Nope, both consoles struggle to even hit 1080P and 60 FPS consistently, with the XBox One being the weaker of the two consoles having the most trouble.

EA's FAQ is probably the best bet to answer your questions - http://www.ea.com/eaaccess/faq.html

Yeah, an iPhone is at the top of his list this year, but I've already told him no way.

Downloading and playing. It's like owning them outright, except when you cancel, those games go away. But EA seems to be committed to adding a few titles here and there. For me, it's already been well worth the $30. Plus... early access to new games (6 hours of gameplay up to 5 days before release day) is a great way to try games out that you're not sure about buying.

You joke, but I bought mine a cheap iPad mini earlier this year, and he barely touches his consoles anymore.

chess, very true. My niece and nephew both have iPads (this sickens me. They're 6 and 9 FFS), and barely play the Wii U anymore. Still trying to convince my brother to sell it to me for $100.

His gift last Christmas was an iPad Mini, so I'm a little surprised he wants the console this year. It's been Minecraft nearly every day though since last Christmas.

His list this year began:

1. iPhone
2. Puppy
3. Xbox One

^ Oh, DEFINITELY pick up Minecraft on the Xbox One, then. It's the same damn game, but it's another place to play it (do game saves transfer across systems? I have no idea...)

You often catch iPad minis (non retina) for under $200.

It's not an iPhone, but it's probably better in the ways that actually matter to a 9 year old.

Come on now.. he obviously said Good For You!

Besides, Sega Genesis > SNES (especially since I didn't own a SNES)

You poor, poor Genesis owner

Best game on Genesis was Jurassic Park. It was a completely different game than the SNES game, and it was superior in every way.

My kid and all his friends are still playing on the 360 (and no we don't live in a poor neighborhood ). I point blank asked my kid if he wanted an Xbox One for x-mas this year and he said "no" since everyone he knows hasn't upgraded yet.

We will both probably upgrade next x-mas.

So that being said, if his friends aren't still on 360 and he definitely wants a X1, I would get him the Wal-Mart Halo bundle going on tomorrow (guaranteed in the first hour). It has all the Halo games (which my 10 year old has loved playing for the last several years and still plays). It also comes with a gift certificate that you could use for MineCraft, Lego Batman 3 or something else. I would say the Halo games are a little more accessible for a 9 year old than Call Of Duty or Assassin's Creed.

He wants COD: Advanced Warfare for x-mas. I expect to hear several colorful phrases in the coming months.

Is Jurassic Park English for Herzog Zwei?

and

A 9-year-old would probably kick an adult's ass in Halo. I played quite a bit, but I remember the first time I watched preteen boys playing and I couldn't even keep up with what was going on on-screen.

Haha. Yep. It was fun showing him the ropes when he was 6. Now that he is going on 11, I refuse to play with him.

And to watch what he does playing Minecraft and Terraria is both mind blowing and a thing of beauty. He looks like a fucking wizard playing those games.

There were a few games with better Genesis counterparts. Jurassic Park was definitely one, but I'd also add:

Aladdin
Captain America and the Avengers
EA Sports (ALL games -- the SNES versions were very buggy)
Earthworm Jim
The Lion King
Mortal Kombat
Outlander

The Genesis was just superior in handling games with higher frame rates. I was lucky in that I had both of them growing up, and although the SNES is still my all-time favorite game system, the Genesis is right up there.

Sorry for the derail. Now back to our regularly scheduled topic.

If I could go back, I would have owned both, but I didn't start getting multiple systems until the next gen.

I just picked up a One for my 11-year old for Christmas.

My son LOVES Minecraft on our Mac, but he'll occasionally play co-op with a friend on our 360.

So if our sons are anything alike, my suggestion:

1. The most affordable 500GB One you can find (I picked up the Assassin's Creed bundle at Target for $349, and then sold AC on eBay).

2. Halo MC Collection and/or Minecraft (currently $19.99)

3. A second controller (the Armed Forces edition is $39.99 at Amazon right now).

I just now picked up the Xbox One with Kinect Refurbished + Free Game bundle for $329 at the Microsoft Store. Now I just need an extra controller, and then figure out two additional games a 9-year-old would want. I selected Rivals for the free game since the whole family can play.

Hope he loves it!

Lego Marvel is cheap at Best Buy and is a really good family game for the One.

Both Halo MCC and Diablo III Ultimate Evil Edition are M-rated games, but they're really not that offensive, only contain cartoony gore and are ones I play with my 8 year old. I think they're really more T-rated games, but cartoon blood rates an M regardless.

Have Amazon's Thanksgiving XboxOne bundle in my cart it can't see what's actually in the bundle.

Trevor: did you get the lightning deal?

Apparently it includes a year of Live, Zoo Tycoon, and some other game. Does it include the two Assassin's Creed games as well.