Busy Gamer News

If you read my Twitter, you know that I've been helping my house contractor here in Seattle get his son's Xbox Live account online. The process actually took about a month, and I finally had to run over to his house for the final two-hour marathon setup.

Joe's a smart guy, though a bit of a technophobe. He gets the same way around computers and network connections as I get whenever I pick up a hammer or screwdriver and contemplate a home improvement project. Short temper, feelings of inadequacy, and a desire to run screaming from the room. I finally overcame my tools issues and now hire him to do any projects that don't come with a handy step-by-step instruction chart. Finally, I got to return the favor.

When Joe first called me, I was on a date with my wife so I quickly suggested he get a simple $20 network switch at Fry's to share his connection between his laptop and the Xbox 360, plus a prepaid 12-month Gold membership card. Weeks went by, so I assumed he got it all running. Then came the frantic call and my attempts to walk him through the process on the phone.

Things stalled out when his son's preferred gamertag was taken, so I suggested he give him a little fun but necessary homework: Think of 10-20 gamertags he'd be happy with, and then call me back. A few nights later I got a call that Joe's son had made it most of the way through the process with his dad's MSN e-mail address, but failed since they couldn't remember the password. Ready to pull his hair out, Joe signed an IOU promissory note to his son that he'd have it ready for the weekend and then asked me to come over to help.

To prep, I took a little time to read and print out the Xbox.com how-to article and even tried creating a Hotmail account (aka Live ID) for my 5-year-old (he'll need it someday!). It's not a walk in the park, and even more complicated if you don't understand the lingo or why a Live ID is necessary.

Last Friday, I went over to Joe's and worked on his rig. I created two new Hotmail accounts (since he had forgotten the password to his old MSN.com address - though he later remembered it). The effort was further complicated by the fact that his devices lost the network when I switched the Ethernet cable between his laptop and 360 - a necessary step as I went back and forth creating and authorizing Live IDs on the PC and then signing up gamertags on the 360. I found unplugging the cable modem and letting it reset for five seconds fixed things each time I moved the cable, so he probably has a single, dynamically assigned Internet address. As a result, I determined he will need a router instead of a switch to share his network connection effectively long-term. My recommendation: The D-Link DIR-615 Wireless-N Router ($50), so he can use his laptop wirelessly around the house and add the 360 and his HP network printer through the built-in wired switch.

But I'm jumping ahead. For Hotmail, to authorize a child's e-mail account you need to have a parent who already has a Live ID enter a credit card proving they are older than 18 and that they approve the account. (It's not clear whether the card validates the date of birth, or if it's presumed you have to be 18 to have a credit card.) The credit card information is supposedly not saved and the card is not charged, it's just a validation step. On the Xbox 360, validation also required a credit card plus quite a bit more data to prove you're the parent.

Finally, with both accounts created and gamertags chosen, I gave the kid the 12-month Live subscription (plus a bonus month). Joe got a free one-month Gold trial with his Silver account, which was a nice bonus. By default, the kid's account was adequately locked down - he can only receive text messages and voice communications from his friends, and dad has to review and approve any friend requests. We left the video camera functionality disabled entirely.

Just in case it isn't clear from the muddied details (which more or less mirror the actual experience), here is the best way to setup an Xbox Live Gold account for your kid:

1. Create a free Hotmail account for yourself. Make a note of the e-mail address and password.
2. Create a free Hotmail account for your child. When you enter the correct birth date, the account is flagged and requires parental approval. You can approve it right then and there by following the directions to login to your own Live ID account and then supplying a credit card to validate. Be sure to login to the child's account to make sure it is active. In one of my tests, I actually had to validate it twice before it became active. Make a note of this e-mail address and password too.
3. Launch your Xbox 360, go to the dashboard and load the adult's profile (you do have one, don't you?). If it isn't already at least a free Silver account, you'll need to convert it. Select Join Xbox Live and then follow the steps to select/create a unique gamertag (you'll probably need to abandon your old one since it's no doubt taken) and then sign in with your Live ID to complete the process.
4. Once you have a Silver account (or Gold if you plan to play online matches too), then you can create your child's gamertag. Be sure to load the child's profile before initiating the process so you can be sure it links any gamerscore and achievements to the online gamertag. Follow the steps to select/create a unique gamertag (it helps if the child already has a list of stack-ranked names to work through; you can also use the suggest feature over and over to see if any variations on the original profile name will satisfy). This time, when you enter the date of birth you'll have to authorize it with the adult's account using the credit card again and many personal details (date of birth, address - stuff your kid couldn't possibly know, right?). Finally, enter the code from a prepaid card or select one of the buy online options to make it a Gold account.
5. Login the adult profile, go to the System blade and select Family Settings and then Xbox Live Controls to review the defaults for the child profile and adjust these to your liking. That's a lot of work, even with a cheat sheet. It would have been so much easier to create an adult gamertag and Live ID for the child - which Joe and his son almost did accidentally when they used Joe's MSN e-mail address; the Xbox Live account seems to automatically pick up the Live ID's date of birth data. But, in doing so, you sacrifice the ability to set boundaries such as limits on who can text, voice chat and feed video to your kid.
   
   I had to run get my own son from his babysitter's house, so I didn't get to stick around to explain Microsoft points and how to download demos and videos from Marketplace. Paralyzed by fear of messing up his now working setup, Joe was deathly afraid to unplug the network cable from the 360 to use his laptop again - so I will need to return soon to help with the networking project.
   
   The good news is that, after all that, father and son were able to successfully play Halo 3 online together. Now I just need to show Joe how to change his gamer picture from a too cute panda to something more appropriate for his new and otherwise suitably macho online persona.
   
   -=Gamewatcher