HELP! My husband and I are so confused as to what gaming console to buy our children for Christmas. They want a Wii, they want an Xbox360, they want a PS3….. They don’t know what they want and frankly neither do we! They know they want a gaming system, but they don’t know the difference, they just want one. After searching over the Internet, we have no idea what is the difference between them, which is best, the best games, etc. We have read forums, which turn into complete console wars between the avid gamers and I can’t make anything of their arguments. We just want some opinions as to what would be best. We THINK we like the systems that watch you with a camera and mock you on the screen. We currently have a PS2 (purchased 4 years ago) with approximately 30 games if this helps.
My kids are girl 5, boy 11.
Thanks everyone for all your help, advice and opinions. I read every one!! After all the reading and much deliberation with the husband, we decided on the Wii. It was an excellent choice and after monitoring the kids since Christmas, we've already gotten our money's worth from the console. Dad gets frustrated and I get aggravated when playing, but the kids love it so much. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your help. :)
Seconding the Xbox 360 with Kinect. It is absolutely amazing. A lot of my favorite games aren't the most family friendly, but Kinectamals is absolutely adorable, and Keflings and Plants vs Zombies are even cuter.
The Wii is typically the more "family friendly" console, with more games geared to the younger gamers.
And the PS3? Well...it's just a souped up blue-ray player.
My SO has an Xbox - he really likes it and the games are incredibly realistic. I guess that applies to all modern video games, but still, I am amazed at how far entertainment technology has come in the past few years.
I don't know how old your kids are, but I would personally suggest the Xbox360 with the Kinect attachment. We just got it last week, and we ALL love it! My 9 year old stepdaughter plays it every day. The nice thing about the Kinect is that there are no controllers for the motion games. With both the Wii and the PS3, you have to hold something while playing. I've heard a lot of stories, especially with kids, of them not remembering to put the wristband on, and flinging the controller into something across the room on accident. The Kinect is very easy to use. If one person starts playing a game, and then another person wants to join in, you don't have to pause the game or restart. The other person just steps into the playing area and the Kinect will recognize another person. My sister in law has a Wii, and now she wants an Xbox360 after she played ours.
If your kids are younger (4-12) I'd get the Wii. It is the system with the most kid games and it's easier to use. That's what we're getting for our almost 10 year old girl this year after asking the guy at gamestop lots of questions.
We had all 3 systems..until about 3 weeks ago when we sold the dust-collector the PS3 was. But our own child is now a teen (girl) and mostly my hubby plays games now. We kept our Wii and use for family gatherings and occasionally when dd has some of her teen pals over they enjoy it. We need the "resort" games one tho! :-)
But for over all playing, we are excited to get the new Kinect and try that. We , at our house, do not have "iPods" but rather the Microsoft equivalent (Zune Players) and so have a Zune account (Xbox is a Microsoft product) on there....so we stream movies live from there for "X box points", so we don't need to be Netflix members or anything. Works for us.
Others talk about the Blue ray player benefit of the PS3..but consider how much you will REALLY use that feature. That along with one war-type game my hubby wanted to play are the reasons we got ours..and after it sitting there and collecting dust for a few years, we sold it on Craigslist a few weeks ago for $250..it was barely used (he played the one game maybe 20 hours total and we probably watched 8-10 blueray movies on it). We watch DVD's on the Xbox.
We actually have 2 Xbox 360s....one is in our bedroom. I can play or watch movies via streaming or DVD (I get many from the public library for free)...so we are definitely Microsoft fans....it works for us!
Good luck in your choice!
forget the Wii....it's already outdated! PS3 has Move & XBox360 has Kinect - all of which eliminates the need for the Wii.
My older son owns a PS3 with Move. He loves it. He uses all available options including Blu-Ray, messaging, & WiFi. My younger son owns an XBox360 & will be receiving a Kinect accessory for Christmas. He also enjoys all options such as messaging & WiFi. They both stream Netflix thru their systems & love it!
As for the ages of your kids, we waited until our younger son was 13 before we allowed him to connect to our WiFi. We also monitored his gaming & he could only play against friends online....as opposed to strangers. We also have tried to censor the games he has access to.....avoiding those for "M" audience. This is a challenge since his brother is 23!
Graphics-wise, the PS3 seems crisper....but the tv it's on is also bigger which may factor into the results. Hope all of this helps!
Xbox ..They were the first to have the idea about the kinect they have been working on it for years you dont have to hold a stupid looking thing in your hand...The wii doesnt have online gaming with friends the graphics are junk and so are the games dont waste your money.. the ps3 sux The graphics are ok the updates that come out for games are way behind on the ps3 ,unless you want it for a game that is only out for the ps3 i wouldnt waste my money who care that is plays blueray it junk...
In my opinion, the Wii games are less violent than the other consoles. Xbox360 has a lot of problems and the guys I work with will no longer buy but them because of the "red ring of death", which means your console overheats and dies. I'm actually getting the PS3 for my kids this year but they are ages 15 and 12. Your best bet is to look at the games available for each system.
XBOX 360 with Kinect-Hands down!!! The Kinect blows the Wii away (according to my husband and boys). You don't need to use the controller with it and it catches your every move. IT is tons of fun and great excercise. For non-kinect games they like the XBOX better too because it has better graphics. This makes all of the sports games like Madden and NHL play much better as well as the Lego series and the gory series like Halo. Since your boy will probably be playing a LOT more than your daughter (I firmly believe boys and men are genetically wired to like video games) I would get the XBOX.
Also-you can get Netflix through your XBOX as well.
we have a wii & a ps3, if i would have known that the ps3 was coming out with the "playstation move" add on i would not have bought the wii, although its great for younger kids, it will be outgrown, the ps3 is more versatile as far as being able to play dvd's & blue ray's, if you ever want to play games online it is free on the ps3, if you get an xbox then you have to pay extra & it cannot play blue rays. the ps3 may be a little more pricey than the others but it can do more & has better quality & now with the playstation move, you can get the wii experience as well & it works with a lot of the games as well, you aren't going to be buying separate games, although there will be some games that you use it more (or less)
Working with children, I vote for the Wii. I hate all video games because they cause big issues with vision BUT if I were to choose one, I would pick Wii because children HAVE to MOVE their bodies while playing. Movement is behind all learning and I actually encourage the parents to buy or make a balance board to stand on while they are playing so the brain, vestibular system and CNS get a huge workout without the kids even realizing!
We bought an Xbox 360 last year and the kids love it! We love it too. We all play Rockband together and other games. The kids are getting the Kinect for Christmas. The Kinect is an attachment for the xbox that enables you to play games without the use of a controller. Cannot wait to use it!
Good luck with whatever you decide!
My LOs are 6.5 and 8. Last Christmas we went with the Wii and I am so happy we did. The Wii has lots of family friendly games and games everyone can participate it. I've always thought, from all I've heard/read/been told, that XBox 360 & the PS3 are more for gamers. They have many more Rated T/M games and are more complex/violent. The Wii can connect to your internet (super easy if you have WiFi) and has fun channels you can download. The only downside is that you have to purchase extra Wii remotes. I don't know if it's changed, but our Wii only came with 1 remote & nunchuk. For the money, and age of your kiddos, I suggest the Wii. Good luck!
We got a wii a couple of Christmases ago. I like it because you can get up and move with it. We can play the wii games/bowling, etc as a family. I like the little mi's (me's) you can make with them. LOL! I haven't reasearched it yet, but I've heard that you can live stream netflix movies through it. Ours is in our basement, where the kids play it. It would mean bringing the game station upstairs to watch on our bigger tv, but it may be worth it!
However, my oldest really wants a PS3. He says some of the games are better and he likes the controllers - however, you can get the typical handheld controllers for the wii. For older kids, the PS3 seems to be the game system my son and his fridnds prefer. I haven't played or heard anything about the xbox kinect, but it looks awesome!!
Good luck!!
LOL, my husband was actually compairing prices on all three of these last night. I really want the Wii and he really wants the Xbox or PS3. I will be interested to see what responses you get, because I have the exact same question. We have a PS1 and my hubby loves it.
R.,
I have all three systems in my house. As a mother to three boys one tesnager and two younger boys I would highly recommend the Wii. It is very kid friendly, the family can get involved and the games aren't violent like with the other systems which is what they are more geared towards.
I hope this helps.
S.
It totally depends on the ages of the kids and the types of games they like to play. I would go to a specialist store like Best Buy or Gamestop and have a long conversation with someone there willing to help you out. Explain what you want and how old your kids are. We have a Wii and PS3. My 11 year old loves the Wii because he likes the Mario games, Lego games, Guitar Hero and similar things. I have Wii Fit. My 14 year old likes the PS3 because he likes sports games--Madden, NHL, etc. I fear they may ask for an XBox with its new advances, but so far they are happy with what they have. My son's friends who have the XBox seem to play M-rated games like Halo and COD mentioned by another poster, which my sons are not allowed to play. This may have changed with the new features of the XBox, making a wider variety of games for a wider variety of ages.
We have both Wii and Xbox 360 I love the Wii and you can get netflix through it without paying for a Gold membership like the Xbox it still costs for Netflix but not as much. You have to get up and move that is what we love about it. My now 3 year old Grandson loves all of the sports and he likes to do the Wii Fit along with me. I think your kids are the perfect age for it and I have noticed some of the games for Xbox are really bloody and violent. Good Luck and have a Great Holiday Season.
I also say get the Wii if your kids are younger. If they are older, I would get a PS3 because you can use the PS2 games on it plus watch movies on it.
However, I still think the Wii is better for kids to play together. The Xbox and PS3 are more for individual gaming. However, maybe that is different now if you get the kinect for Xbox.
We have an XBOX 360, but have played the Wii and PS3 also. The PS3 is good b/c you can play bluray movies in it, and also play live, but that is about all. It doesn't have as many good game options, the games tend to lag and have worse graphics. If you look at the statistics of sales, PS3's have dropped b/c they aren't getting great reviews.
The wii is awesome, but outdated and is very limited with what it can do and most games (like if they want to play first person shooters like Halo or Call of duty) are very difficult to play. Also, you have to buy all the extra controllers, and young kids sometimes have a hard time using them, and the movements are sometimes hard to pick up. Our inlaws have a Wii and we are over the all the time, but don't play it very often b/c it just isn't that fun.
I would get the xbox360, you can stream netflix, play dvds, store family photos and play music, go live and play, and they even have a kinect game add on that is a lot like the Wii in that you move your body to play action and dance games, but you don't need controllers, b/c your body movements are picked up by sensors. It's pretty awesome and really fun for the family, both for the young children (even my 3 year old loves it), teens and even adults. really, the XBOX 360 has the best of all consoles if you get the kinect too for the wii fans.
info on kinect for the xbox 360:
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/kinect
We have a Wii and a PS3 and my kids (4 and 10) play more on the Wii than the PS. But the only games they can play are for the Wii anyways. There also seems to be more family friendly games for the Wii vs the PS too. One of our favorites is Family Game night!! The Wii can also get on the Internet and you can play some games online like Mario Cart for example with people all over the world.
The PS3 is more about the graphics. You can get on line with it, play Blue Ray movies-it's kinda like a mini computer in a way.
I don't know anything about Xbox except you can get on line with it but it will cost you a subscription to do so. Where as the Wii and PS3 are free to get online.
Good luck!
S.
