video game for my daughter

[Andras]

We want to get her (she will be 11 in Feb. 2012) a video game that we could also use. Initially we thought of Sony Playstation but then my wife discovered that they cater mostly for boys and their games are rather mindless and violent. We have now been considering XBox. Since this forum comprises of a lot of young people - your feedback and imput is solicited.

[ssandra]

What does she like?

I don't quite believe in stereotypes for games anymore. Girls can like racing games as much as boys and boys can hate first person shooters as much as girls.

So the most important thing to know here, is what does she like. Does she like puzzle like games? Fighting games? First person shooter? Car races? RPG's?

Right now I've been playing Skyrim, and I am enjoying it a lot. I also really like Fable.

Those are the type of games that I enjoy (RPG's), and I play them on the xbox 360.

[PraetorianX]

My 11 year old neice really loves to play Rock band and do the dancing games. We have an XBox 360 and she has a Nintendo Wii and she can do them on both.

I can tell you though, from my experience, Playstation 3 has more adult oriented games and Xbox 360 is close to it but has more kid friendlier games. The Wii has the most kid type games, but a lot of them seem for younger kids.

I would suggest the Xbox 360 with the Kinect so that you can get her a game she can move to. That way, she is not just vegging out playing a game, but moving around for some form of "exercise" as well.My neice has a ball with it.

[Cado]

No one console really caters to adults/kids more than the others anymore, not among the two current gen consoles anyway. (Playstation 3 and 360) Most retail AAA titles (the big names like Call of Duty, God of War, Uncharted, Batman: Arkham Asylum, etc.) are aimed at a very specific demographic and there's not a lot of kid friendly fare among them. That doesn't mean there aren't any kid friendly games, you just have to look outside the mainstream stuff to find them. Like, this is something I could see a kid enjoying: 3D Dot Game Heroes Trailer - YouTube

The Wii is awesome for this kind of thing because Nintendo is always a good bet. I grew up with their games, I still play them, and when I have kids of my own I'll probably start them on games like this: Kirby's Epic Yarn - Official E3 Trailer [HD] - YouTube

I know you say you already have an Xbox, but I'm saying all this to try and give you some idea of what to look for because I know when you're just getting into gaming the market can be rather confusing. There's a lot of products out there and not a whole lot of help. Personally, I'd look more to downloadable titles than I would retail discs when shopping for kids. Not only are the games cheaper but you find a lot more imaginative and quirky titles. This is a prime example: Costume Quest: Launch Trailer - YouTube

I'd recommend against anything like Kinect or the Playstation Move; the only motion control gimmick that's worth a damn is on the Wii, and it's only because Nintendo knows what they're doing with it. The Kinect especially has been home to a couple of good ideas and a lot of games that don't work right due to the poor functionality and limited nature (meaning "it doesn't have any buttons") of the Kinect camera. You need a lot of living room space to get it working in the first place and then it's easily confused by certain movements or everyday happenings, like someone else walking in front of the TV. It does Dance Central pretty well and I think Kinectimals is generally considered a good kid's game but aside from those there's not enough to justify the $150 price tag on the peripheral. In fact, considering that you can get a Wii for that price or less, I'd say it's a rip-off. There's nothing it does that the Wii doesn't do better.

That's all a bit rambly but I hope it helps.

[ssandra]

About the kinect:

There is one sports game that is fun to play with groups, at parties, or with friends.

I just checked, it is called "Kinect Sports". There is another sports game we have and that one just plain old sucks.

Another things she might be interested in is the Rock Band set. Fun, musical, you can sing, play drums, play guitar or even piano. Good to play with friends as well.

[Andras]

We want to make this as a surprise...she certainly does not like super violent games....I know all game console can play decent games and they do make those as well.....

Originally Posted by ssandra

What does she like?

I don't quite believe in stereotypes for games anymore. Girls can like racing games as much as boys and boys can hate first person shooters as much as girls.

So the most important thing to know here, is what does she like. Does she like puzzle like games? Fighting games? First person shooter? Car races? RPG's?

Right now I've been playing Skyrim, and I am enjoying it a lot. I also really like Fable.

Those are the type of games that I enjoy (RPG's), and I play them on the xbox 360.