hi. I am being pestered for a console for my young guy. A Wii or X-box has been mentioned.
However from my youth, I spent weeks on a Commodore 64 and later PC games.
Anyone else with this constant "Johnny got a Xbox or a WII" going on?
Also any console better than the other for games of this age?
PlayStation 2 imo :) fantastic games for that age range, none of the online rubbish, and games can be bought for pennies.
Personally though I think 7 is too young for consoles etc. They can be really addictive at that age (even things like angry birds on a phone) and he should still be enjoying the innocence of youth while he can.
Yep, it's still a great console.Originally Posted by hafle
Cheers..
Jase
I'd echo the above - we have a PS3 and an 8yr old. I have switched off all on-line elements and he is very strictly rationed.
We also have a Wii, and I think these are much, much more suitable for that age range and good fun for all the family - so playing isn't just a solitary activity.
So clever my foot fell off.
As said above, a Wii is a better option for a youngster. Lots of family games and it'll keep him active whilst he plays.
I have an xbox360 (soon to be Xbox oneS) and a five year old. He is strictly controlled what he can play and when. I think it works great - you can get games like the lego games incredibly cheap through the Xbox live sales (or free as games with gold).
Assuming it's not a substitute for learning, family time, interaction or life experiences I have no issue with it whatsoever :)
Go Nintendo if you are concerned about your son's young age. They tend to shy away from games which rely on violence and aggression.
WiiU all the way, our middle son, also 7, plays it a fair bit compared to the other consoles here, Super Smash Bros, Super Mario Maker & Toad's Treasure Tracker are great. We all sit down & play Mario Kart & Wii Party on it too. It's a good console & the big controller with the screen adds some different functionality too.
He has a access to a PS3 & a PS4 too but apart from playing Minecraft on them, the WiiU is a firm favourite, he has transferred all the little Mii characters onto his 3DS too.
Thanks for the replies.
Wii U it is so.
Good luck.
I'm not sure this is the best time to be buying a Wii U. Nintendo announced this week that it had stopped producing the console in the run up to the launch of the Switch in Spring 2017.
Sure you are right long-term, the WiiU has been a flop from the beginning & prob not the hardcore gamers choice, but for family fun it's hard to beat Mario Kart, Smash Bros & Splatoon. Maybe we'll look back though our PS VR googles & think; I wish gaming was that much fun now. Sure Nintendo's latest offering will have as much innovation & great games but for a 7 yr old the WiiU is good & for a 7 yr old parents it offers a good balance between price/fun family games.
I don't think it has to be latest to be greatest, me, my eldest & middle sons played Command & Conquer Red Alert & Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo, both PS1 games, on the PS3 today & we had a blast.
Last edited by wampa; 13th November 2016 at 23:52.
I was given an Amiga 500 for my 7th birthday; easily the best present I ever received, but it was the start of a slippery slope into PC gaming.
Any thoughts on the Nintendo Switch?
My little girl is 6 next month and loves Mario Kart on the Wii hence thought might swing for one (also excuse for me to play Zelda again and relive my N64 days!)
I got a Switch on day 1 and have played over 100 hours of Zelda so far. Breath of the Wild is the best game I have ever played. It has so much content. Even though I've finished the main storyline I've only completed 27% of the game. My kids (4 and 8) enjoyed playing the Splatoon beta a couple of weeks ago and are looking forward to Mario Kart at the end of this week. I've never played Mario Kart so am looking forward to it a lot.
The console itself is well made. I love that I can play it handheld and not take over the only TV in the house. I also think it will be great when we head off to Florida next month. I've not used the joy-cons in their adapter since I have a Pro Controller. I got a pair of enclosures for the joy cons to make them easier to hold for the kids playing Mario Kart.
Have to say for family entertainment Nintendo wins hands down tbh, X/box and PS I would say are for older kids imo.
PS2 for game choice, hands down. I'll never part with mine, though I've thinned the game collection down significantly.
The PS3 and X-Box 360 are both good bets too, but the vast majority of the games on there are age rated.
Pick up a PS2 with some of the Crash Bandicoot games, Spyro the Dragon etc plus the Lego games. You'll have a very happy 7 year old.
Does the PS2 have the parental controls that the Switch has? Using an app on my iPhone I can control when and for how long the console can be used. I can also control access to online gaming for each of my children individually. I'm very impressed with how family friendly the console is compared with the XBox 360, PS3 and PS4 (all of which I own).
Don't worry too much about the slippery slope. My oldest (16) hardly looks at these games (no interest in owning an X-Box, PS etc). My youngest is interested and can play for a whole day on his iPad - and not a single second the next day.
Not all kids get addicted to games.
Menno
Many thanks for the info Phil. Sounds like you have been busy :)
I'm guessing at some point a downloadable game store will also be unveiled by nintendo for the old classics. Would be cool to play older Zelda and Goldeneye etc
Think I will swing for one
The thing that bugs me about my nine year old is not so much how much time he plays video games as how much time he would (if left to it) watch youtube videos of other people playing video games!
It's hard to be hard on him because he's doing very well at school and plays loads of sports etc. but it really annoys the hell out of me!
A little follow-up from me now that Mario Kart 8 is out and my kids love it! My 4yo can enjoy the races thanks to the auto steer and auto accelerate options in the game. Without them he'd have got very frustrated.
My daughters 6th birthday in a weeks time therefore a Switch is in the post along with Mario Kart (and Zelda for me haha). It should keep my two girls occupied!
Is the Online Store for downloading games up and running yet?
The online store has been up and running since day one. I bought Zelda as a physical copy to get the collectible Master Sword statue. I also bought Mario Kart 8 as a physical copy because it was £10 cheaper on Amazon once I'd used some discounts. Download games have not been discounted at all yet. I've already pre-ordered physical copies of Splatoon 2 and Mario Odyssey but may cancel those.
It is a bit of a pain to swap cartridges so with little ones it might be better to buy downloads. The carts are very small and you have to close down the game you are playing before you swap them. I accidentally removed Zelda without closing and it appeared to corrupt all my game saves (there is no way to back them up). In the end I resolved the problem myself my creating a new user profile and starting a new game. This magically fixed the other 3 account saves.
The other side of the coin, my youngest has been playing games since he was 5, he started with the Wii and all the Lego games, then the Wii U then 360 then Xbox one, he probably has over 300 hundred games all sorts all ages, now at 11 years old he plays online using Xbox gold with his mates chatting away with his headset in his gaming room, no strict control no denial no left wanting problems here. he's won more awards at school for class champion (helping others) best attendance, most polite student best behaved, and never ever been in trouble at school ever, I believe children should be protected in a strict environment when first starting out on anything but given space as they progress, I explain to him they are just games nothing more they are not a bench mark in which to set goals. We go shooting together, he races fast electric boats. We are now moving on to Drone FPV racing (Fat Shark Rules).
It's not a slippery slope it's the way of the world, but more importantly balancing out what interests them with good old fashioned parenting.
Last edited by Fords; 10th May 2017 at 06:23.
For those about to buy Zelda - a warning. Say goodbye to your lives. It's a VERY engrossing game. The best Zelda yet. Better than Witcher 3. Better than Halo. Ok I will come out with it - I think it's the best game I've ever played.
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My son is doing this a lot with mine craft
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I have to agree on Zelda. It is the best game I've ever played. I've put 137 hours into the game so far and have only completed 33% of it.
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