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NFT: Best video game system for kids

SLIM. : 5/30/2016 8:35 am
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.
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I am Ninja : 5/30/2016 9:00 am : link
Mine are 4 and 2. Your not wanting your kids glued to a tv all day is understandable. as is your reason for not being 1000% rigid on the subject. i wanted to introduce games for a little different reason... we play hockey and tee ball, we have a rink in our yard. theyre active plenty. when we are in and theres downtime, mom and i (both professionals) need to get stuff done, i want them occupied. with things that they should be occupied by. not being destructive or furthering the perpetual mess. i got a wii u last christmas. the 4 yr old can handle it just ok,as long as its just the wiimote. he will get it. the games selection is kinda weak, but theyre all kid friendly. i think youre right thats the wAy to go.
None  
mikeygiants : 5/30/2016 9:04 am : link
They will thank you later in life.
start with a Nintendo wii  
eclipz928 : 5/30/2016 9:12 am : link
you can get one used cheap, and there's a ton of selections for games - and it's designed to be kid friendly.

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.
Lots of stuff to go over  
JohnF : 5/30/2016 9:15 am : link
1) Nintendo Wii's went end of life years ago. They are still avaliable, and you can get games relatively inexpensively, but the motion controllers will be nothing like the Playstation and XBox gamepads. When your kids go visit other homes, they still won't feel like they are good at games, since they won't be familiar with the controls.

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.
I got kids aged 12, 9 and 7  
NYG27 : 5/30/2016 9:29 am : link
We have a rule of no electronic devices on school nights but of weekends we give them a strict 2 hours a day to select from using an iPad, DS or WiiU

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.
Like you, we have limits and have taught them  
Moondawg : 5/30/2016 11:18 am : link
to appreciate that they don't need to be plugged in to be happy.

We have an xbox that they play minecraft on, and sometimes, I play co-op games like Child of Light with them.
Mine are son is 7 am  
larryflower37 : 5/30/2016 11:34 am : link
We have multiple gaming systems in the house. Ps 1 through 4.
Must have hit send on the tablet  
larryflower37 : 5/30/2016 11:38 am : link
My daughter is 8
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
PC  
GiantFilthy : 5/30/2016 11:39 am : link
.
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GiantFilthy : 5/30/2016 11:42 am : link
Quote:
larryflower37 : 11:38 am : link : reply
I am not old school and believe game play actually improves brain function


So do the people that test for that kind of thing.
I dont have  
muhajir : 5/31/2016 1:11 am : link
Any kids... however, if i did, after they were done with all of their responsibilities for the day I wouldnt mind them playing video games at all. Much rather them play video games then watch the trash on tv.
Get a Wii U  
Kulish29 : 5/31/2016 1:24 am : link
It's the family friendliest console and is backward compatible with Wii games. Although, once your kids learn about Amiibo and other things like them, I cannot say it will be friendly to your wallet.
WiiU x1000  
Bramton1 : 5/31/2016 2:19 am : link
Kid-friendly games are few and far between on the XBox One. I say this as an XBox One owner.

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.
no discussion  
giantfan2000 : 5/31/2016 9:26 am : link
PS4 is best because they are coming out with VR headset this fall which will be the hottest device this xmas season


PlayStation VR Launch Bundle - ( New Window )
RE: PC  
Enoch : 5/31/2016 9:31 am : link
In comment 12976206 GiantFilthy said:
Quote:
.

Bonus points if you make building it a family project.
Those ages I'd grab them a Wii U  
jcn56 : 5/31/2016 9:38 am : link
the titles are a lot more younger kid friendly than some of the other consoles. The Nintendo titles alone (Mario Kart, sports, etc.) should be enough to keep 'em busy for awhile.
RE: WiiU x1000  
Moondawg : 5/31/2016 11:56 am : link
In comment 12976905 Bramton1 said:
Quote:
Kid-friendly games are few and far between on the XBox One. I say this as an XBox One owner.

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.
my son is 8 and has had the original Wii for a couple of years  
Greg from LI : 5/31/2016 11:59 am : link
He really loves it, and since Nintendo doesn't make it anymore you can get the games pretty cheap. He loves playing his Lego Star Wars and Lego Batman games.
I'd probably get a Wii U  
illmatic : 5/31/2016 12:06 pm : link
and games like Mario Kart. Yeah, Nintendo will be replacing that system soon with a newer one but I doubt your 7 year old who is just getting into video games will want the newest and greatest thing.

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.
Hands down the best system for them will be...  
Mighty : 5/31/2016 3:49 pm : link
whichever one most of their friends have. forget specs, forget amount of games etc. the only thing that will matter to them will be playing with and talking with their friends about the same game/system/etc.
actually, for the games my son plays, the Wii controller works  
Greg from LI : 5/31/2016 3:58 pm : link
like a regular controller. The only things he plays where you use it as a motion controller are the Wii sports games, which he doesn't play all that often. 90% of the time he plays Lego Star Wars, Lego Batman, and Super Mario World 8, and in all of those you use the controller like a standard console controller.
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