• This topic has 61 replies, 36 voices, and was last updated 9 years ago by eskay.
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  • Best value gaming console for 6yo?
  • Garry_Lager
    Full Member

    Our kid is asking after some sort of games console for Christmas – which I’m considering. What would be a good choice here? My knowledge of what’s happening with computer games is confined to the zx spectrum, so I have no clue where the various console families are currently at.
    I’m thinking not the latest model, maybe one (or two?) back which would be cheaper and have loads of games available.

    If anyone wants to weigh in on the general idea of 6yos playing computer games then please do – seems healthy enough to me as long as it doesn’t become a time sink. Although I admit I don’t really know much about the online dimension of modern games – we didn’t have that option with Knight Lore.

    the-muffin-man
    Full Member

    The original Wii – dirt cheap, loads of games, and loads of fun for 6yr olds (and the rest of the family).

    binners
    Full Member

    What the-muffin-man said

    Wii’s are by far the best for kids that age (and adults my age 😉 ). And can be had for peanuts nowadays

    Mariocart is enough to justify it in itself. Or Rabbids go home….

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    MrsToast
    Free Member

    Original Wii – lots of fun, kid friendly games, also backwards compatible with GameCube games, all of which can be picked up cheaply.

    P-Jay
    Free Member

    It’s not a bad suggestion, but the original Wii was old fashioned when it was new and is largely obsolete now – it’s replacement is the Wii U which hadn’t proved popular and if you look back at the history of Consoles that often means a very short life-span so you might get a year out of a Wii, and not much longer out of a U.

    Personally it would depend on budget, but I’d go for a PS4 or a Xbox One, yes they both cost a fortune – £350 or so – but the previous generation of PS3 and Xbox 360 first launched 8-9 years ago and games are still being released for both in the short-term, I suspect they’ll have a 10 year life-span before they’re completely obsolete.

    You never know Jnr might be 14 before they start moaning about getting a new one 😉

    My Lad is mad on Minecraft and has been for a while, it’s very creative and aside from launching a few low-rez arrows at Creepers it’s very kid friendly. (I don’t mind it either 😉

    GeForceJunky
    Full Member

    I’ve got a vgc 500GB PS3 Super Slim (best version of the ps3), one controller and Gran Turismo 6 for £70 collected (Sheffield/Glos).

    rockhopper70
    Full Member

    My kids had a wii from age 5, 8 and 11.
    Last year they got a wii u.
    Aside from minecraft, I don think the ps3/4 or Xbox offer much* to the younger audience.
    The wii/wii u though, has loads for them.
    And if you get a wii u, there are grown up games like splinter zone and need for speed, which run really well.
    I’d go for a nintendo for a 6yo.
    If you are interested, I could sell you our old wii and a handful of games to start you off. I’d need to check where we are with controllers tho as they were compatible with the wii u.

    *happy to be proven wrong.

    the-muffin-man
    Full Member

    XBox 360 and PS3 are both good machines, but the games are geared to an older audience. The whole Wii system seems to be easier for younger kids to pick up.

    And I’ll be honest I used to play on my daughters Wii a damn sight more than I do her XBox 360.

    mogrim
    Full Member

    If my kids are any guide, I’d get him an iPad.

    Edit: said “him”, could be a “her”. Mine are…

    Junkyard
    Free Member

    if you go for the Wii i have many age suitable games – about 10 ish ??? at a guess that you can have for free. Some accessories as well- paddle i think wheel thing some other stuff. It is the best for young kids IME and i assume pretty cheap to get these days.

    nemesis
    Free Member

    My son is 6 and he’s pretty much grown out of the Wii that he played from around 3.5yrs old and much prefers the Xbox 360 he was given about 6 months ago (though he does still sometimes play wii games that he doesn’t have on the Xbox – the older Skylandes for example).

    You can get 360s for well under £100 now and games can be bought for £10 or less online or at Cash Converters, etc.

    midlifecrashes
    Full Member

    Another Wii vote here. Ours is going strong and still gets plenty of use, although there is now a PS3 alongside it. Mario and Lego games are great.

    WackoAK
    Free Member

    Get the Wii, both the console and games can be had cheap and the you can join in to add to the fun.

    Just make sure you secure the controller with the wrist strap or you’ll have a broken tv and furniture…

    duckman
    Full Member

    Another vote for the Wii, and the games work on the Wii U,something Microsoft and Sony could have paid attention to.

    isto
    Free Member

    Wii with Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort and Mario Kart. I gave mine to my friends 5 year old and he loves it. It is now his life’s ambition to beat all my high scores.

    binners
    Full Member

    My 10 year old can now beat me on Mariocart

    A sad sad day 😥

    Does she not realise I honed those skills over years as a student

    seosamh77
    Free Member

    The wii is probably about right, just be aware(as far as I know) that it’s not HD, so looks pretty terrible at 480p on a hi def screen.

    I “think” an hdmi converter might upscale it a bit..

    dknwhy
    Full Member

    I’d opt for a tablet of some kind. Got my lad a Hudl when he was 6 and it’s great for simple games. Good for car journeys, holidays etc too when you can fill it with movies.
    Kids tire of games easily so having the option to download free/cheap games easily is a bonus.

    njee20
    Free Member

    The wii is probably about right, just be aware(as far as I know) that it’s not HD, so looks pretty terrible at 480p on a hi def screen.

    Will a 6 year old be bothered?

    I’m not!

    seosamh77
    Free Member

    njee20 – Member
    The wii is probably about right, just be aware(as far as I know) that it’s not HD, so looks pretty terrible at 480p on a hi def screen.
    Will a 6 year old be bothered?

    I’m not!
    I wouldn’t imagine so, in a few year they will be though! It’ll give them an appreciation of a graphics upgrade that we used to experience in the 80/90s! 😆

    moshimonster
    Free Member

    Wii for a 6 year old on a budget would be a great choice. Wii U if you want to splash out a bit more. We upgraded to a Wii U this year and it is a massive improvement in graphics etc, but I’m not sure a 6 year old is going to care. Games are fun for both and loads available for that age group. PS4 would be massive overkill IMO for that age group. All current consoles will be technically obsolete in a few years, so I wouldn’t worry about that too much.

    AlexSimon
    Full Member

    isto – Member

    Wii with Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort and Mario Kart. I gave mine to my friends 5 year old and he loves it. It is now his life’s ambition to beat all my high scores.
    I was thinking the same. The controllers are the expensive bit and you’ll need at least 2.
    Stick to the games published by Nintendo themselves and you wont go far wrong.
    Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort and Mario Kart
    Mario Galaxy 1 (#2 is a bit hard imo)
    Wii Play
    Wario games are fun too.
    Then add Zelda when you think he/she’s ready 🙂 Mario Galaxy and Zelda Skyward Sword is the best 2 games I’ve ever played.

    moshimonster
    Free Member

    The wii is probably about right, just be aware(as far as I know) that it’s not HD, so looks pretty terrible at 480p on a hi def screen.

    I “think” an hdmi converter might upscale it a bit..

    It actually looks okay if you use the component output option. Not that a 6 year old will be bothered. The thing with the Wii is that it always focused on gameplay and fun rather than graphics performance. Wii Sports was just epic for small kids to play and the low res graphics don’t affect the gameplay at all.

    moshimonster
    Free Member

    I’d opt for a tablet of some kind.

    We made that mistake with our first daughter. Had to “lose” it in the end as she was getting addicted (aged about 3 at the time). No way is she having another electronic nanny. At least with the TV based consoles you can limit their exposure more appropriately.

    Jason
    Free Member

    We upgraded to a WiiU last Christmas. I got a really good deal from Amazon’s Black Friday sale, I think it was under £200 with three games included. My 9 year old son loves it, his favourites seem to be Mario Kart 8, Lego City Undercvoer and Disney Infinity 2.0. Super Mario World is pretty good to. For kids it is a really good console, the Nintendo games are really good to play. The console is a huge step forward from the Wii, for whatever reason Nintendo just didn’t market it properly when it was first launched.

    st
    Full Member

    I’d suggest a Wii.

    We have one gathering dust as our 6 & 9 year olds aren’t really interested I games at all. I was well into the original Playstation and PS2 as a mid but can’t be arsed now so they certainly don’t get any encouragement from me and Mum.

    Having said that if they expressed an interest in gaming I’d look at something. The whole idea of young kids playing CoD and all that really bothers me too and the more retro fun aspect of the Wii appeals.

    From my crude perspective a Wii (or variant) is ideal for youngish kids to play fund games on whilst the playstation and Xboxes work for older kids, those who want what their mates have and of course parents who want to crack open their own games after the kids are in bed.

    moshimonster
    Free Member

    The console is a huge step forward from the Wii, for whatever reason Nintendo just didn’t market it properly when it was first launched.

    Isn’t it just! Having read some of the negative hype after launch we upgraded anyway and it was a pleasant surprise. Nintendo seem to have got their act together now though and many of the games get excellent reviews. It really is a great console and the new controller is excellent too with the secondary display.

    Rusty-Shackleford
    Free Member

    [shameless opportunist]
    I have a Wii console, fit board, 2 controllers, Guitar Hero (plus guitar), Mario Kart, Zelda Twighlight Princess, Zelda Skyward Sword, Wii Sports and Wii Play; £50 collected (Warwickshire).
    [/shameless opportunist]

    Garry_Lager
    Full Member

    Thks all – plenty to think about (although the Wii sounds fairly unanimous).

    AlexSimon
    Full Member

    Nintendo need to learn about launches.
    Rule #1: Launch with a ground-breaking Mario game and a game that introduces the new console features (i.e. Wii Sports – 2D Mario and Nintendoland weren’t strong enough).
    Rule #2: Follow up with Mario Kart 6 months later
    Rule #3: Christmas after launch, release a new Zelda game.

    If only they could make the games fast enough!

    marcus7
    Free Member

    Mine are at this very moment playing one their 360 on Disney infinity… They are 6 and 8 and love it, can be costly for extra controllers etc but the games are good.

    StirlingCrispin
    Full Member

    Wii.

    Got to laugh when they’re stripped down to their pants, working away on the the boxing or running (Mario Olympics 2012 gets a lot of use in our house). Gives a chance for a bit of exercise when it’s dark and wet outside.

    Mario Kart – use the cheat sheets. “How do you find the short cuts dad?”

    Cougar
    Full Member

    I “think” an hdmi converter might upscale it a bit..

    I spoke about this on the recent TV thread, but you can’t “upscale” detail tha isn’t there. It’s not Bladerunner.

    Wii U would get my vote, more ‘family’ games than the “big two” and is much more modern than the Wii which, which innovative in a lot of ways, was still fundamentally crap at launch.

    nuke
    Full Member

    Wii for a 6 year old

    …but if anyone has a xbox 360 slim in top condition, i need one for my son 😀

    TheBrick
    Free Member

    wii emulator (dolphin) + controler + IR emitter. IF you have a pc to use as media pc already this could be < £20

    http://www.dolphin-emulator.com/

    martinhutch
    Full Member

    Wii.

    Got to laugh when they’re stripped down to their pants, working away on the the boxing or running (Mario Olympics 2012 gets a lot of use in our house). Gives a chance for a bit of exercise when it’s dark and wet outside.

    Mario Kart – use the cheat sheets. “How do you find the short cuts dad?”

    My daughter laughed at me when I flailed around for hours beating all the various ‘characters’ at table tennis in Wii Sports Resort. Great fun. The cycle race is a laugh as well – if you sprint too much you ‘bonk’ and lose horribly.

    RustySpanner
    Full Member

    Cougar – Moderator
    Wii U would get my vote, more ‘family’ games than the “big two” and is much more modern than the Wii which, which innovative in a lot of ways, was still fundamentally crap at launch.

    How so?

    The Game Cube compatibility and the control system means it’s been used far, far more than I expected it would.
    The Motion Plus should have been there from the start, granted, but it wasn’t too shabby without.

    I still think Nintendo have the gameplay thing nailed.
    Yep, paid up Miyamoto fanboi – he raised the bar so high.
    They seem pretty determined to carry on in the same manner with much of the new stuff.

    The limitations of the hardware haven’t really bothered me – the arrival of the Wii coincided with me having a lot less time to spend gaming on my own and enabled me to enjoy some quality screen time with the family.
    We had three generations playing Wii Sports/Island with the family over the past few years.

    And Resi with the Wii controllers is just a much better, more immersive experience.

    No Wii U yet, but I usually buy secondhand a couple of years after launch anyway.

    TomB
    Full Member

    Xbox 360 is the request from our young lad, mainly due to minecraft. There seem to be various versions, 4gb, 250gb etc, can anyone enlighten me as to the differences between them? Cheers

    MrsToast
    Free Member

    Xbox 360 is the request from our young lad, mainly due to minecraft. There seem to be various versions, 4gb, 250gb etc, can anyone enlighten me as to the differences between them? Cheers

    Only difference is storage space. In addition to saved games, you can install games on the hard drive, which can make load times faster/slightly improve performance, plus if you’re planning on buying any games digitally off the store, they’ll be installed on the machine. If you’re connecting to Xbox Live (the online service) though, you can save stuff to the cloud.

    GeForceJunky
    Full Member

    You need a 250gb really, the 4gb is not enough for a lot of game updates.

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