My brother and sister-in-law are going to break down and buy their boys (ages 6 & 9) a game system. They were going to buy a Wii, but a friend suggested they look at other options too. So, if you were to buy a new game system, which one would you choose and why?

Next generation systems will be coming out soon, I'm under the impression Microsoft and Nintendo will be pushing something out next year. The game development on the 360 and PS3 is more mature content, suited for hardcore gamers, while the game development on the Wii is suited for children and casual gamers. However you can get the 360 and kinect and get best of both worlds. Sony and Nintendo also have portable, handheld gaming systems which might be something to look into. So IMO I would get the 360 slim and kinect bundle. Kinect is controller free motion sensing gaming. The kids would love it and they can play the standard xbox 360 system as well.

To be honest I really like tablet gaming either on android or iOS. It's very addicting and there is a ton of developer support on either platform. Not to mention a lot of cheap and free games.

All the above is good info. I'll add to that this that 360 and PS3 gamers are statistically repeat game buyers. Repeat Wii game sales are very low and users tend to only buy one or two titles after the initial console purchase.

It is very likely safe to say that this indicates that PS3s and 360s have much more long term play-ability (enjoyment) built into them and that there are likely a lot more Wii systems gathering dust.

Edit: My only other comments.
PS3 = BluRay player if that is important.
360 = in many cases it seems to be the multi-player console of choice, and Kinect

My 6 year old boy loves the Wii and, in particular, the game "Scooby Doo: First Frights". It has provided hours upon hours of entertainment and has good replay value (e.g. you're not bored after you've solved the game once).

There are lots of bargain games for the Wii, and lots of animation movie-themed games.

Just to throw my $.02 in, my 7 year old son loves the Wii console/games as well. It seems that all his buddies have Wii games so when they get together the video games are all on the same platform.

We have both PS3 and Wii systems in my house. My 8 year old son plays both, but he prefers the PS3 in general due to game variety. That could also be because the PS3 is in the HT with the Axioms too!

However my daughters who are 4 and 10 pretty much only play the Wii - they are not gamers like my son is. Of course the 4 year old is happy just pretending to play - we give her a controller that's not connected and she thinks she's playing! The ruse usually lasts long enough for her to decide she wants to do something else.

So to try and help - if they really like video games? Go with XBox or PS3. Casual play or family fun? Wii is probably a better choice.

What if you're 60, and stopped playing when the Super Nintendo stopped being the most popular machine? I enjoyed the old Infocom text games and the Myst series. I hate the 1st person shooter type of games like "Call of Duty" whatever. I think the old adventure games are some of the best. I go to Target and look at the PC games available. Nothing even looks good. I think the last game I bought was some sort of adventure type of game, but it turned out to be a real bore after a few minutes. Oh well. Back to the fridge for another beer.

My kids (6 and 9) still love the Wii. Most elementary-aged kids prefer the Wii since the games are more kid-oriented. Yeah, there's more future growth in PS3 and Xbox (Kinect would be preferred) but then your kids won't be as intrigued now.

Also, bear in mind where you are getting games. If you want to swap w/ friends/family, get a system similar to theirs so you can trade/borrow. If you rent (Blockbuster/Gamefly/Netflix) then figure out which has a better library of games to use.

Get a tablet. It is casual and short gaming sessions at its finest. There are free game apps that will keep you occupied for months. Not to mention lots of decent games that only cost a few bucks.

My kids are 7 and 10 and they barely play the Wii anymore. I would go with the 360 or the PS3, those systems will have more longevity as the kids grow.

When my kids were a little younger, we played the Wii A LOT. The thing I really like about it is the communal nature of basically ALL the games; you are playing against each other, often in real time (rather than taking turns). I think it is still an excellent system for little kids and their non-gamer parents.

We got my (now 14 YO) son a XBox 360 w/Kinect last year, and that's about all he plays now. BUT it has been very difficult for us to find many games we can all enjoy (they are either set up for one person, or the controls are sufficiently complicated that learning how to get proficient takes more time than I'm willing to spend). The XBox "Live" stuff and the Kinect are truly amazing technical achievements.

For a 6 and 9 year old, I'd get a Wii, and be prepared to get something else in 3-4 years.

I posted the same question on Facebook, and the majority there say Xbox. I have a Wii, and the boys always ask me to bring it when I visit, and they certainly have a lot of fun playing it. But, I'm leaning towards the Xbox with Kinect only because it can be played similar to the Wii, and as they get older, I think they'll appreciate it more in the long run.

We have both the Wii and Xbox 360 with Kinect. When we are looking for something quick to play or something for the whole family, the Wii is used. When my 12 year old daughter has friends over and they want to play something, it also is the Wii. I like the Wii for many games, but I LOVE the XBox for some of their racing games, first person shooters (although I play most of those on a PC), and just about anything that can benefit from great graphics. My 12 year old also does have a few things for the XBox, and as a Harry Potter fan, she wants Lego Harry Potter years 5-7 and asked for it on the XBox since the graphics are better. She has years 1-4 for the Wii.

There are many positives and negatives about all systems. For quick, anyone can pick it up and play (including adults) the Wii is great. It is also great for party games. For something more substantial, look at something like the XBox or PS3. You can look at getting an XBox 360 with Kinect bundle at WalMart on Black Friday (or might be Thursday night) for $200 but you also get a $50 WalMart gift card. These will sell out fast, and WalMarts are famous for people grabbing things "off of the piles" 30-45 minutes before they officially go on sale.

Tom,
Speaking of having time to learn the controls; isn't it great when you are playing a video game with your child and he say's "Dad you suck at this game!"

Shaun, I've tried to not put myself in that position too often. I usually try to beat him to that assessment.

But, yeah, totally.

Mary. What games do the boys like to play? If they are into first person shooters pick anything but the wii. My son really got into the Mario Bros and Zelda games. Also liked the Brawl series. He's really not into the shooters. I'll be getting him the latest Zelda game for Christmas.

Pikmin is also an unusual and amazing Wii game. Give it a go if you havn't already.

Xbox 360 and Wii in my house as well, my 11 yr old son plays the Xbox exclusively (FPS games) while my 8 year old son plays the Wii but also enjoys the kinect games on the Xbox.

I like the Kinect sport games more than the Wii games.

I would suspect that once a game console makes its way into a house a second won't be far behind.

Hey Cat, go grab Skyrim for your PC if you have a decent video card. You will be badly hooked on adventure games once again. I played wayyyy to late again last night on my PS3 version.

Unless of course you were referring to the old text based adventure games. In which case the best I can do is see if I still have my old copy of a book on creating them in QBasic. Actually, there are still some MUDs running online if you go looking. Tough to go back that far though with today's much more immersive options.

Not into text today, but that's were I developed a love for adventure games. I even reverse engineered Infocom's STARCROSS game into asembler language routines once, just for fun. The Myst games were my all time favorites. I loved the worlds that you were emersed into. One of them in particular I loved where you were on an island, it was summertime, you could almost feel the heat radiating off of the rocks. You could hear the buzz of insects as they flew by. It was great just imagining that you were actually there. (Not the first game, either the 2nd or 3rd in the series. The one with the Idol, that you eventully came up out of through a tunnel, I think.)

Cool. I remember the Myst games as well. If you enjoyed their wide open worlds and beautiful sights & sounds, you will absolutely enjoy Skyrim. The visuals in the outdoors and the super detailed audio is simply stunning. I even heard a crinkly, wispy noise as I walked through a spiderweb last night. I had to fight to not let go of the controller to check my hair for baby spiders.

Andrew,
You're making me want to get this game even if I only end up running around in the wilderness or caves for a few hours. Is the audio really that good? Would you play it with an 8 y.o or is it too graphic/adult for kids?

I'm certainly not as far into it as many here so I'm still in the "Wow, look at that" part of the experience. I would definitely rank it somewhere in the top of the line for both video and audio. Good surround effects and some deep bass coming out of the subwoofer. The world is fantastic so far. You can spend a lot of time just panning around staring at the horizons.

It's tough for me to comment on the kids question. I'm not a parent and all parent's have their own level of comfort with these things.

Yes, you will be killing lots of monsters and lots of people. However, it is a lot less gory and less intense than many games, like say Call of Duty. It is not overly gory or graphic. It will cut to some slow motion kill scenes some times but a spray of blood is about the worst visual it will show.

So far, I haven't hit any foul language but I'm just barely into it. Nothing sexual so far either. Previous titles would have some spoken innuendos and you can strip a dead person down to their underwear if you steal all their armor & clothes as loot.

People deeper in can probably comment better than me.

I must be missing something.

What's the point?

Once the developer's tools get out there you will be able to download Bob's expansion pack.

Not without dinner and a couple of drinks first.

There has to be some middle ground.

What's that? Oh, now I remember! It's where the fun ISN'T!

LOL Bob. You reminded me of a bon fire party I was at ages ago. We're all drinking, playing guitar singing, chatting and just having a real good time when one of the over achievers in the group decides to try and organise a party game. Best line someone shouts is 'Organized is fun is no fun!' We carried on with no further interruptions from there.

Thank you, Dan. I always knew there was a good brain under all that fiberglass, kevlar and padding.

I think he takes the padding out.