Which system? Thinking of Xbox

[lorin]

I have never ever played any video games. My fosterkid wants a video game and I am considering relenting. She wants an Xbox.

I looked for them online and there are sooooo many. Trust me when I say I know absolutely nothing.

Can someone suggest what to buy? I know she always borrows car racing, basketball and some mafia one.

ps......I am not a millionaire for sure.

[Menolly]

Can you clarify what she means?
Does she want the Xbox console to play games?
Or does she have a console and wants games for it?

[lorin]

Can you clarify what she means?
Does she want the Xbox console to play games?
Or does she have a console and wants games for it?

no she has nothing. I would have to get the whole set up. everything.

[Menolly]

OK.

I know nothing about Xbox.
Of the current systems, we have the Wii and PS3 Slim.
But I am sure there will be a combined offer of a hot game that is given along with the console for the price of the system alone. Hopefully other Xbox users will hop in here and guide you.

[Savor Dam]

While I am one of those luddites who feels video gaming reached its apex with Pong, my son is an avid X-box gamer.

He's not up right now (probably played late into the night), but I will check with him on what he recommends from the current hardware offerings.

Not sure whether the games your girl might want will come bundled (my impression is that a lot of the stuff is 1st person shooter), but consider buying additional games used to keep the cost down. New X-box games run about $60, while used are a lot less expensive. Herbie tends to play a game, then once he completes it or tires of it, he trades it in at the game store for credit and buys another. I don't know if the big box retailers do this (suspect not), as Herbie does all of his buying and trading at game stores and yard sales.

Another source for games is movie rental places like Blockbuster and Hollywood Video. They also rent games (a good deal for evaluating whether a game is engaging enough to buy) and also sell pre-rented games at prices comparable to used games at a game store.

[lorin]

I am also trying to figure out which xbox to buy. there seems to be more then one.

store.microsoft.com/microsoft/xbox-360-arcade-holiday-bundle/product/d34269ca?mr:referralID=871c9f3a-c0ca-11de-99f3-000423c27407


www.us-appliance.com/xboxelite.html?pro ... elid=NEXTA


www.nextag.com/Microsoft-XBOX-360-Elite ... rices-html

there seems to be a vast difference in price.

[I'm Murrin]

I'd say it's probably best to get the standard X-Box 360 rather than the Elite (which is going to cost a fortune for a few extras which you don't necessarily need).

[CovenantJr]

Agreed. I think it's unwise to get one without a hard drive, but I don't think a 120GB hard drive is strictly necessary, and the other bits are even less essential. You really just need an Xbox that plays the games.

[Savor Dam]

Agree with the advice so far. What little further clarification I can offer is:

• X-box 360, not the original X-Box (apparently the 360 makes a difference)
  
  Get a hard drive, but not necessarily a huge one. Drive prices will continue to fall, and getting a bigger one will be cheaper downstream. First models of X-box 360 made hard drive an option, but most offerings now include the drive.
  
  Wireless controller is much more convenient than being tethered by a wire from controller (the hand-held bit used to play the game) to console.
  
  Headset is needed if she will be playing with others online via X-box Live, but not if she will just play stand-alone games.

[Earthfriend]

Embarrassingly, I have a xbox360, a Wii, a ps3, a Dsi, and a pc purpose built for gaming. (I know, I know, I should go get a life, too, but that means getting up off the couch.)

I'd recommend the 360, though it does depend somewhat on the age of your daughter. (Mine is 8 and she plays the Wii most of all - plus it's the one that requires the most physical activity, so it keeps her Mum happier, a bit. lol.)

[lorin]

Embarrassingly, I have a xbox360, a Wii, a ps3, a Dsi, and a pc purpose built for gaming. (I know, I know, I should go get a life, too, but that means getting up off the couch.)

I'd recommend the 360, though it does depend somewhat on the age of your daughter. (Mine is 8 and she plays the Wii most of all - plus it's the one that requires the most physical activity, so it keeps her Mum happier, a bit. lol.)

Keisha is nineteen, but admittedly a delayed 19, she loves all the gangster stuff, drug dealers, gang wannabe's mafia, basketball and racing cars. sheeeesh, i'm in trouble.

[matrixman]

Nineteen? Well, that kinda changes the picture, doesn't it?

Sorry, I don't have advice to give - these days I only game on the PC. I come to these threads to read others' opinions on the various consoles. You know, just in case...

[CovenantJr]

Wireless controller is much more convenient than being tethered by a wire from controller (the hand-held bit used to play the game) to console.

Very true. It does eat batteries a bit though.

Headset is needed if she will be playing with others online via X-box Live, but not if she will just play stand-alone games.

Yeeeeees. And no. I have a headset, but I don't use it. It depends on the game and who you're playing with. In a lot of team-based games where you'd think people would want to communicate, mostly they just do their own thing instead.

[lorin]

Nineteen? Well, that kinda changes the picture, doesn't it?

developmentally she is about 13-14. This is one of the reasons I have avoided video games. I think for her she needed more social interaction and didnt want to encourage her isolation with a bunch of virtual drug dealers / mobsters. like a duckling, I didnt want her imprinting with these folks.

But now, well, she found her way to 3D versions anyway, so I am going to get her a game in hopes she is motivated to stay home. I am trying to encourage some kind of role playing or wii but she is not interested at all. so all i can do is try to keep her interested in sports/ racing until she finishes highschool (hopefully) this year.

the really messed up thing is the only thing she loved about school was basketball and because she is now 19 they will not allow her to play highschool basketball. they say it is against "regulations".

[Savor Dam]

If the high school won't let her play, will they let her participate in practices and perhaps coach-assist? Will the local community college let her participate -- not necessarily on their teams, but at least in basketball classes for those who are not team-sport athletes? Are their non-school community groups with hoop teams she could join?

You are right to want her to engage in real-life pursuits. If basketball is her interest, let's find a way to encourage that.

[Holsety]

Not sure whether the games your girl might want will come bundled (my impression is that a lot of the stuff is 1st person shooter), but consider buying additional games used to keep the cost down. New X-box games run about $60, while used are a lot less expensive. Herbie tends to play a game, then once he completes it or tires of it, he trades it in at the game store for credit and buys another. I don't know if the big box retailers do this (suspect not), as Herbie does all of his buying and trading at game stores and yard sales.

Another source for games is movie rental places like Blockbuster and Hollywood Video. They also rent games (a good deal for evaluating whether a game is engaging enough to buy) and also sell pre-rented games at prices comparable to used games at a game store.

Gamestop is a fairly major retailer that buys used games. Admittedly, they buy at fairly low prices, and I've found it more profitable to trade my games with other people in the past (tho it's pretty rare that I part ways with a game).

The only thing I can really advise is that from what I've seen of kids of younger ages (I'm talking something like an 8-11 range) if they want an X-Box or a PS3 (the "hardcore" systems) they will rarely be satisfied with a Wii. IMO this has little to do w/ the strengths or weaknesses of the wii compared to the other two, but I really think it lacks a sort of nebulous social status the other two systems have as a "real" gaming system (I love the wii btw).

A number of my friends in High School who weren't into gaming had younger brothers who were getting interested in gaming (usually playing at a friend's house first, coincidentally those friends had older bros who were gamers). An Xbox (original) was usually the desired system at the time, usually the PS2, and sometimes the parents bought the GCN (nintendo system prior to the wii) as a compromise. It seemed to act like a gateway system (lol @ borrowing drug terminology) and in three cases I specifically remember the kids moved from GCN to the Xbox-360 when it came out. This worked to my benefit, since their older brothers (in one case, older sister) would warm up to gaming a bit and I would get to play some Xbox with them when I was over. Got to try out a number of games because I was asked to beat sections of 1 player games.

I don't know much about parenting, or about video games, so I really don't know that the purchase should be made. I guess if I didn't spend time on games, I'd spend more time on something else. Personally, as far as the virtual drug dealers etc stuff goes, I think that the negative influences or whatever one might find in the world of gaming are ubiquitous enough in the real world that blocking someone off from games isn't really the issue. You'd have to isolate your kid from other kids to do that, or pray that all other parents are also isolating their kids from most forms of modern media. It's more about games "pulling you in" and spending too much time on them while spending not enough time on anything else.

At least to me, the situations in which games play a major part in encouraging non-virtual harmful behavior are pretty rare, and there usually seem to be a number of surrounding circumstances that are far more important than the presence of violent games. It's more the lack of interraction in the real world - in both good ways and bad ways - that games discourage that is an issue. Anyway, just keep my disclaimer in mind, I don't think I gave any actual advice in any case

[Blackhawk]

I Have a PS2 still.. I rarely use it... my best gaming experience is by using a mouse and keyboard on my Imac/PC

if she doestn like gaming on a PC then your probably better off with the Xbox 360 for price considering she req Xbox. not sure of all the models they have but like someone said a 120gb HD is not necessary. go low end 360 and she should be fine, I dont think many of the upgrades change gameplay.. bigger hd just means you can store more games and modifications to those games... once im done with a game ..I delete it from my memory card so need of a giant hd is pretty much useless for me. headphones and microphones and all that extra stuff i dont use either...last thing i want to hear is someone yelling at me while im trying to shoot , punch , drive or take a slapshot etc..... though i have never tried the headphones/mic thing... I dont even like talking on the phone... let alone for a gaming experience. though a 19 year old girl might think differently.

[The Dreaming]

As for games - You probably cant go wrong with Grand Theft Auto 4 and The Orange Box. Moms are usually notoriously bad at picking out games. (I should know, while mom stumbled into a few gems, the majority of my old NES collection was crap.)

[CovenantJr]

Yeah, the Orange Box is a really good purchase. It's cheap now, and it has loads of content. It's worth the asking price for Portal alone, so when you add Half Life 2, Team Fortress, etc it's a great deal.

[Menolly]

As for games - You probably cant go wrong with Grand Theft Auto 4 and The Orange Box. Moms are usually notoriously bad at picking out games.

*pout*

So is it telling that I was not approving of Hyperception's purchase of Grand Theft Auto 4 for Beorn?

So...
...just what is The Orange Box?
And is it available for the Wii or PS3?