Son's Birthday ... Video Game System?

lastcall

This weekend will be my son's first birthday party ever. He will be seven. We are really over doing it, but we are so excited for him. He has had a N64 for about 3 years. I want to surprise him with a new system. I'm thinking Gamecube. Any advice from you gamers out there? Is SP2 better , X box? I really dunno. I DO know that gamecube is $50 less. But what do YOU think? Please help. Consider age too. Thanks.

BeautifulGarbage

Hey LastCall,

I had the same question a few months ago.

Here's the link:

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.asp?id=28332&site=3

It gets a bit technical, but it did help.

BTW, we decided to go with N Gamecube. It doesn't play DVDs like PS2, but we already have two DVD players in the house. We even rented a PS2 for 5 days to be sure. My kids, 10 and 6, love it.

Andee

Edited because I misread part of lastcalls post. DOH!

Edited by - BeautifulGarbage on 10 July 2002 21:54:21

heathen

I was a big nintendo fan for a long time had every generation except the game cube .Then playstation hit the scene and I started in with that which I really like even better than nintendo.For a seven year old the nintendo probly has better games cause of the mario games. IMO

LizardSnot

My brother got his kids the Xbox...they really like it!

Lizard

lastcall

GB thanks for the link-- very helpful.

Thanks lizard and heathen also. These things I will consider. I myself only play with my son. It will really be for him. What system do you think would be best for a seven year old? Right now I'm thinking Gamecube.

gsx1138

Just the question for me. I managed a Gamestop (Software Etc.) for 3 years. Usually this kind of question garners allot of "fanboy" answers but you have to cut through the BS to get the real info. Given your son's age and my guess that you want to keep him away from teen-mature games I would say GameCube. It has games more oriented toward kids and will continue that route as stated by the PR guy from nintendo of japan.

For the teen to older crowd the choices become PS2 or Xbox. Both cost the same. Both play DVD's (although you have to buy a remote to get dvd option on the xbox). This gets most people to roll their eyes. However, I didn't know any people who had PS2's for very long that didn't buy a remote. PS2 has more games than Xbox because of its year lead time. Xbox has a hard drive (thus no need to buy a memory card) PS2 doesn't. Xbox has an ethernet card (internet connection with DSL and Cable) PS2 doesn't. The first generation of xbox games do look better than second generation PS2 games. As far as what you get for your money Xbox blows away PS2. However, if you're a fan of more classic (read sequals) games then PS2 is your system.

Personally, I have an Xbox even though I prefer PC games. I would buy a PS2 if it had games that looked "next gen" but as of yet it has failed. I would forgive the graphics for gameplay but that also has failed. The gap in graphics will be huge this christmas to the point that even a hardcore Sony fan will just be in total denial. My only praising comment for the sytem is that I hope PS3 is easier to program for because you can really see the limitations of the PS2. Don't get me wrong, I think PS2 has good games but after the orginal Playstation I expected more from Sony and they didn't deliver.

PS- Do not believe any gamestore employee that tells you any of the game systems suck. They are just trying to sell you their favorite system and don't care about you. All have their +'s and -'s. Despite my PC and Xbox leanings I would suggest a Gamecube for your needs.

Can you tell I'm serious about games and systems I could write for another three pages but I save that for gaming forums.

Edited by - gsx1138 on 11 July 2002 1:12:42

Simon

Renting each system for a while is a good way to decide. In the end, like computers, part of the choice comes down to what you want to run on them (similar to PC / Mac).

I hae an XBox and our two love it (Wreckless esp.)

Pathofthorns

It is embarrassing to go to the store and you see the wall of games and PS2 has about 3 or 4 times the selection than Xbox. Lots of xbox games are just generic games made for several platforms. Xbox continues to get by with empty promises of hundreds of games, internet connection that no one can use and their better stats on their machine that games don't exist that take advantage of that.

I have an xbox and I really like it, but I'm disappointed with the game selection which imo is what it is all about. More than half of the games I have are really weak and the others are really good. The DVD player sucks (and the remote does too) so don't buy it for the dvd capabilities.

I am wondering if I should have bought a PS2, which I don't think you can go wrong buying.

Path

Xander

Well, I understand Morrowind has been ported to the XBox.

From what I've seen on it on the PC, I can make the following guess:

Morrowind + XBox = kid not leaving living room for rest of life

Whether that's a good or bad thing is, I guess, up to you.

bboyneko

It's things like this that make me really sad I never had a birthday party as a kid. you are being a great parent. Yes I would also suggest the Gamecube. It has great graphics, very entertaining party games, good for when your son has friends over, and it has a cute, colorful design. The only drawback is youll be spending a good $80 on 3 more controllers so you cabn play 4-player games :)

Son's Birthday ... Video Game System?

Share this