need advice on console choice

[landonspop]

I am sure there are as many opinions as there are games.

I am looking for the best game system for my son's 4th birthday.

I was told that the Wii has the best and easiest games for his age.

I still have a PS1 and PS2 and I would like the PS3 for the blu-ray player, but I am going to keep his needs first. By needs I mean a system that has games he can play.

 

[MinusTheBear]

You would be correct!!! The Wii is designed for younger children and causual gamers. The Wii would be the best choice for your son because the majority of games are designed for that group. On the other hand the xbox 360 and PS3 are designed for more the "hardcore" gamers and a lot of the games deal with more mature subjects. In my opinion the xbox 360 has the best games of all 3 consoles and that ulitimately means the most to me but for your case with a 4 year old child the Wii is a very good choice because the game developers would have the most games that would interest your son the most and would be the most appropriate for his age.

 

[Exit]

I second MinusTheBear's assessment. Your child will enjoy bowling, tennis, baseball, golf and maybe a couple more from Wii Play right out of the box.

 

[malvado78]

I would agree that for a child the Wii is probably the best platform I have played it once with my 6 year cousin and he wupped me at everything we played.

But I believe you could get him games for the PS3 he would enjoy as well. For example:
High Velocity Bowling is a $10 downloadable game that uses the motion sensing capability of the sixaxis that gets great reviews. Ratchet and clank might take them a little bit to get the idea of (4 may be kind of young but the content would not be a problem). Racing games are always fun and I think younger people pick up really quickly.

I just think that the value of getting a Bluray player as well as the gaming is a great thing. You can watch your sons Pixar movies in HD which are always beautiful.

I would check out what games the PS3 has that you think he could play at his age and then make the decision.

My 2 cents though.

 

[nick1000000]

I would get him a basketball or a soccer ball and tell him to be active instead of anti-social with a video game system...my 2 cents.
But yes the Wii is the easiest for a 4 year old to pick up, play and have fun.

 

[landonspop]

I would get him a basketball or a soccer ball and tell him to be active instead of anti-social with a video game system...my 2 cents.
But yes the Wii is the easiest for a 4 year old to pick up, play and have fun.

I appreciate your thoughts and he is involved in t-ball and soccer. But he is like all the other kids who want a game system. I heard Wii has games that require movement vs couch potato games. (my term) Plus this will be a family game.

 

[j_garcia]

There aren't a lot of games for that age range on the PS3 and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Wii would be my choice as well.

 

[MinusTheBear]

I would consider myself a huge xbox 360 fanyboy...saying that I still think the Wii is the best choice for children. I think it also the best console where parents can play the games with their children because the games are very interactive...if you get a Wii do not be surprised that you end up playing these games with your kids and their friends, which would be a lot of fun for you and especially your kids!

 

[Exit]

One thing about the Wii to consider is the space it takes for all the movements. My sons bedroom doesn't have enough space to play the Wii in there so we have it hooked up in the family room. In addition he had to move the coffee table about six feet over to have enough room. Kinda strange having the coffee table in front of the recliner. Just something to keep in mind.

 

[Djizasse]

If you have space, get the Wii. It's the family console. And making the kids move is a huge bonus

 

[aberkowitz]

One problem with the Wii.... good luck finding one!!! Many of my friends are looking for them (late 20s/early 30s) without much luck. Sellers on eBay are absolutely ripping people off- $400+ for the same thing that's being sold for $250 in the stores. Gamestop is selling a couple of bundles with tacked on accessories so they can jack the price up to almost $500 before shipping.

Edit: Just found this website to use to track. http://www.outtastock.com/wii/

 

[landonspop]

One problem with the Wii.... good luck finding one!!! Many of my friends are looking for them (late 20s/early 30s) without much luck. Sellers on eBay are absolutely ripping people off- $400+ for the same thing that's being sold for $250 in the stores. Gamestop is selling a couple of bundles with tacked on accessories so they can jack the price up to almost $500 before shipping.

Edit: Just found this website to use to track. http://www.outtastock.com/wii/

I found one, Wii, at blockbuster for $250.00, they had 5 more. I should have bought them all. Thanks for all the help.

 

[MinusTheBear]

I found one, Wii, at blockbuster for $250.00, they had 5 more. I should have bought them all. Thanks for all the help.

Congratulations on getting a Wii !

http://marketnewsblog.blogspot.com/2007/12/did-dad-go-too-far-by-selling-kids.html

This is an article about a dad who put his kids guitar hero 3 present on ebay (how cruel )

 

[aberkowitz]

I found one, Wii, at blockbuster for $250.00, they had 5 more. I should have bought them all. Thanks for all the help.

Seriously??? If you go pick up another I'd buy it from you!!!

 

[landonspop]

Seriously??? If you go pick up another I'd buy it from you!!!

I bought it last night after work. I just called and they sold them all, sorry. I was also at best buy looking at games and someone was returning one. I looked for three weeks myself, while considering one, and couldn't find one and now I have had the chance to get 7 of them. The blockbuster, by my house, gets about 8-15 every month they told me.

Best Buy sells 50 in 2-3 hours, blockbuster sells 8 in about 3 days. Try your local blockbuster.

Resond to this thread if you find one or decide you don't want one. If you don't respond, I will buy the next one I can and let you know when I do.

 

[aberkowitz]

I bought it last night after work. I just called and they sold them all, sorry. I was also at best buy looking at games and someone was returning one. I looked for three weeks myself, while considering one, and couldn't find one and now I have had the chance to get 7 of them. The blockbuster, by my house, gets about 8-15 every month they told me.

Best Buy sells 50 in 2-3 hours, blockbuster sells 8 in about 3 days. Try your local blockbuster.

Resond to this thread if you find one or decide you don't want one. If you don't respond, I will buy the next one I can and let you know when I do.

Unfortunately in NYC there are very few blockbusters these days (they've closed at least 15-20 locations over the past couple years).

I've actually been looking on Craigslist, and there are a bunch of Wiis that can be had for $275-325, unopened. Considering that shipping from anywhere would probably cost me 15-20 anyway, I don't mind paying a bit of a markup.

Thanks for the offer though.