Christmas morning is meant to be a magical time of sharing gifts and seeing the joy on your children’s faces as they open their heavily desired gift. Modern console gaming with the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Wii U is not like consoles past where you can just plug up and go, though. A friend and fellow games writer discovered the agony of downloading updates for all three consoles and has this tip along so you won’t experience the same.
Keri Honea of Action Trip posted the following friendly piece of advice to her personal Facebook page. It may cause some hassle up front, but it will reduce the angst come Christmas Day.
“FANTASTIC advice for any friends of mine who are possibly buying their children (or themselves) a new console for Christmas. Take the console out tonight, hook it up to your Wi-Fi, and download all of the firmware updates tonight. That way, you or your child won’t be caught on Christmas Day under the crush of everyone and their dog downloading said updates. Both the PS4 and Xbox One have mandatory day one updates, so this cannot be avoided. I know it’s a pain to unwrap the gift, do this, and rewrap it, but trust me, you’ll be glad you did later.”
And she is absolutely right. The updates to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Wii U can take hours depending on the speed of your internet connection. Now imagine those hours filled with your child or significant other voicing their frustration over not being able to play the console they just received. If you haven’t already downloaded the updates to these consoles, I strongly suggest you do so now.
There’s another step you might consider as well. The time it takes to install games and download updates to those games can be equally lengthy. The install time for games like Halo: The Master Chief Collection in particular is particularly egregious because it not only has to copy the game from the disk to the Xbox One hard drive, but also has a 20 GB download for additional game content that couldn’t fit on Blu-ray, as previously reported in the Inquisitr . Other titles have received multiple updates since their release. Even games like Mario Kart 8 for the Wii U require an update, even though it doesn’t require an install.
To sum it up:
- Unpack the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, or Wii U console you are giving as a gift.
- Download all the console updates.
- Unpack any games purchased.
- Install the game on the console (PS4 or Xbox One) and download all the updates.
- Box and wrap everything or place it all under the tree unwrapped. Your call.
- Open up Christmas morning and enjoy immediately.
Let us know if this helps your Christmas day. Share your experience in the comments below.
[Images via Anthony Vessicchio YouTube , GamerBolt ]