With 3 boys in the house, we have never had any kind of video games system, playstation, xbox, any of that. We did have a ps2 for a little while, but it broke and we never fixed it. We just don't want our kids sitting in front of a tv all day playing games. So this is why I know nothing about this sort of thing... We want to get my 5 yo for his bday a handheld game system. I thought there were a couple out on the market but I'm having a hard time finding anything. No game boy, and psp for $200, is that right? The only thing I found is a leapster, which isn't really what I'm looking for, but does anyone have one of these? If I end up getting him that, do they sell a lot of games for it? This isn't something that he would play with every day, just for car rides, sick days, things like that. I'd love any suggestions you all have!
My son has the Nintendo DS and loves it. It's cheaper than the PSP, but bigger than the game boy. There are LOTS of games to chose from and they even have education games for it. Game Boy cartridges also work with the DS. Look for package deals as they run them a lot and usually comes with a couple games. We bought his for $169.99 around x-mas time and it came with 2 games. http://www.nintendo.com/ds
We have a 6 year old, no game systems either. Why not keep it that way? We feel the same way no siting in front of tv or video game. I thought Best Buy had a PSP for about $200 on the web site. As the 6 year old felt complelled to show it to me for some reason.
my boys have all the game systems and they still play outside. they come in handy on rainy days though.....and the Nintendo DS is good in the car, we travel alot. Nintendo DS is about $129
we have a ps2 (the boy only has two games for it) and a leapster. the leapster he loves almost as much as the ps2. the games are fun and educational and have characters he loves (even the ones that don't are fun for him). there are plenty of games, fairly cheap compared to ps2 games, and the games are of different levels to keep up with him. he's gone from pre-k/k level games to 1st to 3rd level games and still likes it... with the ps2, every half hour he has to earn the next bit of time by getting up and doing some exercise. pushups, jumping jacks, or running laps around the yard...
My parents have 2 of the bigger games systems at their house and my daughter still goes and plays with the kids afterschool. After dinner they all tend to play more on the Wii then anything. I have the DS for my daughter for her birthday this month. She has had the Gameboy Advance long enough now to make me feel she can handle the more expensive one. Plus I like it too (took it out last night and played with it )
Get a Leapster We love leapsters. I have one for both of my children. It's pretty much the only game system out there that is actually educational. We also have a PS2 for them to play games on, but it's limited to weekends only. With the Leapsters, I know they are also learning things, so I allow it when I need to go somewhere (doctor, PTA meetings, etc). No doubt about it, Leapster's rule. Also, you can get a little backpack (not leapster) so they can keep all the games in it AND the headphones (just get some cheap ones). Headphones have saved my sanity when we're in the car and the 2 of them are playing different games.
Happy Leapster Mom I have 2 Leapsters - one for each of my boys. They have used it until it has just about worn out. The biggest selling point that it had was that all of the games are educational - they learn while they play. There are several games for different age levels up through about 2-3rd grade. The system costs about $80 and the games are about $20-25 each. The L-Max can even hook to the TV and they can play that way. I don't have that version. The L-Max games can play on the regular Leapster. I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions. Karen
Leapster ROCKS! Educational games. DD enjoys it during her off time. C6 uses two of them n her class for reward game time for her students. Great system.
Maybe I will go with leapster then. I looked online at DS, it says for 8 & up. My son is not "advanced" so I'm not sure he could do it. I don't know anything about the other systems, but might look into those as well. Online I only saw a couple games for leapster, so was worried there wouldn't be much to choose from. He has the leap pads and likes them. The leapster doesn't seem "cheap" does it? Like is the screen a good resolution? I might hop into the store and see what it's all about.
You don't have to be advanced to play the DS, my daughter is going to be 8 this month, but she could have handled it a year ago as well. I remember her starting the Gameboy advance and she couldn't read well, it helped her learn to read. Now she kicks everyones butt on the Wii..just when you think they can't do something they will show you up. She had the leapster and she really didn't take to it that good, thank god I didn't pay for it. Every child is different, you have to do what you think is best for yours
When my son was 4, he was playing the Leapster, and quickly outgrew it. He's had a DS for years, didn't used to have much interest in it, but lately has become an issue with us having to limit his time on it(he's almost 9). I agree that the Leapsters have very educational games. But there are educational ones for the DS as well such as "Brainage". At 8, I might skip the Leapter, unless you have a younger child that could use it as well. Just my .02, take it with a grain of salt.
The problem is with the Leapster, he will outgrow that VERY quickly. I'm not sure about how many games are available for it either. My daughter received a Nintendo DS for Christmas. You can definitely get one for under $200. It just starts getting expensive when you get accessories and such. There is quite a library of games for the system, plus it will also play the old GameBoy Advance games.
I think some of you are confused...8) this is for my son's 5th birthday. That's why I wasn't sure if he could do the DS
i don't know how "fast" these people's kids outgrew the leapster...maybe it's because they didn't buy higher level games or something, but my boy got his two christmases ago (about a month before he turned 5), and got new, harder games for christmas this year. so, he's been rolling it for 18 months, and i don't see him dropping it for another couple of years. for the price of the system and the games, being much less than the nintendo stuff, and more educational, it's a good value for 3 years of ownership, even if he gives it up when he's 8 like these other people's kids.... imho
I just got my new PSP off Craigslist for $80 with games, movies etc. I would HIGHLY reccomend it. I have about every gaming system known to man and this is by far the coolest. It has built in wireless internet (I love not having to walk upstairs to google something), Internet radio, watch movies, can be "hacked" (custom firmware) to play just about any game on any system ever made (look on Craigslist or research it and do it yourself). Its highly upgradable, and DIRT cheap. I've tried my son's Nintendo DS but it is light years behind the PSP.
I'm mostly concerned with something age appropriate. I don't want the only games offered to be games he can't play. And he certainly doesn't need to be online without my knowledge...Like I said, he's not "advanced", so he's a typical 4-5 year old, and I know he'd love to have something like this. I don't want to spend $200 on something that he won't play with that often or that can be broken easily either...
