to feel dumb about getting an Xbox working on Christmas day

[HubbaBubbaMum]

DH and me have never played (or seen others playing) on gaming machines (or whatever you call them!). Have finally conceded to peer pressure and Father Christmas has ordered an Xbox One S Console with FIFA 17 as a joint present for DC this year (age 10 & 7). So, how do we avoid spending half of Christmas day working out how to set it up as we are complete gaming virgins? Is it obvious? Can we buy games suitable for their age in advance to 'plug in' or do we have to open it up and get it all set up and download them in advance? (Didn't want to open the wrapping before Xmas morning ideally). Do we just play it on TV or is it better on the PC? Do we need to order control pad type things to go with it? Hope this post is giving younger MNetters a good laugh . Happy to be directed to an idiots guide to the 21st Century.

I love the Lego games, have played them since the first Harry Potter one and almost all of them have been preowned versions. I will not fork out for Lego Dimensions though, that is a right con as far as I can see.

Job Im reading up the thread yes PS4 has an Ethernet port but downloads are a bit frantic they are random but If you close any apps on the PS4 that use Internet and keep starting and stopping when it gets a bit slow it will Fasten it up. Or putting it in rest mode instead of starting and stopping. You do this by holding the PlayStation button in the middle of the control and then chosing enter rest mode. It's also worth noting PS4 controllers have no removable batteries so it could be an idea to pre charge the controller to play but you can play with it whilst it's charging

Agree with lots of the comments already made. We - at 39 and 40 years old have an x-box 360 (old version) "santa" is bringing the new one s version. We have already set it up and downloaded lego games onto it in preparation for Crimbo day and tbh it took us 2 school days to do it all! even the controller updates itself when you connect it to the damned thing. All of the Lego games are fab for kiddies and grown ups of all ages, The Lego Movie one is fab and we've got Lego dimensions for our 5 year old DD which has enough extra level packs available to buy at saved up pocket money ish prices (£10 - £30) to keep her going for at least a few years, lol. If you're a complete newbie just plug in the 3 cables, one for the internet, one for the plug and one to the tv. After you've done that the whole set-up process starts itself pretty much, like others have said though, we put 2 games on and with all of the updates too that has taken us 2 days :( We were gonna wrap it, but have now decided to set it up once more a couple of days before to make sure it's ready to go on the day..... Good luck

Oh.. I forgot to mention - you don't need a 4k TV. The x-box works with 4k (whatever the heck that is) but ours is defo not a 4k TV and it works on ours. Game, Grainger games and various other places sell pre-owned and all of our games are bought that way. The Lego dimensions one we were lucky enough to pick up at Smyths fo £30 cos I wouldn't have paid full price for it - if you shop around you can get good deals on extra controllers etc..

You just need a TV with a HDMI port

We got Xbox 1 last year fir DS & even tho my DH is techie it took him two days of downloading n configuration & what not so it was literally ready to plug n play when DS opened it Christmas morn. We both were so glad he'd thought to do it ahead (I didn't think - am clueless re these things) & do check your TV is compatible & get a second controller so they both can play.

Hello! Read this thread with interest. I need to say up front that I work for Xbox but I hoped that this YouTube video would help you get your Xbox One set up before Xmas morning. It is really important that you unbox it and get it set up ahead of the big day (then pop it all back in the box!) because there are some updates, installs and steps that need to be taken so your kids can get straight to gaming. This includes setting up parental controls so you are in charge of what your kids play, watch and spend. It's easy though, especially with some help!

Here's the video - it's from FamilyGamerTV on YouTube who is a really good Dad Vlogger. Enjoy - and I hope you all really love your Xbox this Xmas!

I haven't got anything to add that others haven't already said but I wanted to share my tale of woe with you to reiterate the point of setting it up before Christmas!

We have always had consoles and are big gamers. We'd been waiting to buy the xbox one until a specific game came out. I was beside myself with excitement to get it out and play. Only, the game was not a disc but a download. 15 hours after first setting up the console I still hadnt ACTUALLY played the game. By this point I was storming around the house threatening to cancel our broadband and take the console back to the shop. I threw things. I stamped my feet. I shouted. I stormed out. I swore. It was not my finest hour...

Set the console up well in advance and download the games well ahead of time for instant play on Christmas day!!!

As a seasoned gamer...

YOU ARE SO CUTE

Now that aside, it's honestly easy to set up. Make sure you have the right cables so you're good to go on Xmas day. Get a big supply of batteries too.

And watch some YouTube videos on set up if you're not sure. Then you'll be an expert by the big day!

I haven't read all the posts so someone may have said already. If you have slow internet it may take a while to load games. One of my sons Xbox games took a week. Our internet is about 0.7 Mbps so I would get it set up in advance. It's easy enough steps to follow.

Ha ha. I've just seen a few posts up someone said downloads take a long time. Minecraft was ok that was only a few hours but the big games like skyrim take forever.

I haven't read all the posts, but I would definitely test it. I got a PS4 with my saved up Nectar points from Sainsbury's and I was told that I had 14 days to check it for electrical faults and bring it back if necessary. This meant that I couldn't keep it for Christmas so it's already unwrapped. The boys aged 14 and 10 set it all up themselves very quickly (but we have other consoles so not first time.)

No doubt everyone has answered already but here you go:

1. It is not that hard to set up! Just a few cables to connect to the TV, mainly a scart lead and a power cable.

1. You will need 2 controllers!! Order another one as the Xbox only comes with one

1. Great games for kids: Minecraft and any Lego video games. Lego Batman and Harry Potter are BRILLIANT.

We have invited our 22 year old nephew round for Christmas lunch. He doesn't know it yet but in payment for his lunch he is on Xbox duty for the day and gets the joy of setting it all up. Hopefully he won't mind playing on it with ds for an hour or two.

Once you've got it set up and created your account, please do remember parental controls. If you don't apply these you risk your kids being able to buy things willynilly, and that can be expensive as you can't easily return a downloaded game.

Am frequently appalled by the games that people buy for their kids - my kids get a bit of grief at school but I don't allow them to play 18-rated games. They're rated for a reason - kids mature differently so I'll review this on a game by game basis. But for now it's a no.

Do you have a friend or neighbour who can pop over Christmas Eve when they are in bed to set it up for you and show you what to do? That's what I'd do.

Get the kids to do it whilst you get to have a glass of something!

One great tip which was also mentioned upthread is, when you set up you will be given a Gamertag name, you have one opportunity to change this to a name of your choice, so maybe pick a combination of you dc names? After this if you want to change your name again you have to PAY to do it! This was a few years ago in the Xbox 360 anyway, don't know if it's still the same now.

Buy rechargeable batteries and a battery charger.

Buy an extra controller.

Definitely set up before Christmas Day.

One great tip which was also mentioned upthread is, when you set up you will be given a Gamertag name, you have one opportunity to change this to a name of your choice, so maybe pick a combination of you dc names?

Everyone can have their own individual gamertag (so can track individual achievements on games, etc).

"After this if you want to change your name again you have to PAY to do it! This was a few years ago in the Xbox 360 anyway, don't know if it's still the same now.*

Its not cheap either - $9.99

Ditto all of the above advice but if you only have one TV, you may want to consider investing in a decent monitor (instead of TV). You'll need some sort of desk space for it but my DH uses it when working from home as well.

It means our TV is never in use for gaming and as the monitor we have doesn't have speakers, the kids have to wear headphones so it also means noise free gaming! (Except the shouts from DS when playing FIFA)

You don't really need XBox live, my 10 year old seems happy without it despite the initial 'pressure' to get it.

One last bit of advice, if you buy separate games as discs, perhaps also open to check the contents of these in advance. Rare and freakish as this might be, the last game we purchased in a sealed box from a well known reputable store, had a completely random aged 18, totally unconnected DVD in the box and no game That was some conversation I had to have in store on my son's birthday!!! (and a very long one, cameras had to be checked, area manager consulted etc)

Our Xbox was set to Japanese when it came out of the box. I had to spend ages on the helpline getting them to talk me through set up. I would advise setting up in advance, you just don't know what kind of glitch it could have.

Just wanted to let you know, our Xbox came out of the box at 7pm and it's still only at 25% installed. It will take longer to install the games.

Definitely do it before Christmas Day!

It's a good idea to set it up before Christmas Day as there will be loads of other people trying to access Xbox live at the same time. This can slow down the installation a lot and the servers have been known to crash in the past, due to the volume of people trying to access it at the same time. You can set it up and put it back in the box. If your TV is not high spec and you have no intention of upgrading it soon, it may not be worth buying the latest 4k Xbox One S as the graphics will only be as good as your TV capable of producing.

Yes, I'm sure PS4 users weren't able to play online one year due to demand on servers?

Zad, I'm confused by the gamer tag options. There is one person who has the 'live' account linked to their profile but then you can set up 'linked' profiles with different names can't you but the live profile is the one where the name can't be changed without a fee? It all gets very confusing (to me anyway).

Not PS4, PS (?) users, one lovely Christmas morning.