Game system for a 6 year old????

[JacobsMommy11002]

I am so clueless about the game systems, ie Nintendo, Wii, etc....what do you think is best for a 6 year old? We have a leapster handheld that he loves, but I am looking for something different..

 

[bigbabyblues]

We got a Wii for ds for Christmas. He will be 7 in two weeks. He's played the Wii at friends' houses, and I talked to a couple of the moms, and they said the kids do well with it.

DH has a Playstation 2, and ds plays the Star Wars Lego game on it and he likes that.

 

[SqueakyMouse]

My dh, 2 ds' (7 & 15), and dd (almost 5) all enjoy computer/video games; so we have every system EXCEPT for the Playstation 3. They enjoy them all. Also, all can be played by quite young children--IF the child is interested. I would suggest researching the games (and the quality of the games that sound appealing) available for each console and choosing that way. For example, the Wii has a large number of fairly high quality games that appeal to young children (Wii Sports, Elebits, WarioWare, Rayman, etc.)

 

[Aliceacc]

Nintendo DS is relatvely cheap ($129 at amazon.com) and portable. It doesn't attach to a TV, so my son (and soon my daughter) can play while on long car rides, waiting in line, whatever. Games typcially run from $20-$30.

 

[mindyd]

I would do the DS or the Wii. The DS games are alot cheaper than the Wii.

 

[tinkandpan]

We got the Wii for my son's 6th bday. It has been a big hit in the house, we play it as a family. THe gaming part is pretty simple, so if you were a family of gamers this might disappoint but it works perfectly for us,

 

[cissy]

We have two DD's ages 5 & 6. They, too, have loved their Leapsters. But this year we are moving on to Gameboys. I did a lot of researching before I decided and how you plan to use your system is a big priority.

If you are looking for travel ability, then you need to go with a handheld. Of these, DS and Gameboy are the two biggies. We absolutely did NOT want something that could be hooked up to a TV, so our options were narrowed from the start.

I asked a bunch of Moms and older kids (9-11 range) which they preferred when they were my girls age. Hands down, everyone said the DS is really cool but a lot of it would be too old for them right now. Considering how fast the industry changes, I am not looking for a game they can "grow" into. Let's face it, by the time they outgrow the Gameboy, something better will be on the market.

So, two Gameboys will be under our tree this year. I will be selling the Leapsters on Ebay to help defray the cost!!

Good luck!!

 

[Navysailor_disneyfan]

Get the Wii....my 5 and 7 year ago have lots of fun playing it and it not hard for them to figure out.

 

[Dina]

My DS (7yo) has Playstation 2, and really likes it. We weren't ready to spend the money for Wii, yet. My kids are still really young (7 and 4), and aren't really careful with things--- so we thought we'd wait a year or two for the Wii. They also still play V-Smile and Leapster.

 

[tl_swift]

For that age I would not get a PlayStation I would stick with the Nintendo systems. Nintendo has more family "E" rated games such as Mario. PlayStation is geared for the teens. The majority of their games are rated "T".

 

[ksloane]

I wasn't ready to invest the money in a wii without knowing if my daughter would even really take to playing video games (plus the wii games are more expensive too) so I got her a GameCube. I think they are the cheapest system right now, and my daughter LOVES hers. She, of course, is now dying for a Wii, but she's played this one for two years and we can continue to get the new games for it. That's what I'd recommend for a first system.

 

[mom2my2gr8kids]

I would disagree about the DS being too hard for your kids at that age. My son has had one for almost 1 1/2 years and he is just now 5. My daughter was older (she just turned 8) only because they got it at the same time. Neither of have had any problems using it! Actually I think my son is better than my daughter LOL We also have Game Boys and I personally think they are a waste of money compared to the DS! Just my opinion.

 

[KerriMc]

I too have bought my dd (will be 7 in March) a Nintendo DS for Christmas (although I may hold onto it for her b.day ). I had bought a Gameboy, but read so many things on the DIS boards when I did a search function, that I returned it and bought the DS for a good price (129 Can.). Right now she uses a handheld VTech and likes that too, but I think she is getting a bit old for it now. The Gameboy is so limited in games. They do have a lot of younger games, but you can pick up one of the Gameboy games and play it on the DS anyways.

I got the pink DS! Despite multiple hints, DH will never figure out that maybe mommy would like one too

Kerri

 

[rt2dz]

I'm not big into the video game systems for littler kids, but I have older neices and nephews, my brother pushes my parents to get game systems for the littler ones and my oldest has friends with game systems. Therefore, we have some.

DS6 was a gameboy advanced he received at 4, almost 5, from my parents. They decided the next year he needed a DS instead and then DS#2 could use the gameboy (he doesn't). They bought him one used off ebay since most people were upgrading to the DS Lite. He loves the the DS. No problems using it what-so-ever. He also has a GameCube that my brother-in-law gave him because he never used it. That's nice because there is a converter that allows you to use the gameboy games on it. You can also use the gameboy games on the DS.

We've been thinking of getting another system. We decided against the Wii since a lot of people have told us that they are difficult for younger users. I also hear the graphics aren't that great. So, we decided between a playstation or an Xbox. The playstation has a ton of games available, new and used, and are fairly cheap. Xbox not so much. However, DS6 said he wanted and Xbox and low-and-behold, my dad bought him a system. They're saving it for his birthday. I was really thinking another year. Oh well. He'll enjoy it and it's not my money. I can limit playing time.

 

[tigerdragon]

We have the Gamecube and my ds and niece love to play the Mario Party games on it (so do all the adults). We also have the Nintendo DS but it doesn't get played with very often. I'd like to get a Wii but I think that dh and I would play it more than ds.

 

[tadamom]

My son turned 6 in September and he is getting a Wii for Christmas.

 

[JacobsMommy11002]

Thanks for all the information, guys. I may look into the DS as an option instead..

 

[Mickey3Boys]

My 5 year old boy is addicted to the Wii!!! We have the games that came with it + the sports game that comes with an extra remote. At this point, we don't need any other games, although we may try Ratatoulli (sp?) this holiday. His 2 year old twin brothers actually can play too - baseball, bowling, fishing. We are having to limit the time to 1 hour a day so that he will do other things like play outside. But, it works as a great award for good behavior at school - No A+ in conduct for the day, no Wii! Taking it away is also a great threat for any other questionable behavior. We love to play it too, if we ever have time. Go for the Wii!!!

 

[marlynnp]

None

 

[TommyTutone]

I'm the video game nerd in my house and have a PS2, an XBOX 360, a Wii, a PSP, and a Nintendo DS.

That said, while my son will sometimes play on the Wii, which is the best fit if you want a console system, we got our 5-year old a Leapster LMax. The benefits are that it is sturdier for young kids, it has a video screen on its games 'just like Dad's Nintendo' (as well as normal directional controls and a stylus, just like the Nintendo DS), it can be connected to the tv for some games (the LMax games, the normal Leapster games play just fine on this although they lack the tv feature), and the best part is that the games are educational while still featuring characters he loves. He does not know it yet, but for XMas he will be getting a SpongeBob game and an Animals in the Wild game.

He plays it quite frequently and does not consider it a 'lesser experience' because it is educational, and I feel less guilty about him playing video games.