I have two boys that really want a gaming system. I no nothing about these things anymore. They are 6 and 7 years old. I would like one that is not going to be overly complicated, yet have good graphics. Any ideas on what is best.
Our 5 yr old likes his Game Cube. My husband (29) likes the X Box.
Hold out for christmas. Don’t just buy your offspring video games for no reason. Lol.
Let me break it down for you:
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Xbox as I see it is mostly multiplayer oriented, whereas the playstation is more single player. However playstation has better games imho.
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Xbox has 4 controller ports(more multiplayer games). Ps2 has 2.
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Xbox has better online capabilities via xbox live(although you need a DSL or Cable hookup).
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You can buy ps2 and original xbox consoles for around 100 bucks apiece.
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There are a wealth of games for each. Xbox has better graphics but the games tend to have less of a fun factor to them than the ps2. That is a personal opinion.
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what types of games do they like? Sports games(xbox), RPGs(ps2), Fighters(either- I prefer xbox), Racing games(either- I prefer ps2), First Person Shooters(deffinately xbox).
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Xbox controlls are bulky and hard to manage sometimes in comparison with ps2. They do work better in some sitations. First person shooters just work so much better with xbox.
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New consoles will be out soon. Xbox 360 will be out this holiday season. Ps3 won’t be out until summer or holiday '06. From all the screenshots and movie trailers I have seen for each system, the ps3 seems to have better graphics and games. The xbox 360 looks like a bunch of stuff they should be doing with the current xbox. I still believe xbox 360 will have a better multiplayer/online lineup.
Really, figure out what budget you want to place first. If its not much go for a current console. You can then buy games on ebay for 1/2-1/3 the price.
Current console = $100.
Old games $20-40.
New console = $300-400.
New games $50-60.
If you want something top of the line wait for the next gen systems.
Sencondly figure out which games you expect to play most and with how many players. Lastly, do you expect to play games online?
[quote]Gothic77 wrote:
Our 5 yr old likes his Game Cube. My husband (29) likes the X Box.[/quote]
The average age of users for the playstation and X-box is 29. Needless to say, hoping to not get complicated is a wasted effort. I know two assistants that I work with who are around 26 who both have PSP’s so the marketing has changed a little. These aren’t just kids’ toys anymore. These games have advanced far beyond Atari so it would take a little research to actually get a decent one. Not only that, but they are coming out with new systems this coming year that will probably last the next 3-5 years as far as what’s being used the most. At the age of 7, aside from sports, most guys can easily fall into some type of video game use and they advance quickly at it…especially if they were born after the mid-70’s or early 80’s. Video games are a part of life just like computers.
I would look into the Playstation 3 or the new X-box. At least you probably won’t have to upgrade the system until they hit high school (even though the systems will be “old” by then no doubt).
Get a PS2. Or a SNES if theres a store
around you thats “game enough” to sell one. I have all three of the “big three” (PS2 Gamecube XBOX) and I struggle to agree with anyone who thinks that Gamecube and XBOX has a better library than PS2. Don’t be fooled by pretty graphics, unless the
game has both pretty graphics and pretty gameplay to boot.
IMO if its for kids it has to be playstation… . xbox is an older persons machine its mostly racers and first person shooters… . not for kids… . playstation has plenty of easy kiddie games that will keep them occupied for ages. …
gamecube might have some good kids titles but its range seems to be far more eclectic than the others… . it might prove more easy to opperate with fewer possible damage risks than the ps2. …
Gamecube is great for kids, but limited for adults.
As long as you don’t buy any title with “Resident Evil” somewhere on the box, you pretty much can’t go wrong with a Gamecube game for kids. It also lets you use 4 controllers, so the whole family can participate.
Based on the age of your kids I’d suggest the Gamecube. PS2 has a much bigger library of games but the GameCube has a greater percentage of games aimed to a younger audience that are made extremely well.
I’d go “old school” and say N-64. They’re cheap now, the games are cheap, graphics are satifactory IMO with some games, it’s a simple console and you can probably find all sorts of stuff at a local EB games or Gamestop.
If they want a more modern one though, wait for the PS3 or XBOX 360 I guess, because like prof x said, you probably won’t need to upgrade those things for a WHILE (either one has 2 or 3 processors, each being 3+ ghz or something ridiculous like that, and all sorts of crap like built in vid cards I think).
Computer may be another option. TONS of computer games out there, may cost less than the new PS3/XBOX 360 (dunno the prices on them though, but with all the bells and whistles they have…)