• Light/Dark
  • Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.

If you've giving a gift of a console this year, please update it NOW if you're able.

maximumzero

maximumzero

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,909
New Orleans, LA
This is mentioned yearly but I haven't seen it said this year, though it's possible that I missed it.

Xbox Live, Playstation Network, and Nintendo's Online service get slammed every Christmas day without fail with everybody jumping online with their new gifts, bringing services to a crawl, if not completely bringing them down.

If you're giving someone a console this year for Christmas, especially kids, and have the ability to discretely unbox it to update it before tomorrow, consider doing so. Nothing's worse than denying a kid their new gift because of network issues.
 
Last edited:
Jolkien

Jolkien

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,758
Anchorage/Alaska
I wouldn't. Patience should be learned and opening it for the first time is part of the experience in my opinion. Just in case the server load would be too great I'd put the latest firmware on a USB key and keep that in my pocket if the PSN or XBL goes down.
 
jon bones

jon bones

Member
Oct 25, 2017
25,998
NYC
its like your parents not getting you a memory card or being stuck with the ps1 demo disc all xmas

it is but a right of passage
 
finalflame

finalflame

Product Management
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
8,538
Or teach your children to be patient. It's not hard, and this is a great teaching moment.
 
wideface

wideface

â–˛ Legend â–˛
Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
6,456
Hidamari Apartments
d97.jpg
 
MrNewVegas

MrNewVegas

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,710
Lmfaoooo looks like I'm the only one.

Already opened my sons Series S and loaded with gamepass games.
 
jman1954goat

jman1954goat

Linked the Fire
Member
May 9, 2020
12,416
maximumzero said:
This is mentioned yearly but I haven't seen it said this year, though it's possible that I missed it.

Xbox Live, Playstation Network, and Nintendo's Online service get slammed every Christmas day without fail with everybody jumping online with their new gifts, bringing services to a crawl, if not completely bringing them down.

If you're giving someone a console this year for Christmas, especially kids, and have the ability to discretely unbox it to update it before tomorrow, please do so. Nothing's worse than denying a kid their new gift because of network issues.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I would be so fucking pissed as a kid if somone unboxed my console before giving it to me.

Hell I would be pissed as an adult too.

you only see the ps5 boot up sequence one time.
 
TLSLex

TLSLex

Member
Oct 26, 2017
421
Scotland
robotrock said:
No. the recipient must be the first to unbox.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

This!

I mean I appreciate the sentiment and I think it's a good idea for parents to do setup for sure, but I bought my brother a PS5 this year and I think he'd be pissed if it was already opened (not that I would particularly care since I'm obviously the best sibling in the world for obtaining a PS5 for him to begin with :3 )
 
Foreign Jackass

Foreign Jackass

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,003
If your answer is "no it should be untouched, I need to feel the plastic bags", you've got a consumerism problem and you shouldn't try to pass it along to your kids
 
Jolkien

Jolkien

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,758
Anchorage/Alaska
Foreign Jackass said:
If your answer is "no it should be untouched, I need to feel the plastic bags", you've got a consumerism problem and you shouldn't try to pass it along to your kids
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

And if you're pre chewing and removing every single instance of waiting for instant gratification you encapsulate everything that is wrong in the todayé's world of me myself and I and immediate satisfaction.
 
Dest

Dest

Has seen more 10s than EA ever will
Coward
Jun 4, 2018
14,039
Work
Usually, I'd agree. But launch day on PS5 for me at least went off perfectly fine. No download issues, download speeds were fine, everything updated. I unboxed my PS5, updated, and was up and playing DMC5:SE downloaded and all within like 30 minutes.

I don't think it's gonna be much of an issue come tomorrow. Didn't hear complaints from those I know who got a Series X/S as well.
 
Fuhgeddit

Fuhgeddit

#TeamThierry
Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,700
finalflame said:
Or teach your children to be patient. It's not hard, and this is a great teaching moment.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Yep. My wife actually just bought me the PS5 and I've had it waiting under the tree for a few days. I am waiting. I need to learn patience as a child is coming next year and I definitely need a lesson or two.
 
Jonathan Lanza

Jonathan Lanza

"I've made a Gigantic mistake"
Member
Feb 8, 2019
6,795
Jolkien said:
And if you're pre chewing and removing every single instance of waiting for instant gratification you encapsulate everything that is wrong in the todayé's world of me myself and I and immediate satisfaction.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
It's ONE Christmas gift. God forbid someone go a few extra steps to make the day as pleasant a memory as possible.
 
Foreign Jackass

Foreign Jackass

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,003
Jolkien said:
And if you're pre chewing and removing every single instance of waiting for instant gratification you encapsulate everything that is wrong in the todayé's world of me myself and I and immediate satisfaction.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
lol it's a toy, man. They've been working on day one from the dawn of man to the 1990s.

Fucking system updates are not an inherent part of human life, stop being kids and start raising them.
 
breander

breander

Member
Oct 27, 2017
518
This really isn't as much an issue anymore, the server infrastructure is so much better and the console updates are not all that large either.
 
Krakatoa

Krakatoa

Prophet of Regret
Member
Oct 29, 2017
3,091
no, the whole new experience must be enjoyed by the recipient, including the patches, updates etc.
 
Jolkien

Jolkien

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,758
Anchorage/Alaska
Foreign Jackass said:
lol it's a toy, man. They've been working on day one from the dawn of man to the 1990s.

Fucking system updates are not an inherent part of human life, stop being kids and start raising them.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

No but having to wait until something is ready is something they'll have to go through all their life. You do what you want for me I'd go through the first steps with the kid while setting up parental control etc assuming they're young enough for that. If they're teens it's still worthwhile to teach them basic skill like connecting it to the Wi-Fi etc, I work in telecom and the amount of young adults who have no clue how to connect an equipment on their Wi-F or a basic understanding on how to connect and equipment to a TV, switch TV inputs etc is staggering.
 
Kyoufu

Kyoufu

Member
Oct 26, 2017
16,582
I bet OP wouldn't want the retailer to open his console and update it themselves before selling it, so why would you do this for the gift recipient?
 
Foreign Jackass

Foreign Jackass

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,003
Kyoufu said:
I bet OP wouldn't want the retailer to open his console and update it themselves before selling it, so why would you do this for the gift recipient?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Wait... what? Because you're the FATHER of the CHILD, and not a total stranger working for a store?

What the hell are people on around here? Why would a 6 year old have to learn about updating a console on Christmas day?
 

Rob2K19

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,646
So you support G-Stop's "New game but really we opened it up beforehand and put it on the shelf and labeled it as New so now when you buy it you can see its not really New thus ruining your experience of opening it for the 1st time." practice.
 
Lkr

Lkr

Member
Oct 28, 2017
9,512
I mean ultimately it's up to the parent to know what their kid would prefer. I personally enjoy setting shit up and it's half the fun for me. I prefer computer parts to upgrade myself rather than have my parents install a new GPU too. All depends on what the recipient is in to
 
asmith906

asmith906

Member
Oct 27, 2017
27,371
MrNewVegas said:
Lmfaoooo looks like I'm the only one.

Already opened my sons Series S and loaded with gamepass games.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I dont really get the responses. If I got this stuff as a kid being able to play it would be more important to me than unwrapping plastic. These systems dont even come in plastic you can always put them back in the box.
 
Ramako

Ramako

Member
Jan 1, 2018
960
Canada
No chance. Unboxing and set up are part of the fun. Plus a short delay builds up hype, which is very much part of the experience. To this day, I still fondly remember opening and setting up new consoles I received for Christmas as a kid just as much as the first games I played on them.
 
Last edited:
maks

maks

Member
Oct 27, 2017
418
Wtf, people in here talking about buying ps5 for a very young little child. Hope that child got other gift like actual TOYS they can play with while the damn $500 ps5 you got for 'them' is downloading updates. They will be fine.
 
asmith906

asmith906

Member
Oct 27, 2017
27,371
Lkr said:
I mean ultimately it's up to the parent to know what their kid would prefer. I personally enjoy setting shit up and it's half the fun for me. I prefer computer parts to upgrade myself rather than have my parents install a new GPU too. All depends on what the recipient is in to
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Think of it more of this way. If someone got you a new GPU would you be angry at them for downloading the drivers in advance or would you rather stare at a new piece of hardware and not be able to use it because Nvidia servers are down.
 
EnlightenedMint

EnlightenedMint

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,391
I would have been fine with my parents doing this when I was a kid if the consoles were similar to today's consoles.

These days with updates and having to install games it can take hours before you can actually play.
 
Lkr

Lkr

Member
Oct 28, 2017
9,512
asmith906 said:
Think of it more of this way. If someone got you a new GPU would you be angry at them for downloading the drivers in advance or would you rather stare at a new piece of hardware and not be able to use it because Nvidia servers are down.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
and this is where parental discretion plays in. I wouldn't have enjoyed that as a kid because it takes away from the setup. not every kid is like that
 
cvxfreak

cvxfreak

DINO CRISIS SUX
Moderator
Oct 25, 2017
945
Tokyo
I can imagine this not being a preference for people, but being pissed if it were done is just flat out disrespectful to the person who got you the present. It's the thought that counts.
 
platocplx

platocplx

2020 Member Elect
Member
Oct 30, 2017
36,072
I think PlayStation you can download the latest update via USB, I'm not sure if fits the same for Xbox but I would guess so
 
J_ToSaveTheDay

J_ToSaveTheDay

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
18,789
USA
I legit enjoy the unboxing experience of the Xbox Series X and kind of wish I hadn't watched online unboxings before it came out. Microsoft packaged it in a pretty cool way, IMO.

Wouldn't want to take that away from someone I was gifting it to, if I were giving one as a gift. Also, as other users have said, great teaching opportunity for children in particular, though OP's gesture is well-intended and is appreciated nonetheless.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.