as aParent....christmas Present Question

[Denarella]

I know nothing about video gaming systems. I know my son has had PS2 for a few years and at 8.5 yrs old, has JUST started really getting into it. He doesnt play often, because of his schedule and b/c I won't allow it.

With that being said, here's the question. XBox. My son REALLY wants it for Christmas. I tried talking him to Wii but he won't have it. So here we go.....any of you out there familiar with XBox? Which one do I get? I hear SO much that it burns out and has to be returned. When I tell you he wants this more than anything, I kid you not.

Please help a mom out....

Thanks,


dena

 

[kspry]

My son has had an XBox for a few years. I hadn't heard about them burning out? Perhaps if they don't get correct ventilation & dusting and are left on 24/7?

Thing is, certain games go with certain gaming platforms. That's probably why he doesn't want a Wii - and if you ask your son, he might just have a certain game in mind. And he doesn't care if it's PS2 or XBox, but he's found out that this game only plays on XBox. If he's anything like my son, that is.
And my husband, who had to have a PS2 to play a different game.

 

[nicki25]

I don't know anything about an Xbox. We got the Wii and are looking forward to playing it after Christmas.

 

[pamperedtraci]

Our x-box 360 has burnt out twice!! I wouldn't recommend it to ANYONE!!! Get aWii!! X-boxes are not made to be played! They aren't worth your money!!

 

[lkprescott]

I know nothing about video gaming systems. I know my son has had PS2 for a few years and at 8.5 yrs old, has JUST started really getting into it. He doesnt play often, because of his schedule and b/c I won't allow it.

With that being said, here's the question. XBox. My son REALLY wants it for Christmas. I tried talking him to Wii but he won't have it. So here we go.....any of you out there familiar with XBox? Which one do I get? I hear SO much that it burns out and has to be returned. When I tell you he wants this more than anything, I kid you not.

Please help a mom out....

Thanks,


dena

We have a PS2 and an XBOX... the one downfall to an XBOX for a younger child is there are fewer G and Y10 and under rated games... many many more M and T rated games. My son is 11 and I let him play SOME of the T rated games after WE'VE had a look at what makes them T... on one of the racing games there's little 'chats' between 'heats' where a tight shirted, short shorted gal comes bosoming into the car's driver side window (with you at the perspective of the driver) and she tells you about who you're racing against... others might be for violence and things like that. We have one M rated game that DH picked up for himself and we keep it hidden and actually I think he's forgotten he's had it even... *giggle*

The quality of picture and such on XBOX is awesome, even more so on XBOX 360.. we do not allow going online to play any games so don't know anything about that... but it can be very frustrating in searching for games for a younger child. Just know that... there are far more kid and family friendly titles for PS2 and Gamebox and Wii...

My son keeps going on about a XBOX 360 but I keep reminding him that the Wii is cool too and has a lot of games we could play as a family. As it is the few games that we have that are multi-player either bore or frustrate my 5 yo but she soooo wants to play with big brother and well, it usually ends in tears so I limit his time to when she's preoccupied with something else.

Okay.. anyway, do a lot of research on what kind of games he wants to play... action, sports (there's a LOT of sports games for XBOX too), racing (I have to admit Project Gotham Racing is a LOT of fun but could be very frustrating for a younger kid... heck, it's frustrating for us big kids too. LOL)... find out what kind of games he's interested in. Then research to find the best game system for that interest. He could be hung up on a commercial or one of his friends having this thing so he may be hearing 'all about it' without knowing everything about it.

I'd suggest you spend some time in a video game store alone... no kids and talk with the staff. If you go to a place like Game Port or EB (Electronics Boutique) chances are you're going to have a gamer on staff who can really tell you about this stuff. Don't go to a dept store or Walmart... chances are they'll have someone on staff who is less familiar. Talk with gamers... get their input on what THEY'D recommend and look through the store at the titles. See what kind of games your child would like and see if they match up to the game console. Also, important.. find out how much it'll run to get everything you need. It's amazing how even some 'packages' leave things out and you end up needing more cables, controllers and the like to get it to work properly.

HTH!

 

[PCBritt]

I don't have any kids yet, but I did buy DH the xbox a couple of years ago! He likes to play golf and hunting on it! But we've noticed in the past couple of months all the new games, for example Golf, do not come in the XBox. Only the XBox 360 and PS2. SO then he decided he wants the Xbox360, but when the Wii came out, now he wants that instead! Who needs children when you have a husband!?!? haha

 

[smarteez2]

I have done a lot of research on this myselflately. My son is a hard core gamer. We used to have the Xbox, Nintendo 64, Nintendo Game Cube plus the PS2. My son had really been wanting the Xbox 360 and I was like no way cant afford it etc. Well he made the suggestion of selling all his old systems on ebay so he could get the xbox 360 and so we did. Now here is what I know about them.

There are basically 3 different types of the Xbox 360. The first one that came out, the next one and then there's the Elite. Apparently the first one that came out had major issues with the burning out and over heating the illistrious "3 rings of death" etc. So they made some repairs and came out with the second one. Still had some of the same issues. SOOOOOOOOoo they gave the Xbox a 120 gb harddrive added more internal fans made it smaller and called it the Xbox 360 Elite.

That is the one I purchased for my son. I bought it off of Amazon and it came with 2 games. My son is absolutely thrilled and has had absolutely no problems what so ever with it yet. Now a couple of pointers, DO NOT stand it on its side!! That will wreck the disc reader realler fast. Always lay it FLAT in a well ventalated area, It does get hot!! My son has it on a chair in the open not in the entertainment console. I do make him turn it off every couple of hours. Don't know if that helps but it sure hasnt hurt. As far as the games. He of course had to get Halo 3 and Forenza 2 and sometime of Marvel game came with it.

I hope this helps.

 

[PampMomof3]

XBOX 360!! I just finished playing Guitar Hero 3 and LOVE it! It's a game we can play as a family. We have the regular xbox and xbox 360. We really have no interest in buying the PS2 but my kids like the novelty of a Wii. I have to admit that it is a lot of fun.

We had our xbox 360 burn out once in the couple years we owned it (actually it burned out within the last 6 months) and we called, they sent a box to us to return it in, and they fixed it and sent it back within 2 weeks. Well worth it to us!! It was nice that we didn't have to go out and buy a new one.

 

[lmklipfel]

In deciding what to get a question I have is do you have a hi-def tv? PS3 plays blu-ray disks and X-box 360 plays Hi-def dvds. We have 3 systems and the one that gets played the least is the Wii. I would say the x-box 360 gets used the most, so I would go with that and get the upgraded one. Hope this helps.

 

[jcsmilez]

Thing is, certain games go with certain gaming platforms. That's probably why he doesn't want a Wii - and if you ask your son, he might just have a certain game in mind. And he doesn't care if it's PS2 or XBox, but he's found out that this game only plays on XBox. If he's anything like my son, that is.
And my husband, who had to have a PS2 to play a different game.

Dena,I agree with the above quote. You need to find out what particular games your son is planning on playing on the XBOX. The XBOX has a wider variety of Mature and adult games geared for a teen audience on up. If the particular game that he wants to play is Halo or something that you don't want him involved with yet then better to not get that console in the first place. The WII is a wonderful whole family system that has a wide variety of games.If you find that you are okay with the games that he wants to play on the XBOX (and they aren't already available for the PS2) then I wouldn't worry about it burning out. Keep it in a decently ventilated area and it should be fine. If something should go wrong, Microsoft is pretty good about getting it replaced for you.I hope this helps. I don't have any kids yet, except my husband, who is an avid video game guru who can probably answer any questions about systems and games that you might have.

 

[BridgetM]

My son (who is 15) also has an XBox 360 and loves it! His XBox was just delivered back from Microsoft this past Tuesday (it was gone for about 3 weeks) after being sent back for getting the "red ring of death". When he opened the box the first thing he saw was a complimentary 1 month subscription card for XBox Live Gold, he was so excited. After reading the letter that accompanied his XBox 360 he found that instead of Microsoft trying to repair his system he was sent a NEW one! They transferred all the warranty information to the new system. My son is only allowed to play games on weekends because we do not allow game play on school nights and he was always checking for UPS on Thursday and Friday afternoons to see if his game system was being returned. I'm not sure how many games are out there for younger children on XBox but I know for my 15 year old it was a good decision to get the XBox 360. Good luck on your decision.

 

[itsjustCarla]

I bought my sons an XBOX (not 360) a few years ago and have not had a single problem with it at all. I did my homework too.....I worked at Target at the time and I asked all the teen-aged boys in the store for their opinion.... every one of them said that they preferred the XBOX, but bought one of the others because the game selection was better with the other systems. I'm finding that now with the 360 out, I'm finding fewer and fewer games made to work on the regular XBOX and so few XBOX games for younger children..so I bought a Wii system for this year. Everything else for the Wii is sooooo much more expensive tho.....they BETTER love it. LOL.

 

[Denarella]

[

I'd suggest you spend some time in a video game store alone... no kids and talk with the staff. If you go to a place like Game Port or EB (Electronics Boutique) chances are you're going to have a gamer on staff who can really tell you about this stuff. Don't go to a dept store or Walmart... chances are they'll have someone on staff who is less familiar. Talk with gamers... get their input on what THEY'D recommend and look through the store at the titles. See what kind of games your child would like and see if they match up to the game console. Also, important.. find out how much it'll run to get everything you need. It's amazing how even some 'packages' leave things out and you end up needing more cables, controllers and the like to get it to work properly.


Thanks Lisa. My son wants XBox 360 b/c it has wireless remotes and better games. The games he mainly wants are Thrillville (building amusement park rides and riding them), Hockey and Madden 08. He already has PS2 and his really good friend has Xbox 360. He said the picture is better too. My whole problem was he's only 8 (9 in February). He doesnt need the instant messaging capabilities (especially if Im not there in his room), he doesnt need a DVD or to play his music on there. But Im not sure if I buy the lowest model ($270ish) has the "good stuff" on it. (hard drive to save your place on games, wireless remotes, yadda yadda yadda). And before I go to the store and some 16 year old sells me an $800 system, I'd just like to have some basic knowledge of what Im getting into. (I'd never thought I'd get to this point as a parent. Always thought I'd be cool and hip. LOL!) I feel helpless! LOL....
HTH![/QUOTE]

 

[Denarella]

lately. My son is a hard core gamer. We used to have the Xbox, Nintendo 64, Nintendo Game Cube plus the PS2. My son had really been wanting the Xbox 360 and I was like no way cant afford it etc. Well he made the suggestion of selling all his old systems on ebay so he could get the xbox 360 and so we did. Now here is what I know about them.

There are basically 3 different types of the Xbox 360. The first one that came out, the next one and then there's the Elite. Apparently the first one that came out had major issues with the burning out and over heating the illistrious "3 rings of death" etc. So they made some repairs and came out with the second one. Still had some of the same issues. SOOOOOOOOoo they gave the Xbox a 120 gb harddrive added more internal fans made it smaller and called it the Xbox 360 Elite.

That is the one I purchased for my son. I bought it off of Amazon and it came with 2 games. My son is absolutely thrilled and has had absolutely no problems what so ever with it yet. Now a couple of pointers, DO NOT stand it on its side!! That will wreck the disc reader realler fast. Always lay it FLAT in a well ventalated area, It does get hot!! My son has it on a chair in the open not in the entertainment console. I do make him turn it off every couple of hours. Don't know if that helps but it sure hasnt hurt. As far as the games. He of course had to get Halo 3 and Forenza 2 and sometime of Marvel game came with it.

I hope this helps.

Amazing! You have managed to lay it all out in ENGLISH! THANK YOU!!!!! The bad part about all of this is how much I'm going to have to spend to get it...sighhhhh....Isnt it like $400????

 

[Denarella]

In deciding what to get a question I have is do you have a hi-def tv? PS3 plays blu-ray disks and X-box 360 plays Hi-def dvds. We have 3 systems and the one that gets played the least is the Wii. I would say the x-box 360 gets used the most, so I would go with that and get the upgraded one. Hope this helps.

I do Laura. We have a 46" Plasma HD TV (It pays to have someone you know work at Best Buy!!!). But the TV in his room this would go on is NOT a HD TV. Is it easy to move around or is it 500 wires?

 

[Stampaholic1961]

We don't have an XBox but my kids have played it at the homes of friends. We have the Wii & really like it. My favorite thing about the Wii is that with a lot of the games, they aren't sitting like vegetables in front of the screen. They are up & moving. If they are playing tennis, golf, bowling or boxing etc, kids have been known to get sore muscles etc. It's a little less sedentary than most video games. Just another 2 cents worth!!

 

[Denarella]

My son (who is 15) also has an XBox 360 and loves it! His XBox was just delivered back from Microsoft this past Tuesday (it was gone for about 3 weeks) after being sent back for getting the "red ring of death". When he opened the box the first thing he saw was a complimentary 1 month subscription card for XBox Live Gold, he was so excited. After reading the letter that accompanied his XBox 360 he found that instead of Microsoft trying to repair his system he was sent a NEW one! They transferred all the warranty information to the new system. My son is only allowed to play games on weekends because we do not allow game play on school nights and he was always checking for UPS on Thursday and Friday afternoons to see if his game system was being returned. I'm not sure how many games are out there for younger children on XBox but I know for my 15 year old it was a good decision to get the XBox 360. Good luck on your decision.

That's the other thing I didnt understand. What is this online game playing or ordering games to play from the console? I don't get it.....

 

[Denarella]

We don't have an XBox but my kids have played it at the homes of friends. We have the Wii & really like it. My favorite thing about the Wii is that with a lot of the games, they aren't sitting like vegetables in front of the screen. They are up & moving. If they are playing tennis, golf, bowling or boxing etc, kids have been known to get sore muscles etc. It's a little less sedentary than most video games. Just another 2 cents worth!!

I tried SOOOO very hard to talk my son into Wii. There's NO budging him. He's TOTALLY sold on XBox......sighhhhh

 

[VSaracino]

Ok heres my semi-professional opinion as someone who worked as a manager in a video game store, and have been an avid gamer for the better part of 18 years. If your son is only 8.5 years old, you definitely don't want to get an Xbox BESIDES the fact that they aren't incredibly stable. I have an Xbox360, a Wii, and a PS3, and I play my Xbox the least. You don't want to get him the 360 just because of the intensity of the games. A handful of my favorite games are on the 360, but they are also incredibly violent, or scary, or vulgar. None of which I ever recommend to parents who are concerned about their children and these occurances. I still work one shift a week in the same store that I use to manage, but I cut my hours when I went to college.That having been said, I highly recommend the Wii for your son because 90% of the games are geared towards players of all ages, and its simply damn fun to play. It's the ultimate party system. My friends and I play multiplayer games like bowling and baseball, or some of the party games like WarioWare constantly. I always come home to my girlfriend and her friends playing it as well lol.However, if he does insist on getting a 360, I recommend getting the Elite bundle, because it is the MOST stable of the systems microsoft has put out, and most stores sell them in a bundle with a handful of games(GameStop, where I work does). Also, the Elite system is backwards compatible for Xbox software, meaning that he can play most of the Xbox 1 titles on it. But as I said before, I do highly recommend that you monitor the games that he plays, because most of the most popular games on 360 contain excessive violence... language... and sometimes nudity. Also, don't worry about him buying those types of games when you aren't around, as long as he is shopping at a store like EB or GameStop, who are the same company now. They have a very strict ESRB policy that requires ID to verify the age of anyone who buys a Mature rated game. And most are nowadays lol. Halo, Gears of War, Mass Effect, TimeShift, and tons of other games are all the most popular titles, but are also all rated M, so be CAREFULAnd in response to your concerns about the HD TV, theres only the power cable and the component cable. People are used to seeing a Red, White, Yellow cable to connect systems, but the 360 has a RGB HD component cable, which plugs into the red, blue, and green plugs in the back of your HD tv.

 

[Denarella]

Ok heres my semi-professional opinion as someone who worked as a manager in a video game store, and have been an avid gamer for the better part of 18 years.

If your son is only 8.5 years old, you definitely don't want to get an Xbox BESIDES the fact that they aren't incredibly stable. I have an Xbox360, a Wii, and a PS3, and I play my Xbox the least. You don't want to get him the 360 just because of the intensity of the games. A handful of my favorite games are on the 360, but they are also incredibly violent, or scary, or vulgar. None of which I ever recommend to parents who are concerned about their children and these occurances.

I still work one shift a week in the same store that I use to manage, but I cut my hours when I went to college.

That having been said, I highly recommend the Wii for your son because 90% of the games are geared towards players of all ages, and its simply damn fun to play. It's the ultimate party system. My friends and I play multiplayer games like bowling and baseball, or some of the party games like WarioWare constantly. I always come home to my girlfriend and her friends playing it as well lol.

However, if he does insist on getting a 360, I recommend getting the Elite bundle, because it is the MOST stable of the systems microsoft has put out, and most stores sell them in a bundle with a handful of games(GameStop, where I work does). Also, the Elite system is backwards compatible for Xbox software, meaning that he can play most of the Xbox 1 titles on it. But as I said before, I do highly recommend that you monitor the games that he plays, because most of the most popular games on 360 contain excessive violence... language... and sometimes nudity. Also, don't worry about him buying those types of games when you aren't around, as long as he is shopping at a store like EB or GameStop, who are the same company now. They have a very strict ESRB policy that requires ID to verify the age of anyone who buys a Mature rated game. And most are nowadays lol. Halo, Gears of War, Mass Effect, TimeShift, and tons of other games are all the most popular titles, but are also all rated M, so be CAREFUL

And in response to your concerns about the HD TV, theres only the power cable and the component cable. People are used to seeing a Red, White, Yellow cable to connect systems, but the 360 has a RGB HD component cable, which plugs into the red, blue, and green plugs in the back of your HD tv.

Vince, THANK YOU.

I, personally, want the Wii because it looks like its a blast! He first tried to tell me that they didnt have the games HE wanted and Im pretty sure they do. (Hockey, The new Wrestling, Madden 08, Thrillville, Nascar). Then it was because of the wireless remotes. I pretty much had him sold on the Wii and he was like "Fine mom, then please get me the Wii" but it was soooo forced that I felt bad. Because I'm a complete moron when it comes to gaming systems, and he already has P2, I dont know what to do.....

 

[VSaracino]

Oh and Brittany... I noticed you were concerned about games not coming out for the Xbox1... That's because Microsoft discontinued production on them. They are only making 360 Systems and Titles now :/

 

[Stampaholic1961]

I tried SOOOO very hard to talk my son into Wii. There's NO budging him. He's TOTALLY sold on XBox......sighhhhh

That's too bad. We think it's an awesome system. My daughter was babysitting for a brother & sister this summer & taught them how to play the Wii. When their mom came to pick them up they were so excited to show it to her that she ended up trying to play as well. Maybe he has heard stories like that & doesn't want to share with!! haha I am really not a video game player but I did play tennis & golf with my son the first week we got it. He was upset when I beat him!!! Now he's had more practice & would definitely beat me! Maybe I need to practice while he's at school & surprise him by beating him again!! It would serve 2 purposes...beating a teenager & getting some exercise!!!

Good luck on whatever you decide!!

 

[Denarella]

That's too bad. We think it's an awesome system. My daughter was babysitting for a brother & sister this summer & taught them how to play the Wii. When their mom came to pick them up they were so excited to show it to her that she ended up trying to play as well. Maybe he has heard stories like that & doesn't want to share with!! haha I am really not a video game player but I did play tennis & golf with my son the first week we got it. He was upset when I beat him!!! Now he's had more practice & would definitely beat me! Maybe I need to practice while he's at school & surprise him by beating him again!! It would serve 2 purposes...beating a teenager & getting some exercise!!!

Good luck on whatever you decide!!

Thanks Bev. He even tried to use the excuse that he had no room in his room for Wii. I would love to have the bowling game or anything interative for that matter! I think I would play more with him (and even without him!) if he had Wii!

 

[VSaracino]

Yeah the Wii is a ton of fun, However... I bought the system when it came out for ONE game, Redsteel.... and it turned out to be one of the worst games I've ever played :/ That shouldn't really affect your decision... I was just upset about that lol.Some games I can highly recommend as my favorites for Wii: Super Mario Strikers, WarioWare, Cooking Mama's Cook Off(Although frustrating for younger kids who can't get the hang of it), Tiger Woods 08(If he likes golf, I play this game most I think), then theres Super Mario Galaxy coming out which is a type of game like Super Mario 64(I don't know if you've ever played) but its easily one of the best games Nintendo ever made, I've never heard anyone who didn't like Super Mario 64, AND I betatested Super Mario Galaxy(which comes out Tuesday if I remember correctly) and it was a ton of fun. Uh...*thinks hard* Oh and the new Super Smash Brothers is another game that is going to be great if its as fun as the first 2 that were on N64 and GameCube. Elebits is usually a popular game with younger kids, as is Rayman(one of my favorites as well). I'm at a loss for game titles right now haha. Oh the new Mario Kart is set to come out in the next couple months too which is a great game.

 

[jcsmilez]

Hi, Tristens husband here...Ok, Xbox live is the Microsoft online gaming service. It allows people to play their games against/with other people across the globe. Its a great service, but allot of the games that work with it are very mature if not violent and bloody. Plus it costs about $50 a year. You also need a broadband internet connection in his room, or a $99 wireless adapter.As my wife said earlier, the vast majority of the games for the Xbox are geared towards a more mature demographic. Halo 3 for example is a mature rated game (18 and up), that in content is at least equal to a "R" rated movie. Foul language, violence and gore at high levels. Most of the more popular ones fall into this category. Granted there are some GREAT games that are appropriate for a kid his age, but not nearly as many as the Wii.It just goes back to knowing what games he wants to play.

 

[VSaracino]

I think I would play more with him (and even without him!) if he had Wii!

I think you definitely would lol. My dad comes over my house all the time and plays the bowling game, and he's never played a video game outside of "trying" to place a racing game when I was a kid.

 

[Denarella]

Hi, Tristens husband here...

Ok, Xbox live is the Microsoft online gaming service. It allows people to play their games against/with other people across the globe. Its a great service, but allot of the games that work with it are very mature if not violent and bloody. Plus it costs about $50 a year. You also need a broadband internet connection in his room, or a $99 wireless adapter.

As my wife said earlier, the vast majority of the games for the Xbox are geared towards a more mature demographic. Halo 3 for example is a mature rated game (18 and up), that in content is at least equal to a "R" rated movie. Foul language, violence and gore at high levels. Most of the more popular ones fall into this category. Granted there are some GREAT games that are appropriate for a kid his age, but not nearly as many as the Wii.

It just goes back to knowing what games he wants to play.

Thanks Tristen's husband! He only is concerned with Wrestlemania 08, Thrillville, Madden 08, Hockey. THAT'S why its killing me. He's too young for the online stuff. But he wants to be able to save where's he's left off and have wireless remotes....

 

[Denarella]

I think you definitely would lol. My dad comes over my house all the time and plays the bowling game, and he's never played a video game outside of "trying" to place a racing game when I was a kid.

Im trying SOOO hard not be selfish...hence the reason I'm asking so I can find out legitimately....

 

[VSaracino]

Thanks Tristen's husband! He only is concerned with Wrestlemania 08, Thrillville, Madden 08, Hockey. THAT'S why its killing me. He's too young for the online stuff. But he wants to be able to save where's he's left off and have wireless remotes....

Well you can do all those things with the Wii too. Also, if you really want to save some money... convince him to just get wireless controllers for his PS2, and you save PS2 games with a Memory Card, which is all of $25 and each controller is $29-$39 depending on the brand(I only recommend Sony or Logitech). If those are his major concerns and that would satisfy him... you can save 300 dollars right off the top hehe.

 

[Stampaholic1961]

Thanks Bev. He even tried to use the excuse that he had no room in his room for Wii. I would love to have the bowling game or anything interative for that matter! I think I would play more with him (and even without him!) if he had Wii!

We have ours in the living room so there is room for 4 to play. It gets quite interesting when several are playing. The strap has to be secure around your wrist so the remote doesn't fly out of your hand & into the TV!!

There's another feature that I think is cool. We can take the memory card from our digital camera & insert it into the Wii. Then you can play with the pictures & add glasses etc. You can also turn the picture into a puzzle then try to arrange it back to the original. You can choose 6, 24, 48 or 196 pieces to the puzzle. My son used a video that I had taken on the camera & made it into a puzzle! Talk about challenging. Try to solve a puzzle where the pieces are moving!!!

There is also fitness training. I need to have my son teach me how to do that as soon as he gets over being sick!!

 

[lockhartkitchen]

My 13 year recommends the wii. It has more games for your son's age.

 

[Denarella]

We have ours in the living room so there is room for 4 to play. It gets quite interesting when several are playing. The strap has to be secure around your wrist so the remote doesn't fly out of your hand & into the TV!!

There's another feature that I think is cool. We can take the memory card from our digital camera & insert it into the Wii. Then you can play with the pictures & add glasses etc. You can also turn the picture into a puzzle then try to arrange it back to the original. You can choose 6, 24, 48 or 196 pieces to the puzzle. My son used a video that I had taken on the camera & made it into a puzzle! Talk about challenging. Try to solve a puzzle where the pieces are moving!!!

There is also fitness training. I need to have my son teach me how to do that as soon as he gets over being sick!!

I read that about the Wii...got to strap the remote on tightly. someone broke a TV....

What a cool feature THAT is! Puzzles? Again, being selfish because I love them! He doesn't but its not always ALL ABOUT HIM! LOL...

 

[jcsmilez]

Thanks Tristen's husband! He only is concerned with Wrestlemania 08, Thrillville, Madden 08, Hockey. THAT'S why its killing me. He's too young for the online stuff. But he wants to be able to save where's he's left off and have wireless remotes....

Wii has both those features. The Wii remotes are motions sensitive even, so you dont use them as a regular controller.

As for the saving, I dont see why he couldn't, the Wii has 512 megabytes built in storage for game saves and game downloads.

 

[Denarella]

Well you can do all those things with the Wii too. Also, if you really want to save some money... convince him to just get wireless controllers for his PS2, and you save PS2 games with a Memory Card, which is all of $25 and each controller is $29-$39 depending on the brand(I only recommend Sony or Logitech). If those are his major concerns and that would satisfy him... you can save 300 dollars right off the top hehe.

Vince, does Wii have wireless remotes? I think all of you have sold me on the Wii.....

 

[Denarella]

Wii has both those features. The Wii remotes are motions sensitive even, so you dont use them as a regular controller.

As for the saving, I dont see why he couldn't, the Wii has 512 megabytes built in storage for game saves and game downloads.

You guys and gals rock! Boy is someone going to be pleasantly disappointed. I can SOOO talk him into this! LOL!:angel:

 

[VSaracino]

Also, I don't know why I thought about this before. But EVERYTHING about the Wii is cheaper... the system itself... controllers... games... and one of my favorites, Guitar Hero 3, is 10 dollars cheaper WITH the guitar on the Wii than the other NextGen systems. However, its the same price for PS2 as it is for Wii... another reason to just keep the PS2 and save money lol.I'm sorry I'm probably not being much help giving you all these mixed opinions, but hopefully I'm saying SOMETHING useful haha.

 

[VSaracino]

Vince, does Wii have wireless remotes? I think all of you have sold me on the Wii.....

Oh ya, they are ONLY wireless. And like Tristan's husband said, they are motion sensitive, most, if not ALL of the games require you to move controllers a certain way.

For instance.. I play Tiger Wood 08 a LOT and it REQUIRES you to swing the controller like a real golf club. Its very unique and a ton of fun.

Also, the Wii has built in memory, and its large enough to hold a bunch of game saves, I have saves for about 2 dozen games on mine. And you can also buy those Sandisk cards, the kind that go in cameras, to save games if you need more space than they give you.

 

[Denarella]

Also, I don't know why I thought about this before. But EVERYTHING about the Wii is cheaper... the system itself... controllers... games... and one of my favorites, Guitar Hero 3, is 10 dollars cheaper WITH the guitar on the Wii than the other NextGen systems. However, its the same price for PS2 as it is for Wii... another reason to just keep the PS2 and save money lol.

I'm sorry I'm probably not being much help giving you all these mixed opinions, but hopefully I'm saying SOMETHING useful haha.

Oh believe me, I've been pricing them for the past two months. i just don't see spending the money on something he's entirely too young to use. He JUST really started playing with his PS2 early this year. He's had it for at least two years. Now he's into it full swing. I WANT Wii!!!!!

 

[Denarella]

Oh ya, they are ONLY wireless. And like Tristan's husband said, they are motion sensitive, most, if not ALL of the games require you to move controllers a certain way.

For instance.. I play Tiger Wood 08 a LOT and it REQUIRES you to swing the controller like a real golf club. Its very unique and a ton of fun.

Also, the Wii has built in memory, and its large enough to hold a bunch of game saves, I have saves for about 2 dozen games on mine. And you can also buy those Sandisk cards, the kind that go in cameras, to save games if you need more space than they give you.

AWESOME! He only plays for an hour a night, if that, during the school week and I only have him every other weekend. So its not like he's a teenager living on it (yet!)......

 

[VSaracino]

Then get the Wii! lol. Let's put it this way... if he ends up not liking it and you guys want to get rid of it... You can sell that thing on ebay for almost twice the price you pay for it. They are pretty hard to get in stores so people are paying ridiculous money on ebay for it.

 

[Denarella]

Then get the Wii! lol. Let's put it this way... if he ends up not liking it and you guys want to get rid of it... You can sell that thing on ebay for almost twice the price you pay for it. They are pretty hard to get in stores so people are paying ridiculous money on ebay for it.

Gulp! Ut oh....

 

[jcsmilez]

Costco seems to be a good place to find them. The one near my house has had them a couple of times. Its the ONLY place Ive seen them "In the wild" as it were.
Costco online maybe?

 

[Denarella]

Costco seems to be a good place to find them. The one near my house has had them a couple of times. Its the ONLY place Ive seen them "In the wild" as it were.

I was really hoping to get it online....its usually cheaper although you make up for it in shipping....

 

[VSaracino]

Well when you can get a good deal... I've seen them going off on ebay for around $350, sometimes with a game, if you have any ebay experience if shouldnt be too hard to grab one at a decent price. However, as a tip... I would call GameStop and EB every Tuesday Morning around 10 and Friday Morning around 10, the shipments are usually in by then... and I'm not saying that's when they get Wii's... but our shipping trends have always said that those two days we are MOST likely to get them. So scout for them before you overpay... unless you just want to get one and get it over with lolAnd even the Store Manager DOESN'T know when they will come in... so don't waste your time asking when they will get more lol.

 

[jcsmilez]

Unfortunately if its new its the same price every ware with these things.The Costco pace as a extra controller and a game with it, so its the best deal IMO.

 

[Denarella]

Well when you can get a good deal... I've seen them going off on ebay for around $350, sometimes with a game, if you have any ebay experience if shouldnt be too hard to grab one at a decent price.

However, as a tip... I would call GameStop and EB every Tuesday Morning around 10 and Friday Morning around 10, the shipments are usually in by then... and I'm not saying that's when they get Wii's... but our shipping trends have always said that those two days we are MOST likely to get them. So scout for them before you overpay... unless you just want to get one and get it over with lol

And even the Store Manager DOESN'T know when they will come in... so don't waste your time asking when they will get more lol.

Im certainly going to start looking seriously! Thank you for all of those tips!
I dont think Wrestlemania 08 is going to be available on Wii though....

 

[Denarella]

Unfortunately if its new its the same price every ware with these things.

The Costco pace as a extra controller and a game with it, so its the best deal IMO.

Can you order from Costco online? I don't have them around me in Jersey. We can't do anything right over here!

 

[VSaracino]

Oh no I misunderstood... but WWE Raw Vs Smackdown 2008 is on the Wii, if he's interested in that.

 

[Denarella]

Oh no I misunderstood... but WWE Raw Vs Smackdown 2008 is on the Wii, if he's interested in that.

Oh Lord...maybe that's the one he wants....Good Enough! (Im soooo mean!)

 

[JaimeQ]

We have an xbox and a wii. They get played often by the hubby and I both. You can even play xbox games on the wii....