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Best Gaming Platform for a First-Grade Girl ?

zhen_roguezhen_rogue Registered User regular
edited December 2014 in Help / Advice Forum
Hi all,

My daughter is almost seven, and a first-grader.
After visiting with my wife about a possible xmas gift, we are considering a console gaming system.

The last console I bought was a sega genesis (c.1990), so obviously I have a LOT to catch up on in terms of what platform is appropriate for us.
Please be verbose in your answers, and give me as many plusses/minuses or specific game title recommendations as you can. I really have NO concept where to even begin with modern systems.

Considerations:
1. My daughter is an only child, and doesn't have schoolmates or friends that live nearby. As a result, it will mostly be her playing - with me a little every evening and once in a blue moon my wife might play.
2. My wife wants to make sure some games are "move around / dance" games that keep her active, not just sedentary staring in front of the TV.
3. My wife will never tolerate a shooter or war-themed game, and my daughter is still quite scared of "monsters". Game themes, subjects, and settings must be age-appropriate.
4. Ideally, games would include: a learning game or two, an active/dance game or two, a co-operative game we can both play with her, an adventure/problem solving/story-heavy game she and I can play together, a "party" themed game for when we have family or friends as company, and maybe a slow-paced sandbox/sim-city style game where she builds up a town, farm, or the like on her own?
5. I don't want to pay a monthly subscription fee to anything if I can avoid it, unless the subscription was somehow a substantial savings on game costs.
6. We have a widescreen 30" LCD TV that I believe should support a game console, and we have cable internet (via a wireless router).

Thank you in advance for any recommendations (for, or against) consoles and specific games!
Please let me know if I can answer any additional questions.

zhen_rogue on

Posts

  • PantshandshakePantshandshake Registered User regular
    Seems like you'll want to look into the offerings from our good friend Nintendo. I haven't used any of their products since the first Wii came out, but they're pretty kid friendly in terms of content. No idea how fast a 7 year old learns to play or use a controller, though.

  • Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    Yeah, Nintendo seems like the way to go. You might be better off getting her a 3DS XL as opposed to a console that is anchored to a t.v.

  • Pure DinPure Din Boston-areaRegistered User regular
    edited December 2014
    Kids that age are great at controllers, though games that require a lot of reading / puzzle solving might be tough.

    Anyway, here are some Wii games that might be appropriate: (sorry I don't know any of the Wii U games)

    Dance/Active:
    -- Just Dance series (there's a Disney-themed version if she's into that)
    -- Wii Sports Resort
    -- We Ski & Snowboard

    Party game:
    -- WarioWare: Smooth Moves
    -- Rayman Raving Rabbids

    Sim:
    -- Animal Crossing City Folk
    -- Little King Story

    Multi-player (vs):
    -- Dokapon Kingdom
    -- Brawl (technically fighting but not violent. has a co-op story mode)

    Problem Solving: (these games might be tough for her to play on her own, but would be fun to play with a kid as co-op)
    -- Zach & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure (can use a second wiimote to highlight objects on the screen)
    -- World of Goo (up to 4-player co-op)

    Co-op adventure: (category I'm not very familiar with...)
    -- Super Mario Galaxy (though I think it's only more co-op ish?)
    -- Lego Star Wars

    Pure Din on
  • QuidQuid Definitely not a banana Registered User regular
    A Wii U from Nintendo is probably your best bet. Nintendo has tons of kid friendly games and the controllers allow games with a focus on moving around.

  • Pure DinPure Din Boston-areaRegistered User regular
    A few more thoughts:

    1. Kids grow into games, so it's okay to focus on quality and content-appropriate games rather than gameplay-appropriate. I'm thinking about games like Skyward Sword, or Ookami, which are probably going to be way too hard for her now, but they offer pretty environments to sandbox it up for now, and then come back to it in a year or two.

    2. On a related note, I don't think it's that terrible for kids to have that boss they just can't beat, that level that's too difficult, or whatever. It's like playing sports; you wouldn't let her play soccer against a team of middle schoolers, but she does need to learn how to lose gracefully.

    3. While looking stuff up in a game guide book (yes they still make those) might be cheating for an adult, it's an educational experience for a kid, since she has to use the table of contents to find the info she wants, follow written instructions, use a map or read a graph, etc.

  • hsuhsu Registered User regular
    I have a Wii. I would not get the Wii nor would I get the WiiU.
    I would get an Xbox 360 with the Kinect or Xbox One with Kinect, if you're willing to buy the subscription.
    The Just Dance games, Lego games, Raymond Rabbid games, sports games, they are all available for the Xbox, and they play much better with the Kinect than they do with the Wii motion controllers.

    iTNdmYl.png
  • IrukaIruka Registered User, Moderator mod
    I think Nintendo offers the best range, a wii U and 3ds combo offers you a good library of new games and an excellent variety of snes games through the store. Looking up guides and reading their instructions is a large part of how I learned to read as a kid. Nintendo is going to offer you the easiest shopping experience, as long as you aren't picking up call of duty or watch dogs, its going to be really hard to pick out a game that isn't pretty friendly and harmless.

    The just dance games are for sure better with a kinect, but you can pick up both the system and a kinect used for 120 bucks, probably less if you did craigslist. You can maybe do that later if she takes a particular interest to dance games.

  • BouwsTBouwsT Wanna come to a super soft birthday party? Registered User regular
    Generally speaking, Nintendo seems to be very good at quality control as well. For a family getting in to gaming, that is just one less thing to think about.

    I'll toss in my hat in the Nintendo camp.

    Between you and me, Peggy, I smoked this Juul and it did UNTHINKABLE things to my mind and body...
  • bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    Nintendo for sure.

    Gotta introduce her to Mario and Zelda at some point anyways. But they're all really great games, and the Wii/Wii U seems to orient itself around activity because of their controller styles.

    The range of "younger gamer games" on the Wii is better I think. And then there's Pokemans, so she might feel like branching into the 3DS area of portable gaming to get to them!

    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • azith28azith28 Registered User regular
    If you value your wallet stay away from skylanders games.

    Stercus, Stercus, Stercus, Morituri Sum
  • MegaMan001MegaMan001 CRNA Rochester, MNRegistered User regular
    I'd recommend the Wii U as well and then pilfer the downloadable games and start her on NES and SNES - for, I don't know, appreciation?

    I hope to start my future heirs on the NES.

    I am in the business of saving lives.
  • CelestialBadgerCelestialBadger Registered User regular
    Get her a PC or Mac & teach her to code. Worth a thousand round of wii fit.

  • Beef AvengerBeef Avenger Registered User regular
    anything that plays minecraft

    Steam ID
    PSN: Robo_Wizard1
  • MichaelLCMichaelLC In what furnace was thy brain? ChicagoRegistered User regular
    edited December 2014
    anything that does not play minecraft

    We just got a Wii U for our 3yr old, will see how it goes.

    MichaelLC on
  • tinwhiskerstinwhiskers Registered User regular
    Do you wan't your daughter to grow up to be a filthy peasant?
    No?
    PC master race it is then.

    The games are cheaper.
    She can use it for home work and the like.
    No paying for online
    Way more cool indie games.
    Way more games in general than the Wii U
    Daddy can blame some adult games after it's bed time-Which the Wii U basically has like 2 of.
    DOTA 2


    Also while the sentiment of 'move around games' is laudable, they really aren't a substitute for some kind of real sport/activity. Since you live out in the country, I'd running around in the woods shooting shit. It's really the most fun.

    6ylyzxlir2dz.png
  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    edited December 2014
    A desktop PC is a terrible idea with kids. There are ~so many~ ways they can easily break it. A nice windows/android/apple tablet with a good case and fun (and cheap) app games however: very solid.

    Kids get bored with stuff quickly, my experience has been that tablet apps both allow for the novelty of a new experience with the balancing of not being crazy expensive or expecting more than ~30 minutes of gameplay in a single session, making doing something active or family oriented easier to break away and do.

    Wii is excellent at our family's parties and family gatherings. The young ones can all play games together (there are 4 in our family so it works out) and its very portable. Moving four PCs from place to place is a disaster, though tablets are always useful (such as in the car or on trips).

    Most of my neices and nephews have 3DSs and get a ton of fun out of them. For kids, they are great (but still rather expensive for new games). Pokemon always holds attention for a while, but most games they get tend to have a day or two of play and then get forgotten for other things (usually the cheap, silly, terrible looking free tablet games). It's kind of like a cardboard box, you can get a super nice toy with a million moving parts, but the kid is more likely to play with the box.

    Enc on
  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    I have a desktop PC for my own gaming, mind you, and occasionally my oldest neice will ask to play CIV or a few other games I have when she stays with my wife and I, but for the younger ones (especially with their habit of spilling things) I'm not sure a $1.5k gaming rig is actually a better investment.

  • CelestialBadgerCelestialBadger Registered User regular
    I'm glad my parents bought me a computer not a console - I'd have never learned code on a console.

  • BouwsTBouwsT Wanna come to a super soft birthday party? Registered User regular
    Much like horses, you can lead a child to a PC, but you can't make them code.

    See if computer technologies interest them, consider a PC if it does. If you're looking for straight entertainment without the intricacies and costs of PC, there are some awesome suggestions in this thread.

    Between you and me, Peggy, I smoked this Juul and it did UNTHINKABLE things to my mind and body...
  • CelestialBadgerCelestialBadger Registered User regular
    BouwsT wrote: »
    Much like horses, you can lead a child to a PC, but you can't make them code.

    This sort of thinking is why there are so female programmers. With boys, people tend to say "He likes Minecraft. Let's buy him a PC so he can learn to mod." But with girls it's like "Oh, she loves dancing. Let's buy her a Wii so she can play dancing games."

    This girl may or may not like code. She is a couple of years too young, I think. But it saddens me that no-one is even considering the possibility. You have to start young to be an excellent coder. And no-one buys girls PCs "in the hope" that they will become coders, which means that it is very much a self-fulfilling prophecy. I'm certainly going to teach my daughter to code at that age.

    Most likely she will *not* become a coder, but most boys whose hopeful parents assume that a laptop would be a surefire route to Silicon Valley *also* do not become coders. But somehow that does not dissuade people.

    But, to get off my high horse for a moment, the Wii is what you are thinking of. The old Wii (secondhand as it is no longer available) or the new Wii U will do just fine, depending on your budget. Lots of dancing, fitness & party games. Educational value: nil. Fun value: lots.

  • MulletudeMulletude Registered User regular
    I don't know if you have kids but what you are describing is eerily similar to forcing kids into sports so you can live vicariously through them.

    Lay the option there and let them decide what they like. And seriously, you are being weirdly pushy about something that has nothing to do with the op.

    To answer the op, get a wii on the cheap and let your kid help pick a couple games to try out. My 4 year old loves mario kart, smash and every lego game

    XBL-Dug Danger WiiU-DugDanger Steam-http://steamcommunity.com/id/DugDanger/
  • OrogogusOrogogus San DiegoRegistered User regular
    Eh, my parents got me started on an IBM PC and DOS in the first grade myself, and I'm pretty glad they did. My father, a software engineer, did try to get me started on Pascal in the second grade by handing me a textbook and that didn't take, but just becoming familiar with computers was very helpful for the rest of my life; the Atari, not so much. And there's wiggle room between a $1,500 gaming desktop and a child's first PC.

  • MulletudeMulletude Registered User regular
    That would be great if the op was asking for help buying his kid a pc.

    XBL-Dug Danger WiiU-DugDanger Steam-http://steamcommunity.com/id/DugDanger/
  • bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    PC is a different platform, it also requires a lot more care and maintenance to it.

    Do I think OP's daughter needs to be introduced to a PC? Absolutely, every house should have at least one modern computer (at most 8 years old). Do I think she needs to be introduced to gaming? Sure. That's what OP wants, nothing wrong with it. It's gender and sex neutral, everyone can enjoy games. Do I think PC gaming is for OP's daughter? Eh... PC games don't really orient themselves to kids, not young ones anyways. They want more family and activity oriented games? Wii-U is the system for OP.

    Shortly behind it would be PS4 and Xbox. This doesn't exclude or include the PC because you should already have it.

    If you don't, OP, you should consider getting one and introducing it to your daughter soon at least. Because that's the future, console gaming is a good first step for that introduction. Maybe start with a small cheapo $200 PC and minecraft afterwords.

    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • NightDragonNightDragon 6th Grade Username Registered User regular
    Just going to jump in and mention how I grew up playing DOS games at 6 years old, and learned very quickly how to get around DOS. I have never "broken" any computer in my life. My father was very good at teaching me what was safe and not safe, though...so obviously what works for some kids may not work for others...but I just wanted to jump on the bandwagon that PC's should not be entirely thrown out of the window as a potential future gaming device, since I found them incredibly valuable to learn on, play games on, and make art on as a very young girl.

    I didn't get into programming per se, but I got into making art for games! And having a PC at my disposal when I was young definitely helped fuel that interest.

    Consoles are great - I grew up without one, but visited friends that had them. I think the console suggestions above are great options - and a Wii would be especially nice for more "active" and family-friendly games for sure.

  • Lindsay LohanLindsay Lohan Registered User regular
    Folks really need to re-read the OP - tablets, 3DS, and PC are not going to be good for active gaming and 2 of them aren't setup for co-op gaming either. I'm pretty sure if the wife wants games that involve movement suggesting PC coding isn't the ideal solution.

    I agree with Wii U. If you want active gaming it's either that, a Wii, or an Xbox w/ Kinect, and my experience with my own young child with the Kinect was basically tons of frustration mixed with moments of it working properly. It never seemed to recognize his body properly (it worked better for us adults). Also, if it does work properly - it's much less forgiving in games like Just Dance which can frustrate kids.

    For move/dance games I'd go Just Dance or Wii Sports Club.
    Learning games are tough on consoles, there are some on the Wii that would play on the Wii U (we had Dora and Diego for our kid) but the quality was pretty lousy.
    Coop game I'd go Mario 3D World or anything Lego except City (it's single player)
    Party game again Wii Sports Club fits, maybe Nintendoland, Mario Kart or older Wii games like Rayman Rabbids or Carnival Games.
    Adventure game I'd go Zelda Wind Waker HD or Lego City.
    Sandbox is probably going to be the Wii Animal Crossing game

    If price is a factor though the Wii is still a great, great console for a kid and is super cheap now to get a great starting library.

  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    It's also a different world now than it was when we were learning DOS. With ubiquitous internet access and the inherent financial and emotional dangers inherent in such an environment a PC would need close supervision at all times to ensure your child's safety, especially as it is fairly difficult to truly "child proof" a PC in a way that safeguards certain accesses. It's not inherently a bad thing! A child that age should be supervised with computers anyhow, and certainly there are loads of developmental software choices to pick from for kids.

    But really my negative to a PC for a kid this age is the lack of durability, portability, and cost effectiveness more than security. A good parent is ensuring safe and responsible use anyhow. A gaming rig just costs bonkers of money comparative to the amount of interest any single game is going to get and is limited to one location in the house (even if you have a wireless card like I have, picking up and moving a PC setup is a hassle and takes time). Most windows tablets are a fraction of the entry buy in and the games are going to be crazy cheaper. Even a 3ds will likely pay for itself and a year or two of games before it reaches the same cost of a relevant gaming machine.

    Probably the best answer here would be a combination of all of these! But it mostly depends on your kid, your resources, and how much you want to vicariously live through them and guide them towards career decisions at the age of 6.

  • MulletudeMulletude Registered User regular
    edited December 2014
    There are also a handful of excellent first or second party wii games that can be had for 20 like mario baseball and mario galaxy.

    The WiiU can play every Wii game as well

    Mulletude on
    XBL-Dug Danger WiiU-DugDanger Steam-http://steamcommunity.com/id/DugDanger/
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