Thinking of buying a game system for the kids

Discussion in 'Video Games' started by kbgreen, Oct 31, 2011.

  1. kbgreen

    kbgreen Well-Known Member

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    Thinking of Buying the Kids a game system for Christmas. I have 6 year old twins and thought it was about time to start them since it is all the other kids at school talks about. Knowing my wife they will have limited screen time but after discussing it for months she has agreed that we should take the plundge.

    So I am looking for advise as to what I should buy. Should I go Wii? Xbox 360? Play station 3?

    I hear the Wii is on the way out and both xbox and PS3 have been around awhile so is one a better bet?
     
  2. Scikotic

    Scikotic Banned

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    For kids? Wii.

    For anything older than 12, I'd buy a PS3 or Xbox
     
  3. bojanglesman

    bojanglesman Active Member

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    Its called a book, duhh!!!!

    /old man argument
     
  4. NickD

    NickD New Member

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    PS3 is the best value and will get the most miles if you have a large HDTV and no bluray player. Plenty of kid titles for download, plus the Move is similar to the Wii, if your kids want that.

    Plus Netflix quality is better on the PS3. I have all three systems so I can easily compare them.

    The XBox 360 is the best gaming system if you plan to let them play online games. Huge library and huge network. Kinect is far superior to Wii, but because the system recognizes size, small kids will have trouble playing with some games. My 3 year old loves the Kinectimals game, but can't do all the tricks because she is so short. A 6 year old should be fine though.

    The Wii is likely what they will play at friends' houses, so you need to know if that is what they want to play at home. They will out grow it in a few years and then you will not have any use for it. But it would be the cheapest investment with the most variety of games for their current age.

    I started my 3 year old with the Sega Genesis. Simple 2D games with few buttons, and games I know by heart so they are easy to teach. I have a friend who started his 5 year old on the PS2 with new titles, which he ended up playing half the game for the kid and spending a lot of time learning to play the game. Big waste of time if you don't like the game.
     
    #4 NickD, Oct 31, 2011
    Last edited: Oct 31, 2011
  5. NickD

    NickD New Member

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    Roleplaying games have lots of reading. Just avoid the cheap titles.

    My oldest is just starting to learn to read. I'm so excited to have her read to me for a change, even if it is as dull as "Goodnight Moon".
     
  6. ........

    ........ Trolls

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    LOL. Giant block of advice from the "expert" who doesn't even know the name of the Kinect.
     
  7. Scruggy

    Scruggy Active Member

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    Go retro.

    If I ever had kids, I would start them off with an original NES, with maybe like 10 games or so, then every year or two get them the next generation console. I know you can emulate most on the PC now, though it would be cool to have the actual systems. It sure would be an interesting way to bestow an appreciation of gaming on a youth to see how far their hobby has come.
     
  8. Scikotic

    Scikotic Banned

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    Original NES was the shit.

    Just download the emulator and all the games, set them up with a comparable controller to the NES, and then let them run it off the computer.

    I miss the days of all the original NES games.
     
  9. Scruggy

    Scruggy Active Member

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    When I discovered emulation for PC, oh late 90's or early 2000s, I nearly lost my mind.

    One of my favorite things to do was track down a rare translated ROM of a game that was only released in Japan (Like Some of the Dragon Quest games for SNES). It was like a mythical journey fraught with perilous PC viruses, where each foray into the search was based on information from fellow emulation enthusiasts. Broken links, and sketchy intel, and even the possibility of legal prosecution -- when you finally got it, it was like finding The Holy Grail.

    Ah, those were the good ol' day!
     
  10. Scikotic

    Scikotic Banned

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    Even better, with all the save/load features at any point in the game, I was finally able to beat some of the games that I was never able to.

    The original TMNT game was a bitch. Im not sure how anyone could beat that game straight up.
     
  11. Scruggy

    Scruggy Active Member

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    Exactly.

    The first emulator I had was "Nesticle", great save/load state feature. And it had a built in Game Genie, if you really wanted to get some cheat codes going. Flippin rad. I may have to play some old skool roms after work today.
     
  12. NickD

    NickD New Member

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    Typing error. Thanks for catching it. Thought "Kinetimals" looked weird when I typed it.

    I didn't claim to be an expert. If he was looking for expert advice, then he wouldn't have posted on a football forum.
     
    #12 NickD, Oct 31, 2011
    Last edited: Oct 31, 2011
  13. NickD

    NickD New Member

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    Nesticle was great, but I got tired of using the keyboard. Controller is so much better. I have a few systems at my parents house collecting dust, which I've been planning to grab, so I can play some 6-minute Mario or Super Tecmo Bowl and get my kids into it (controller size would be better than the Sega for my youngsters anyway).

    I had the Genesis setup so I could play Mutant League Hockey with friends. That game is a personal favorite.
     
  14. Poeman

    Poeman Well-Known Member

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    playstation 3

    Wii is so childish, but it may be worth it because they are 6 years old

    Little Big Planet 1 and 2 are two of the best games every for kids
     
  15. nyjunc

    nyjunc 2008 TGG Bryan Cox "Most Argumentative" Award Winn

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  16. ........

    ........ Trolls

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    Well, given that you claim to be a fantasy football expert and your advice was better on the video game system, I had imagined you'd make the same absurd claim of expertise.
     
  17. IATA

    IATA Trolls

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    hes also an expert trash talker, as evident from his prowess in the TT forum
     
  18. NickD

    NickD New Member

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    Please show me where I claimed to be an expert in any field on this board or GTFO.

    There are no experts of any kind on this forum. Just trolling children.
     
  19. kbgreen

    kbgreen Well-Known Member

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    Had one of those! My mom sold mine at a garage sale! I also had an original atari in the box! Mom thought she did good getting $5 a piece for them.
     
  20. IATA

    IATA Trolls

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    incorrect. mbgreen is an expert felcher
     

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