X Box question

[MickeyHereWeCome!]

So, oldest ds (15) wants an XBox 360 for Christmas. He's decided that he wants to keep it downstairs with our big t.v., which means the other kids will get to use it too.

I chose the 250 gb one for him, due to his gaming needs...thanks to the advice from posters here. I'm thrilled to have gotten it on the Best Buy BF special price!

In thinking ahead with games that all four kids can use, I'm leaning towards adding the kinect sensor. I see so many of the family-friendly games that say "works better with kinect". My question is, if we're using kinect, do I also need four wireless controllers? Dd says her friend has a game and they don't need to hold controllers. Does this kinect sensor pick up on different people playing at the same time? There is an Angry Bird game the younger two will like and they would all enjoy the Just Dance.

I just need to know what we'll need to have on-hand to get us started right away. Ds's bundle comes with one controller and one of those headset thingies.

Thought of one more question...how easy is it to move the basic console to a different t.v. in case he wants to play his games alone?

Thanks for helping me decide what to purchase!!

 

[3boymthr]

I can't answer the questions about the Kinect, but I can say it's relatively easy to move the X-box around - if it's just the X-box. There is only one cable to connect it to the TV and the power cord. The other thing he will have to do is re-establish the wifi connection but I believe this is also fairly easy as DS does it all by himself and despite being a teen he is NOT tech savvy.

If however you have surround sound and want to connect it to that I believe you need another cable for that, depending upon how your surround sound works.

 

[pilferk]

So, oldest ds (15) wants an XBox 360 for Christmas. He's decided that he wants to keep it downstairs with our big t.v., which means the other kids will get to use it too.

I chose the 250 gb one for him, due to his gaming needs...thanks to the advice from posters here. I'm thrilled to have gotten it on the Best Buy BF special price!

In thinking ahead with games that all four kids can use, I'm leaning towards adding the kinect sensor. I see so many of the family-friendly games that say "works better with kinect". My question is, if we're using kinect, do I also need four wireless controllers? Dd says her friend has a game and they don't need to hold controllers. Does this kinect sensor pick up on different people playing at the same time? There is an Angry Bird game the younger two will like and they would all enjoy the Just Dance.

I just need to know what we'll need to have on-hand to get us started right away. Ds's bundle comes with one controller and one of those headset thingies.

Thought of one more question...how easy is it to move the basic console to a different t.v. in case he wants to play his games alone?

Thanks for helping me decide what to purchase!!

If it's a kinect game...you shouldn't need anything other than the kinect for those games. I have yet to run into a game where you need both the kinect AND a wireless controller. The kinect DOES pick up on different people playing.

I can't specifically say Angry Birds isn't an exception...but I highly, highly doubt it.

A word of advice for the kinect: make sure you have a decent amount of space around the TV (at least an 8x8 foot area, and 10x10 or more would be better). The kinect's sensor has a hard time detecting things "close" to the sensor..so the more space the better.

 

[shortbun]

Your 15yo is not going to be as excited about K'nect as your younger children. Who's gift is it? He'll be using it a lot and it seems like you are focusing on the younger children instead of what he will need. He needs at least one other controller and get a wireless controller. We have 3-the 4th one finally got broken. We also have Xbox Live membership and good headphones for playing online. You can get information from Game Stop employees about gaming for kids this age. What games did he ask for? DS got 3 or 4 K'nect games but after he and his friends tried them, they stopped playing. He took the games to GameStop, turned them in for points and bought other games with his points. His best friend's Wii got the same reaction-they danced, they played tennis, they bowled...they stopped. The sport thing just isn't fun when you can be outside throwing a football, playing basketball, riding bikes, playing soccer or even going to a real bowling alley or beating around a tennis ball on a real court. Does he regularly play with his younger siblings? Will he resent them taking his game time for their games? Yeah, the game consoles get moved around at our house all the time. DS keeps his in the basement family room most of the time because that's where he and his friends hang out. At night, he often moves it to his room for solo online play. He doesn't like to play with his friends in his room because they leave their trash in there and he has to clean it up,lol. smart kid.

 

[MickeyHereWeCome!]

Your 15yo is not going to be as excited about K'nect as your younger children. Who's gift is it? He'll be using it a lot and it seems like you are focusing on the younger children instead of what he will need. He needs at least one other controller and get a wireless controller. We have 3-the 4th one finally got broken. We also have Xbox Live membership and good headphones for playing online. You can get information from Game Stop employees about gaming for kids this age. What games did he ask for? DS got 3 or 4 K'nect games but after he and his friends tried them, they stopped playing. He took the games to GameStop, turned them in for points and bought other games with his points. His best friend's Wii got the same reaction-they danced, they played tennis, they bowled...they stopped. The sport thing just isn't fun when you can be outside throwing a football, playing basketball, riding bikes, playing soccer or even going to a real bowling alley or beating around a tennis ball on a real court. Does he regularly play with his younger siblings? Will he resent them taking his game time for their games? Yeah, the game consoles get moved around at our house all the time. DS keeps his in the basement family room most of the time because that's where he and his friends hang out. At night, he often moves it to his room for solo online play. He doesn't like to play with his friends in his room because they leave their trash in there and he has to clean it up,lol. smart kid.

Ds15 is the one who asked for the system. He specifically asked for Call of Duty, because "that's what all his friends play". I'm not thrilled about the mature rating, but I'm not so worried about it influencing him. He's mentioned Minecraft, but I can't seem to find that one. I wonder if it is one that is only downloadable?

He does like to play with his siblings. He's got Asperger's, and doesn't regularly like to hang out with friends or just go outside to play sports etc. We've got a Wii, and they all love playing Mario Kart and Just Dance together. So, I'd like to get the Kinect thing in addition to the things he would need to play on his own. That would just be an extra for some group activities. It's nice to see them hanging out together sometimes I talked with him and made sure he wanted them to be able to use it (and the Kinect won't replace any of his gifts). He was very excited to find the Angry Bird game for his youngest brother, since that one isn't available on the Wii. I think he likes being the "expert" on a lot of these games, and loves being looked-up to.

I'm getting him an X Box live subscription, as well as some points. I guess we'll figure that out.

Thanks for the heads-up on a second wireless controller. I've heard to only get the XBox brand. Do they have chargers for those or do they run on batteries?

Thanks so much everyone.

 

[pilferk]

Ds15 is the one who asked for the system. He specifically asked for Call of Duty, because "that's what all his friends play". I'm not thrilled about the mature rating, but I'm not so worried about it influencing him. He's mentioned Minecraft, but I can't seem to find that one. I wonder if it is one that is only downloadable?

Minecraft is downloadable only (so far) AND requires a connection to the internet to play.

I'm getting him an X Box live subscription, as well as some points. I guess we'll figure that out.

It's pretty straight forward and the "cards" the subscription and points come with actually come with step by step instructions.

One thing to be aware of: With Kinect games...they tend to "attach" your accomplishments to your specific profile (and Kinect has basic facial recognition, so it can figure out which profile belongs to who). You'll probaly want to create a specific profile for each person using the 360.

MAKE SURE you redeem the points/Live membership while HIS profile is logged in. Some of the downloadable content/games can be restrictive, and will only work for the profile that purchased it. MOST will "attach" to the console, itself..but not all of it. The live membership WILL attach itself to one persons profile (who ever is logged in when it's redeemed).

FYI: You can buy family packs (at a decent discount) of Live Gold Memberships, too.

Thanks for the heads-up on a second wireless controller. I've heard to only get the XBox brand. Do they have chargers for those or do they run on batteries?

Thanks so much everyone.

As far as I remember, you can only find wireless controllers for the 360 under the Xbox brand. With the PS3,t here are some 3rd party options...but I don't think there are for the 360.

The wireless controllers run on AA batteries. You CAN buy a rechargable battery pack for them, too...but I stick with rechargeable AA's. They're cheaper and seem to last longer with the repeated chargings.

I get about 18 to 24 hours of gaming out of a set of rechargable Energizers....sometimes a bit more.

 

[chuckabone]

My son wanted extra controllers to go with his X-Box so we went to Game Stop and they had refurbished ones. He did not care and they work just as well as the new ones. We got 1 wireless and one with a cord.

 

[Maria1985]

Here is what I want.


Xbox 360 Console

 

[MickeyHereWeCome!]

Thanks for all of the information. It really helps to know what essentials to start with!

 

[ThisIsJason]

Just remember with the Kinect based games you can have more than two people playing the game, but it will only recognize two people at one time.

 

[DbleTheFun]

Just remember with the Kinect based games you can have more than two people playing the game, but it will only recognize two people at one time.

Not necessarily true. We have dance central 3 for the kinnect, and 4 people can score/be recognized. Each game will tell you how many players can play.

 

[ThisIsJason]

Not necessarily true. We have dance central 3 for the kinnect, and 4 people can score/be recognized. Each game will tell you how many players can play.

Huh. I did not know that. I could have sworn it was only 2. Maybe that was when it first came out. Mine hasn't been used in over a year at this point.

 

[aaarcher86]

Tapping onto the Kinect needing space comment....

There us a sensor you can buy for smaller rooms that will help it read easier if you run into an issue. My kids are tiny and were hard to read without it, regardless of spacing.

 

[pilferk]

Tapping onto the Kinect needing space comment....

There us a sensor you can buy for smaller rooms that will help it read easier if you run into an issue. My kids are tiny and were hard to read without it, regardless of spacing.

It's by a company called NYKO, and the product is the Kinect Zoom. It has variable levels of success, depending on the game (the finer the motor motions required to control, the less successful the Zoom is), and where you have your Kinect set up (works better with the Kinect below the TV, rather than above).

It's essentially a fish eye lens..which means there is some curvature of the image at the edges, which (depending on how many are playing and where they are set up) can cause some motion recognition issues too (because the Kinect could see you as "curved").

I've tried it, in a more limited space, on games like Kinect Adventures and Just dance...and it works pretty well. In games like the UFC Personal Trainer and Fable:Journey...not so much.

 

[aaarcher86]

It's by a company called NYKO, and the product is the Kinect Zoom. It has variable levels of success, depending on the game (the finer the motor motions required to control, the less successful the Zoom is), and where you have your Kinect set up (works better with the Kinect below the TV, rather than above).

It's essentially a fish eye lens..which means there is some curvature of the image at the edges, which (depending on how many are playing and where they are set up) can cause some motion recognition issues too (because the Kinect could see you as "curved").

I've tried it, in a more limited space, on games like Kinect Adventures and Just dance...and it works pretty well. In games like the UFC Personal Trainer and Fable:Journey...not so much.

I'm sure it doesn't work on everything very well... but I can't say my kinect does either

I'm kind of unimpressed with it to be honest, but the younger kids like it well enough.

 

[pilferk]

I'm sure it doesn't work on everything very well... but I can't say my kinect does either

I'm kind of unimpressed with it to be honest, but the younger kids like it well enough.

I like it for the workout games...there's enough there (esp with the new Nike+) to keep the variety up and me from getting bored with one thing, over and over.

My kids like it for Disneyland, Once upon a Monster, and Just Dance. They never seem to get old for them.

Fable:Journey was interesting...but not enough to keep me interested for long term.

Kinect Adventures got boring for the kids...not enough variety. They played the heck out of it early on, though.

 

[tyniknate]

Boys got the Kinect to go with the XBox last Christmas. Used it twice and it's now a dust collector. It was a total waste of money in our household.