Help me decide which video game system to get

After completing another hour wedged into a tiny spot on the couch between and under my 3, 5 and 6 year olds, I’ve come to a realization. We’ve all been playing Legend of Zelda on one Nintendo DS. It requires a lot of reading, so it is too hard for them to play alone, but frankly I’m getting some sort of bizarre whole-body carpal tunnel syndrome from trying to play a DS with 4 people.

So I’m giving in. At some point after I get home from BlogHer we’re going to buy a Wii / Playstation / Xbox … something. My only requirement is that it connects to our TV and lets you play Lego Star Wars, Lego Indiana Jones, (in September: Lego Batman!), and Legend of Zelda, because even my 3 year old prefers those games to anything featuring Dora, Diego or Barney.

(As an aside, I just noticed that the DS version of Lego Star Wars is rated ‘E’ while the Wii version is rated ‘E 10+’ — is it really that much more violent? Yikes.)

So what say you all? From an informal survey of my Twitter peeps, it sounds like the Wii is the way to go — actually, that was the only recommendation I got — so is that really the best one?

And by the way, no one at Nintendo is beating down my door to send me a free Wii, so since I’m going to be spending my own cash-money, I want to get this right.

Halp!


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30 responses to “Help me decide which video game system to get”

  1. Tamsyn Avatar

    Hi, I don't have any kids yet, so I can only give you my grown up opinion….. I definitely recommend the Wii. I think it is a lot more fun and because you get to move around rather than sit still it is much more entertaining for those people that are watching on (ie Mums)!!

    Good luck deciding :)

    Tamsyn's latest post: Goal – Total Organisation

  2. Erika Jurney Avatar

    Thanks Tamsyn, I'm almost hoping to hear from people who DON'T like the Wii — would make me feel better to hear some other side :) But looks like maybe the Wii is it…

  3. Marilyn Avatar

    YES. Wii. As I said on Twitter: WII!!!!! :)

    It's more than just Lego Star Wars and it's ilk (which are a big hit around here too). It's the games that come with the Wii (Wii Sports) that are also a lot of fun and get the kids up off the couch to boot! The Wii itself is also a lot cheaper than the PS or the Xbox. (if you can get it for retail, which really, you should be able to)

    Right now, my 8 year old loves Mario Kart which is extremely family friendly. There are a lot more familiy friendly games, in my opinion, on the Wii. We have an Xbox too, but the Wii gets a lot more play!

    Marilyn's latest post: Different Kids, Different Mom

  4. Jen Avatar

    Wii all the way baby! We've got a Playstation 2 and it doesn't even compare to the Wii. There are so many family friendly games on the Wii and I bet all your boys would like it. Come on, give in to the pressure. Get a Wii!

  5. Melanie @ Mel, A Dra Avatar

    Love the Wii. The initial setup isn't cheap. If you're going to do it properly (IMHO), you need at least 4 remotes and 2 nunchucks (they connect to the controllers). The nunchucks are necessary for the Lego games and for the boxing that comes with the system on Wii Sports.

    The system comes with two controllers (at least it did when we got ours, now they seem to be changing the bundles to include games). We bought Wii Sports because the game includes a controller since the price was about the same as buying just the controller.

    You'll also need the rubber skins because of sweaty hands so make sure whatever package you get has the covers.

    We also invested in the Eneloop rechargeable battery system because the controllers eat batteries like crazy and I felt bad throwing all those batteries away. Hope that helps!

  6. Melizzard Avatar

    Joining the Wii army to say you have to get a Wii. And this coming from someone who doesn't "do" video games. Granted we only have the sports and fitness games but the kids love it.

    Melizzard's latest post: Please help me solve my embarrassing stupid problem…

  7. Andrea Avatar

    It comes with 2 controllers, but if you get a couple more, you can play with 4 people at once.

    I wanted to get a PS2, but really the hubby swayed me. You can play gamecube games on the Wii, and ones from other Nintendo platforms. It seriously is more family friendly, there's a ton of research they did to make it so.

    (and the ratings bit – more than likely the game is almost identical. just someone got a little specific.)

  8. Dawn @ Coming to a N Avatar

    We've got a playstation & playstation 2 and most of the games for 1 will work on 2. We've also got a game cube, and I'm told most of those games will work on the wii – not that we can afford a wii. LOL

    Dawn @ Coming to a Nursery Near You's latest post: I *need* a vacation.

  9. ali Avatar

    we have a wii and an xbox. we love them both. but, personally, if i was only going to get one…i've get a wii.

    ali's latest post: please come and sell me chocolate. i will buy a dozen.

  10. Sunshine Avatar

    We have a Gamecube the boys keep in their room, and we used to have two Playstation 2's but when the boys got Wii, those got garage saled. So my analysis of all these is that the Wii is the one I like to play WITH them, which makes the "family" aspect of it very fun.

  11. Jess Avatar

    Lego Star Wars. My whole family loves that game.

    Jess's latest post: 35 Going on 21

  12. Leann I Am Avatar

    Well, all we have here are the Playstation 1 and the Nintendo DS. We don't TOUCH the Playstation….haven't really in years! The Nintendo DSs are a big hit here. 2YO is already begging for one of her own, but she'll just have to share with her sisters or be happy with the Leapster and VSmile for a bit. Our NEXT game system will probably, definitely, almost certainly be a Wii. There just seems to be something for everyone when it comes to the Wii.

    Good luck! Make sure you let us all know what you decided on.

    Leann I Am's latest post: Good Hump Day….I think!

  13. super des Avatar

    I say go for the Wii. That will be my next videogame purchase. Of course, I've always been a Nintendo girl.

    It seems more family friendly than the other ones though, which seem to be only aimed at guys in their 20s..

    super des's latest post: everybody else is doing it – the ABCs of des

  14. carrie Avatar

    Go with the wii. Fun for the whole family! We have one and play all the time. Great family style games like golf, tennis, and of course lego starwars, and indiana jones. Both games are fun!

    carrie's latest post: Should've Been a Cowboy-Shopping Bag

  15. Jennifer Avatar

    We have a cube, PS and the Wii. Love the Wii. The whole family can get involved much more than with the other systems IMO.

    Jennifer's latest post: I like big butts…

  16. Karly Avatar

    I'll be the first to say our family didn't really dig the Wii. I bought it in June of last year (for me, because I had heard such good things and NEEDED to play it)and played it a few times. It was fun, but it wasn't FUN!!!! WHEE!!! THE WII!!! like I expected it to be. Even my 8 year old son who LURVES video games never played it. I would BEG him to play it so that I didn't feel like we wasted 300 bucks.

    We gave it to my parents about a month ago and my mom got the Wii Fit for it. She really likes that and uses it a few times a week.

    We also have a PS3 and that gets played a little more often than it should. My husband loves it, I play it every now and again (once every few months, maybe) and my son would play it all day long if I let him. The only problem with the PS3 is that my husband insisted we buy an HDTV to go along with it (PS3: $650 + TV: $1200 = way to much money for a freakin' game). There are also way more PS3 games.

    So there. I spoke out against the Wii. I hope the internets don't throw tomatoes at me.

  17. Mrs. Schmitty Avatar

    We have them all….Playstation 2, XBOX 360, Wii. The Playstation was Mr.Schmitty's that he passed down to the kids. They play it, but not that much. The Xbox is Mr. Schmitty's and I believe is better for older kids and adults. The Wii I think is awesome. You can get so many different things for it too…the Wii Fit, Dance Dance Revolution. It's fun for EVERYONE. That would be my vote.

    Mrs. Schmitty's latest post: It Only Takes A Second

  18. Jen in Jakarta Avatar

    We went through this big choice last December. We ended up with the Wii and are VERY happy with it. The kids are active the whole time and there is a huge variety of games for us to choose from. In Australia the games are very expensive, but here in Indonesia the games are dirt cheap (US$1.20). This was a factor for us when making our choice…what was the comparative price of games.

    I can't wait for stocks of the wii fit to arrive so i can have a turn.

    Jen in Jakarta's latest post: Bandung has turned us……

  19. Amalah Avatar

    We had to send our brand-new Wii back to Nintendo for repairs within two weeks of getting it — we noticed all our games started getting a scratch ring around the outer edge after awhile and two rented games from Gamefly (including Lego Star Wars, which is awesome and not violent at all) stopped working completely after a day or so of play.

    Total bummer, but it still wouldn't stop me from recommending the system to anyone, because we completely love it. Gets you up and moving (sports games can seriously get you winded and pump up your muscles) and I find the controls more comfortable even for regular old games (no thumb cramps!). Plus, Nintendo customer service was WONDERFUL, gave us no hassle or trouble at all about sending it back (free shipping — they email you labels and everything) and told us to include any game that had a trace of a scratch so they could replace those for us too.

    We'll see what happens when we get the console back, of course, but man, I am DYING to try out our new Wii Fit, which of course arrived two days after we sent the console in. BAH.

    Amalah's latest post: Things. Lots of Things.

  20. Erika Jurney Avatar

    Hey Christina, fortunately my oldest is only 6, so I'm sure we'll all be playing games with jet packs or something by the time I let them play the more mature stuff!

    (And sorry I missed out on your contest — if you had full RSS feeds instead of summaries I'd see your writing more often ;)

  21. Erika Jurney Avatar

    Hey Amy,

    Thanks for letting me know the scoop on lego star wars — I figure it has a steeper rating because the screen is larger and you can actually see it when you shoot the other players.

    Or as my 3 year old says "I'm going to gun you." Yes. I'm terribly proud.

  22. manager mom Avatar

    Yep, the Wii is a must. Although it has more or less destroyed our family harmony because everyone fights over who gets to play, it actually has also provided blog fodder for me. And it's really fun to make those little Mii avatar thingies.

  23. Christina Avatar
    Christina

    Hey there,

    For you and boys the age yous are, definately go with the Wii. If you had posted this question on MY blog (www.geekgirlfriends.com), you would have won a free Wii game that your boys would love. Ah, well. Live and learn. You could always post a different question.

    Be warned though, that when your boys get older they will want to play multiplayer games like Halo on the xBox 360. But I never buy for a future more than a year away when it comes to technology. Something better might come out between now and them. My son is 11 and angry that we don’t have an xBox 360. So I told him to get a job and buy one. He learned to mow the lawn! So all is well.

    If you get a Wii, you can also get a Wii Fit for yourself.

    Christina

  24. Jen Avatar

    PS Video games won't ruin your kid's eyes any faster than a good book or a long walk.

    Jen's latest post: I was expecting pictures of moms on roller coasters

  25. Erika Jurney Avatar

    Hey Jen, I deleted the comment you just responded to. In addition to being stupid, she was just leaving a fake comment to get a link to her skin care web site. Ignore and move along :)

  26. Christina Avatar
    Christina

    Video games get blamed for a lot of evils but there is little evidence to support those claims. (Though one importatn study shoes that surgeons who played video games as kids were a lot better at surgery than those who didn't.) My own son has learned to type, spell, write Java code (starting salaries for that sort of work are 80K a year)and a lot of history (Civilization) through his interest in gaming. As with anything, moderation is important. But video games–when managed well–are a lot better than TV and a lot of other things kids do.

  27. Tootsie Farklepants Avatar

    We have them all except the PS3. Considering their age, I'd get them the Wii. It becomes a family event as well. I'm a little competitive and not opposed to making small children cry.

    Tootsie Farklepants's latest post: The Lucite Heels were Suspiciously Absent

  28. jen Avatar

    We've just purchased a PS2. One day we'll probably go down the Wii path but due to financial reasons we got the PS2, plus that's what my son really wanted and he earned his money to help buy it. I wrote about it recently. The Wii looks like good fun though, especially the one where you use the steering wheels.

    jen's latest post: On holiday

  29. Jessica Avatar

    My kids wanted motorcycles. So I said okay, but they had to help pay for them, so they're selling their Wii and all their games. Interested?

    Jessica's latest post: Week 15

  30. HRH Avatar

    We love our Wii. My boys–2,5,7 all love it. Even the 2 year old can attempt some of the stuff on the Wii Fit. The whole family will bowl or do some of the Wii fit stuff together. Of course we all lose to the 7 year old, but that is life.

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