Can you recommend us a games console?

[fuzzpig]

It's very early but we've decided to replace our wii - which will be 6 years old - at Xmas this year. We will be saving up for it as a family so it'd be good to have an idea of what console, games and prices we will be aiming for.

We've only ever had the Wii and before that a PS2 (preDCs). We like silly fun games and are not into stuff like COD, GTA etc. DCs will be 6 and 4 by Xmas.

I like the way the Wii is controlled for games like Wii Party etc but I do also miss the more traditional moving-the-analogue-stick-and-pressing-x type games. We used to play a lot of Spyro, Crash Bandicoot etc preDCs :o

I know nothing about Xbox 360/kinect, or PS3 (DH has heard there will be a PS4 soon?), and have heard mixed views about the Wii U although I don't really know anything about that either.

Can anyone give any advice?

To be completely honest you might be best off going with the Wii U the Xbox 360 is mostly serious games and it has been pretty much accepted that this will be the last year of the 360 with the 720 likely to announced at E3.

Sony really aren't doing that well as a company and are losing a lot of their exclusive titles so its really not worth the big spend unless you want a Blu-Ray player as then its the cheapest way to get one for now as the 720 is expected to be a Blu-Ray player too.

If you've enjoyed your Wii so much then I think it would be best for you to enter "the next gen" with the Wii U. Theres a good review on the Wii U here including a video review so you can see how well it handles and what gameplay is actually like.

I'd actually suggest the Xbox with the Kinect.

The Wii U looks quite interesting but it's no game changer like the original Wii was. They are not selling many which means that you may struggle to get games in the future as people won't want to spend the money developing games for a platform without many owners.

Conversely the xBox is tried & tested, cheap as chips nowadays and has more games than you can shake a stick at.

You can probably get the Spyro/Crash type games used from Game for very little money and the Kinect games will keep you & the kids happy for family type games.

Wii U, no question. Of all the companies in the world who I would trust to change and innovate to stay in the game, it's Nintendo. They are innovation pioneers when it comes to video games.

The U IS a game changer to an extent. It combines the home games console experience with the convenience of mobile gaming by allowing you to play purely on the new controller without the TV if you want.

If you're not into the "serious" games and enjoy multiplayer "party" games then you can bet that you'll have some cracking titles on that console because most of the best games ever made and the most successful franchises are Nintendo's own first party games.

Best of all, you can play all your Wii games on it and use the Wii controllers so you save a bomb on new accessories.