Wii, Wii U, X Box, or Play Station for a 7 Year Old?? Take me to school!

For a 7 year old boy, which is best? He's hooked in Skylanders and does like Mario. However, I'm totally ignorant on modern gaming systems. Someone please take me to school!! Thanks in advance.

Sure to spark as much controversy as AT vs CTI. I would recommend one of the Nintendo systems. They are very reasonably priced, last forever, and have games that are fun for all ages. People that like the violent/shooter based games or graphics specs, or need another blu-ray player prefer the other two. For low cost fun, Nintendo is the way to go. I base that on having bought all the others at one time or another for my kids as they grew up.

Cool, thanks John. Did the Wii U replace the regular Wii? It seems that way on the Nintendo website. I can still find the regular Wii new for a fair amount cheaper. Is the U version that much better? I read on Forbes it's been struggling to catch on to be replaced by the NX (or something like that) sometime next year. Thoughts?

The Wii U is the replacement for the Wii, but has backwards compatibility for Wii games. Skylanders is probably new enough so it's Wii U only though, but that's just a guess.

The original Wii is standard def, the new WiiU is high def and will work with HDMI. One plus, is that you can download Netflix on the console also.

Wii has lots of great games for that age - and since the used market for wii u has started heating up, the wii u might be a good idea. The original skylanders are wii titiles, but the newest one (and the lego $ sink) are Wii U only.

My boys out grew the Wii at about age 9 & 11. We went with a PS3 since I'm cheap and wanted to have a large used market. It's a great system - much better than the Wii it replaced.

That said, I love the Mario games and miss them.

Kevin

If you want some thing the whole family will play together then the Wii u is the best choice. A 4 player game of Mario 3D World or Super Smash Brothers is a blast for every one involved.

I think a WII is a better initial choice as more games at their age level are available. However for complexity, the little ones pick up all the buttons on the xbox/playstation remotes REALLY fast and quickly say "Dad...you aren't doing it right". We have both and f I had to do it over again, it'd be the WII, no question.

I would highly recommend the Wii U...

As others have mentioned, the Wii U is the current gen (not sure they even sell the Wii anymore) and the games for kids and family are great...Mario Kart is great, as well as Super Mario 3d world. It is great to be able to play with a kid side-by-side and enjoy the games together. A seven year old should just be able to handle the complexity and attention demands of the games on their own, but just in case, games like Super Mario 3D world have a cooperative play mode, where you (the adult) can help the other player (the kid) out.

The Lego Series games are also great choices for the kids; I have Lego City - Undercover, and it is a riot, the kids wouldn't get the jokes, but it basically spoofs very 70's cop show you can think of.

In addition to the Skylanders, they also have the Disney Infinity series of figures, and Nintendo has their own "amiibo" figures, so get ready to shell out some $$$.

The Xbox and Playstation are really aimed at the 14 & older market, and have much more adult themed games (blood, gore, suggestive scenes etc.), so as much as Nintendo gets knocked for being a "kiddie system" they do take family enjoyment seriously, and in this case, would be (imo) the much better choice.

I have a Wii U, PS3 and Xbox One.

I'd suggest a Wii U for your kid. Nintendo makes game for all ages while the other gaming systems are more for teens or adults.

I will also chime in and recommend a Wii U. As mentioned before, it is the current system Nintendo has out. You can still buy an "original" Wii (or at least you could last I checked) new in the box as well as used from Gamestop. At this point, I'd get the Wii U as there are some pretty decent games for the U out there now.

We have a Wii U and have had one for 2 years - we gave him a Wii U for his 7th birthday. Keep in mind that I'm personally a fan of Nintendo - but most the games that Nintendo offers are all family-oriented which makes it the only choice for us. Plus, my son LOVES the Legend of Zelda and we even got the Zelda-themed Wii U when it came out.

As mentioned before, the Wii U focuses on "community" gaming which makes the difference to me. A multi-player Mario Kart session is always full of laughs here in this house. We have gotten a lot of mileage out of these games:
MarioKart 8, Mario Brothers Wii U (or whatever its called), Disney Infinity (1/2/3 - get ready to spend on the little guys), Super Mario Maker, Zelda WindWaker, Zelda Ocarina of Time (virtual console), and of the Lego games (the Dimensions one seems to be getting a lot of attention now with the DrWho kit), Smash Bros U and Splatoon. Additionally, all of the Wii discs we collected over the years still work when you boot the Wii U into Wii mode as well as the old wii controllers work too.

I LOVE being able to fire up the older nintendo games and playing. So does my wife, in fact.

All of these games are fun and anyone can pick it up and start to play. While people crap on the Wii U for its "lack of games" all of the games made for it tend to be above average to excellent. I'd rather choose between a few excellent games than a bunch of mediocre ones.

If I were to get a Wii U now, I'd get the MarioKart 8 32gb one. Link to target's bundle here:
https://www.target.com/p/nintendo-w...e/-/A-49159049#prodSlot=medium_1_2&term=wii+u

Good luck!

Same one as above but on sale at current time:

https://www.toysrus.com/product/ind...plat_22160258&eESource=CAPLA_DF:70984546:TRUS

Wow, thank you everyone for the feedback and especially the recommendations! Doesn't look like these things go on sale very often and when they do, not by much, so the Toys R Us deal seems to be a great deal. I still find it hard to pull the trigger on a single item costing $250! Then again, it's not that hard to spend the same on rocket motors :y:.

Okay, follow up question time.... Do I need to buy separate controllers if more than one person wants to play at a time? These things are like $50 a piece! So if I want to race with my son I need another controller, then if my wife wants to race with us, that's a 2nd additional controller?

Buy him a ball and a mitt and go outside and play catch with him

M

Im with the ball and glove guy. Take thim to basball games teach him to play, rase a ball player and when he is in MLB an he signs with the Dodgers for millions the buy him all of them.


TA

I would say a wii or a wii U I had them I have never owned a wii U but I loved the first gen wii

And the wii comes with 2 controllers I believe I picked up 2 more though

Wii factory refurbished controllers:

https://store.nintendo.com/ng3/us/p...lse&productId=prod150198&categoryId=cat550278

Re: controllers...double check the bundle you bought/plan to buy, but you in all likelihood will need to pick up another controller.

Important note...the Wii U and the Wii are totally *different* machines. (A criticism of Nintendo has been that calling the new machine the "Wii U" confused everybody, they should have called it the Wii 2 or whatever).

The link above ^ is for plain Wii controllers...my understanding is that you don't have older games you want to play on the Wii U (I may be wrong).

The controller you actually need for a second person to play a Wii U game is at:
https://store.nintendo.com/ng3/us/p...false&productId=prod10396&categoryId=cat10008

If the link doesn't work, just google for " Wii U Pro Controller ". Do NOT buy 3rd party controllers, they cost only $5 less and are total crap. Make sure you get a genuine Nintendo controller.

Wii controllers are comparable with Wii u games. We play 4 player "Mario 3d World" and "Super Smash Brothers" (both Wii u games) with controllers from our old original Wii system that died. Nintendo controllers seem to last a long time for us. Controllers go on sale periodically and we acquired ours a little at a time. Controllers are an example of the hidden costs of console systems. New games for all consoles are $50 or $60 these days and it can really add up. PC gaming fills most of my gaming needs and Nintendo games fill a gap that is not addressed by these.

lol, last game console I bought was a colecovision (replaced my Atari 2600).
Rex

thobin said:

Im with the ball and glove guy. Take thim to basball games teach him to play, rase a ball player and when he is in MLB an he signs with the Dodgers for millions the buy him all of them.

TA

Click to expand...

He has just as good if not better chance to be a world champion gamer. And yes there is such a thing. He doesn't have to impress a scout, worry about getting traded or cut out of the blue, or that 90 mph fastball thrown by a guy that may or may not be having a good day. He just has to play. One recent champion went home with a 6.6 million dollar prize. Not a bad payday for a kid playing video games. They even televise the tourneys now, and sell out at Staples Center with people packing in to watch. I would imagine more kids are trading Pokemon or Magic the Gathering cards than baseball cards like I, and probably most of us, did when were younger.

With that being said... teach the kid how to play baseball by all means. Teach him to hunt, fish, throw a tomahawk. Get him a Daisy Red Rider or a .22 and let him plink. Engage his creative side with arts and crafts. On a side note, I would rather my daughter and step daughter play video games than watch that crap on TV nowadays. There is a lot more educational shows on now to be sure with the History Channel and NatGeo but all the 11 year old wants to watch is that crap on Disney or NickJR. Gaming helps build problem solving skills, motor skills, reflexes and to an extent how to throw back a grenade from behind cover!! LOL Game consoles have their place in every kids bed room. As for family game night, try Life, Chutes and Ladders, Monopoly... Go Fish and Old Maid for crying out loud! (D&D anyone?)

Back to the topic at hand. First off, I am a Playstation man through and through. IMO the Wii was garbage. The controls were horrible. My toon would never do what he was supposed to do when I waved the nunchuks or whatever around. We have one here at the house that even the 11 year old rarely plays. She did play it more a few years ago when it was new. But... of the 3 consoles out there, it is more geared toward young audiences and family game night than the other two. Never had any experience with the Wii U but for a 7 year old, that will probably be your best bet. You can all play Mario Party and Smash Bros together and Mario Cart. I would be willing to say get a used Wii and a few games, but he will inevitably see a new game he wants and get heartbroken because it isn't on the old system, only the new one. Wii U is backward compatible to the Wii, or so I have read. Grab him a Wii U and few used Wii games and don't forget Skylanders. Zelda is usually a winner as well.

But be ready for him to outgrow the Nintendo in just a couple years. His friends will be telling him stories about the newest installment of Elder Scrolls or Fallout, or how they are smoking grown ups (like me) in Call of Duty. Then he will want the "better" games. The U will be shelved and he will absolutely die if he can not play one of those latest and greatest games. Sometimes Nintendo will get some of those big franchise hits, but they will be "watered down". And I don't mean only the blood and gore will be gone, I am talking about gameplay in general. Nintendo systems just don't have the raw power of the other two systems. The Wii U is their top of the line but is about on par with the PS3 and XBOX 360, which are both last gen systems.

And YES, each individual playing will need their own controller. Not necessarily the huge TV screen you hold but the other to be sure.

Maybe consider getting him a Nintendo DS handheld. Games are cheaper and he can sit and play that thing right there in the living room, or rocket room, while you do your thing. Or on road trips or at the kitchen table when he is supposed to be doing homework.

I guess what I am trying to say, get him a Wii U and Skylanders, and maybe Disney Infinity, 13 bucks a figure, wish I would have thought of that. He will love it and will get a few years out of it. And consider the DS, games are great stocking stuffers. You get about a 3 minute flight out of a 250 dollar rocket motor as compared to a few years for the Wii U. Come on Dad! LOL.

Hope this helps, I usually make things worse. :smile:

Good luck and Happy Holidays,
Mike

The Wii U is the system at my house. I have never gotten caught up in the Call of Duty or Halo, or whatever else like those games. The advantage off the Wii U is pretty much Mario. The Wii U Gimick is the game pad controller. It is a little 7 or 8 inch screen that is wireless with a joystick, buttons, and touchscreen. Most of the games run on your TV and the Game pad simultaneously, and one good thing is the kids can play a Wii U game while you watch something on the TV. That said, the Game pad is sort of a mixed bag. It is under-utilized as an extended play option. There aren't many things that it is useful to do in addition to play on the main screen. It is NOT a tablet or stand alone capable. It relies on the console to feed a picture, and passes info to the console from the touchscreen or game controls.

Most games are fine being played soley with the normal rectangular Wii controllers, which is kind of nice because on my machine, the Game pad suddenly decided to not connect more than 2 feet from the console. Normally it's supposed to be 20-30 ft. I didn't change anything in my setup, and It's not power lines or environmental because I have moved to another state and it is the same. It still connects fine when you are close, so not a huge deal. They don't sell the Game pads seperately BTW.

It has a whole screen potentially full of "Apps" and Youtube, web, I think Netflix and Amazon...but this is very quickly becoming irrelevant with "Smart" blu rays, other devices, and even TV's with apps built right in.

Overall it's a nice system with a good selection of games for all ages. There's not too much of the "gamer" first person shooter stuff for it. I do wish they had a better selection of Grand Tourismo style games. My boys 10 and 6 love it for now.

terryg said:

Wii controllers are comparable with Wii u games. We play 4 player "Mario 3d World" and "Super Smash Brothers" (both Wii u games) with controllers from our old original Wii system that died. Nintendo controllers seem to last a long time for us. Controllers go on sale periodically and we acquired ours a little at a time. Controllers are an example of the hidden costs of console systems. New games for all consoles are $50 or $60 these days and it can really add up. PC gaming fills most of my gaming needs and Nintendo games fill a gap that is not addressed by these.

Click to expand...

Yup, you are right, I just checked the back of my Mario Kart box, and you can use the old Wii controllers with the Wii U and that game.

My concerns are a) using that old Wii controller would not be too comfortable, b) by the time you pay $$ for the old Wii controller and either a "nunchuk" controller or a "classic" controller, you will have paid about the same amount as you would have for a more comfortable Wii U controller.

If you don't have an older Wii console, and/or don't want to play any of the older Wii games, just go with the newer Wii U controllers.

Somebody mentioned getting the child a handheld Nintendo 3DS...the problem then is the kid is playing by himself, in his own world...enjoy the cooperative playing with the kid while you still can. Just my opinion...

Thanks again everyone. I snagged the Wii U with Mario Kart from Amazon for $250 ($50 off, as good as I could find) and $40 for the Skylanders game, also from Amazon. Toys R Us and Best buy had these for the same price before Amazon did and on a whim last night I double checked Amazon and sure enough, they had reduced their prices. Sweet.

What are your favorite games? How about the modern version of the old school Mario Brothers. What's it called, Mario Brothers MMMMCMXCIX?

My favorite games - Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Bros (these are from Wii). I had wanted to play the Luigi game but it was Wii U. Most of the Lego games are a blast - except for Batman 1 and Lego Movie. Pirates of Caribbean, Hobbit, LoTR, Star Wars (any), Indiana Jones (any) are particularly fun if you have seen the movie. I did find getting these games before watching the movie was fun for my boys too since they would say, "Hey, I remember that level!"

I do like the looks of the new Zelda game as well.

If you're after side scrolling Mario that is the direct descendant of the old school games, New Super Mario Bros was the original "new" Mario game for Wii, and New Super Mario U is the even newer Wii U version. Both of these are a blast, and have some pretty difficult stuff to offer. If you're good enough, there are flags, stars, secret coins, and much more that you could spend years getting 100%.

Oh, and you might be tempted to try 2 or 3 or more players in Mario. In my experience, it never ends well. It might be fun to try as a diversion, but don't expect it to be productive. Some games are great for multiple players. Mario just makes you mad at the other players.

Super Mario 3D World is a must have title:

[video=youtube;ncPrTqarnx4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncPrTqarnx4[/video]

Super Smash Brothers Wii u

https://www.ign.com/articles/2014/11/19/super-smash-bros-for-wii-u-review