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Christmas gifts presents on red background. Simple, classic red and white wrapped gift boxes with … [+]
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So, you managed to snag a highly demanded piece of gaming hardware this Christmas. Congratulations! Whether you have a PS5, an Xbox Series X / S, a Nintendo Switch, or an Oculus Quest, you have a great gaming machine that will withstand the years. Then he wrapped it up and put it under the tree, like it’s done. Here’s the thing though: you should have opened it first. Why do you ask? You’re about to find out.
A modern game console is not a plug and play experience. They require updates, they require accounts, and in many cases you will find yourself downloading games rather than buying them on discs. All of that runs through the platform owner’s servers, be it Xbox Live, PlayStation Network or Nintendo Switch Online. And those servers can be busy, especially if there is a lot of traffic.
Christmas morning represents a singularity in the world of gaming services: a time when more people unpack, update and configure consoles than at any other time of the year, probably by a solid order of magnitude. That means that many other people will also go through that process of updating consoles and establishing accounts, clogging the servers with massive traffic. And naturally that means things will go a little slower than usual.
I’ve previously written this article before the inevitable crush, but just take note: updates may take forever, account creation services may be temporarily down, or any other issue that occurs when this type of traffic happens. It’s a hassle, because it means your gifted might not be able to start gaming as soon as they can, and because you’ve got the shiny piece of the console right in front of you.
But take heart, because these things will work out in time. Maybe a few hours, maybe less, but this is an endemic Christmas morning problem that, in all probability, will pass very soon. I’ll do my best to keep you posted on any major issues that are taking longer than expected, but in the meantime please wait, because the games await.
