Which gaming system...

[warneckutz]

Oldest will be 8 in January and youngest is 4 (5 in April). Right now they like anything with car racing or in their cases, crashing. I got them GTR for the computer and they love it. Youngest saw a video game with monster trucks and said he had to have it. The sitter's son has a XBOX 360 that has a game with cars, motorcyles and monster trucks that they will play if my older son has to be there during the day because school is out.

I read that as GTA (Grand Theft Auto) -

There's a game Burnout Paradise that's a fun racing game they keep adding new stuff to (for the 360 & PS3).

 

[RareBreed]

I have a 360 and a Wii. I'm in the market for a PS3 eventually (especially if there's a price break soon).

*I* would go with a 360 since they seem to put out better games.

Everyone rants and raves about the power of a PS3 but when a game comes out on both the 360 and PS3 - the PS3 seems to have a few shortcomings (especially in graphics for some reason).

With how fragile these systems are (I'm on my 3rd 360 since they had their chip issue), I'm not too fond of using it as a movie machine especially since Blu-Ray players have come down in price.

Some people push the fact that games load faster on the PS3 because it stores more data to the hard drive but the 360 will begin doing the same thing when they update the systems (on-line) around mid-November.


My $.02 ;-)

You're talking way above my head. I hear about Blu-Ray all the time and still say WTH is that?? I'm leaning towards the 360 just because they've atleast played it when over at the sitters. If it's up to me to teach them how to use the other systems, they are out of luck. Dad is better equipt to do that.

 

[RareBreed]

I read that as GTA (Grand Theft Auto) -

There's a game Burnout Paradise that's a fun racing game they keep adding new stuff to (for the 360 & PS3).

I've heard of that game. Looks like fun. Good lord, I would if my husband played Grand Theft Auto, let alone the kids!!

 

[Mousebaby]

GTA is one game that will never come into this house! I am surprised that they have not banned that game. There are a lot of them that scare me. Don't we have enough violence in this world without making such violent games? I saw a commercial the other day that is for some system where you are a working your way up to be in a gangster mob! WTF?

 

[glhs837]

No GTA here. I did try number 3, just to see what the fuss was about. Made me feel so bad after 5 minutes of playing that I took it right back Call me old fashioned. Oddly, I have no qualms with a game that has me driving to evadse the police, but anything that smacks of injuring innocents (or officers, of course) wont fly in my house.

At the ages your kids are, Id lean towards the Wii. More games oriented towards thier age group out for that system than any others.

As far as reliability, Ive ben waiting to buy a 360 for just that reason, there is a new motherboard (called Jasper) coming out soon, that should finally fix the red ring of death (RROD) issue. Was supposed to be released in Aug, but theres no verification of that yet. Microsoft wont say when, beucase then older models wont get sold.

My PS3 has been rock solid. Id say its on about %70 of the time, what with games, movies, and Folding@Home. Thats been since launch, November 2006. I dont think Ive ever heard of ANY issues with the Wii, to mention that.

 

[warneckutz]

GTA is one game that will never come into this house! I am surprised that they have not banned that game. There are a lot of them that scare me. Don't we have enough violence in this world without making such violent games? I saw a commercial the other day that is for some system where you are a working your way up to be in a gangster mob! WTF?

You're talking about Saint's Row 2!!! That game is pretty wild! They get pretty creative. / 5

 

[warneckutz]

As far as reliability, Ive ben waiting to buy a 360 for just that reason, there is a new motherboard (called Jasper) coming out soon, that should finally fix the red ring of death (RROD) issue. Was supposed to be released in Aug, but theres no verification of that yet. Microsoft wont say when, beucase then older models wont get sold.

My PS3 has been rock solid. Id say its on about %70 of the time, what with games, movies, and Folding@Home. Thats been since launch, November 2006. I dont think Ive ever heard of ANY issues with the Wii, to mention that.

I didn't know about a new chip. I have a warranty plan on mine, hopefully won't need it anytime soon.

My Wii hasn't had any issues except for the occasional "Disc Read Error", so I just try it again and it works.

 

[Mousebaby]

You're talking about Saint's Row 2!!! That game is pretty wild! They get pretty creative. / 5

 

[RareBreed]

No GTA here. I did try number 3, just to see what the fuss was about. Made me feel so bad after 5 minutes of playing that I took it right back Call me old fashioned. Oddly, I have no qualms with a game that has me driving to evadse the police, but anything that smacks of injuring innocents (or officers, of course) wont fly in my house.

At the ages your kids are, Id lean towards the Wii. More games oriented towards thier age group out for that system than any others.

As far as reliability, Ive ben waiting to buy a 360 for just that reason, there is a new motherboard (called Jasper) coming out soon, that should finally fix the red ring of death (RROD) issue. Was supposed to be released in Aug, but theres no verification of that yet. Microsoft wont say when, beucase then older models wont get sold.

My PS3 has been rock solid. Id say its on about %70 of the time, what with games, movies, and Folding@Home. Thats been since launch, November 2006. I dont think Ive ever heard of ANY issues with the Wii, to mention that.

I want one that they can play now and 10yrs from now so finding one that offers lots of games at their current ages isn't a factor. They tend to obsess on certain things anyways so we'd only be looking at 1-2 games for each of them that will be played over and over again at this age.

 

[RareBreed]

Costs

What is a reasonable price for the PS3, XBOX, and Wii??

 

[Mousebaby]

What is a reasonable price for the PS3, XBOX, and Wii??

Paid 240 for my Xbox on Amazon.com

 

[warneckutz]

What is a reasonable price for the PS3, XBOX, and Wii??

Wii - $249 (pretty solid)
PS3 - $399 (WalMart is offering a $100 gift card if you buy it on Saturday)
360 - Ummm, I think they still have 3 models $199 - $349 (I think)

 

[bcp]

Wasnt there something about the X-Box overheating? or was that a different game machine.

at any rate, the Wii is totally different type of game than the others mentioned.
I like first person shooters with really strong graphics. The Wii does not offer this type of game.

however, I do like the Wii from time to time for the arcade type games that seem to be its main use.

 

[RareBreed]

Wii - $249 (pretty solid)
PS3 - $399 (WalMart is offering a $100 gift card if you buy it on Saturday)
360 - Ummm, I think they still have 3 models $199 - $349 (I think)

Thanks. That will atleast give me an idea so I won't be getting jerked around.

 

[warneckutz]

Thanks. That will atleast give me an idea so I won't be getting jerked around.

Here's a few things off the tope of my head if you want them to be able to play on-line with others:

PS3 - Free (for now)
Wii - Free (for now)
360 - Generally $50.00/year if you buy a prepaid card (12+1 months) (BUT WalMart sells the card for about $38 sometimes)

I've heard stuff about the PS3 network, I've used the Wii network and I have to give my to the 360 network, you get a lot more since you're helping to fund it.

If you decide to go with a 360 you may want to consider the Elite since it has a 120 Gig HD over a 20 Gig HD (6x more space obviously). I didn't think it owuld be necessary to have a larger HD like that but with all the add-ons you can get for the games you buy and now that they're going to install more game files on the system to allow it to run faster - 120 seems to be the right choice. PLUS - if you have an HD tv with HDMI interface, the Elite allows you to use that.

OK - I need to hit the gym for a few hours to shake off that nerdiness.

 

[frogman123]

PS3! I have had a 360 for a couple years but the PS3 is definitely much more worth it. I have played the Wii a lot and don't care for it too much. I am more into the look of the game I guess but the Wii would be at the bottom of my list. With the PS3, you can stream movies online, watch blue ray, play games, stream music, has an 80G HD, surf the internet (so can the wii), its free to play online unlike the 360, the games look AMAZING, and you can get littlebigplanet which is fun for any age, I love it...

Also the Dual Shock 3 controler has movement sensors in the controllers, kind of like the wii!

 

[glhs837]

bcp, that overheating thing is the RROD thing I talked about earlier. The early ones had what was reported to be a %30 failure rate. they made some running changes, played with heatsinks, eventually shrank one of the two main chips (CPU and GPU, central processor and graphics processor) down to smaller size. Smaller chips dont get as hot, and therefore require less cooling. This dropped the fialure rate down some, Ive heard to below %15, but theres not hard numbers on that.


The above tech descriiption is simplified, of course. The newest board I talked about has both main chips shrunk, and should never have an overheating problem.

Rare, 10 years for a life cycle is asking a lot, 4 year olds and 14 year olds are such completey different animals. Not to mention technology marches so fast that in 10 years, we're all most likely going to have 3D televisions, and no current machine will keep up.

That said, Sony has repeatedly said that they do plan a 10 year life cycle for the PS3, we'll see if that can hold.

 

[Gwydion]

That said, Sony has repeatedly said that they do plan a 10 year life cycle for the PS3, we'll see if that can hold.

It will. The PS2 held its own for a good 6 or so years and it is still a very solid gaming platform. If anybody is to buy a console that will "last", they need to get the PS3.

Unfortunately, there just aren't that many good games out as of yet. The game makers have been focusing on Xbox 360.

The Wii is a great system. It is the only one with truely unique games. Anything that is on the Xbox or PS3, I can find an equivalent, if not better, game for my computer.

 

[theArtistFormerlyKnownAs]

Here's a few things off the tope of my head if you want them to be able to play on-line with others:

PS3 - Free (for now)
Wii - Free (for now)
360 - Generally $50.00/year if you buy a prepaid card (12+1 months) (BUT WalMart sells the card for about $38 sometimes)

I've heard stuff about the PS3 network, I've used the Wii network and I have to give my to the 360 network, you get a lot more since you're helping to fund it.

If you decide to go with a 360 you may want to consider the Elite since it has a 120 Gig HD over a 20 Gig HD (6x more space obviously). I didn't think it owuld be necessary to have a larger HD like that but with all the add-ons you can get for the games you buy and now that they're going to install more game files on the system to allow it to run faster - 120 seems to be the right choice. PLUS - if you have an HD tv with HDMI interface, the Elite allows you to use that.

Here is the thing...I completely disagree.
There is going to be absolutely no need for the larger harddrive for the people using it. They are kids, not hardcore gamers in the least. It would be a waste, IMO.

I've stayed away from playstation for years because they seem to try to appeal to more of the "you can use it for anything" crowd. If you want something that will play DVDs better, that would probably be your choice, but PERSONALLY, I would say to get the better system, thats cheaper, and invest in a cheap DVD player if you need another one.

Xbox is going to be more fun for them if they get into gaming a little bit. I have played the Wii at my parents, and though there are a few fun games, I PERSONALLY think that the system gets old fast. The uniqueness wears off and I would personally prefer better games than the "interactiveness". That being said, I haven't tried that Wii Fit that my parents got, and that looks like it could be a good time (and a little bit of a workout).

My breakdown:
PS3: Good DVD player, but not the best for what it is "made for".
Wii: Good family system if you find enough fun stuff to keep yourselves interested. I think one of the better games I've played was the sports game that came with it. Simple, basic, but you can keep playing to improve your scores.
Xbox 360: This gets my choice. It has the graphics, it has the games, and your kids have played it before and, I assume, you know they like it. Especially since you want to get longevity out of it...this has something for everyone for the most part. The only thing with hoping for longevity, is that you know each of these companies is going to come out with new systems at some point, and the old ones become all but obsolete.
(oh, and like I said, you don't need the fanciest version of the 360 if that's what you go with. I don't foresee you going over the 20GB space that the "basic" system has. )

 

[glhs837]

Oh, I dont know that the lack of games thing is a factor anymore, really. Last year, maybe, but theres been a ton of stuff recently. Barring Halo and Gears of War, theres not much you can get for the 360 you cant get for the PS3.


Heck, right now theres maybe three or four games I would like to get, but just dont have time for. Busy with Resistance 2, Warhawk as always, and Little Big Planet. Motorstorm 2, Fallout 3, the latest Need for Speed, BioShock, some of the Lego stuff, Burnout Paradise are all just waiting for time, and budget of course

Oh, and Mirrors Edge, and Pure.