Dear Mods: I am aware of the Video Games sub-forum and I kindly ask for your tolerance for a few days. This section has bigger audience and I wanted to take advantage of this. Dear TGG members who are into gaming. I am a 35 years old who has zero interest in video gaming. Didn't own an Atari or any other gaming device. I am mostly into naked women and sports. That being said I have 6 year old twin boys that will celebrate their 7th birthday in a few weeks. Recently they had a few play dates with other kids and told me their admiration on their friends consoles. Now my little ones are spoiled big time. They each have their 3rd generation iPads and they are downloading games from iTunes to play games 2 questions 1) Is it a good idea to get 7 year olds Game Consoles as their birthday present if they already have iPads. 2) Research I did made me stay away from WII-U so my choice will be either PS3 or XBOX 360. Thanks in advance for suggestions
Be aware that the next generation of these should be coming out in a few months. The PS4 and the Xbox One. In regards to the first question I can't really answer that clearly as I don't have kids but there are big differences between a game on a console and a game on an ipad. And the Wii U seems more targeted for that age group while the Playstations and Xboxs are targeted to an older audience. In case it matters to you, you can also use some of these consoles to stream netflix, hulu, amazon prime and use them as media servers so you can stream your own media. Figured I'd let you know in case that makes you want to use it in addition to your kids.
Thanks I never buy new stuff when they are first launched. I always follow technology one or two years behind. That way price becomes reasonable plus the kinks are fixed. Used the same approach for my Windows OS, iPhone, computer etc. Also I assume the game prices for new consoles will be pretty expensive as I am looking to rent old game or get old games from our library. Streaming is not really my thing. I only watch sports and I already have DVR and I have all premium channels due to wife. This console will only be gaming for my little ones. I won't get into details but I won't be getting a Wii-U. So my choice will be either PS3 or XBOX-360. Not interested in PS4 and XBOX One
That's always been my philosophy when it comes to electronics. I've got an Xbox and my 5 year old plays it. Just out of curiousity why ignore the original Wii? My son has one of those and the games are targeted towards his age group plus you can always download old games and save on the harddrive. It'd also be much cheaper than the others.
Thanks Barry Wii U game pad is too big. The games are not attractive to my kids. Both of my boys are more interested in Xbox or Playstation. They don't want Wi U and I won't buy something the boys don't want.
I ended up for an Xbox this run, not sure about what I'll do with the new systems. My kids are an it older, 11 and 12, and they love the Xbox. Things you need to check into: What do thier friends own? If all thier friends own Xbox, that's the way to go, if the majority own a PS3 then go with that. It helps them to enjoy it if they can hook up,with thier friends online... That said Keep in mind the Xbox online service has a fee, while last I knew the play station had free service. You will still need an Internet hookup, but Xbox also charges for thier online gaming service ( I think 50$ a year or so) Ps3 is also a blue ray player, Xbox can only play normal DVDs. Both can stream Netflix if you belong to that service. I assume other similar services as well. Hope this helps.
Xbox 360 -- Hands down. Much bigger variety of games and like someone else posted -- it could be used to use Netflix, HBO Go, Hulu, etc.. in case you wanted to use it along with them.
I own both and will give my .032ยข Agree with Harpua. The big thing about XBOX ix XBOX Live. The online community is amazing and that's the fun of it... Playing with friends is the main reason. but It isn't free.... it's reg. $59 annual. I usually pick up a 12 month XBL coupon for $30 when they go onsale online. PS3 community IS free but the online gaming experience is not as good, aamof, not even close. The PS3 has a built in BluRay player while the XBOX doesn't. They both read DVD's. The XBOX now has cloud service for saved games which is great for when the kids go to each others house... Games are close in quality but IMHO, the XBOX is polished simply because developers have always had issues with the PS3 coding. (This is still a hot debate) The XBOX Kinect destroys the PS3 Move Oh, why haven't I mentioned the Wii? well because I hate that pos...lol j/k. Just not into catoony, big headed anime games...so g/j in eliminating that one lol Also, here's a big one for you. Cross-Game Chat. On XBL you can create a private room and game online. iow, you can choose to not hear other gamers which is HUGE if you have minors playing online. The PS3 dosn't have this. Basically, This prevents your kids from hearing assholes. Either way be a responsible parent and don't give them adult games and monitor their online playing :wink:
IMHO there are relatively very few (good) games for younger kids on the xbox or PS3 - once you burn through the brilliant lego titles you will likely be scratching around for anything to hold their attention. if they have ipads then I really doubt that they need a console as well. Try gettting them a minecraft account on your PC for $18 and that will sort them for a good while. edit: I remember a mates kid, about 8 or 9, that went on my mate's red dead redemption game supposedly just to ride around and he basically tied up a saloon girl before dropping her on the train tracks to get run over by the steam train - I said if he grows up to be a serial killer we both know where it started.
Good timing since today begins E3 (the auto show of the game industry). Today microsoft will get more in depth with their future plans. Sony and nintendo will do the same tomorrow. Sent from my VM670 using Tapatalk 2
This is another good valid point. Although 6 going on 7 may be a bit too young yet. If your kids have access to a PC games like mine craft or roblox have strong communities of youngsters and can spark thier creative side if they are into that kinda thing. My 11yo has been building games on roblox for a couple years now and he is always constructing some world in mine craft.
Thanks guys I decided on Xbox 360 but I won't do the Xbox Live. I like to control what boys can access so they won't have access to Xbox Live. Thanks for helping me make a decision
Your sons will be 7, thats young for xbox live, when they get a little older you will probably change your mind, my 3 sons love it...
Where do I start? 1st of all the consol always has to be online, it checks it self in every hour, and when you turn it off, its always in "standbye mode" The Kinect is always on, and its always listing and watching what the user is doing. That to me seems like a big privacy concern. No more used games. Once the game is downloaded to your hardrive, you must loggin to your xbox live account to play the game. If you want to lend a game to a friend, it must be done online through xbox live. And if your friend is playing the game, you can't. In fact, you can't even play it again untill your friend gives it back to you. I know there is something going on where you can't buy the used ones from places like gamestop. It's going to be intersting what's going to happen to a company like gamefly. I am thinking Microsoft did this because gamefly is taking away a lot of sales. The fact that it must be connected to the internet at all times really gets me mad. What happens if you have a slow internet connection, or you play games via wifi? The new system is setup so Microsoft will know your every move, I just cant get over the fact the kinect is always on.