If I were to buy DD a computer game thingie......which computer game thingie should I buy?

[Katymac]

Presumably there is a heiracy of which ones are 'cool' and which are not

She has nothing every vaguely 'computer game thingie' like and is nine.....apparently I am depriving her

So I need to buy a '.......' - well how do I know - it has all moved on since pac-man and that table tennis game

So what do I buy?

All down to personal preference. Do you want had held console or console to plug into tv? dd1 has a nintendo ds lite, pink. this is handheld console and its great for her. She's not co-ordinated the way ds1 is so nintendo ds is ideal. It combines basic interaction with simple games to more advanced. its also the 'in thing' at the mo. If she's very techno gadgety then maybe a psp would be better but my personal choice is nintendo. if you mean console to plug into tv then playstation and xbox are basically the same, just personal choice. Nintendo wii however is the 'in thing' for mega family fun. Santa's gonna bring us one for xmas!!

OK

I think I understood about half of that

Hand held = DS lite?

Plugin to TV= wii?

So do I have to buy games too?

LOL!! Yeah you have to buy games. Think youre making the right choice of consoles.

nintendo ds lite (handheld) - definitely would recommend one of the nintendogs games. Different versions but all the same game (just means you collect different dogs that are shown on the box). Brain training is also another excellent game, and educational, but really fun and addictive! After that games are just about what dd likes really. I think you can't go wrong as you can get just about everything you can think of!

nintendo wii (plug in tv) - think it comes with a sports game which is really good. Big brain academy seems very good. Dont know much else really as we've not got ours yet! Again i think it has games to suit all tastes.

so....how much will I be spending?

Should I sit down & put my head between my knees?

DS would be good if you want them to be occupied on long journeys etc. Wii would be good if they'll be playing it at home with friends. Wii is about £170 and DS about £90 I think.

The thing is, once you've bought whatever-it-is, you've then got to fork out quite a lot on the games for it!

& you need to buy games too!!!!!

OMG - she might not get one in that case

I think a ds lite is about 100 pounds and then games are about 20
and the wii is about 179 pounds with a game included....I think
don't quyote me, someone with more knowledge will be along soon

Games for nintendo ds cost from £15. Most shops sell pre-owned games and these are cheaper. I often buy pre owned and have never had a problem with them, the shop tests them to make sure they work before re-selling them. All ones i have bought have included Instruction book and box.

So if I say no - is she deprived?

Wii is about £150 i think but worth it. DS1 had one for christmas and it is the only thing that we all play on together. Wario Smooth Moves is fun but very bizarre, cartoony type graphics.

Big Brain Game is brilliant but Dp and I have become very competive who has the biggest brain in our house.

Sports one is good as well, DS1 gets very sweaty because he moves about so much when he plays it!

Games are the killer at £40 a go. We tend to not allow the kids to take them out of the console at all and avoid scratches. We keep all the bumf that comes with them and then we trade them in at Game.

DS1 also has a Gameboy SP(?) which he loves but iis very annoying when he's on it as he gets way too engrossed. And he has been known to sneak it up to bed with him so we have to be much sticter about the use of that than we do with the Wii as we all tend to play on that together.

She'll not be deprived but she'll say she is!! dd1 got her for xmas last year and over half her class also did!

dd got her first game thingie for her 11th birthday, so I wouldn't feel too bad! She's got a DSLite. The games are expensive, but she plays swapsies with her friends, so we can check them out before buying. Love the Brain Train game, not so keen on the Big Brain Game. Seems a bit inferior to Brain Train tbh. Zoo Tycoon is a good one too. All the games are available on all formats btw.

You buy a DSLite and a copy of animal crossing.

According to my techy dp, they make very little profit on the console thingys - all the profit is in the games. And there are new games all the time! The DS lite is the current coolest, I think. My dc's have them and they have huge amounts of fun. They only have a couple of gamte, but ds is football obsessed and dd is horse mad, so they have one football game and a three day event game. They also have the brain gym, but they are very suspicious of it because they suspect I am trying to sneak WORK in under false pretences. Which I am. So they are obviously bright enough not to need the brain gym......

Agree, Animal Crossing is the best game they've got.

DD (9) also has a pink DS lite. As well as the games already listed, she likes Mario Karts. A number of children with DS lites in close proximity can play against each other. She buys games with money earned as a chorister plus pocket money and birthday cash - we only bought the original games (Nintendogs and Pippa Funnell).

We also have a Wii, but it is not used very much.

Ssshhh - I made her buy her own

The ds lite thingy is good value, as my DD plays all her old game boy games on it too.
If your DD has no old game boy games you can pick them up for next to nothing on ebay or in Game, (about £4 instead of about £20 for ds lite games.
Its got to be pink!
And you can get transfers and phone charms to customise it, so that she knows which is hers!

XP has a Wii - its great fun - especially for families.

Lots of girls seem to like the DS thingy, and it does seem quite cute. DD wants one "when she can read properly" (she's six!)