Which games console this Christmas...

[MissBetseyTrotwood]

... for 5 and 7 yo DSs. It's our first.

I like the sound of a wii or wii u but, frankly, don't have a clue.

The DSs like Lego, StarWars and I don't want any shooting.

DS2 has partial hearing.

What would you suggest?

[VivaLeBeaver]

Wii u

[Sparklysilversequins]

Wii for sure. It's good fun and gets you up and jumping around. My dc love watching me play tennis and golf .

There's a new console called the Wii U as well but I don't know much about it so maybe you could go to "Game" and get them to talk you through the differences.

All the Lego Harry Potter, Star Wars, Batman games are available for it too.

[MissBetseyTrotwood]

Ooh - have you one? It does look like fun.

[MissBetseyTrotwood]

Ah, x post.

The 'Game' suggestion is a good one. I am a total novice so they'll have to be nice. Thanks!

[VivaLeBeaver]

The wii is the older version now, really not much point in getting it as very soon new games won't play on the wii, only on the Wii u.

[MissBetseyTrotwood]

It just seemed a bit gentler than the others for some reason. My neighbour tells that I can buy a game called 'Just Dance' which means the DSs have to dance to very early 90s pop music to get points. Which will please me greatly.

[VivaLeBeaver]

You can play all the Wii games on the Wii u.

But give it six months all the "Wii" games will only play on the Wii u. So when your dc see an ad for a new game and want it they won't be able to have it.

[fanoftheinvisibleman]

I think it depends what you want it for. We have a wii and an old ps2 (both were secondhand). The wii is great for daft things like wii sports and mariokart but for things like the lego games the controls are very clumsy compared to the ps2.

We are getting an xbox 360 this christmas as minecraft is an obsession with all the boys I know 6 plus (ds included) but is not available on the other consoles.

[TheFuckersonInquiry]

Wii or Wii U

Actually, Nintendo 64 would be my first choice, then GameCube

[MissBetseyTrotwood]

Thanks guys.

I definitely want it to be something that my DS2 can access without too much stress. It needs to be something very visual and quite young for him so I think daft might be the way forward!

I read some stuff online about the wii U not selling very well etc so there won't be so many games developed for it in future but I think I'm into hair splitting territory with that.

Very, very useful info - thanks again you all!

[wonderingsoul]

the wii u essp for the tablet you can watch telly on it if their playing on the wii.. you can play a different game on it to. also because you can get mario games on it,.

xbox.. would be better for the lego games, but saying that you can get "normal" remotes for the wii u to.

[MagratGarlik]

Ours got the PS3 last Christmas (almost same age) and love it. They have lots of Lego games, some sports games, harry potter - lots of games where they are jumping around lots. Very handy when the weather is too bad for them to get out, but I do have to impose strict time limits, otherwise I wouldn't see them again!

[MissBetseyTrotwood]

Why is the x box better for Lego games? Do the controls give more precision?

And Magrat , what made you go for the PS3 for your two? Do Woody and Jessie join in? Are there squirrel chasing games?

[fanoftheinvisibleman]

You have to use a nunchuck with the wii, and yes the ps controller feels more accurate and easier. The wii controller with nunchuck definitely feels clumsy and clunky and it does affect play.

I have just asked ds (8 yesterday so not loads older than yours) and he said he thinks playstation is easier to use by far for these games.

We are only swapping from playstation to xbox now because of the minecraft obsession that ds and his friends all have.

[fanoftheinvisibleman]

I think ps and xbox conrollers are similar btw. You can get the add on motion thing (forget name!) for xbox too if you want a bit of both.

[MagratGarlik]

We looked at the XBox and almost got that, but it seemed there were more games for older dc's, but less for younger ones. We discounted the Wii only because both have Nintendo DSI's and ds1's DSI spent a long time being fixed after endless problems, which put us off the quality of Nintendo (rightly or wrongly).

Woody does lie right in the middle of the playroom whilst they are jumping around on the PS3 - he seems to think this is part of his job. at squirrel chasing games - ninja squirrels for the dogs to chase maybe?

[VivaLeBeaver]

The Wii u isn't selling well at the minute as they haven't introduced many games which are Wii u only. This will change and as people want the new games they'll swap over.

Sales of the 3ds were slow at first but as games like the new animal crossing and pokemon games came out which wouldn't play on the dsi then sales of the 3ds took off.

Nintendo aren't going to dump the Wii u.

I sound like I work for Nintendo!

[MissBetseyTrotwood]

Haha Viva no probs here with a bit of brand loyalty! I get your point about the games thing.

Re. the jumping - we are moving house in the new year to a 17th century cottage with low, low beamed rooms. Here's hoping my two don't grow too fast!

Ah, now an add on motion thingy for the other consoles. Interesting! I like the sound of all of them.

[Housemum]

The motion sensor for the XBox is called Kinect - having used that and the Wii Remote a few times, the whole motion sensor thing is pretty cool - Kinect feels more natural. The Wii games seem a bit "cutesy" - was wow when it first came out but not sure now.

[ceeb]

Am thinking of the Wii U for my 8 yr old but haven't explored the Kinect because I (perhaps mistakenly) think that these are better for older kids (and I don't want to have one around when mine gets older!). Am I being stupid - should i just go for a Kinect instead?

[DingbatsFur]

Hi,
I've been looking into this too but had heard the wii U was riddled with technical issues and to stay well away.
People just aren't buying it and Asda no longer stocks it in stores:
m.techradar.com/news/consoles/gaming/nintendo-wii-u-jettisoned-by-asda-as-multiple-price-cuts-fail-to-shift-consoles-1169514
If you are looking at a ps3 or xbox consider that new versions of both will be out next month so hopefully either the prices of the present ones will drop or you should look at a ps4/xbox one.
Xbox you seem to need to pay a subscription to go online. Ps3 this is not the case.
Too many factors
Brain exploding

[Housemum]

There are a lot of xbox games aimed at hard core gamers (COD, GTA, various other shooting shite) but for the kinect there is Kinectimals, also dance games, sports, golf, fitness etc

[Taffeta]

My advice ,don't buy a Wii U. We forked out nearly £300 for one last Christmas for our then 6 and 9 yos.

9 yo DS loved it to start with, he cold play his beloved FIFA 13 on it. They both enjoyed playing Mario Olympics and spent ages creating multiple Miis.

So good for about 6 months.

Roll on to last month, DS s 10th birthday, and he is into Minecraft and desperately wants FIFA 14.

Sales of Wii U so poor that they aren't releasing FIFA 14 for it

AAAAARGH!

Fortunately, because XBox are releasing the new One soon, 360 packages are really cheap ATM, so with some clubbing together he got one with FIFA 14 for his birthday.

There are really few games for Wii U ATM that are suitable for my DC, yes you can play old Wii games on them, but as mine get older, they aren't so interested in old games.

[YesterdayI]

Another idea wouldbe to buy a second had GameCube and a load of second hand games. I would recommend new handsets though. You could pick up some amazing and suitable games for very little.

Then you won't have overcommitted and will be ableto buy the latest game system in a few years time.