Need advice on buying the next system
 

I have a 5 1/2 year old that is very much into video games. He's very happy with his N64 and the Mario, Donkey Kong, and Star Wars games that he has.

His eyes light up in the stores when he sees some of the newer consoles out there so I am considering the purchase of a Gamecube. Although Xbox and PS2 appear to be amazing, the Gamecube has more for his age group and the controller appears to be more suited for his hands.

I have a couple of questions I'd like to get people's thoughts on:

1. Should I wait another year or two to upgrade from the N64, and maybe move into something like the Xbox?

2. Does Ninetendo have any plans of releasing a new console anytime in the next 1 to 2 years that the purchse of a Gamecube would be futile?

3. Electronics Boutique is offering a $100 discount on a new console with the trade in of my N64 and 10 of its cartridges....does this seem like a deal to apply towards a new Gamecube?

Any thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated.

i'd keep the N64...it's a great system and that's not that great of a deal. depending on the 10 games, you can get $100 for them alone on half or ebay.

i'd take a good look at the PS2 before purchasing anything...great library of games including some good ones for kids his age. my 4 1/2 year old loves jak and daxter and need for speed.

good luck.

xbox would not be a good choice for a 5 1/2 year old simply because of game selection. You should go with PS2 or GCN. And do not trade in the N64. Even with a new console, your boy will still like those older games once in a while :)

For Younger Kids i would recommend Gamecube since it has

Mario games
Animal Crossing
Sonic Collection Coming out
Pikmin
SW:Rogue Leader(if your kids like SW)

and a bunch of others

Nintendo systems are always considered better for younger kids. Its just a fact

1)At the moment none of the companies will be releasing new systems for a few years

2)That eb deal is pretty good but if it was me id keep the N64 stuff and just buy a new system for the kiddies


If your kids are starting to go into teenage years you could consider the xbox or PS2. But like i said for the younger ones GC is the way to go

Gamecube is better for kids

GameCube without a doubt. It has the best selection of harmless "kids" games.

QS

Normally I might think GC but since you did not have the PS1 the PS2 gets you the huge PS1 library which is very inexpensive as well as the PS2 library which does have some great games for kids and some are Greatest Hits titles at $19.99 each.

The GC library is fairly small in comparison.

I would get the PS2 as first choice with the GC as a distant second.

Plus the PS2 allows you to let him watch his dvd's also.

he does have his own collection right ;)

Those games might be good for kids a little older but I don't think they're all that great for a 5 1/2 year old. The easiest one out of the bunch is Mario and even that isn't that easy. I'd have to say go for a PS2, there's a ton of games out there (especially if you include ps1 games) and there's a lot made especially for kids that young.

Get the GameCube, it has more quality kid oriented games than PS2 (huge library be damned).

if you buy now, buy PS2

gamecube...

N64 is cartridge based while the others are CD... With kids, they may scratrch up the CDs, but those cartridges are pretty durable

Wow, I'm surprised at all the console bashing in here ;)

Actually - I'd say get a Gamecube because like everyone has been saying, it does have alot of games that are suitable for children - suggestions - There's a bunch of Disney games that nobody ever talks about and games like Splashdown and Mario Sunshine...

Xbox has a few games that kids would like, but not enough. Xbox would be good if he was a little older - like 9.

PS2 would be excellent because I think there's alot of Barney titles and children titles that would be good... The fact that there's a huge library of games makes it a good choice - however, the graphics aren't a huge leap over the n64 so it might be more of a lateral.

Nintendo has always been there to take care of the child demographic while Sony and now Microsoft have been putting more efforts into targeting the 18-32 crowd. Might I suggest getting a Gameboy Advance? It's portable and less expensive and I've seen plenty of kids that age spend alot more time with that than with their console.

Dreamcast might be good too for 50 bucks and 5-20 bucks a game.

Kids don't seem to be as impressed with great graphics or realism as adults are - they like lots of colors and big shapes - it's more about learning manual dexterity and challenging their mind with logic puzzles. I think video games can be helpful to a child's development rather than something that "rots your brain". :)

WOW! quick responses!!!
Thanks for the info gang.
It sounds like I should hang onto the N64 and will probably purchase a gamecube, especially since no one is releasing anything new in the next couple of years!

Thanks again for the feedback!