I have kids age 7 and 4. We have limited their screen time (tv, computer) and don't have any video game systems in our house. While I think my youngest is still too young, I don't want my oldest to go to people's houses and feel like an outcast. He recently attended a birthday party where they had one of those video game trailers roll up to the party. He spent little time in there (a good thing) but when later asked he doesn't like video games (because he isn't good at them).
Any thoughts ? I was thinking of a Wi. We still would significantly limit his time on it.
don't waste your money on getting one of the newer systems until you know how your kids are going to respond (they may not even like gaming).
when they get old enough, they'll let you know what system they prefer.
2) Nintendo's successor to the Wii is the Wii U. That has some decent games, but it's not a popular system, and the controller is more like a tablet. Same issue as above with going to a PS/XBox home. The Wii U is probably going to be replaced in a year or so, but there aren't details on the new Nintendo system
3) Playstation and Xbox are the most popular systems. They are really more for older gamers, though (the exception being the XBox and Minecraft, see below).
4) If you limit your kids time on the system too much, it will kill their interest in the system, IMO. I know no one wants kids to be in front of a game console all day, but that's how you get good at these things. That's going to be a tough balancing act.
5) One game to look at might be Minecraft. It's incredibly popular with kids, and can be played on many systems (phone, tablet, PC, XBox, etc). It's sneaky educational, and is more about building things, but it can be addictive.
We find with the different devices, they don't waste too much time limiting themselves on one device. They also get proficient enough on all of them that they can play or carry conversations with other kids when discussing them.
As for your question, WiiU is a good system. Has a lot of good kid friendly games like all the Super Mario titles.
We have an xbox that they play minecraft on, and sometimes, I play co-op games like Child of Light with them.
We do not restricted their time and it works fine.
They usually get bored after an hour and go do something else.
My son's eye hand coordinate and quick thinking are amazing.
I am not old school and believe game play actually improves brain function
I am not old school and believe game play actually improves brain function
So do the people that test for that kind of thing.
My kids primarily play the PS3 and the WiiU. The WiiU is heavily oriented for children. I would strongly recommend that.
If you don't want to get that, don't get a console. Buy a license for Minecraft and download the game on the PC or Mac. Or buy Minecraft Pocket Edition for the iPad.
PlayStation VR Launch Bundle - ( New Window )
Bonus points if you make building it a family project.
My kids primarily play the PS3 and the WiiU. The WiiU is heavily oriented for children. I would strongly recommend that.
If you don't want to get that, don't get a console. Buy a license for Minecraft and download the game on the PC or Mac. Or buy Minecraft Pocket Edition for the iPad.
I think it sucks that Microsoft really gutted the Kinect offerings for the Xbone. There were many great kid-friendly games like Kinectimals for the 360.
I definitely wouldn't get a Wii, though. Sure, it'll be cheap but like someone else said, the motion controls are nothing like holding a regular controller. He'll feel like even more of an outcast in the future if all he knows is how to do motion controls but can't work an actual video game controller. Plus it has Minecraft which as far as I can tell, kids still adore. And all of the other kid friendly games that Nintendo makes.