etc.  - if you do it for them how would that work?  

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With Nintendo and PlayStation (my consoles) you simply log into your internet, and they'll update. It can take a while (30 minutes for my PlayStation Portal), but they don't need a lot of information to update the system software. You can skip everything else and do it later.

[monicakm]

That is great advice @gardenman.  I remember the days of buying electronics for my grandchildren.  I always took them out of the package, made sure they would come on and put batteries in them.  I don't think I thought of updates tho.

[ULY]

The only fiasco I ever encountered was not on the holiday but rather, on Wii U release day.

[gardenman]

We saw companies having a hard time keeping up when the new Silksong game came out this year. Sites were crashing, and no one was getting through to buy it. You like to think the companies would be prepared for a big rush, but they typically aren't ready. And there will be literally millions of new consoles all needing updating on Christmas.

Anything you can do in advance can make Christmas morning easier and can help to limit family stress. Have an electrical outlet ready. Maybe pre-string an HDMI cable from the TV, especially if it's awkward to get behind the TV to do it. Have the console updated. Charge up the controller or controllers. You can have everything prepped so the console can be put to use within minutes of unwrapping. It also gives you a chance to be sure it works. A dead console or controller can make Christmas morning a dud.