Christmas gifts are given on a red background. With simple, classic, red and white covered gift boxes … [+]
So, this Christmas you were able to handle the most requested gaming hardware. Congratulations! Whether you get the PS5, the Xbox Series X / S, the Nintendo Switch or the Oculus Quest, you’ve got a great gaming engine that will weather for many years. You wrap it up and place it under the tree. The thing here though: you have to open it first. Why, you ask? You are going to find out.
A modern gaming console is not a plug and play experience. They need updates, they need accounts, and in many cases you can find them downloading games rather than buying them on disks. They all run on the platform holder’s servers, be they Xbox Live, PlayStation Network or Nintendo Switch online. Those servers can get busy, especially if there is a lot of traffic.
Christmas morning symbolizes a unity in the world of gaming services: the moment when more people unbox, update and set up consoles than any other time of the year, probably by a solid line. That is, a ton of others are going to do things like update consoles and set up accounts, stuffing servers with heavy traffic. And, naturally, things are going to go a little slower than usual.
I have already written this part before the inevitable gravity, but keep in mind: you may find that updates take forever, account creation services are temporarily down, or any other issues that occur when this type of traffic occurs. This is a pain in the ass for your gift giver as they may not be able to get to gaming soon enough because they have a glossy console in front of them.
But be mindful, because these will be resolved over time. A few hours, may be less, but this is a problem that can be seen on Christmas morning, which all the time passes very quickly. I will do my best to post about any major issues that take longer than expected, but hang tight in the meantime because games are waiting.
Edward Langley is a contributor to Nintendo-power.com, covering a wide range of topics including news, business, technology, entertainment, lifestyle and current affairs. He focuses on delivering clear, balanced and accessible reporting that helps readers stay informed about important developments and emerging trends. With an emphasis on accuracy, relevance and useful insights, Edward aims to provide engaging stories and practical information that matter to audiences in the UK and beyond.