Console Advice Please (Children's Present)

[h4rm0ny]

Oh Lordy. Don't get them a PS2. That console was obviously great in its day but no longer. That would be so embarrassing for the poor kids when they go back to school in January!

What the Hell? At that age is when you should be teaching them NOT to care about others judging them by their possessions. You shouldn't be TEACHING them to be ashamed of not having expensive enough things.

Also, as I'm posting, PS2 was a good suggestion. Tonnes of age appropriate games and offline.

 

[Arthur Hucksake]

Hang on a minute.

I didn't make any judgements about you or direct anything at you whatsoever, other than my PS2 suggestion and the reasons for it.

Nor did I start the negativity.

Some people need to go back and read what I said and who I quoted.

You asked for a suggestion, my answer fulfilled your brief. I also mentioned that you may not want to gift a used item.

Someone else had dig at me. Suggesting they wouldn't want to be one of my kids because they might get a used PS2 instead of a new £300 Xbox One. Which I would've taken as a joke had they not edited their post and make it personal.

From then on I argued on the side of a man who grew up in a era when kids didn't have the massive material expectation that some of todays children do.

You want to buy your nephews an Xbox One? That's entirely your prerogative and I don't have any issues with that at all.

I do have issues with people suggesting that giving a child a used games console some how makes you a bad parent and the kids life at school is doomed.

Buying used is the way to go if it has warranty. But some of the savings involved now almost make it pointless unless buying a bundle off a mate or something.

 

[Thesnipergecko]

Yeah, got to buy them the latest and greatest.

Might as well get them the latest iPhone and iPad as well, wouldn't want a 5 and 7 year old not to be fully kitted out when they go back to school.

FFS the worlds gone mad or maybe I'm just old fashioned.

Do kids today ever get told no or "we can't afford it"?

I'm with Barmy on this one. Most of my greatest gaming memories come from PS2 games.

The games they churn out these days are broke on release and often rely and a barrage of patches (which OP will only be able to get when he connects to the net)

I still play my PS2 regularly.

 

[booyaka]

Minecraft + any console = win

 

[mahius]

I own almost every current console (except an XB1) and if I'm honest... the best choice here would be a WiiU. For one simple reason:

Local multiplayer. It's all but dead on PS4, with very few games that have it. I know I own no PS4 games that can make use of 2 controllers at the same time. Xbox One is heading in a similar direction. Even Halo doesn't have splitscreen anymore. Most of the games I have on WiiU support multiplayer and regardless if the kids care for the Nintendo characters or not, they'll be able to play together at the same time. Games like Mario Kart, Smash Bros, New Super Mario U, Mario 3D World, Nintendo Land and even the likes of Pikmin. The list goes on. The only mulktiplayer games I've played much on Xbox are non-kid-friendly games like Halo and Gears of War. Not to say the XB360 doesn't have any, it has plenty. But I see OP wants a newer system.

As for games like Lego games, they can be found on all 3 systems, so it doesn't matter which console you get for such games.

WiiU also has good parental control options.

 

[Armageus]

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.

The PS4 parental controls are horribly broken, and there is no easy way to do "family" PSN accounts for online play / purchases.

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.

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).

Must just be me who doesn't think it's appropriate for Kids to be playing COD or GTA? I certainly wouldn't let my Kids (ages 5/10/11) watch a 15 or 18 rated film (or indeed take the 5 year old to a 12A film - even though legally you can), so why should games be any different?

Local multiplayer. It's all but dead on PS4, with very few games that have it. I know I own no PS4 games that can make use of 2 controllers at the same time. .

Minecraft is 4 player splitscreen on PS4 I have to agree though there aren't many 4 player local games (Tricky Towers is, and there are a few other indie games that are). Compared to PS3 though the PS4 is still in it's infancy with regards to children friendly games. A decent racer like Sonic&Sega All Star Racing (as the PS3 had) would no doubt sell well on PS4.

Lego and Minecraft games seem to be the thing.

Minecraft + any console = win

Minecraft is the game that my kids keep going back to - I can't think of a console game that has had such longevity.

Do kids today ever get told no or "we can't afford it"?

My kids do - I would rather be honest with them, and then when we have saved for something and can afford it, then it does feel more appreciated.
Equally though, I don't want my kids to be bullied at school for not keeping up with the latest trends.

My kids "earn" their pocket money by doing chores etc and saving birthday/christmas money etc. If they want a new games, then they have to save for it / wait for offers on it.

 

[EddScott]

We have a Wii and haven't used it for about 5 years. Dug it out last week, put SNES emulator on it. Plugged a hard drive into it. New lease of life.

 

[bobbyspangles]

I introduced my nephew (he's 5) to New Super Mario Bros on the Wii yesterday and, judging by his reaction when he had to go home, he loved it. And soon forgot about the age inappropriate 'gun game' he wanted to play on his Nan's Ipad.

I thought he was going to struggle at first with the controls but after a short break he came back and aced it .

 

[HumanShield]

We have a Wii U as our main console. Yes it's not supported for much longer, but the games on it are great!

You can get Minecraft, Terraria (which my 8 year old assures me is better than minecraft....), plenty of Lego games (including the wonderful Lego City Undercover) and a boat load of Mario and other such age appropriate games. And my 5 year old can play on it too. She has no problem with a number of the games thanks to the gamepad

Added Wii U bonus is that someone can play on it while you still watch TV for a lot of games!

 

[Maccapacca]

All I would add is to make sure it has proper parental controls with a timer.

My nephews now 15 & 18 have constantly been hooked to their consoles since 7 or 8 with no control on their usage they have pretty much come out of school with nothing of any worth and it worries me that they have no future or path in what they would like to do.

http://www.ncb.org.uk/sites/default/files/field/attachment/22 ict_me.pdf

Use of other electronic devices and attainment: The frequency of use of games consoles and
portable games players had a significant impact on educational attainment. Pupils were much less
likely to achieve 5A*-C grades at GCSE if they reported using a portable games player a couple of
times a day (41%) compared to those who rarely (77%) used one. Similarly, those young people
who reported using a games console a couple of times a day were less likely to achieve 5A*-C

7 The analysis used Year 2 survey data and pupil attainment data.
13
grades at GCSE compared to all other categories of users, but in particular in relation to those who
rarely used their games console. Teachers and parents, in particular, were concerned that gaming
had a negative impact on attendance at school (on particular days) and on levels of alertness and
concentration. These findings are supported by the literature which shows that intensive gaming
on a daily basis can have a detrimental impact on young people’s academic engagement (Przbylski
and Mishkin, 2015). The survey found no evidence to support the assertion that those who
reported gaming frequently had a poorer attendance record.

Laptops however

Usage of a computer/laptop for homework and non-homework purposes and attainment: Those
who spent around three hours per day using a computer/laptop doing homework were the highest
attaining group with almost four-fifths (79%) achieving 5A*-C grades in their GCSE examinations.
The lowest attaining groups were at either end of the spectrum - those who reported spending no
time or those who reported spending more than three hours, with 57% of each of these groups
achieving 5A*-C grades at GCSE. In terms of non-homework use, 75% of those who spent about 2
hours a day on the computer achieved 5A*-C grades at GCSE compared to just over one-half of
those who spent no time (54%) or less than one hour (53%).

 

[Thesnipergecko]

I find the above hard to believe.

I used to game for hours before and after school, even skipping days off school "sick" to play Final Fantasy 7. I'd come home from school, never do my homework, just go straight on my console and play until bed.

I aced school exams, wen't on to college to qualify as an electronic engineer, while on the sideline learned how to code HTML/PHP. I never used my C&G2240 qualification and wen't into web dev a few years after leaving school.

I've been in a senior position for a fair few years now and doing very well for myself. I own my own home, have zero debt (other than mortgage)

My school was crap, I paid very little attention during class, I'd find it more interesting to learn things for myself from the web or libraries.

The only downside to gaming everyday was very little exercise. Now I'm 6" tall and 18 stone.

I never let education get in the way of my gaming... or should that be the other way around?