I'm planning to buy my 9-year-old an Xbox One for Christmas, but I'd like some advice on how to buy. Do I buy a bundle, or everything separately? I know nothing about game consoles, and this will be the first we've purchased since the Wii a few years ago. I'm not interested in the best deal, but rather the best components. So, I'm assuming that means a Kinect and wireless controllers? If so, can I buy a bundle that includes all wireless controllers? Any reason not to go all wireless (besides cost)? What else should I consider? Thanks in advance!

Basic console comes with one wireless controller. You're probably going to need a second one (standard microsoft wireless version) at some point. The bundle you choose depends on the games he'll play and whether you decide you really need Kinect or not. It can be purchased separately. I don't use Kinect for any gaming but I do use it for voice commands (which do work really well). Also the $50 price cut is temporary so now is the time to buy.

MS Store has a bundle with the Kinect and a game for $330, the decision to make is whether or not you want a Kinect.

You sure?

http://slickdeals.net/f/7419540-xbox...-free-game?v=1

It's a refurb with Kinect, but yeah.

The options are:

$329 - New Xbox One, no Kinect
$329 - Refub Xbox with Kinect
$429 - New Xbox One with Kinect

Some places are saying it's any Xbox One game that the MS Store has in stock; Polygon said it's a choice of Forza 5, Plants vs. Zombies, and Titanfall.

OP said components were more important than price so maybe he won't want refurb.

I think knowing if he'd like one of the bundled games would be key to the purchase.

I'm okay with refurb if the condition is as good as new. I'm not familiar with Microsoft's refurb standards. And I really have no idea what to get in the way of games. He's 9, and I don't want to ask him because I want this to be a surprise.

There are good deals this long weekend for Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare, Lego Marvel Super Heroes, The Lego Movie, Disney Infinity 2.0, and the Skylanders games. Zoo Tycoon got pretty good reviews, if I remember correctly. Minecraft is always a safe bet.

If you do get one with Kinect, Kinect Sports Rivals apparently isn't all that great, but it might be worth keeping in mind. There are deals on the Kinect-friendly Fantasia: Music Evolved too.

My only advice here is to make sure you get the console his friends will be playing on.

You don't want to have a Sega Genesis kid who's scarred for life and still talking about blast processing.

At first glance one of the current bundles seems like an easy option, but I'm not sure if either Call of Duty or Assassin's Creed would be the best option for a 9 year old.

I posted this in the XBox thread, but if you're looking to pick up a console this weekend for Black Friday Microsoft posted a list of all the deals for both consoles and games from major retailers on their website here -

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/black-friday

I'd suggest looking for one of the bundles, an extra controller if you expect him to play with friends at home, and an XBox Live subscription. Maybe throw in a cheap older game that might be better suited for him, say Lego Marvel Heroes or something to go along with it.

EDIT: And of course chess has a not so subtle suggestion of a PS4

What if his friends have the Xbox 360?

"Buy him a PlayStation 4 anyway."

^

If that's the case, I'd say wait. Or find a way to see which one has "mindshare" in his circle of friends.

Specifically, I'd ask "What do you think about the WiiU?"

Bet you'll get an idea what he and his friends are asking for!

9?
Wolfenstein
COD
Evil Within

No.

I'd say:
EA Access ($30/year gets you Peggle 2, P vs. Z Garden Warfare, NFS:Rivals, Fifa, Madden, and an adult game or two, like Battlefield, and the list will keep growing).

Then pick a few T-rated games that you think are up his alley.

edit: Dare I ask, which online multiplayer games are appropriate for 9-year-olds? And if the answer is "there's one or two" then why should it even remotely matter what his friends have? Oh right... because console wars.

He's not mentioned any other console over the course of the past year besides the Xbox One, so I'm thinking that's a safe bet.

Edit: And of course you can GFY.

For pointing out the obvious? Give me a break.

Sounds good, and there are some great deals on it right now.

It can be hard, as a parent, to keep up with what kids are in to.

We're not expecting true 4K-compatible gaming consoles from either Sony or Microsoft anytime soon, are we?

Good advice here.

You won't see any 4K console games any time soon.

What exactly does this mean? I'd be giving him unlimited access to those games in digital form for $30/year? If so, would we be streaming the games, or downloading and then playing?

No. Give that another 8 years. You can go the PC route, but then you're looking at a lot more money (but overall, less expensive games, so... )

If your kid has only talked about Xbox One, get him that. At 9, kids REALLY don't do the whole console warrior thing. That's reserved for the 15 to 40 year olds.

Then again, if your kid doesn't get an iPhone next year, you're a terrible parent, because Apple!!