which game console

tomrob

We have 8 year old boy and he looking for either a Wii ,Xbox, or Playstation for xmas what would be best to get him we not up to date with this stuff

Varik

tomrob wrote: »

We have 8 year old boy and he looking for either a Wii ,Xbox, or Playstation for xmas what would be best to get him we not up to date with this stuff

Find out what his friends have.

At 8 he has played his share of game over at friends houses and probably knows the games he likes, and as some games are only on certain consoles this would be a good place to start.

gizmo

While I'd agree with Varik on the asking what console his friends have thing, I can't help but wonder are any of the best games on either the 360 or PS3 actually suitable for an 8 year old? Or to be more precise, are enough of the best games on either platform suitable so as to make it a worthwhile purchase.

Grumpypants

PS3 easy choice, with Little big planet 1 or 2 and Rayman origins.

penev10

There are ample games on any of those to keep an 8 year old happy.

As previous posters have suggested, what do his friends have? as it would mean he could borrow games from them rather than you having to buy them!;)

I reckon the DS has the best range of games for the under 10s and it would also keep him from hogging the TV!

cherryghost

tbh all of the consoles warrant a purchase at this time of their lives. They all have plenty of AAA games.

I would recommend either getting the Wii or perhaps if you decide to get the Xbox360 or PS3 then to purchase the Kinect or the Move.

gizmo

Grumpypants wrote: »

PS3 easy choice, with Little big planet 1 or 2 and Rayman origins.

Anything else though?

The Wii would have Rayman but also the Marios, Zeldas, Metroids, Donkey Kong, Kirby, Okami, Epic Mickey, Zack & Wiki, Sonic Colors, Lost Winds, Animal Crossing, Mario Kart and other suitable multiplatforms like the Lego series.

Grumpypants

gizmo wrote: »

Anything else though?

The Wii would have Rayman but also the Marios, Zeldas, Metroids, Donkey Kong, Kirby, Okami, Epic Mickey, Zack & Wiki, Sonic Colors, Lost Winds, Animal Crossing, Mario Kart and other suitable multiplatforms like the Lego series.

Killzone 3;)

TomCo

Tbh I think people forget what it was like to be 8.

When I was 8 I was playing Doom, Quake, Duke Nukem 3D - and loving every minute of it.

I'm not entirely convinced most 8 year olds would be entertained playing simplistic motion control games or subsisting totally on a diet of kiddy games. I'd say base the purchase on which platform has the best games, not the best "child friendly" games.

BeefyS

Yeah as was said Id go with what his friends have, or heck maybe even check with the young lad himself!

jaykhunter

Enderman wrote: »

tbh all of the consoles warrant a purchase at this time of their lives. They all have plenty of AAA games.

I'd agree with this -- your son will be happy with any console. I have all 3 and right now i'd recommend getting the PS3. Free online play, great media hub for music and videos, blu-ray player and great exclusives. As long as your son isn't pining for Halo, Gears of War or Fable, all the big hitters are multiplatform (Batman, GTA etc) and I'd recommend getting into PS exclusives the Uncharted series; Little Big Planet, maybe God of War.

I can't underscore that both PS3 and 360 are fantastic consoles and both are worth the price. Although Wii has some AAA games they're few and far between and inevitably it'll collect dust and the big multiplatform games generally don't appear on Wii due to it's outdated standard-def tech.

That said if you want a console that the whole family can enjoy from Xmas and the coming weeks, the Wii sports games are a lot of fun.

FearDark

I'd go with whatever console most of his friends have. What mattered most to me as a kid was being able to swap games with each other. Back then it was whether to have a megadrive or snes though!

Funkfield

If this was AH I'd say the Atari Jaguar, no contest.

But honestly I would go with XBOX 360. Very common console. Massive amount of releases.

gizmo

TomCo wrote: »

Tbh I think people forget what it was like to be 8.

When I was 8 I was playing Doom, Quake, Duke Nukem 3D - and loving every minute of it.

I'm not entirely convinced most 8 year olds would be entertained playing simplistic motion control games or subsisting totally on a diet of kiddy games. I'd say base the purchase on which platform has the best games, not the best "child friendly" games.

When I was 8 I had a SNES, didn't do me any harm

jaykhunter, did you just suggest God of War for an 8 year old?

WarZoneBrother

The Gamecube Man that was a class machine for all ages I felt..

tomrob

Thanks for all the replys he has played them all in friends houses and likes the wii, we were told Xbox bit complicated for that age and playstation good, we want something that can play dvds as well which rules out the wii i suppose any one no best place to look and cheapest

Retr0gamer

PS3 will play DVDs and Blu-rays. The 360 will play DVDs but sounds like a jet engine taking off when it does.

The Wii is a decent present but it only has a few games on it that are popular and good. The rest of the good games you really have to track down which I'm sure an 8 year old wouldn't.

I'd get the 360 or PS3, he won't grow out of it as quick. PS3 if you want to watch films and it has a free online service as opposed to the 360. However if most of his friends have a 360 then go for that since he can swap games.

360 and PS3 aren't too complicated for an 8 year old, you'll be surprised how quick he adapts.

seanybiker

gizmo wrote: »

When I was 8 I had a SNES, didn't do me any harm

jaykhunter, did you just suggest God of War for an 8 year old?

Atari 2600 for me. Thought it was the best invention ever.

I'd go for the wii nowadays for an 8 year old but have noticed that playing online on Xbox and ps3 there are plenty of kids playing them aswell so any of the 3 should be grand. Hate when some child laughs after killing me online.

da gamer

xbox, simple

Grumpypants

Retr0gamer wrote: »

360 and PS3 aren't too complicated for an 8 year old, you'll be surprised how quick he adapts.

Yip people really under estimate kids these days, I've friends who often visit with their kids and they are under 5 and can work the PS3 with ease.

Still the SNES is the one they naturally gravitate to.

Varik

tomrob wrote: »

we were told Xbox bit complicated for that age and playstation good

Retr0gamer wrote: »

PS3 will play DVDs and Blu-rays. The 360 will play DVDs but sounds like a jet engine taking off when it does.

360 and PS3 aren't too complicated for an 8 year old, you'll be surprised how quick he adapts.

PS3s XMB is simple compare to the 360, it's used on Sony's tvs and other stuff as well but neither will hamper a child for long.

Another thing to consider is that netfix is coming to Ireland and that is compatible with PS3 and 360, streaming of tv and films and the cost is very low.

You may want in either case to get a remote for the 360/PS3 if it'll get a lot of DVD/blu-ray use, as using the game controller is workable and does all the same things but you may prefer using a remote.

Personally i'd say that the PS3 has more games that are slightly more suited to that age and a bit older(10/11), but the wii has a lot for that age group as well.

I think for the PS3 at least the Ratchet & Clank games and Sly trilogy (all 3 games for cheap) would be good.

jaykhunter

gizmo wrote: »

jaykhunter, did you just suggest God of War for an 8 year old?

i had trouble naming exclusives...

I'd also agree that kids can adapt fairly quickly - actually best get them started on more 'complicated' controllers, it'll be a breeze. I'll also mention that the PS3 controller would suit your child much more, because it's smaller and weighs practically nothing! wheras the xbox controller is bigger and much weightier. Personally i prefer the xbox controller (being 28) but kids starting out i'd highly recommend the ps3 controller.

Zeouterlimits

jaykhunter wrote: »

I'd also agree that kids can adapt fairly quickly - actually best get them started on more 'complicated' controllers, it'll be a breeze. I'll also mention that the PS3 controller would suit your child much more, because it's smaller and weighs practically nothing! wheras the xbox controller is bigger and much weightier. Personally i prefer the xbox controller (being 28) but kids starting out i'd highly recommend the ps3 controller.

Don't really know if that's an issue, my girlfriend's 9 year old sister had no problems with it playing her marathon Tales of Vesperia sessions.

Either a 360/PS3 OP, both have a longer life span now than the Wii, with the WiiU next year. Both have plenty of games aimed at your kid.
Going by my own experience with kids, I'd go with the 360.

hero25

am in similar situation....kids little bit older. should we get 4GB or 250GB xbox (with kinect)...seems a huge difference and why have MS jumped to 250? woud it be needed? can memory be addede afterwards? tnks..

Otacon

hero25 wrote: »

am in similar situation....kids little bit older. should we get 4GB or 250GB xbox (with kinect)...seems a huge difference and why have MS jumped to 250? woud it be needed? can memory be addede afterwards? tnks..

The HDD can be replaced with a bigger one but they are proprietery so can be quite expensive.

The HDD is mostly used to store game data, so if you want to install games to the HDD [this reduces the amount of time the disk drive is in use and in theory, prolongs the life of the console], the 250GB would be the best bet.

edgecutter

All consoles are great, but I believe that you would get more out of the ps3. It has blur ray player and you can access the internet through it to watch random things from youtube or other channels. I watch some football games through my ps3 on the big telly. I don't believe that xbox can do this.