I know nothing :)

[GraceBlossom]

Hi all,

So Christmas is on it's way, and with experience I have found if I want something in particular I need to get a jump on it about now or else I end up not being able to get it or paying through the nose for it at the last minute.

So my kids get a certain pressie from Santa, and then I get them one as well. This year I decided they could have a games console and it will be for all of them. They are pretty good in that in summer they play out all day long, so I thought this will help with them really cold winter days when you have done everything else .

Ok waffle over ! My question is which one to go for. I really have no idea. I had a wii a few years ago I got second hand and then broke about 2 weeks later . So I pass it over to the very knowledgeable gamers here .

You help is much appreciated

 

[Edward W]

If young kids then maybe the Wii U ?

There are new Xbox and Playstation consoles cominh out soon, but I think they may be a bit more than you need, so you may be able to get a deal on the Xbox 360 or PS3 in early December when they might reduce the 'older' consoles.

You'll then have a huuuuuge selection of games for either, including alot of kids games

Xbox can come with Kinnect, where YOU control the game (Think Wii but no remote)

PS3 also plays Blu-ray

Good luck!

 

[9006]

Get a MasterSystemII, I hear they're amazing!

 

[GraceBlossom]

Thanks guys . I have not heard about the MastersystemII, so will have to look that up .

Eddy what you say makes so much sense about waiting until the new ones come out. Both sound have good merits, which do you rate? I think if the kinetic is a bit like the wii as well that might be more fun for me as well

Any more advice is much appreciated .

 

[Cavey]

It depends how old your kids are, what games they're interested in, how much money you're willing to spend and, in the case of Kinect, how large your room is. It works really poorly when it's used in your average UK size kids bedroom.

 

[Punisher]

Xbox 360 is cheap now, and Microsoft said they will be still making games for it for another 3 years or so. But if you have the money, get the Xbox One

 

[Batman55]

Get Socrates learning system

 

[GraceBlossom]

Thanks again guys. I am quite liking this X box 360 idea, can I get kinetic with that? Cavey the kids range from 4 to 11 by Christmas time, and it will be kept in the living room which is 4m x 4m . Also I bet the prices for 2nd hand games will be cheaper as well!

I haven't heard about the Socrates system, hmmm some research to do .

 

[9006]

Thanks again guys. I am quite liking this X box 360 idea, can I get kinetic with that? Cavey the kids range from 4 to 11 by Christmas time, and it will be kept in the living room which is 4m x 4m . Also I bet the prices for 2nd hand games will be cheaper as well!

The Kinetic come's with the Xbox, but you can buy it separate anyway. But c'mon, why get one of those when you could have one of these beasts;

[img=700x600]http://gamesdbase.com/Media/SYSTEM/...ad_Raider_-_1988_-_Gremlin_Graphics.jpg[/img]

 

[GraceBlossom]

^^^ Haha...yeah I want to play jet set will again...but that one is more sophisticated than I remember lol!

---

Get Socrates learning system

Haha I really do know nothing lol, I just googled that lmao

---

I bet some of those systems cost more than an X Box. My Dad was telling me he sold our old Spectrum for a tidy sum to someone in Italy .

 

[VanillaCreme]

Tots, I say Nintendo. Bigger little kids to teens, I say Microsoft. Teens to young adults, I say Sony. PS4 - as it is now, last I checked - will be cheaper than the Xbox One.

 

[GraceBlossom]

Thanks Nilla Is microsoft the X box?

 

[khaoz_ferox]

Thanks again guys. I am quite liking this X box 360 idea, can I get kinetic with that? Cavey the kids range from 4 to 11 by Christmas time, and it will be kept in the living room which is 4m x 4m . Also I bet the prices for 2nd hand games will be cheaper as well!

The Kinetic come's with the Xbox, but you can buy it separate anyway. But c'mon, why get one of those when you could have one of these beasts;

[img=700x600]http://gamesdbase.com/Media/SYSTEM/...ad_Raider_-_1988_-_Gremlin_Graphics.jpg[/img]

****, that takes me back. Feel old as hell now, heh.

 

[Punisher]

Is microsoft the X box?

Microsoft is Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

The Kinect thing is for both. You have to buy it separately or a package deal for the 360. The package deal should come with a game too. And it comes with every Xbox One, so it's worth the extra money compared to the PS4.

You can buy second hand games from £5 for the 360. Some sports games you can get for even less.

 

[VanillaCreme]

Thanks Nilla Is microsoft the X box?

Why, yes, ma'am.

Microsoft = Xbox 360 > Xbox One
Sony = PS3 > PS4, and also PSP and the PS Vita
Nintendo = Wii and the WiiU

 

[Cavey]

There are several things you need to consider before you make your purchase.

1. Price

An Xbox 360 with 250GB HDD will set you back around £180 and if you also want Kinect then you're talking about £250. This includes a headset and everything you need to get set-up, but if you're wanting to play online then you're going to have to purchase at least one gold subscription and those are between £25 and £40 a year depending upon where you get your subscription.

A PS3 with 500GB HDD will cost you around £200. It doesn't need a subscription in order to get online and if you pay for Playstation Plus, you get loads of free to use software each month - allowing you to build up a game library without having to spend a fortune on games. You lose access to these games should you ever cancel your subscription.

A Wii U with 32GB storage will cost you around £250. It also doesn't need a subscription to get online. It's got a very limited game catalogue so far and it's not looking like picking up any time in the near future. It is also tailored far more towards youngsters than either of the above consoles.

An Xbox One will cost you £429 when it is released on 22nd November. It will come with Kinect as standard. You will also require a subscription to play online.

A PS4 will cost you £349 when it is released on 29th November. It will also require a subscription to play online.

2. Reliability

The Xbox 360 had a terrible reliability record during it's first couple of years. I went through 6 Xbox 360s in that time frame. The PS3 - while not as bad as the Xbox 360 - also had it's teething problems and I went through a couple of those too.

The Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii U are now all fairly reliable, but as yet, no one knows how reliable the Xbox One and PS4 will be. Past experience has taught me that any new technology is liable to suffer a higher than normal failure rate.

3. Games

The Xbox 360 and PS3 share many of the same games and both consoles have a HUGE library already available. The games are easily obtainable and older games are available at very reasonable prices. Second hand copies can be picked up for peanuts. There are games for people of all ages.

The Wii U has a very small library of games and most of them are tailored towards the younger end of the spectrum. They're also quite expensive.

The PS4 and Xbox One obviously have no games available yet, they'll have a very small library available for the first 6 months and they'll also be the most expensive. The prices are likely to remain high for the foreseeable future.

There are a few random other things to think about.

The joypad on the 360 is significantly larger than the PS3 and when my niece was younger she found the 360 pad much harder to use.

Kinect is not hugely accurate, but it's still fun to use, but it requires a large room with relatively plain walls to function 'properly'.

The Xbox 360 and PS3 will still have games published for them for the foreseeable future, but new releases will start to trail off as the next couple of years pass.

I'm sure there are other things that I've forgotten to mention, but I've already typed the equivalent of a short story

 

[GraceBlossom]

Well I got the Xbox 360 in the end and haven't regretteh it, loved the set up. I got a few games pre owned Lost, some dance game, Ghostbusters . Got Minecraft and GTA IV. All I will say from a Motherly point of view on all you who play GTA :club:.

Anyway thanks for all your help

 

[Triple Bogey]

Well I got the Xbox 360 in the end and haven't regretteh it, loved the set up. I got a few games pre owned Lost, some dance game, Ghostbusters . Got Minecraft and GTA IV. All I will say from a Motherly point of view on all you who play GTA :club:.

Anyway thanks for all your help

Tiger Woods golf is good !

 

[LeaningIntoTheMuse]

I remember Nintendo being the best.