Author |
Message |
Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Monday, April 05, 2004 - 6:16 am
Any suggestions? Is Leapster any good? Or would gameboy be good? Do they have any spongebob games? Help! I know next to nothing about video games. Our computer is too crappy for games. We'll be getting a new system in a bit, but it'll be hands off for Ryan. We are going to get a mac and unfortunately they are very $$$. Any and all suggestions or comments are welcomed!
|
Tabbyking
Member
03-11-2002
| Monday, April 05, 2004 - 9:53 am
unless Gameboy has gotten much better, it is very hard to see the stuff on the screen. i had to end up buying a magnifying and lighting screen that fits over the Gameboy so my kids could see to play anything. i think this additional screen cost half again as much as the game boy did to start with! they couldn't even play their gameboys in the car on a sunny day without the additional feature. i would google both leapster and spongebob and see what you can find. we just gave away a nintendo with 27 games! it worked perfectly, but kids only used it in the motorhome since they have a play station. the graphics are wonderful and there were several games appropriate for a young child. it would hook right to your tv of course. i'll bet you can get something on eBay for peanuts. i once had my entire nintendo set, with 2 controllers and all 27 games listed on eBay for 60 bucks and didn't get one hit! we paid probably 30 or 40 bucks for each game, not to mention what the nintendo itself cost back in the day. my kids say the graphics are better with the nintendo than with their newer 'toys'. i would have sent it to you for shipping only, if i had known 2 weeks ago! sorry!
|
Landi
Member
07-29-2002
| Monday, April 05, 2004 - 10:29 am
tabby, the new ones are a million times better! they're a little square now, easy to fit into a pocket with their own light and they're brighter and bigger screens!
|
Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Monday, April 05, 2004 - 10:48 am
Thanks Tabby! Seems I am always a day late and a dollar short!!!
|
Sia
Member
03-11-2002
| Monday, April 05, 2004 - 11:20 am
Julieboo, if your boy isn't already used to manipulating the controls (by having played someone's PlayStation, for example), I think the GameBoy would be complicated and frustrating for him. My 7-yr-old son has the PlayStation (One) and a GameBoy Advance hand-held and likes the portability of the GameBoy, but the screen is rather small and difficult to see. The kids at his school crowd around one another while they're waiting for the bus, and it's hard for them to see what's going on on the tiny screen--not to mention the fact that the picture seems pretty dim to me. At 42, I myself find the GameBoy hard to play and a bit confusing. My 5-year-old daughter has no interest in GameBoy, maybe because she's a girl, but maybe because the controls are just more complicated than she's used to using. By contrast, our whole family loves playing PlayStation One (PSX) and the graphics are crisp, bright, colorful, and the games are engaging. My kids find them simpler to solve than I do, but that's another story. You can get used PSX games at many stores and pay from $4 to $30 for them, and they play on both the PSX and PSII consoles. (Used GameBoy games are also found at Babbage's, Toys 'R Us, and software/computer stores, and I've bought them, too, and had no problems with them.) We also like playing p.c. games. I have a pile of educational software that we've gone through as the years have passed and the kids' skills have improved. A couple of months ago I picked out the titles that had become too simple for my kids (like JumpStart Preschool and Elmo's Preschool, etc.) and took them to the school for use in the pre-K classroom. You might want to allow your son to play a computer game or two under your supervision so that he becomes familiar with the mouse and with entering, exiting and saving programs; kids will eventually have keyboarding as they go through school and the experience will be very helpful to him. Hope you find something suitable, fun, educational, and exciting for your son. I get each of my kids one or two new titles (educational and/or just plain fun) for Christmas and again at Easter. Prices have come way down on p.c. games and I think they're worth every dollar I've spent on them. Have fun shopping, Julieboo!! (I also got my daughter LeapPad for Christmas, but she only has two titles so far, so she doesn't play it a lot yet. We should spend some time over spring break working with that, I guess. Good think you've caused me to think of that! I like the LeapPad, but the cartridges are at least $10 or $15 each; look for bundles when you shop. I bought mine at Wal-mart, but it's available at Toys 'R Us, etc.)
|
Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Monday, April 05, 2004 - 12:06 pm
Thanks Sia! This might be a stupid question, but is playstation used with a tv? What are good games or learning games for a soon to be 5 year old. He likes SpongeBob, Blue's Clues and Teletubbies, among others. We have no videos games at all so we have no experience in this area.
|
Maris
Member
03-28-2002
| Tuesday, April 06, 2004 - 5:20 pm
I would recommend not buying him a game system of any kind unless he is asking for it because by the time he wants it, he will really want it and it will burn a huge hole in your pocket keeping up with the games. If he isnt looking for it count your blessings. I know that in my son's case, he didnt ask for it till he was in first grade and then he really wanted it. It was a huge present. For the next few years all he wanted for presents were games and that lasted till about fifth grade. If he is asking for a game system is it because his friends in kindergarten have it? if so then maybe you want to find out what game system his friends have because then they can play their games at each others houses. It was a big social thing with my son for his friends to come over and bring a new game to play. You want something that will last him a bit and that will be a social tool as opposed to a solitary activity. Just my two cents. The new gameboy advance is a great handheld, the screen is very bright and easy to play. I actually like playing that one and I never liked the game boy or the gameboy color. As far as big systems with a tv, I understand the graphics in the xbox are better than the ps2. We have both and I cant tell the difference but my kid swears the xbox has better graphics.
|
Hippyt
Member
09-10-2001
| Tuesday, April 06, 2004 - 5:26 pm
My son got a new pocket game boy for Christmas. It is really cool,has a lighted screen for playing in a dark car. It saved a lot of boredom on our long drive to Chicago. He doesn't play it constantly,but he does use it enough to make it worth buying.
|
|