OK, the last one I had was a first generation Nintendo and I haven't paid any attention to the market since. I now want to get one for my 8 yo daughter so she can play Harry Potter and similar stuff. We're at the point where we want to use our PC more for grown-up stuff and get the games off the memory... So, any advice on a simple, easy to use system... I don't need huge power... just simple girly game capability. Also, who has the cheapest games these days. Thanks.
If she's 8 get a GameCube.. they are under $99.00 and they love to push out the "kiddie" games... plus they will be bring out a new system in under a year so games are getting cheaper, but they might stop making the GameCube soon I dont know if that is a huge deal to you or not just FYI..
Kind of tough to pick which one. Personally, I'd probably pick between the Gamecube and the PS2. Right now, I think the Gamecube is ~$80 (not including bundles), and the PS2 is still at ~$150. The game prices for each are probably about the same. I forget if Nintendo still offers a "discount" on some of the best-selling games like Sony does (the "Greatest Hits" titles), but if they don't, that might be a slight advantage for the PS2. Plus, I guess you could get a PS2 and buy PS1 games for it. I think it just comes down to which games your daughter likes. Harry Potter games would be on both IIRC, so that doesn't really help much. Not too many "girly" games out there that I can think of either, although something like Super Smash Brothers or Mario Kart might be pretty fun for a kid to play. Or really any of the games Nintendo makes actually. The GC is often looked at as "kiddie," which in this case might be a good thing. There are indeed a lot of games for the GC which are simple yet fun for kids (and adults for that matter). On the PS2 side, it has some games that might be OK for kids as well. A game like Super Monkey Ball (also on GC IIRC) or Katamari Damacy might be fun for them to play (never thought it about it much). Plus, if she likes Disney, there is a game franchise called "Kingdom Hearts" on the PS2 that has tons of Disney characters (Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Aladdin, Genie, Winnie, Lion King, etc.). Although to be honest, the game, despite the Disney characters, is kind of aimed more for older audiences. Eh, can't really go wrong with either one, or even the Xbox really to a degree. Unless she has a preference towards like Mario, Link/Zelda, Samus (Metroid), etc., you could probably just flip a coin or something and be fine. Oh yeah, I guess I should note that I think the PS2 might end up "living" longer than the GC. So I guess if you want her to be playing this in 3 years or so, the PS2 might still be getting "newer" games. Probably not much though, but not bad considering each of the consoles will have their successors by the end of the year. Which reminds me, if you're fine with waiting, the Nintendo Revolution might be something to consider as well. As with Nintendo's past consoles, it will probably be "cheap" when it launches, probably around $200 or less. Along with being able to play Revolution games for the next 5 years or so (and in a innovative way), the system will also play Gamecube games as well as games from all of Nintendo's previous systems (NES, SNES, N64...think that's it).
Gamecube. Cheaper, wider variety/age bracket, Mario/Nintendo stuff that is all ages. Even a few things that if you want to try it out you'll find. (Resident Evil 4, Metroid, new Zelda, etc.)
i just had to put in some thought if you are getting it for your daughter get the gamecube, i have two younger sisters about the same age, and we have all three systems xbox, ps2 and gamecube they only touch the gamecube, the other two go unused, the titles on the nintendo system are much more child and girl friendly, and they seem to enjoy them much more also ps2 is not a game system for a kid, if you have seen some of the titles on their, yes they have some games for kids, but the majority is aimed at teens and mature gamers so if it was for your daughter i would get the gamecube here are some games she might enjoy: Mario Kart double dash (racing game) Mario tennis Super mario sunshine Zelda: windwaker Super Smash Bros super monkey ball Star Fox adventures there are a ton more that i cant remember right now, but most games are kid friendly
i got a modded xbox i can play my xbox and then have all my old nes/snes/genesis roms loaded on it to play it old school. cant beat that
How does one go about getting one? Did you mod it yourself, order it online or what? I'm really interested in getting one when I get my tax money back.
you can buy it modded, and there are guides online that tell you how to mod it, but i believe it voids the warrenty so you better know what your doing.
Yeah, I can't even fix a SNES controller, so no way am I trying to open up an XBox and trying to solder anything. Are there any places around town that sell them? And is the Genesis/SNES emulation really 100%? Thx.
i got mine off of craigslist. you can mod an xbox without a chip it involves flashing the bios and using either the 007 nightfire game or mechwarrior game as a loophole. its not very difficult and you can find guides on how to do it online. i am sure there are places that'll do that for you for like 50 bucks. i was going to do it myself but i was able to talk the guy down for the modded xbox to the price i was gonna get for a reg xbox i was gonna mod myself. so i figure why not i dont have to spend the extra time modding it. i wont get the 3 games like with the other one, but i wont have to worry about that anymore RC Cola- maybe you know this the hd in the xbox right now is a 120 gig i have a 300 gig lying around do you know if i can just ghost over the 120 to the 300 without losing the soft mod? i'd rather not have to go through the process myself since i've already stored some movies,tv shows and roms on the xbox
GEt the NINTENDO DS LITE... it looks much more stylish.. a lot of games aim toward kids. Touchpad.. dual screen.. and voice control.. And you can buy her NintenDOGs instead of a real dog
how many games are like resident evil 4 for gamecube? compare that to the amount of games like re4 for ps2. ps2 by far has the most diverse and largest selection of games to choose from. most gc games are made by nintendo because they have very little to no third party support. im suprised their still able to milk their franchise games as long as they have and still be able to stay in the console business. the nintendo revolution on the other hand is a interesting console/concept that has me intrigued.
That actually would be an interesting choice if he was up to it. It basically offers a lot of the positives of the Gamecube ("kiddie" games, relatively cheap hardware/software), while also being a system that will see strong support for a couple of years (plus it is portable, has a microphone and touch screen, etc.). Although I should note that I’m not sure when the DS Lite will be in the US. IIRC, Reggie said they were still working on a US date, so it might just be easier just to get the regular DS. It will be a bit cheaper anyway. Hehe...then you can get here one of the Brain Training games when they hit the US later on so that she makes better grades in school. I'm not that familar with the whole Xbox mod scene, so I don't know an answer for your question. Someone else who does this sort of stuff might have to answer that; either that, or you'll have to spend some time on Google. I checked out a few sites, but I didn't see anything that answered your question. Sorry I couldn't be of much help.
OK. I'm going with Gamecube. Sounds simple and looks like it will do what I want it to do. I also have a 3 yo, so in a few years, I can shift the Gamecube to her and get another unit if we have the need. Thanks for all the information.
