Planning to get a games console for our boy to entertain his mates. I know nothing about them, except the choice seems to be:
– XBox
– PS3
– WII

So which should we go for and why?

cheers!

The age of said offspring + mates would assist in the decision making process 🙂

Well being a big child at heart I have a PS3. On popularity alone then the Xbox is the best to go for. Every teenage boy seems to have one and I believe the online Xbox community is huge for online playing.

I don’t really bother with online gaming so I couldn’t tell you how big the PS3 community is. Some great games for the PS3 but arguably more for the Xbox.

The Wii, in my opinion, is a family gaming machine and depending on the age of your son I wouldn’t bother really. It’s game choices are becoming more ‘kiddy’ and more ‘family’ so it’s hard to consider it a serious gaming machine.

I love my PS3 but I’d go for an Xbox.

PS3 – so you can use it to watch Bluray films.

If you already have a Bluray player then either a PS3 or an XBox – 6 and two 3s and half a dozen of the other between them.

Wiis are a bit limited and aimed at a young/family market (ie if your son is 15 there won’t be much on it for him to enjoy with his mates – but if he is 8 and you want to join in too then the Wii is a great option).

Age – 9 and up.

Thanks fervouredimage – Xbox seems to be cheaper too? Unless you go for ones with a big harddisk? I’m not sure what this is for unless they double up as a PC… or maybe it’s just for storing games on..

An Xbox. With Connect. Wonder who’s got one of those for sale?

Aged 9 – I would go for the Wii then.

If I had the money, I’d actually buy both an XBox and a PS3.

If it’s just for your lad, then probably an XBox (but be prepared to shell out on the Live subscription for the year too). There are features which is making it more useful too, like LoveFilm, YouTube, iPlayer, 4OD (last two yet to come; sometime soon this year).

EDIT: Oops, nine? Then, a Wii’s yer only man.

We bought a Wii with London 2012 Olympic Games, Just Dance 3 and a pre-owned copy of Mario Galaxy.

Kids are 10 and 8. It’s been great fun, definately need at least one more controller though. I wouldn’t have minded an XBox but the additional cost put me off a bit.

Wii was a bargin for £99 (plus the two other games), wish we’d got one earlier.

Wii has iPlayer which was a bit of a bonus, but no lovefilm, 4oD etc

As an adult i have a PS3 as it has several purposes.

However for my son (8yrs) i bought him an Xbox 360 for xmas which he loves, in my opinion its better for children, cheaper and much more common in his group of friends.

Great info chaps. XBox is leading at the mo.

Theres something about the Wii I don’t like. Can’t put my finger on it, probably the TV ads..

So the option of the 250GB hard drive with the XBox, is that for storing games?

So the option of the 250GB hard drive with the XBox, is that for storing games?

Yup. You can download games from the disc to the hard drive (but you still need the disc in the machine) and it’s much quieter to play them that way. It’s a noisy bugger when it’s spinning (though newer models might be quieter).

There are also lots of free demos and little arcade games that kids would like in the marketplace that are downloadable.

I think at 9 years old an Xbox is still the one to go for. 9 year olds are a lot more game savvy than most 15 year olds.

The extra hard disk is just more memory to allow for more storage of info -game save data etc.

It’s not worth the extra cost initially so don’t worry about that. In stock trim it’s got ample memory space.

My two are coming up for nine, and if I were starting again now I’d probably opt for Xbox with Kinect instead of the Wii we got a couple of years ago. Wii games are good, but probably aimed at the slightly younger gamers with more cartoony stuff. Having said that, they still use it a lot – the lego games are excellent, and the controller is slightly less RSI inducing.

Actually, the best way to know is to subtly ask him what console all his mates have/want. That’s what he’ll want.

Hmm, might just try that one!

the best way to know is to subtly ask him what console all his mates have/want.

This. The ability to swap games and play with friends outstrips any other definition of ‘best’. No fun being the only MSX owner when all your mates have Spectrums.

XBox is cheaper yes but, remember that to play online you need to keep paying monthly/yearly or whatever

PS3 is free
+ PS3 imo is more versatile, mine gets used more for the media side of things than the games though.

what do his mates have though?
that’s probably your answer tbh

We have an X-Box & Kinect in the lounge and a Wii upstairs in the playroom. Our 11 yr old daughter uses both, but not really online apart from playing Mariokart. Mariokart is brill.

The extra hard disk is just more memory to allow for more storage of info -game save data etc.

It’s not worth the extra cost initially so don’t worry about that.

I’d say the opposite. Adding a disk afterwards is more expensive overall than getting it at the outset, and it’s pretty much mandatory if you’re going to be using the console online. There’s lots of free stuff to be had, demos and the like. Don’t the the 4Gb version, you’ll regret it.

XBox is cheaper yes but, remember that to play online you need to keep paying monthly/yearly or whatever

PS3 is free

Conversely, the online experience on the Xbox is far better. Given the choice and all other things being equal, I’d rather pay £30pa for Xbox Live than have the PS3’s free offering.

PS3 imo is more versatile, mine gets used more for the media side of things than the games though.

PS3 is a Blu-ray player, which is a killer app for some people. Not sure as there’s much else it can do over the Xbox in terms of ‘versatility’ that a nine year old would be overly fussed about.

These days, for many reasons, it is likely to be the Xbox with Kinect. The Wii was cute when it came out and the interaction with the console was quite unique and great fun. However, the Kinect really changes the landscape. The majority of people I know who bought the Wii have long since stopped using it as the novelty wore off. Those that have the PS3 or the Xbox are still going strong. Sony had a few issues last year with security on their network (compromised security, account details stolen sort of thing) and it is generally regarded as inferior to Xbox Live. These days I would say it isn’t worth buying a PS3 for the Blu Ray player as you can get better quality players as separate, dedicated units. With both the Xbox and the Ps3 there is no requirement to subscribe to the live service but it can certainly enhance the gaming experience. Expect new applications for the Kinect over the coming year and there are rumblings about the successor machines for both MS and Sony. However, I would expect that these are still a way off appearing.

Which, in summary, means it’s Xbox for the win. 🙂

Wii and a HDMI port on the front of my home cinema amp for when my son’s friends bring their PS3/Xboxes round. It will save a lot of arguments later about when he can have Call of Duty etc… (Never in the case of Wii). Also four player Mariokart on a 96″ screen is great fun!

EDIT:

Not sure as there’s much else it can do over the Xbox in terms of ‘versatility’ that a nine year old would be overly fussed about

It can stream LoveFilm children’s films, if that matters to you.

I should be having a brand new Xbox for sale soon… once Orange deliver it to me 😈

Spoilt in our house we have all three.
This us my opinion.
Xbox for games, love xbox live and we have 160gb iPod attached for playing all the music.
Ps3 never play games on it but use all the time for bluray/DVD streaming movies from mac or laptop. Also catchup tv and love film(you can now now do on xbox)
Wii rarely gets touched it looks so dated with very poor graphics. Will trade in all our bits and get a kinect for Xbox.

As said above, the PS3 has limitations as a Blu-ray player. If you are serious about your HD movie watching, I’d go for a standalone machine.

Which, in summary, means it’s Xbox for the win.

I’m thinking it’s made it across the line first..

(With a 96″ screen) 😯

It can stream LoveFilm children’s films, if that matters to you.

So can the Xbox.

If you are serious about your HD movie watching, I’d go for a standalone machine.

It’s for a nine year old.

Please just ask your Son.

The best option is the best for HIM not what the best console is.

RE If all his mates have a xbox then they can share games, controllers, play together etc.

COD on the screen with full surround sound is pretty impressive. Sending the boys home with their gaming machines makes it painless on a day to day basis. We also get a lot of friends round 😉

COD = fish to me ?? Ah, Call of Duty. Not on my watch. 😉

PS3 has limitations as a Blu-ray player

what are they? It’s hard to imagine how the quality could be better. Seems to do a teriffic job at upscaling DVD’s as well.

PS3 is a pretty consummate BD player, to be fair.

It’s for a nine year old.

And? Our main gaming machine is in the lounge.

jon, sorry for the throwaway comment, but at this moment in time I can’t remember. Did read up a lot about various machines though a couple of years ago when I bought a Sony BD player.

And? Our main gaming machine is in the lounge.

And, I doubt that a nine year old is going to be overly concerned about the picture quality of HD movies. Well, a normal nine year old; I probably would have been.

Cougar, are you arguing for the sake of it? If by chance it ends up in the lounge where the big telly might be and will be used by the family for watching Blu-rays, then my comment is relevant.

Not sure now, but when we got my son’s XBox we had to pay extra for the WiFi hardware (not near the Internet cable/router).

But for a 9 year old I’d second the XBox, smaller disk and subscribe to Live – plus ours sat in the lounge for the first couple of years, just so we could ‘monitor’. Still not in his bedroom though.

are you arguing for the sake of it?

No, I’m reading the OP rather than answering an entirely different question that I’ve just made up.

And thereby dismissing any other comments saying ‘get a PS3 cos it plays Blu-ray’?

Not really bothered about Blu-Ray. Haven’t got any Blu-Ray disks for a start! All comments are useful.
(BD = ? )

No, I was thereby dismissing any other comments that suggested a nine year old might be serious about his HD movies.