Console Advice Please (Children's Present)

Eddie182

Eddie182

Eddie182

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Guys, in need of some advice if you would.

My sister and I have come up with the idea of buying a games console for my nephews (5 and 7) for this Christmas, and as I know next to nothing about current systems (my last console was a Mega Drive), I'd appreciate any advice you may have on which to go for.

I think the main driver is really game availability, and of course given their age they won't be playing most of the AAA titles around today, so it'll likely be the simple arcade driving games, platformers, and things such as the Lego series. But I have to confess to being quite in the dark regarding console games in general as well.

If possible any console they do get would not be connected to the internet either (other than occasional connection by me or the brother-in-law to check for updates etc.) so that may have to factor in to the decision as well.

Things such as 4K etc are not a consideration as they won't have access to anything more than a basic 1080p TV, and they are kids so really won't care anyway.

So console gamers of OCUK, I await your thoughts and suggestions if you would be so kind.
 
From what is really a position of somewhat ignorance I feel like the sensible answer is either one of the last gen consoles or a Wii U

ps3ud0 :cool:
 
I'd probably say an XBOX ONE. It has some great privacy/parental controls built in to the dash and the older model can be found reasonably cheap as the new "S" model has just launched.

The kids might only be 5/8 but all their friends will likely have an XBOX or PS4, the Wii U is essentially a dead console at this point.
 
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Do they have friends with consoles? Which do their friends have? This will make it easy for them to swap games with their friends and talk about their likes and dislikes with them. Not mandatory but something to consider.

Nintendo also have another console round the corner and most of the Nintendo games are family friendly (plus I think all kids should grow up with a Nintendo, I had so many good times with my snes)
 
Nintendo Wii U would be good choice as it has some great games for kids, most importantly a lot of them are Coop or split screen multiplayer it can also play wii games.

The only down side is that the new Nintendo console is out next year.
 
Honestly Kids today don't care about Nintendo and very few know or care about Mario, Zelda etc..

XBOX and Minecraft and you'll be golden.

Why don't you ask them what all their friends have, the answer won't be a Wii?
 
jimferno said:
I'd probably say an XBOX ONE. It has some great privacy/parental controls built in to the dash and the older model can be found reasonably cheap as the new "S" model has just launched.

The kids might only be 5/8 but all their friends will likely have an XBOX or PS4, the Wii U is essentially a dead console at this point.
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Parental controls would certainly be a plus depending on what they actually do, but not a deciding factor.

I'm a bit doubtful regarding the Wii U as my sister had (has) an original Wii, and the games I saw for that wouldn't interest the nephews at all. To give more of an idea they very much enjoy playing Project Cars on my PC when they're visiting (wheel and all) although they mostly crash of course. They also really enjoyed the driving in GTA V (because GTA V is a game where you just drive cars around as far as they're concerned). And they did pretty well with an XBox joypad.

The Lego games specifically are ones that have been mentioned, so I don't know how that would impact a decision.

They wouldn't be interested by games that are very basic/cartoonish, it needs to look/feel all grown up, while being simple enough in controls/interface for them to learn/handle if you know what I mean.

As far as their friends go, they are at that age where most of their friends either don't have, or are just getting their first consoles so there's no real worry about having the same type really.

Ultimately if we can get a console with 2 - 4 good games for them for Christmas it'd be great. Oh and please don't say last gen etc. I really have no idea what last/current/next gen are (yes I'm that out of touch, typical PC gamer here :D ).
 
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Coming from someone who has a 5 year old son..... my lad enjoys both the PS4 and the XB1.

Lego and Minecraft games seem to be the thing.

The biggest difference between the two consoles though, I find the parental controls on the Xbox to be far better. More options you can set and customise. If I had to pick a total family unit between the two, I would go with the Xbox One all the way.
 
I'm clearly out of touch with kids today. In that case just an Xbox One with Black Ops 3 and a Turtle Beach headset.

This thread only serves to encourage me to get my 5 year old Nephew in to playing Mario as soon as possible.
 
Support for the Wii U going forward will be next to none existent so if you want all the newest LEGO games it's a no go. The games aren't even stocked in most stores.

I'd go XBOX over the PS4 as it can be had a bit cheaper, and after digging in the menus yesterday, seems to have better parental controls than the PS4.

Looks like the older model can be had for around £200 with a game.

bobbyspangles said:
I'm clearly out of touch with kids today. In that case just an Xbox One with Black Ops 3 and a Turtle Beach headset.

This thread only serves to encourage me to get my 5 year old Nephew in to playing Mario as soon as possible.
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Nobody suggested COD but the truth is that kids aren't interested in Nintendo or their IP anymore. Minecraft is HUGE with kids and as mentioned above they don't want to be pandered to with 'kiddy' consoles or games.
 
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Buy a second hand PlayStation 2, loads of Lego and age appropriate games on the system and the games cost pennies. Graphics are good enough for their age, it's not an online console (although the slim model has a built in LAN port) so the only parental controls required are just the games themselves. No need for console or game updates and no market place for them to buy games themselves.
 
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barmyllama said:
Buy a second hand PlayStation 2, loads of Lego and age appropriate games on the system and the games cost pennies. Graphics are good enough for their age, it's not an online console (although the slim model has a building LAN port) so the only parental controls required are just the games themselves. No need for console or game updates and no market place for them to buy games themselves.
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Not sure if serious but if you are I bet your kids love you. :p
 
Not taking the bait. ;)

About that new Avengers LEGO game that you want that ties in with the movie we just saw.. well son, it wasn't released for your 16 year old console.
 
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jimferno said:
Not taking the bait. ;)

About that new Avengers LEGO game that you want that ties in with the movie we just saw.. well son, it wasn't released for your 16 year old console.
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You mean that 12A film that isn't really appropriate for a 5 year old.

Or

Spoiling kids by spending £50 taking the family to see a film and now here have a £50 game to play on your £300 console.
 
Ok so it sounds like an XBox One is the way to go then. Thanks.

So aside from the Lego games with are on the shopping list already, can anyone recommend any other good starters to go for? I'm thinking simple/arcade driving games with plenty of opportunity for "spectacular" crashes, and anything else you can think of, no shooters though, both too young for that.

P.S

I assume a 500Gb HDD will be more than ample for their use?
 
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