games console for 8 year old

poppy10_2

Jane_Blackford wrote: »

I seem to remember you can use the Gamecube controllers on the Wii, think there are some ports in the front?

Yes, the Wii is compatible with Gamecube games which you can pick up for pennies on eBay, the controller ports are on the side.

quinns2003

cant go wrong with this... seen them around in afew places now , 50 games too

http://www.play.com/Gadgets/Gadgets/4-/16586389/Sega-Mega-Drive-Reactor-Wireless-Gaming-Console/Product.html?_%24ja=tsid:11518%7Ccat:16586389%7Cprd:16586389

alexlyne

Go for a Commodore 64, with a cassette drive. After 20 minutes waiting for a game to load he'll be outside playing with friends or even doing his homework!

Coveredinbees!!!!

alexlyne wrote: »

Go for a Commodore 64, with a cassette drive. After 20 minutes waiting for a game to load he'll be outside playing with friends or even doing his homework!

I was going to say Atari, used to keep us happy for days at a time just with the combat game that came with it.

hubert_cumberdale

xbox 360

loads of kids stuff and other stuff for when he gets older

Bikertov

The Wii is great fun for the whole family - kid and adults can even play together and enjoy it.

You can shop around and get even the top Wii games for sensible money, and it is still a current console. There is also plenty of pre-owned consoles and games around if you are working to a budget

However, I would recommend stretching to a new console if you can - you have more warranty / comeback compared to pre-owned, and there have been some cracking deals recently making the price difference much less.

xxdeebeexx

Bikertov wrote: »

The Wii is great fun for the whole family - kid and adults can even play together and enjoy it.

You can shop around and get even the top Wii games for sensible money, and it is still a current console. There is also plenty of pre-owned consoles and games around if you are working to a budget

However, I would recommend stretching to a new console if you can - you have more warranty / comeback compared to pre-owned, and there have been some cracking deals recently making the price difference much less.

Another vote for th Wii. We have had great fun with ours. Part of the fun of owning a console is chatting to your friends at school about the games. We use the Wii for BBC iplayer if we have missed a program. I often rent games from Blockbusters when they do their golden ticket promotions.

Dx

PS if you buy it with a Nationwide credit card you can register it for an extra years warranty.

forgotmyname

Wii is more a family console. XBOX, 360, PS2, 3 etc may have better graphics but wii is
all fun gameplay.

iwb100

Honest answer from someone who has owned a Wii, Xbox, PS3, PS2 and a gamecube.

I don't see the point of getting an 8 year old a PS2. Give it a year or two and he'll be demanding a more up to date console because all his mates have one. If money is really tight then sure go for it, but I think it would be better to make him wait and save up (valuable life lesson there).

I also think a Wii would be a huge mistake. He's an 8 year old boy, given a few more years the Wii will again not be of much interest to him.

The PS3 is probably the most "powerful" console out there but expensive for this purpose and really the main benefit of a blu ray player in built is probably wasted.

IF you can make him wait and save or if you can afford it, get him an Xbox 360. The kinect add on will let him play games like the Wii but with no controller and lots of freedom (though you need a lot of space so would need a living room set up not a bedroom). But you don't need to buy that or a big hard drive straight away. A basic Xbox you can buy new for just over £100 in supermarkets (last time I looked) and probably on Ebay even cheaper. Then over time you can get the add ons if he needs them. Connect it up to your broadband if you can and then there are loads of downloadable "smaller games" many perfect for children you can get rather than buying full price £40 games that may not be suitable.

That would be my recommendation. Sometimes the cheapest option isn't always the best.

davidlizard

I go along with what ibw100 says. We have an XBox, with the Kinect controller. This works fine for our kids (6 and 2) and they soon pick up how to use it and greatly enjoy the games. The variety of games is not as wide (yet) as the Wii, but there are a lot coming out. However there are plenty of non-Kinect adult-oriented games available, and quite cheaply of ebay and the like.

A friend had a Wii - their youngest (also 6) got a bit carried away and threw the controller through the television, breaking both the telly and the controller. Being totally controller free has its benefits!

When asking for opinions on games consoles it can get very heated - a lot of people are very loyal to their particular console and fail to see the benefits of other consoles, and the disadvantages of their own. I recommend having a go on friends Xbox/Kinect, Wii and the like and experience each first hand.