XBox

[ChinaInYourHands]

DS wants an xbox for xmas. I am a bit fed up with computes, nintendos, ipads, wii... Is there anything you can tell me that might sway me to see some benefits in yet another console? Is there anything educational about the xbox? What are the best games for a 7 year old? Problem is, it is the only thing he has asked for and he never asks for much, so I can't bare to disappoint him.

[lucysmam]

You'd get hours of peace...........I do (although from dp & not a 7yo ds)

[LikeAnAdventCandleButNotQuite]

Does he have any other consoles?

[Pumpster]

My ds loves his and any bad behaviour is cut short with a threat to unplug it...

[mogs0]

Ds is desperate for one aswell. He's 9 and has been asking for one for about 2 years.

He has a wii, a ps2 (donated by my BIL when he upgraded) and a dsi. He also has lots of games for each so I'm not getting a xbox until he gets rid of at least two of the consoles he already has.

[ChinaInYourHands]

Yes he has other stuff but I reckon if we do get him the xbox we'll sell the wii

[oreocrumbs]

DP and DSD both love computer games, DSD has never really got into the xbox, she loves the wii and ds and PS2 but not the xbox, I think it was lack of suitable games, she was 9/10 when we got it and has only played 1 game on it (lego indiana jones). DP however is surgically attached .

There probably are loads of suitable games but DSD always prefered to play them on the wii.

Oh I lie we have the guitar hero for the xbox and that she loved that, as do I actually cos I'm better than DP and DSD at a computer game

[LikeAnAdventCandleButNotQuite]

See, I do think it would be a shame to sell the WII as they are rather 'fmaily friendly', IME more so than the X box. The only games I have ever had experience of for the X Box are more adult (COD WOW etc) however someone has mentioned Guitar Hero, which is fab and if you do get an X Box I ould definetly recommend this game along with it.

True, they are great for bribing! I'd maybe not allow X Box Live though, as the language when people play the games together is not particularly child friendly.


My DH has an xbox, and he uses it to unwind after work his mumsnet, he says but I wouldn't be happy for him to play the games he does around kids, as they just are rather violent. WII seems a lot tamer, and IMO, more fun

Probably none of what I have said will help, but nevermind

[babyonbord]

if you get an xbox (my dh has one) you can buy a kinect for it which works in a similar way to the wii, and they do some nice games for the little ones to use with it like kinectimals, i'm getting my dh the kinect next year and my ds1 a few games to go with it (he is a bit young this year which is a shame). When i was growing up my brothers had every games console under the sun (they still do) everytime there was a new one they got it although the xbox and the nintendo ds seems to be the flavor of the month with them at the moment. My 2 and a half year old and 6 month old to be honest love watching teir dad playing call of duty (he recently got the 4th one and it is played non stop) but it's great i get complete peace and quiet to have a long bath every night and read my book bliss, i know when my kids are old enough to start asking for consoles they will get whatever they want, a small price to pay to keep the kids occupied in my opinion.

[attheendoftheday]

If you do decide to get an xbox, I got a pretty good deal getting a preowned one from Game for DP last year. It was spotless. Looks like they're a little more expensive this year, but still a lot cheaper than new. Here.

[TechnoViking]

If you get the xbox, get Kinect too. Since having Kinect, we never used the Wii so sold it.
There are more and more family / kids games since kinect was released and the voice control and gestures mean it's so much more open than just normal Xbox games.

We found it gets the family together too, as the games are so family friendly.

[DooinMeCleanin]

Kinnect is great but mote active than educational. It's good for getting them moving and doind something when it's cold and wet outside. I have't seen any educational games but I am sure there will be some.

I think Nintendo wii and DS have a better range of educational games to be honest, but they're not as active and probably won't last as long as the wii.

It's me who uses the Xbox the most, mainly for file sharing with the PC. We have a good sound system in the living room so I like that I can access my itunes via the xbox and listen to them through that without fannying about looking for usb leads. It's also handy to load on exercise DVDs that I have then I am not spending 15 minutes rifling through a pile of dvds before I find what I want.

[ChinaInYourHands]

Why thank you everyone for such useful replies, including you LikeAnAdventCandleButNotQuite. I have noticed there's very few xbox games suitable for a 7 year old and I would not allow shooting games. Can anyone recommend any specific games? Guitar Hero is an interesting one, my DS plays a couple of instruments so he might like it.

[LikeAnAdventCandleButNotQuite]

XXX Tricky (I think it's called) is a good Snowboarding game that will last as long as the x box as I know a heap of adults playing it too.

Also, get Buzz - quiz game with 4x buzzers to have family time with

[timetosmile]

Just lurking...DParents have just bought us an XBox and Kinect for Christmas..there are some lovely games for the younger ones/families coming out now - sports ones, dancing, a Disneyland one and Kinectimals
We'll have to see on 25th and report back

[SomekindofSpanish]

China, it can be hard to find children' games for the Xbox, but DS2 (6.5) has a number of character games. He loves Sonic and Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing is one of his favourites. There is also All Stars Tennis. He has Mini Ninjas, Viva Pinata and I have bought him Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs for Christmas. The bonus of these children's games is that they are not current, so they only cost about £15 rather than £40.

Don't forget the general racing car games which DS1 (10) plays, such as Forza, Fifa games, etc.

[lottie15]

Does anyone recommend any xbox Kinect games? Looking at the disneyland one anyone played it?

[PresentsRibbonsAndMerrySantas]

we have the xbox with the kenex thingy, it great dc's love it, i don't know much about them, but they do like the sport games for the kenex

[PresentsRibbonsAndMerrySantas]

kinect the animal one looks good when dc's play it

[LivingDead]

Viva Pinata and Viva Pinata Party animals are very good for little ones, even if they are ancient, also sonic games, or lego games. There are more childrens games than you think really, have a look in the pre owned section of game or cex.

[LivingDead]

Oh and the first couple of burnout games are a lot of fun, even I liked them and I'm not a fan of racing games.

[LineRunnerCrouchingReindeer]

My DS has XBox and has football, basketball and car racing games.

[TwoIfBySea]

I got an xBox for dts Christmas this year too. Think I got the wrong one though - bought the 4gb with kinnect rather than the 250gb but surely they won't need that huge amount of memory.

Have been having a bit of trouble finding non killer games too! Dts have a wii (or rather we all do as I play too!) and they have their dsi consoles. Have been desperately looking for a chess game on the dsi for dts1 who loves the game - he carries his little travel one around with him but the dsi would mean no lost pieces!

I think the kinnect adventures etc look age appropriate. I'm a kill joy mum, no murder games, no age inappropriate films and no Facebook!