Do you own or are you considering buying an Xbox One this Christmas? Share your top tips for getting the most out of your Xbox One with Microsoft. £300 Love2Shop voucher to be won. NOW CLOSED!

[ZaneMumsnet]

Across the festive season, Microsoft Xbox would like to hear the top tips Mumsnetters have for getting the most out of Xbox One for all the family.

Here’s what they say: “Providing hours of endless family fun, the Xbox One is home to the greatest games – including family favourites ‘Minecraft Xbox One Edition’, ‘Forza Motorsport 6’ and ‘Ori and the Blind Forest’ – as well as popular entertainment apps such as BBC iPlayer and Netflix Kids.“

They’ve even included a tutorial video to help you set up your Xbox One. You can view it below.

                   <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/SqS6pRmE_kk" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> 

So how do you and your family get the most out of your Xbox One? Do you gather round the sofa to build a virtual world together on Minecraft? Maybe you challenge each other to FIFA football competitions? Perhaps you use the apps on your console to watch Christmas movies as a family? Have you any advice for parents considering buying an Xbox One this Christmas? Whatever your tips are, Microsoft wants to know.

Everyone who posts on this thread with their tips will be entered into a prize draw where one Mumsnetter will win a £300 Love2Shop voucher.

Thanks and good luck,
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

We don't have an xbox but I know people who do. To be honest they just seem to be used as an easy option to keep the kids entertained! Don't get me wrong, I've nothing against them but when a 4 year old is playing on it by himself for hours on end, it doesn't seem ideal.

Also some of the so-called children'sgames seem to have aaspects that aren't very child friendly, ie. shooting / blowing things up!

I'd like a console that had games that the whole family could play together. Maybe educational ones too.

Butterfly
Project Spark is pretty good, a world-building game. It does have options to swing swords at goblins, but you can equally choose to collect gold coins, choose terrain and make mountains etc. The background music is a bit annoying, but not as bad as Minecraft music.

I tend to find that our x box one is used for watching YouTube from the internet or Netflix programmes almost as much as it is used for games. The children love to share a game of Minecraft on it.

Blimey; this threads making me regret getting one for ds. It's a complete surprise for him, I've just wrapped it .... You're all making it sound like hard work

Oh it will be a hit! I have bought one for ds - he has an xbox360 currently and doesn't think I. An afford an Cbox One! He is a teenager now though and very specific about it being his only want! Still not getting my card details though....

If you're going to buy one for shared use, don't buy a 500 hardrive. It's a serious resource hog.... And Microsoft if you're reading be quicker adding games to the backwards compatability list. The one up is no good for me, 3 of those machines I've bought and we're all still using the 360 slightly more.

Also an update that makes it not behave like a stroppy teenager when the Internet drops out would be grand as well.

And stop fiddling with the dashboard

You can get it working without the hdmi. Ours is hooked up using a vga convertor. Ensure that it also has audio.
Quality isn't as good obviously but a cheaper fix to buying a new tv.

Well, I didn't realise how involved the Xbox One was in our lives until I sat and thought about an answer!

We have had it for a year now after giving the old 360 to our 10 year old. My DH plays to chill out after work, on weekends it's him and the boys working their way through one game or another. Except Alien...DH had to quit playing as it creeped him out too much!

We have Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube and BBC iPlayer apps and use these all the time as we don't have an aerial point in the living room for Freeview. (DS does the same with the 360). The boys also use it to watch DVD's.

Since the launch of backward compatabity DH gets to play some of the games he gave to DS when he took over the 360. The boys can also play downstairs with games like Battleblock Theatre without having to buy them again. Games With Gold has been fantastic too.

The newest discovery is EA Access. DH was very happy with FIFA 15 being in the vault and the 4 year old has been enjoying Peggle 2!

I'm glad DH talked me round! (Tho I took some convincing originally!)

Get a 1tb one or you will fill the hard drive up too quickly- or add an external hd, we use ours for games, Netflix, I player and Amazon prime, children watch YouTube

We get a lot of use out the Xbox in our house.
Netflix, YouTube, Amazon prime for us. Kids love playing minecraft & chatting to friends.

Maybe sure security settings are up to scratch, also make sure Kinect is set to private as we were all playing a game & it took action shots which all DS friends could see. Morto.
Still love it though.

Glad I've seen this thread for hints and tips! We have bought one for DS2 for Christmas. I don't know much about gaming systems so any advice is good...

We love the Xbox one as a family and games feature heavily on all the boys lists. As others have Said if we buy tech we tend to set it up as popular games and ones that Are larger take eons to download.
I have purchased Lego dimensions as its the must have game.... And one pack. Would be interesting as a parent to see which ones are any good.
I view the Xbox1 as a system they have graduated too as its a bit more sophisticated then others and the games are more specialized. They like halo etc and forza- the graphics are amazing.
Lego games are fun....
Watching films a plus for the systems in their rooms..... They are older so have one in their rooms also.
Wireless controllers are expensive and a buggar to fix.

Our xbox one is used for games, the virgin tv runs through it and we watch netflix through it. I can't pretend to understand it all. I wish there were more choice of games for teens - my children aren't allowed 18 games so it does feel a little limited at times.

Sensible article from the Guardian. Some points already made, but also a reminder to think about use accounts.

I have an Xbone as does my DS, as a gamer since the early 1980's who started off on a Commodore 64 I do think the Xbone has taken gaming to another level and I used to be on the dark side PlayStation

One thing I don't like about the new dashboard is that you can no longer see who is in a party with people in your friends list. I have a great mate but one of his friends is someone I avoid so I don't like to just jump in to his parties anymore.

I have seen on gaming forums that people are worried about hackers taking down the network on Christmas Day so I hope you are prepared.

I second buying vouchers rather than putting in bank details.
Set up in advance and become familiar with downloading and general controls.
Buy some headphones.
Take note of ratings on games I teach and am horrified by the amount of children who regularly play grand theft auto.
Sometimes buying a game bundle is cheaper.
Some second hand games are good value if bought from a reputable source.
Try to keep in a shared place so that time can be limited sensibly and you can see what DC are playing and also it avoids isolation from the family.

DH and I love it. DS is too young. We run everything through it so we can change the sky channels using the kinnect.

Definitely set it up in advance, sometimes the software needs to be updated which is frustrating on Xmas morning.

This post will probably get removed.
I utterly regret the day I bought my 12 yo son an x box.
He and all his friends became obsessed with it.
The FIFA games are one massive money making con , with player add ons and stuff.

I actually think they are evil , which is a pretty strong accusation but I know several previously well balanced young men who have become utterly obsessed.

Eventually I took my son's away. His behaviour has improved dramatically and he actually thanked me.

This is a comment on games and not the system but I wish more games had a split screen option. Developers need to take note.

Use ours to watch Netflix, iplayer etc. Essentially turns the to into a smart one. The voice controls are brilliant and I find myself trying to get the normal tv to work the same way. One day!

Twins got an xbox one for their birthday. They are playing super Mario 3d world TOGETHER.... This has never happened before.. There is no fighting no tale telling no yelling just peace and harmony.

I LOVE Xbox one!

As long as you're confident that your kids will be sensible, it's worth paying for the Gold membership (ds gets it as his Christmas present from his granny every year) and getting a headset.

As well as playing games with his friends, ds also uses it to chat and even to discuss revision topics (He's in S4, the equivalent of Y11 and has been studying for his Nat 5 (Scottish equivalent of GCSEs) prelims.

Having said that, he did move his XBox into the spare room as he said it was too distracting in his room.

The whole thing is a mystery to me.
I would love it to come with a Guide For Clueless Parents.
I feel we pay for sophisticated technology and only scratch the surface of what it can do / what we pay for!

If we get one then it would be as a family gift rather than given to one of our children - that way we can ensure that we can all play it together as a family to get the most out of it.

I am generally not a fan of technology that can connect up with others because of fear of online strangers but i think it would be good for connecting with relatives and friends that are known to you but that you would otherwise not get to connect with too often.