I'd say yes, it would be rude.
It's still your device, so whatever you choose is your right and the decision should be respected. But I think that the console is either communal or it's not. Not something in-between. If you don't trust your roommates to respect it without a pin, then you shouldn't leave it out.
One thing that affects my opinion a bit - is the TV in the living room yours? If not, then I'd say it's especially rude to use someone else's TV only for your own gaming. If the TV is yours, then it's more understandable but I still feel that if the living is full of communal things, then you shouldn't leave a non-communal item in the living room.
That’s fair. I won’t put it in the living room. My roommates aren’t video gamers anyway but I get nervous about giving people access to my things. I’d rather not cause tension for something like this. Not worth it.
I have to disagree. I feel like you can also tell your roomates to ask if they wish to use your console or just set the boundary that you would prefer them to only play when you are on/nearby. Setting a pin on your console that you paid with your money is not rude. It’s literally the same as having a pin for your computer, laptop, tablet, etc. unless you’re comfortable with them in that manner or trust them to respect your stuff, it’s not really weird to want privacy on your personal device.
I see your point and I'd like to clarify that I do think they're within their rights to put a pin but I don't think it's the polite thing to do as a roommate. My thought is - whoever owns the tv DID trust their roommates with their device. And if that was my tv and a roommate attached a device and said I couldn't use it without them, I'd be a little hurt and I'd re-evaluate whether I should be allowing that roommate to use my tv. It might be odd but if the trust I've extended isn't being matched, then I don't feel obligated to continue trusting them.
So I totally get your point - it is trusting someone with a device. But that's already been established with the tv belonging to someone else. And I still believe that leaving a non-communal item in a communal space is a good way to make roommates mad in any situation.
Nah, a console in the living room doesn't mean free use for all. I'd be mad if someone messed up my game or progressed something I couldn't go back and redo.
Most consoles allow you to create a guest profile though don't they? Would there be a way to secure the personal profiles and leave the guest profile open?
Yep, I do think this is a good solution but I guess for some they would still prefer to not do this as it still uses memory space and such.
Edit: It does work really well but I guess you have to trust the folks you live with. In my home we have two unlocked accounts on my PS4 one for me and one for one of my flat mates, the others just don't use it. I've never had any trouble or even wondered if they'd use my ps4, I assume if they wanted to use it they'd ask (the other two flatties have their own in their room to be fair). It's just one of those things to check in on when moving in or when a new person joins.
I just thought, purely stupid, but if someone made a guest account but had child lock on so others couldn't use it at certain times of day that would be so unhinged. I think that would definitely be the biggest asshole move in this situation. Obvs no one is actually doing this in this situation but my mind goes there XD
This is a tough one since it's in a communal space but then again it's your gaming console. I'd say have a conversation with them about why you have the pin on there so they just don't think you're just being a jerk for no reason
If the TV doesn’t belong to you then I would suggest creating a profile for guests/roommates and one for yourself that has a passcode. That way they can watch TV or use “safe” apps while your games and payment info stay secure.
I know PlayStation has a function like this as I used it when we had a roommate and it was our only source of streaming and other apps, and it felt kinda shitty to gatekeep the only TV in the apartment.
Xbox probably does have this too. Idk about anything Nintendo tho so that may warrant some research.
Edit: only suggesting this because it may be a gesture of goodwill for your roommates as like a “nice” thing to do. But if you don’t wanna share at all there’s nothing wrong with that, just keep it in your space with the rest of the stuff that’s only for you.
If it’s a huge deal, take it to your room or just have the discussion with roommates. Password protect it. If its an issue of your saved, make a guest profile.
I don’t think it’s rude. It’s your console, you are allowed to do what you want. It’s not for everyone to use at their leisure. I recently did the same thing with streaming services. My roommates never logged into anything that they claimed they had and continued to use my accounts. Putting a pin on something that is yours isn’t rude after you tell them not to use it without your consent and they do it anyway.
Not rude. I don’t like people messing with my electronics or anything expensive or mine if I’m not around to supervise it. If they actually crash the system, wipe it, whatever then I’m gonna be pissed. At least if I’m around and instructing them or know for a fact they tried their best or it was a fluke then I can’t be mad at them for my system being wrecked.
Definitely not rude imo to put a pin on your account because most people have sensitive info like their card info. ( even though its mostly inaccessible without your password) but even so people can buy stuff on your account if you don’t have it locked. If anything you could set up a guest account and tell them just to be careful with your controllers if they really want to play it.
if the account has your payment info attached to it or something, then I wouldn't get offended at all if you were to put a console out in the common area and have your account behind a PIN. hell, even if it's just to make sure nobody messes with your saves, a PIN is perfectly fine too. just let everyone know the boundaries for that kinda thing
Short answer yes.
Only because even if it comes across to you as ‘just protecting my things’ to your roommates you’ve basically put out a beacon for tension.
I see the outcome as, they retaliate and buy their own system for the living room/lock you out of it/and then proceed to use the space more then you. Forcing you back to your room anyways, but again, now with tension.
That, or they will just use the TV more than you have the opportunity to play, probably out of spite.
The reality of course is ‘yes it’s yours, you have files, don’t want any damage etc. But unless you can 100% share. Keep it to your room.
Oof the more I think about it the more petty things comes to mind-basically-again if you lock your system in the communal area you better hope you own everything else in that space before ya know you start getting notes like ‘don’t use my pans’ etc
I suppose it depends how big the person is on gaming but I would not want someone's game console in the shared living room. Could you get a tv for your room?
I'd say yes, it would be rude. It's still your device, so whatever you choose is your right and the decision should be respected. But I think that the console is either communal or it's not. Not something in-between. If you don't trust your roommates to respect it without a pin, then you shouldn't leave it out. One thing that affects my opinion a bit - is the TV in the living room yours? If not, then I'd say it's especially rude to use someone else's TV only for your own gaming. If the TV is yours, then it's more understandable but I still feel that if the living is full of communal things, then you shouldn't leave a non-communal item in the living room.
That’s fair. I won’t put it in the living room. My roommates aren’t video gamers anyway but I get nervous about giving people access to my things. I’d rather not cause tension for something like this. Not worth it.
I have to disagree. I feel like you can also tell your roomates to ask if they wish to use your console or just set the boundary that you would prefer them to only play when you are on/nearby. Setting a pin on your console that you paid with your money is not rude. It’s literally the same as having a pin for your computer, laptop, tablet, etc. unless you’re comfortable with them in that manner or trust them to respect your stuff, it’s not really weird to want privacy on your personal device.
I see your point and I'd like to clarify that I do think they're within their rights to put a pin but I don't think it's the polite thing to do as a roommate. My thought is - whoever owns the tv DID trust their roommates with their device. And if that was my tv and a roommate attached a device and said I couldn't use it without them, I'd be a little hurt and I'd re-evaluate whether I should be allowing that roommate to use my tv. It might be odd but if the trust I've extended isn't being matched, then I don't feel obligated to continue trusting them. So I totally get your point - it is trusting someone with a device. But that's already been established with the tv belonging to someone else. And I still believe that leaving a non-communal item in a communal space is a good way to make roommates mad in any situation.
Nah, a console in the living room doesn't mean free use for all. I'd be mad if someone messed up my game or progressed something I couldn't go back and redo.
Most consoles allow you to create a guest profile though don't they? Would there be a way to secure the personal profiles and leave the guest profile open?
Yep, I do think this is a good solution but I guess for some they would still prefer to not do this as it still uses memory space and such. Edit: It does work really well but I guess you have to trust the folks you live with. In my home we have two unlocked accounts on my PS4 one for me and one for one of my flat mates, the others just don't use it. I've never had any trouble or even wondered if they'd use my ps4, I assume if they wanted to use it they'd ask (the other two flatties have their own in their room to be fair). It's just one of those things to check in on when moving in or when a new person joins. I just thought, purely stupid, but if someone made a guest account but had child lock on so others couldn't use it at certain times of day that would be so unhinged. I think that would definitely be the biggest asshole move in this situation. Obvs no one is actually doing this in this situation but my mind goes there XD
This is a tough one since it's in a communal space but then again it's your gaming console. I'd say have a conversation with them about why you have the pin on there so they just don't think you're just being a jerk for no reason
I don’t think it’s rude. It’s your stuff. It’s basically like a phone. They’re not entitled to access to your stuff
If the TV doesn’t belong to you then I would suggest creating a profile for guests/roommates and one for yourself that has a passcode. That way they can watch TV or use “safe” apps while your games and payment info stay secure. I know PlayStation has a function like this as I used it when we had a roommate and it was our only source of streaming and other apps, and it felt kinda shitty to gatekeep the only TV in the apartment. Xbox probably does have this too. Idk about anything Nintendo tho so that may warrant some research. Edit: only suggesting this because it may be a gesture of goodwill for your roommates as like a “nice” thing to do. But if you don’t wanna share at all there’s nothing wrong with that, just keep it in your space with the rest of the stuff that’s only for you.
If it’s a huge deal, take it to your room or just have the discussion with roommates. Password protect it. If its an issue of your saved, make a guest profile.
I don’t think it’s rude. It’s your console, you are allowed to do what you want. It’s not for everyone to use at their leisure. I recently did the same thing with streaming services. My roommates never logged into anything that they claimed they had and continued to use my accounts. Putting a pin on something that is yours isn’t rude after you tell them not to use it without your consent and they do it anyway.
Not rude. I don’t like people messing with my electronics or anything expensive or mine if I’m not around to supervise it. If they actually crash the system, wipe it, whatever then I’m gonna be pissed. At least if I’m around and instructing them or know for a fact they tried their best or it was a fluke then I can’t be mad at them for my system being wrecked.
Definitely not rude imo to put a pin on your account because most people have sensitive info like their card info. ( even though its mostly inaccessible without your password) but even so people can buy stuff on your account if you don’t have it locked. If anything you could set up a guest account and tell them just to be careful with your controllers if they really want to play it.
if the account has your payment info attached to it or something, then I wouldn't get offended at all if you were to put a console out in the common area and have your account behind a PIN. hell, even if it's just to make sure nobody messes with your saves, a PIN is perfectly fine too. just let everyone know the boundaries for that kinda thing
Short answer yes. Only because even if it comes across to you as ‘just protecting my things’ to your roommates you’ve basically put out a beacon for tension. I see the outcome as, they retaliate and buy their own system for the living room/lock you out of it/and then proceed to use the space more then you. Forcing you back to your room anyways, but again, now with tension. That, or they will just use the TV more than you have the opportunity to play, probably out of spite. The reality of course is ‘yes it’s yours, you have files, don’t want any damage etc. But unless you can 100% share. Keep it to your room. Oof the more I think about it the more petty things comes to mind-basically-again if you lock your system in the communal area you better hope you own everything else in that space before ya know you start getting notes like ‘don’t use my pans’ etc
I suppose it depends how big the person is on gaming but I would not want someone's game console in the shared living room. Could you get a tv for your room?