Handheld video games

My 6 year old nephew wants a Nintendo DS for Christmas, so I was at the store today looking at them. Are there different kinds? If so, which is the best one to get?

What about the Playstation Vita or whatever it is?

I need some help with this if anyone is familiar it would be greatly appreciated. What are some good games for a 6 year old?

 

Sorry to 'rain on Parade', but at '6' years, shouldn't the emphasis be on the stimulation of mental creativity and not IT familiarity?
..... maybe, Just me then ?

 

He's in a magnet school and probably already has better writing composition skills than you.

When I'm asking for advice on how to be an uncle or my sister is asking for advice on how to be a mother, I'll be sure to come to you first.

 

Sony consoles and Nintendo are different.

Games for one or another, can't be swapped. So if your nephew whats the Nintendo im guessing its cause his friends have one or he wants to play nintendo games.

Might wanna double check in case he wants the sony. Sony also has always been black on all their stuff, except for their first first, the playstation 1. Nintento has always been a greyish color, which is why I think sony changed years ago.

Might want to ask what games he wants, and get him 1 to go with it.

 

That's a good point, he probably likes the Nintendo games better. Kid knows what he wants. But I saw the Sony has wifi, not sure if the Nintendo does or not. I don't want to ask too much because then it will spoil the surprise. Just wondering what games he would like. He watches the discovery channel, history channel and documentaries on netflix over cartoons, so he's kind of weird for a 6 year old. I know he likes strategy type shit. But then again he only gets maybe an hour per day for things like video games (I'm sure Billyx1120 would approve), so maybe I should get him some fun and mindless games?

Do they still have Zelda games? If so that fucker is getting that for sure. I used to love Zelda.

I was thinking the DS unit itself and 3 games.

 

Man I have no clue what games to get..well looks like the Nintendo come in black too, so forgot what I said about that point.

google Nintendo DS top 20 video games, look for old and new games.

 

The audience for PS Vita is much older so I'd recommend the DS. All the main games kids in that age would be interested in are for the DS: Mario, Pokemon, Sonic, Kirby, etc. They also release a lot more kid friendly games for it, all the time. Jack is 8 and has one for a couple of years now. You should get the 3DS because it's the latest one and all the new games are being released for that. I personally hate the 3D "function", but I'm also not the one that plays it.

 

And yes they just released a new Zelda game for the 3Ds. It's called A Link Between Worlds. I want to get it for Jack, mostly so I can play it. They can be difficult for younger kids though, Jack is all about the new Pokemon game and also the Mario & Luigi Dream Team. I haven't really played it, but he loves it.

 

Thank you A, solid advice and you are a mom so perfect. DS it is. I was just looking at the website about the 3ds, now that I'm thinking about it a mechanic at one of the shops I worked at had one in 3d a few years ago and when I looked at it my eyes hurt. Not sure if the technology has improved but I wonder if that is bad for eyes.

 

3ds seems to be the most widely supported. and supports origeonal creativity as well, something many game systems fail to. pokimon and ponies are both supported.

i've heard it can also be used as a phone and a camera. sooo.

i'm also talking off the top of my head. i've seen them, held them, know people who have them, irl as well as on line, but i don't own any of them myself.

too low on my list of priorities for my limited resources to have yet gotten around to.

model train stuff and furry stuff get first crack at my disposable income, what there is of it.

 

I find it bothers my eyes too. They did come out with a newer version of it, I don't know of it's any better. The good thing is that you can adjust it and even turn the 3D effect off.

 

Nintendo DS is a piece of shit! Old resistive single point technology. We got my son a NDS XL and six months later they came out with the 3DS and none of the games he wanted would play on the NDS XL! To hell with that fascist DS that only plays what Nintendo wants it to play. Get an Android tablet, there's countless free games, even Nintendo emulators, and so much more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a76vZfbRZ-c"]Francis HATES the Nintendo 2ds system - YouTube

 

I'd go ds has alot more kid friendly games.

 

I disagree.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/appsblog/2013/sep/11/best-android-apps-for-kids-2013

...and Minecraft is probably the most mentally stimulating, creative, educational video game ever created!

 

Maybe it also has to do something with the size of the screen? I know that's one of the reasons I never was interested in hand held game devices. Ok, it's portable but I rather have good 3d graphics on a proper sized screen.
This convction has caused me to become a noob where it comes to pretty much any handheld computer device
I'm aware Nintendo seems to have the bigger market for kids under ten but yeah, I don't know for sure what those kids themselves actually prefer (you sometimes can be in a bit for a suprise there ). I know that although I don't enjoy Mario, Wario and Luigi stuff anymore I had hours of great fun with it as a kid. I also think you can't go wrong with Zelda.

 

That's why you go for the 2DS which was just recently released. It can play all the games the 3DS and regular DS can, but it doesn't have a 3D mode on it, so it's much more recommended for children. It also doesn't have a hinged design, so it's great for smaller and less careful kids. It's probably exactly what you'd want to get for him.

 

I've never even heard of the 2DS. That's pretty cool, although I don't like that you can't close it. I hate the stupid 3D effect.

Asmodean, I'm the opposite. I'm more likely to get lost playing a video game on a handheld device than on a regular console. I feel like it's. Lot more intimate that way and easier for me to shut out the world. We don't have any of the newer systems, but we have a Wii, PS2, DS XL and a PSP. Lately I've been playing Zelda on the Wii, but I passionately hate the Wii's controller. I do want to get a PS3 because there's so many games I like for that, but it's definitely not a priority.

 

I'd say you're on the right track with Zelda, or maybe a Pokemon game. They're fun but also require strategy and planning, so it's better than getting him something mindless.

 

This 3d thing is bothering me though. And even though you can turn it off he is smart enough to turn it back on. The 2ds is an option but I don't really like that it can't close either. Life was a lot more simple when it was black and white gameboy or nothing haha.

 

I think I agree with relaxx. If he doesn't already have a tablet things of that nature are more diverse, even the leappad gaming thing can be interesting at that age, but I guess it depends on the kid. The visual quality on a lot of those games is really crappy in my opinion, but I can't be sure what the Nintendo is like. I think if I were you I would go to Toys R Us or wherever and go try out all the game systems and tablets, because you don't want to be disappointed with a purchase like that.

At the same time if he does want the thing because his friends have it or he's played a game on there he really likes...well, he's 6, why not go for it?

Is he into minecraft at all, because if not, I'd get him onto that. My kid has a tablet and I'm getting her into minecraft, she's also 6.