Best console for 7 year old new gamers

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ImLawBoy
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Best console for 7 year old new gamers

Post by ImLawBoy »

We've reached the point in the ImLawBoy household where the 7 year olds want to play video games. I've let them fart around on my old PS3 playing Minecraft and Little Big Planet, but that's not exactly keeping them up with the competition on the playground, and the rest of my PS3 games are probably not terribly appropriate for new young gamers.

My initial thought is to go with the Nintendo Switch, as Nintendo is synonymous with kid-friendly gaming in my mind. I haven't done any serious looking into it in a while, so I don't know if XBox or PS has improved their youthful gaming stock.

Then, of course, comes the question of what types of limits do we put on the gaming (time per day, violence level, etc.). It's a lot simpler when they're infants!
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Re: Best console for 7 year old new gamers

Post by Octavious »

The switch is going to be pretty hard to beat for kids games and you can actually find them so that's a bonus. The only other option that might be interesting is the Xbox Series S + game pass. They would have access to a lot of games, but I don't know from the list how many would be appropriate for a 7 year old. You would have to check that...

The nice thing about both those options is that they are tiny and will not take up a lot of room.
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Re: Best console for 7 year old new gamers

Post by pr0ner »

I'd say the Switch, too. Hard to go wrong with any of Big N's Mario centric exclusives for that console for 7 year olds.
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Re: Best console for 7 year old new gamers

Post by Smoove_B »

Yeah, I'll 3rd the Switch. It's been a staple in our house for quite some time.
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Re: Best console for 7 year old new gamers

Post by Ralph-Wiggum »

Definitely the Switch. There definitely are kid friendly games on the other consoles, but that is the Switch's main audience.
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Re: Best console for 7 year old new gamers

Post by Archinerd »

Can't speak to the Switch, but the seleciton of kid friendly games on Xbox is pretty limited.

My 5 year old has played (or watched me play) the following on xbox;
Minecraft
Forager
Peggle 2
Phogs
Hades (not actually a kid game)
Outer Wilds (iffy as a kid game) - I'm not sure if this one is still on gamepass or not. I know it left, but it looks like it may be back?

Other games she liked that are on there but she has already played on the computer;
Supraland (watched me play)
Slimerancher
Pikuniku
Plants vs Zombies
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Re: Best console for 7 year old new gamers

Post by Skinypupy »

+1 for the Switch.

I’d also recommend looking into a PS4 with a PS Now sub. There’s a ton of games on there that my 8 year olds absolutely love, including most of the Lego games.
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Re: Best console for 7 year old new gamers

Post by Octavious »

Totally forgot about playstation now. It was pretty crappy when the first rolled it out but it's not a bad deal now. The Lego games alone could keep them occupied forever.
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Re: Best console for 7 year old new gamers

Post by Scraper »

Definitely Switch. It's the most kid friendly platform and it's portable. My 5 year old nephew has one and he loves it.
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Re: Best console for 7 year old new gamers

Post by Skinypupy »

Octavious wrote: Tue Jan 11, 2022 4:35 pm Totally forgot about playstation now. It was pretty crappy when the first rolled it out but it's not a bad deal now. The Lego games alone could keep them occupied forever.
There's a ton of stupid little casual-ish games that my kids play non-stop. The latest has been cyber-punk, sci-fi Narwhal combat. There was a dodgeball one that they were addicted to for ages as well. Some good hidden gems in there, for sure.

It has a pretty solid selection of non-kid games as well. This month's big additions were Mortal Kombat 11 and Final Fantasy XII. Last month had Last of Us 2. They generally leave the service quicker than Gamepass, but there are definitely some good ones.
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Re: Best console for 7 year old new gamers

Post by ImLawBoy »

Switch sounds like the best bet. I know that there are controllers on either side of the screen - is that all you need for 2 person gaming? Or do those controllers combine as one and I'd need to get another controller? Do I need to get a memory card with the Switch?
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Re: Best console for 7 year old new gamers

Post by Skinypupy »

ImLawBoy wrote: Tue Jan 11, 2022 6:48 pm Switch sounds like the best bet. I know that there are controllers on either side of the screen - is that all you need for 2 person gaming? Or do those controllers combine as one and I'd need to get another controller? Do I need to get a memory card with the Switch?
Depends on the game. Some games with relatively simple controls (Super Smash Bros, for example) allow you to remove the side JoyCons and use them each as individual controllers. I would strongly recommend getting some cheap hand grips for them, as the individual controllers are a bit tough to use without them. Other games will require combining both JoyCons into a single controller (my system came with a grip to do this, but I'm not sure if that's standard). That essentially makes them function like a standard gamepad. Works well enough for kids, although I find it to be way too small.

If you want a second full gamepad, the Switch Pro controller is really fantastic. Probably my favorite gamepad from any console, any generation.

It comes with internal storage, but only enough for a few games. You'll probably want an external memory card, unless you want to keep deleting and reinstalling stuff.
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Re: Best console for 7 year old new gamers

Post by A nonny mouse »

I will also vote for the switch as the best option. There a lot more games for younger kids and other games they can grow into (Zelda:Breath of the wild is a must, even if they do not play it right away).

Also the size of the controllers (joycons) are probably going to fit their hands better. We have had a switch for 1.5 years (? _ I'm too lazy to look it up in the switch thread) - I think we bought it in 2019 - and the kid (now almost 11) still enjoys it. He played the PS5 Miles Morales spiderman when we were visiting relatives and he really enjoyed it, but the controllers were fairly large. He said this morning (I asked him specifically) that although large and there are more controller buttons, the controllers are comfortable. For context, he is 5 foot 1, and has pretty good sized hands for his age - so grain of salt.

I'm sure skiny is correct that the switch pro is great (I have not tried it) but we went with another pair of joycons and one of the recharging handle things. One of the main reasons was for more people to be able to play multi games like super smash brothers or mario kart 8 - both games you MUST get and the kids will love. With 2 pair of joycons, 4 people can play SSB and MK8 - so you with the wife, your son or the twins' friends (if they are allowed over) and play together.

plus the second pair of joycons and charging handle are a second full controller so they can play minecraft together.

ANd yes to a 128 or even 256GB memory card. completely worth it. We don't download many games, but it has still come in handy for backing up games or installing less often played games - freeing up HDD space.

I have to say, not being a console gamer I have enjoyed the heck out of it, both gaming with the kid and on my own playing diablo 3, Breath of the wild, and even trying out games that he likes like Mario odyssey 3D.

For the money, the switch has been one of the best investments we made - at least in perspective since we got one the December just before the pandemic and it really saved us when there was no school for the first while (and the shortened virtual school days).

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Re: Best console for 7 year old new gamers

Post by Octavious »

Ya the switch may be the best console I've ever owned. We have had it for years and still use it all the time. I'd sure love a 1440p or 4k version though.
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Re: Best console for 7 year old new gamers

Post by JCC »

I would guess whatever the follow up to the Switch is will probably go up to 4K but still lag well behind the PS5 / XBox Series X. Though as far as I can tell those consoles don't exist since I have never, ever seen either in stock anywhere. (Not that I am looking for them.) :lol:
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Re: Best console for 7 year old new gamers

Post by Octavious »

JCC wrote: Wed Jan 12, 2022 1:47 pm I would guess whatever the follow up to the Switch is will probably go up to 4K but still lag well behind the PS5 / XBox Series X. Though as far as I can tell those consoles don't exist since I have never, ever seen either in stock anywhere. (Not that I am looking for them.) :lol:
I 100% gave up on getting a PS5. Maybe in another year they will start popping up in stores? No probably not. :lol: In all honestly there isn't a ton on the PS5 that I can't play on a PC anyway. Instead I'm just spending a fortune to upgrade computers. The roaring 2020's!
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Re: Best console for 7 year old new gamers

Post by JCC »

Octavious wrote: Wed Jan 12, 2022 2:16 pm I 100% gave up on getting a PS5. Maybe in another year they will start popping up in stores? No probably not. :lol: In all honestly there isn't a ton on the PS5 that I can't play on a PC anyway. Instead I'm just spending a fortune to upgrade computers. The roaring 2020's!
Yeah last year when I thought (incorrectly) I had dodged a house repair being super expensive, I splurged and bought a super expensive gaming PC capable of 4K gaming... (these days buying the CPU and GPU would have cost as much as the PC but I was still clenching my teeth when I paid for the PC). By and large, this was also in anticipation of Deathloop, which I still find to mostly be a disappointment I haven't finished. (Critics be damned!)

I have barely used it since Metroid Dread came out, but I think I have finally exhausted every drop of enjoyment from that game... for now, and will probably return to PC gaming soon.
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Re: Best console for 7 year old new gamers

Post by hitbyambulance »

about four years ago, my nephews had been clamoring for a console for a very long time up to that point. my brother gave in and got them ... an Xbone. why? 'because of the backwards compatibility'.

long story short, they will never ever use the backwards compatibility features ... and it was basically only ever used for Minecraft since the selection of kids games for that system is pretttty small. but the controllers were useful for multiplayer games on PC, haha.
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