Who wants to explain video game consoles to me like I'm a six year old?

Because I have one, and I want to get her one, maybe.

What's the dif between Playstation/Xbox?

Which is better in terms of graphics/sound?

Which has more kids games?

Which am I not going to have to throw away in a year because it's obsolete?

My first choice would be the Xbox 360, just because it's the newest (I always think newest = best ) but I don't have the money for it.

And, I'm not really sure she *needs* a vid box so she'll sit in front of it all day. Just something I'm thinking about. Maybe I should get computer games instead?

Big corporations wait until everyone else (piddley consumers like us) gets it and helps iron out all the bugs. That's when they migrate to the new version.

I otherwise know nothing of game systems except they deprive kids of exercise and socialization.

I only have the one kid, and there's only so many games we can play, books we can read, and tv to watch.

I have a pretty sizeable fear of her turning into a pale marshmallow with no social skills....but then, video games can be fun. So I'm thinking of a console because I use the computer (internet addict, cough cough)....but not sure yet.

I think the X-Box is generally considered more of an adult game console, and the PS2 is kinda in between.

I also thought of Dreamcast and Nintendo 64. :silly:

except used. I still have my Nintendo 64, actually, and I like to plug her in and play the games once in awhile. :D

But the Gamecube is still around, and there are all sorts of kids games you can get on it.

get scratched easily by small kids. My son went through many games when he was too young to care properly for them, and, as a result, we had to toss them.

Playstation games are notorious for being easy to scratch. That said, they do have a wonderful selection of games for small kids.

You can buy games for a song and a dance at used electronics stores.

You can buy the system for cheap at the same outlet.

And the games, in my opinion, are really fun and fitting for a kid of 6 years.

At least until the kid is about 9 or 10 and can better appreciate (and take care of) a more expensive game console.

My favorite is Conker's Bad Fur Day. :D

Actually, I'd rather play the Mario Bros. games than many of the more hi-tech games.

I think it's a Nintendo 64 system. Yeah, that's what it is. That's what I'd go with, for a 6YO.

What a fun game! I still play it. :blush:

If you don't have Conker's Bad Fur Day, YOU have to get it. It's the first Mature rated game to ever come out, and it created quite a stir when it debuted about 8 years ago. I finally found one at a used electronics store, and I play it all the time.

It is even more fun than Super Mario World! Look on ebay or at used game stores until you find it. It's too funny, and too much fun. Of course, if it came out today, it would only be rated Teen.

The worst scene in it is of a male bee pollenating a well-endowed female flower. :D

:rofl: I will so keep my eyes out for that. :D

I was thinking of what you said in your other post, about scratching the cds....we have that problem with our own dvds/movies/etc....

And the system is much more hardy than the PS or Game Cube. Yeah, I'd go with the Nintendo 64. Plus, you can get it in cool colors, and you can get accessories at used electronics stores for nothing...like wireless controllers, games, etc.

The Cube is cheap, it's simple, and it's designed to do ONLY one thing--play games. Not to mention that its games are more kid-friendly.

wait for the new Nintendo system next year. They tend to make much more kid-friendly games.

They all become obsolete within 3 or 4 years. That's how they get us!


As far as graphics/sound go, the debates rage so strongly that you'd have to admit they're essentially capable of the same quality. It usually comes down to the game's designers to make it incredible.


PC games are a great alternative - all you need to buy are the games!



edited for typo

Playstation Personal.

Too many features to list, but it plays CDs, MP3s, games, movies, has a plasma screen, and you can surf the net and download features from your computer.

It's handheld, but I think you can connect it to your telly or computer.

It's the hottest gift this season.

Of the older systems--Xbox, Gamecube, PS2--I'd go with the PS2, because it also can play DVDs on your TV and it has a tremendous game selection...and you can often find PS2 games on sale at department stores and toy stores for $10.

For portability, though, I'd go with the PSP.



From CNET.com:

PSP stands for PlayStation Portable, but it might as well stand for "Nintendo, you have a problem." One of the most highly anticipated tech products to hit stores in recent memory, the Sony PSP largely delivers on its remarkable promise of bringing a PlayStation 2-like gaming experience to a handheld gaming platform with built-in wireless capabilities, all at a relatively reasonable price. It also doesn't hurt that the PSP can do other tricks, such as play video and music, display images, and--as of the August 2005 v2.0 firmware update--even surf the Web. But while the Sony PSP largely lives up to the hype as a portable gaming device, it still needs some work before it fulfills its potential as an all-in-one portable entertainment unit.

at first he played all the PC games on the computer, since we didn't want to buy the consoles and the games that are so expensive.

So after a while a lot of the PC games seemed to have many problems installing, etc. or there were problems with them, so we agreed to get him the Gamecube. Friends told us that there are more kid appropriate games on that platform and they always work, since the Gamecube only does one thing. That has worked well for us. And he rents games from Blockbuster, and that works out too, rather than spending a fortune on new games he might not like. Personally, there seem to be more "gender friendly" games on PC than Gamecube, but I could be wrong. So many of the games my son likes involve battles. I am always saying, let's find some games that involve cooperation, and not to destroy the enemy, army, monster what have you. ;)

Of course, now he wants an X-box.

My son has the Xbox, the Gamecube, the PS, and will receive the PSP for Xmas. And he has every Gameboy that ever came out.

Yet he plays is old N64 more than any other system, because it's in the family room and he likes to deprive me of my tv viewing.

:D

soon every room in our house will be the game zone. Now he's playing the baseball game in the kitchen, and not here in the computer room. It's scary when every room in the house is slave to the gaming industry. ;)

I bet there are houses where the kids can plug something in in every room....

TV in the den for his gaming, and I'm going to buy myself a TV in my bedroom for Xmas, and I'm going to move the directv cable to MY bedroom. hehehehe.

sometimes I want to watch a "not kid appropriate" DVD in the tv/living room and I have to shoo him out to the kitchen.

tunnel syndrome. Go out and play ball with your friends.

All the systems are coming out with new consoles so anything you buy new now will be obsolete soon (except for the 360.) Maybe get an older system or a used gamecube (they're pretty cheap as consoles go and more durable than the others) and see if she can play games well and manage her time with it wisely, then if the trial run works out wellinvest in a next generation console when they come out and start releasing kids' games? (Seems like the first releases are all for teens and adults, so an older console with a big library of inexpensive kids' games might be a better bet.)

Other than Nintendo, there are a shitload of kids' games for the PS1, and those can be played on the PS1 or the PS2. PS1s are dirt cheap and they were so popular you could probably find somebody to give you one if you asked around a bit.

I think the best deal right now is the game cube with the Mario party 7 included. Cost around 100 bucks. Then if you want to pick up a Barbie or some other girl young game you can.

I think the game cube is the best for the little people.

PSP, portable playstation, I purchase for some son 13's birthday. We were going on a trip the following month and it works well. It's too pricy still for a young child. Well for my pocketbook anyway.

Hell, I'm 22 and still enjoy the hell out of Nintendo, even if they've gone downhill since the glory days of the NES, SNES, and even the N64.

Not only are most Nintendo franchises kid-friendly, but they're not that annoying either. Mario, Donkey Kong, Zelda, and so forth are all great franchises that can be enjoyed by all ages.

A GameCube would be the most practical console to start off with, even if it is on its way out. Yes, the Xbox 360 is fantastic (I have one myself), but other than Kameo: Elements of Power, I can't think of too many games suitable for a six year old out at the moment.

and get Mario Dance Dance Revolution.

You don't sit down, you jump around, and usually it gets pretty fast.

Might be a little complicated for a six year old, but it does get her onto her feet. Plus, she'll probably grow to love it.