By Tauriq at Tuesday, August 26, 2014 12:32:00 PM

The Xbox One is set for launch next month, September 23, in South Africa. If you haven’t joined the next gen of games, saving yourself for the upcoming Microsoft black box of magic, there are a few things to prepare for.

1. Updates, updates, updates!

After spending many hours downloading various mega-sized patches – 13 gigs for Forza 5, something equally huge for Dead Rising 3 – I was reminded just how long ago this machine was released. Remember it was launched nearly a year ago, November 22 2013: as with modern tech, updates are part of its existence. Whether for games or the system itself. Thankfully, too, a lot of that waiting is negated – especially for us.

Yes, large sizes are the reality of modern gaming regardless of console. For example, Wolfenstein: The New Order is over 50 gigs, as is The Last of Us: Remastered.

But, Xbox South Africa has informed me that updates for games like Forza 5 and Dead Rising 3 won’t affect local consumers. On launch here, the games will have day one updates on disk.

Many of the games don’t require a full update to launch. It’s recommended that after a mandatory initial update of the system itself, you turn off your Xbox’s internet and install your games. Once you’ve had a bit of a playthrough, turn your Internet back on, start the game again and accept the update. Even here, it shouldn’t take that long before you can continue playing, even while it’s updating. Unlike the PS4, you don’t need to quit to install the update, which is quite handy.

This all means it shouldn’t take that long to start playing.

2. Get yourself an external

Since you’ve probably already spent your hard-earned cash on the powerhouse, you’ll want to pick up some external storage. One of the best features of the Xbox One is the easy ability to install and run via external hard drives. There are pros and cons to this over, say, the PS4’s internal expansion – you’ll have more external space taken up, have to monitor which hard drive holds what, etc. But in terms of ease of access, you can’t do much better.

You’ll notice that the OS has already chewed through quite a bit of the Xbox One’s 500GB harddrive. As more of us move toward digital ownership, you’ll want to store those games. Further, you don’t want to go through the process of installing updates again and again. Get yourself at least a 2 Terabyte external, if you can. Kotaku has a great list of options.

(Speaking of making space, do yourself a favour and make lots of physical space by your TV. This is a big machine so you’ll need space and to make sure nothing is on top of it.)

3. You’re not in Kansas anymore

Though 99% of the games the rest of the world has will be available, there will be some missing aspects due to our geography. This isn’t all Xbox or Microsoft’s doing, however: Netflix isn’t available on PS4 or the local web, either; EA made the silly decision to not allow sales of the Xbox One “killer app” Titanfall in South Africa.

So, as always, if you’re hoping for a range of supportive apps and features, draw that expectation back. However, Xbox SA has assured me they’re working on bringing local apps to the market.

You can overcome some of these through sneaky means, like changing your region – but otherwise we must accept the fate of our geography as we always have. Who knows what might happen, since this is around the time of a big push into international regions from Microsoft.

4. Other useful tips

Already mentioned but turn off Internet access when installing games.

Unless you’re updating your games, make sure to change your power settings to Energy Savings when turning it off. Yes, it’s cool to walk into your room and say “Xbox On” and scare your friends with your newfound psychic powers, but the Xbox One is still kind of on.

Turn off your Kinect Mic! While playing some multiplayer, I kept hearing awful conversations from people sitting on their couch with their friends. I barely care about my own friends’ relationships, let alone strangers'. Don’t be that person. It’s annoying.

Get batteries: If you’re an Xbox 360 player, you already know this. The Xbox One notifies you quite easily and keeps you up-to-date about your controller’s power. But make sure you have batteries and/or charging cable.

Check out this article for all your Xbox One accessories from kalahari.com



I’ll be giving my thoughts on the machine itself next week. At the very least, I can tell you the Kinect does really well with South African accents. Or at least mine. But, then, people accuse me of sounding like a supervillain.

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