Electronics

[cece]

Hi

Thinking about buying a game console. Would love thoughts, good and bad, on Wii, Playstation 4 and XBox.

Thanks

Spoiler

Spoiler

[jaxs mom]

Not all games are available on all systems. So I'd start with figuring out what game francises you want to play. For example Nintendo doesn't license out their Zelda or Mario game franchises so you can only play them on a Nintendo system. Also do you want or need the system to act as a blu ray player? Again, Nintendo Wii and Wii u don't play blu ray movies. 

The other consideration is, is anyone in your household going to be playing multiplayer games online? Do their friends play on Xbox Live or Playstation Network? We have a Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 but haven't bought any of the new ones since at this point we only use the PS3 as a blu ray player. A lot of console games are also released as PC games so that's an option if your computer has the specs to run the game. 

[ChynnaBlue]

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@JAXS Mom wrote:

Not all games are available on all systems. So I'd start with figuring out what game francises you want to play. For example Nintendo doesn't license out their Zelda or Mario game franchises so you can only play them on a Nintendo system. Also do you want or need the system to act as a blu ray player? Again, Nintendo Wii and Wii u don't play blu ray movies. 

The other consideration is, is anyone in your household going to be playing multiplayer games online? Do their friends play on Xbox Live or Playstation Network? We have a Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 but haven't bought any of the new ones since at this point we only use the PS3 as a blu ray player. A lot of console games are also released as PC games so that's an option if your computer has the specs to run the game. 

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Jaxs Mom nailed it. These are the most important questions. If you're buying this as a gift for someone else, ask them what they want, because they may already know this, especially what their friends are playing. If you know a gamer whose friends are all playing together on Xbox Live and you get the person a Nintendo Wii, someone is going to be disappointed.

If this is for you, think about all the questions Jaxs Mom has asked, because those are all important to consider. And think about this, as well - whatever you decide to buy, the next game you want to play will only be available on whatever system(s) you didn't buy. That's just the way it always works out and why most console gamers end up owning more than one brand of console. So if this is for you, consider which franchise games are available for the system and look into the next several games you're interested in that will be coming out next year and which consoles they will be made for. Some games come out for more than one system, but many do not and whatever you get will always mean you won't be able to play some of the games you want without getting another console.

[cece]

Thank you both. I have it down to the PS4 or the X Box. Not sure as this will be just for fun, 2 people playing, not connected to the internet, etc. Just for fun.

Thanks again

[gardenman]

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@cece wrote:

Thank you both. I have it down to the PS4 or the X Box. Not sure as this will be just for fun, 2 people playing, not connected to the internet, etc. Just for fun.

Thanks again

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In my opinion you may have eliminated the console that may be best for two people playing while not connected to the Internet in the Wii U. In general I wouldn't recommend the Wii U with the pending release of the Nintendo NX, but in terms of consoles for two players the Wii U is pretty darn good. You've got Mario Kart 8, Donkey Kong, the Mario games and lots of other really fun two (or more) player games.

If you haven't heard of the NX, you will. That's the code name for Nintendo's next console that may eclipse everything else on the market. We don't "know" a lot about it yet, but it's rumored to be released in July of 2016. Rumor has it that the NX console will use hardware very similar to Sony and Microsoft in the console, but that's slightly more advanced. Word is that the games you buy for the console will come with a version that can play on a handheld device and transfer data back and forth seamlessly between the two. In theory you can be playing the new Zelda game on the NX, pause it, pick up a smartphone, tablet, etc. and continue playing on the go. Keep playing while you're out then synch back up with the console when you get home and continue playing on the console. It'll be pretty neat if they can pull it off. 

[jaxs mom]

Yes, Nintendo systems tend to have more multiplayer games than Xbox or playstation, especially if you aren't playing over the internet with Live or PS network.