I am thinking of treating myself to a new games console this Christmas. I have an original Xbox and my favourite games on that were Splinter Cell and Halo.
I’m not a huge gamer - the most use the Xbox currently gets is as a (very loud) DVD player!
I have a 3 year old son - it would be nice to have a console that we can both use.
What do you recommend that I splash out for?
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Wii.
Are they available anywhere Twenty.
I have seen the peripherals on sale in Smyths and the like but not the consoles themselves.
No matter how ridiculous I’d look with a wiimote playing a game, I’d look orders of magnitude more silly swinging a wiimote without the console!
Gotta be the Wii but as ya say it’s getting a hold of one that’s the problem. I’d give a few games stores a buzz and see when the next shipment is due before Christmas.
Wii! it’s amazing!
they won’t be in stock in Ireland until mid-January though…
I’d have to agree with the consensus and say the Wii. Much more kid-friendly in terms of the controllers and the games themselves. Getting your hands on one before Christmas would take some doing though.
One suggestion would be to hold off on the console until next year since the 360 doesn’t have a whole lot on it for kids and in the meantime get a game like Lego Star Wars 2 for your XBox. I can totally recommend that game for both kids and adults and it might be a good way to see if your son would be into games yet.
Oh don’t worry Claire - he’s well into games. He has one of those vtech games consoles and he loves it.
Its certainly a difficult thing at the moment, what with terrible Wii supply shortages and no PS3 around these parts yet.
The Xbox360 is good, but it is way too loud. There are now a handful of games that would be OK for kids, and if you take it online then theres probably quite a few good & suitable games avaialable on the microsoft arcade.
Perhaps it might make sense to get a handheld console such as the PSP or Nintendo DS, to fill the gap whilst you wait for all of the next-gen consoles to launch.
Hey Steve - thanks for the insight.
Shame the 360 is so loud. My son has a DS - he loves playing Nintendogs on it! I’m looking for something a bit bigger!
The limitation I see with the Wii is that it doesn’t play CDs/DVDs. That is a real shame ‘cos we don’t have a DVD player and use the one in the current Xbox (and I don’t want another device hooked up to the TV - I want a simple swap)!
I’d recommend a Wii as well. I love Nintendo.
If you’re kids were old a 360 might be a good choice, but with young kids I don’t believe you can go wrong with a Wii. I have 3 kids ages 5 and under and they love the Nintendo games. They each a DS as well and I’m sure they will be excited when Santa brings them a Wii this year.
I would buy the wii. Nintendo consules die about a year after every release. How mnay exciting new releases is there for the gametube. Get a ps2 if you dont have one. Loads of different types of games, doesnt matter what you are into, they will have a game that suits. Failing that wait for the ps3.
Maybe the ds, mostly old games, couple of good new ones. Like a lawyer and docotur sim.
WOULDN’T BUY A WII. Ahh what a typo to write.
Die after a year? The gamecube was around for 5. How do you term “exciting” new releases exactly? Gamecube had a ton of quality games (Metroid, Mario Sunshine, Mario Strikers, Zelda, Resident Evil 4). Granted it couldn’t keep up with Sony’s release schedules in terms of numbers but the quality was a hell of a lot better across the board.
The reason why people are recommending the Wii is the fact that it’s so family friendly.
Hmm. Cant think of anything that wasnt an old game rehashed after about a year out. Cant think of anything interesting in the last 3 at least. But I have a policy of not argueing with Apple and Nintedo fans. Agree to disagree.
Sony I find family friendly, spyro the dragon, hellokitty and other cute fun little games that kids enjoy and adults can have a bit of fun with.
I just dont think a consule that has been know to cause adults injurys (wii arm and people being hit with the remote) and break items when adults are using it should be given to kids. Id worry about it.
I would also argue a lot about quality. But I just dont really like most of nintedos games, so I suppose i should comment.
If you get a psp, Id recomend Dark chroncile as a really good game thats suitable for a kid to watch being played and maybe play (i havent tested it). Three might be a bit young though, but at 6 or so they have a blast. Its cartoony and not too difficult with lots to do. But the dodging and blocking might be a bit tough.
It’s not a new console..But just in terms of Xbox games you can pick up lots of great ‘old’ games for 10 - 20 euro a piece (try the shop on Lower Liffy st, just to the north of Happeny Bride, think it may be a GameStop now); including the newer Splinter Cell games and Halo 2. If you’re looking for a Wii (which in fairness the sprog will probably enjoy far more), Wiffy.ie have a post on the best places to find one before Christmas - http://www.wiffy.ie/blog/nintendo-wii/6-tips-to-getting-a-wii-before-christmas-in-ireland/
One more vote for the nintendo wii
What did you end up getting? I’m interested in buying a new console myself.
Honestly the best games console for you will be based on a number of things.
1) Do you want to play HD DVD? With Sony winning this war the choice would be a complete no brainer, it has to be the PS3
2) If you just want games that the whole family can enjoy then it’s the wii for sure.
I hope you find what you are looking for