PS5 - talk to me like I'm an idiot

[justaskingaquestion]

Sons bday very soon, he has his heart set on a PS5, so is asking for money towards it. I have seen a deal where he can get a second controller with it. Realistically what else will he need? A subscription? A headset/mic? Talk to me like I'm an idiot! Thank you.

How old is he?
What games does he want to play on it?
Does he want to play online with his mates?

You don't need a headset, but it will keep the noise of games down and is useful if he wants to talk to his mates while playing online.

There are varying levels of online subscription. The basic ones just get you online and then there is one that gives you so many games included as well (I have this one, think it's about £13 pm).

When you get it and set it up, it is all quite straightforward. Just make sure you set it up yourself (DO NOT leave your child to do it) and make sure you have it set for your password to be needed for purchases (this is in account settings).

Thank you. He is 10 and will likely want to play games with his friends. As far as games go, he will like football games and games like Mario I think.

make sure you have it set for your password to be needed for purchases (this is in account settings).

absolutely this. We made a mistake when DC had an earlier PS and he came and said he’d been spending ‘game coins’ -quick bank statement check revealed the game coins had been bought via DH’s account! Thankfully not too much, but we changed settings and still have it that way for his PS5.
We do the annual subscription.

Yes, set yourself up as family manager and set him up as a child then you can be sure he can only play age appropriate games (unless you give permission). You can also set time limits on play, and limits on who he can communicate with/add as a friend

Mario games are from Nintendo.. you need a Switch for that, not a Playstation.

You can play MarioKart on the PS5

Do you have a source for that? Because google says no, unless you buy special adapters with it.

Yes, I know you can't play Mario on it, I meant any similar style games as that's what he likes on his switch.

Thanks for all the advice, I will make a note and try and get it all set up before his birthday.

Just asked the kids (they play it all the damned time, I can hear it from the kitchen) and you are quite right.

It turns out they hooked up the old Wii, which I thought we’d got rid of! But it’s behind a screened door so I didn’t notice it tucked alongside the PS5.

You don't need a fancy headset to start with (save it for a later present) as any headphones can be plugged into the headphones jack on the controller itself. The controller also has a mic built in. That will mean just the console and a spare controller is enough to get started.

The PS5 comes with a built in game called astrobot that is very mario like and very very fun. Sackboys big adventure is also a similar platforming game that can be played solo or with up to 3 friends online. He might also like fall guys which is an online platforming game but free. You can voice chat with up to 3 other team mates but it doesn't have general chat so he won't be thrown into conversations with random people.

If he wants to play online he will need a playstation plus subscription. It has 3 tiers and the basic one unlocks online play. This comes with a couple of free games each month. I do recommend the second tier as it unlocks a library of hundreds of free games to download and play. The third tier probably won't interest him as it's mostly classic retro games (which I love but I played them the first time around!).

I do recommend getting the Sony controller charging dock. It gives the controllers a "home" to live in so they don't end up scattered all over the living room and means they are always charged up and ready to go. There is nothing more disappointing then going to start a gaming session only to find all the controllers are dead. Make sure it's the official one it uses a wireless tech the third party ones have to be plugged in and are naff.