Giving Games for Christmas? Here’s how to be prepared

Ahh, gift giving, such a wonderful time of the year. And with many kids asking for an Xbox or Playstation, or perhaps the latest game this Christmas there’s a real risk of your Christmas Day being ruined by the grumpy mood of that very child because they can’t play the very thing they were given.

You see, when you plug a Console (Xbox or Playstation) in for the first time, it has to check with the internet to see if there are any important updates. Likewise that shiny new game, sure you have it on a disk so it can be installed, but trust me – when they first open the game to play, it will check the internet and find a big fat download required to make it work.

Be it a console update, or a game “patch” they are often big files, and unless you’ve got the fastest internet in the west – it’s going to take time. Hours.

So here’s how to be prepared for the big day tomorrow:

Giving an Xbox or Playstation?

Firstly, unbox the thing. Yep, get it out. Unwrap it if you have to.

Set it up. This will take 30 minutes if you’re new, and you can do it tonight when the kids are asleep – just before Santa slides down the chimney.

Go through the setup process as quickly and as basically as you can. Then connect it to your internet. At this point it will initiate any required download. Depending on how long that takes – you may be best just to leave it plugged in.

In that case, put a few bags of flour or lollies in the box, wrap it back up.

When your child opens it up, they will be very happy you’ve gone to this trouble. As much as they are that you got the device in the first place.

Giving a game?

If you’ve gone to a store and bought the disk, let the kids get to sleep or send them out for the afternoon. Slip the disk into the machine and let it install. A full install can take 30 minutes, after which, you can press start on the game and check for another update.

Again, this is saving hours and they will thank you.

If your gift is a digital download, check the Playstation Store, or Microsoft Store on the device and look to REDEEM the gift, buy it – download it. This could take 6-8 hours on a slow connection, so whatever you do to kick things off, it’s a huge help for them.