Hand Held Game System Suggestions Needed

[flemings99]

My soon to be 7 yr. old is wanting his own hand held game system. Currently he & his brother share a Dsi Xl. His obvious request is the new 3ds. I know there are other handheld games out there through ipods and so on. So, for the gal not current up in the tech. world. Give me some pros/cons on what's avail. and what you'd suggest for my soon to be 7 yr. old.

 

[otisbg]

well my daughter who is an elementary educator and going for her PhD, refused to buy her kiddos hand held gaming systmes - she went for the iPODTouch as they can download books as well as more educational games - Her children are 8, 6 1/2 and 5 yrs old and they each got one. Hope this helps in the decision

 

[babywings76]

We got my oldest son (just turned 10) a 3DS. He had been begging for a DSi forever. All his friends have them, etc. So we finally got him this and it's really great. He loves it. You can turn off the 3D feature, too. Any of the games work on it. Most of the new games that will be coming out will be in the 3D, so if you're going to get a DS, I'd get the 3DS so that they can do anything on them. An iPod touch or an iPad is awesome, but I think at that price I'd keep it for myself and just let them play on it occasionally and not let it be "theirs".Now, we did just go ahead and buy the Kindle Fire for my 6 year old. I know that seems extravagant, but we just decided we didn't want him to have a 3DS, too, since he gets to borrow his brothers a lot. He's been happy with the kindle and each day there's an app they let you download for free. I already own an iPod Touch, so the Kindle is great because it has a larger screen. If we could afford the iPad, we'd have done that.We are a "gadget" type of family and so that's why we got him the Kindle Fire...plus then my DH can borrow it and read books and do all sorts of other things on it.

 

[Becca_in_MD]

My soon to be 7 year old son got a DSi XL last year for his birthday. This year he wanted the 3DS for xmas but we decided he needs to wait another year. He wants to play Mario Kart 7 which is only for the 3DS. He got money and gift cards for xmas so I may tell him he can buy his own. His teacher was getting her son a DS for xmas. My 9 year old had a DS but wanted a DSi for xmas last year. She didn't get it. I bargained with her. We returned $100 worth of presents and she came up with the rest of the money to buy one. Of course this year she wanted the 3DS, but more so an ipod touch. She got the ipod and hasn't said anything about the DS. My son is more of a gamer than DD is.

I say go with the 3DS.

 

[PCJenni]

we got the Leappad for my almost 6 year old daughter for Christmas. LOVE it. It is a touch pad and has cartridges and you can download onto it. You can set the learning levels for the games from your computer by connecting it to your computer and it was only $99!

 

[Gina M]

Here's my suggestion - each time one of my three kids wanted a new system, they saved their birthday and Christmas money and bought them for themselves. They each have the original ds and 2 of them then wanted an iPod touch a few years later and purchased those themselves. My 14 yr old son excitedly saved his money and got the 3DS the day it came out this past March and has been adding games to his collection. My oldest son who is 17 wanted his own laptop and we said he could get it if he paid for it himself. I'm fortunate that they are able to wait to get things and understand that mom and dad won't be buying everything they want. They take great care of their systems as well since it was their money that bought it! I do highly recommend the 3DS system - it seems pretty cool and my 14 yr old loves it. Good luck!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

The Sony PSP has the superior graphics but there are far more titles for the Nintendo DS than Sony.There really aren't that many titles for the 3DS yet, but it is capable of playing the other DS games. (The older DSi and DSi Lite are not capable of playing the 3D games.) Frankly, the only title I've seen for the 3DS that even looks interesting is Mario Cart 7, but that's just me. If it is a success, there will be more titles for it as time goes on.I tried the 3DS and got ill from it. The *&^%$#@! thing really messed with my equilibrium and it was all I could do to walk a straight line out of the electronics department. Younger eyes and perceptions might do better but it's certainly useless to me. You might want to make sure he's tried it before you drop that much money on one.

 

[babywings76]

There's a little sliding switch that lets you turn off the 3D feature and you can just play normal. The instructions actually do warn you to not allow children under 7 to play with the 3D feature.

 

[flemings99]

Appreciate the feedback. If anyone else has opinions would appreciate them as well. My biggest concern about the ipod is if they have ratings on the games. I browsed the app store but didn't see where it listed them if they do.

As far as earning it, we've done that in the past for various things. For their b-days they have the option of a less expensive gift and a party or a big item (expensive) and skip the party. Parties here can run $100-$200+ so I don't mind buying him the ipod or the 3ds for his birthday if we skip the party.

 

[babywings76]

Appreciate the feedback. If anyone else has opinions would appreciate them as well. My biggest concern about the ipod is if they have ratings on the games. I browsed the app store but didn't see where it listed them if they do.

As far as earning it, we've done that in the past for various things. For their b-days they have the option of a less expensive gift and a party or a big item (expensive) and skip the party. Parties here can run $100-$200+ so I don't mind buying him the ipod or the 3ds for his birthday if we skip the party.

That is one thing I don't like about the App store. It shows a LOT of inappropriate apps as you scroll through. So many porn and gambling things on there. I wish I could customize it so that it would be safe for my kids to browse the app store looking for kid games. Maybe there is a way, but I haven't discovered it. If anyone knows of a way, please share!