My son just turned 5 years old and a lot of his friends have hand held games, ie: Nintendo DS, play station, vbox, etc. I was wondering what brand is the best to introduce a boy to the world of hand held games and devises. He loves anything to do with cars and trucks. But it takes him a while to catch on and I don't want to overwhelm him with a game he cannot figure out.
Thanks,
My son does the Leapfrog handheld game. It has his favorite cartoon characters but also very educational. He shoots stuff, but its robots with vowels on their front. He blows stuff up, but its because he added up the sum right. I was thinking of giving him a Nintendo DS for christmas because there are a lot of age appropriate games he could play. :) Hope this helps.
My personal fav is actually a hand-me-down laptop.
That way you've got games, *educational* games (like starfall.com, or readerrabbit, or cluefinders, or pbskids.org... the cd games are about $10 each from amazon... the websites are free), movies, the whole shebang.
You can get a hand-me-down laptop from free (family or friend that has upgraded) to $100 on craigslist... or even a refurb old gen direct from the manufacturer.
my son is 6 & has had his leapster since he was 3....my 2 dghtrs love it also they are 3 & 5
My husband and I bought our 6 y.o. a DS when he was 4. We chose the DS because it was built to grow with him. There are games for all age levels (even Mom and Dad, Dad loves playing in the car too!). We do however keep track of how often he plays and control what games he is allowed to play. I would highly recommend the DS.
I talked the one of the workers at Game Stop about the same issue. My son is 6yrs old and he said the DS not really for his age. And the games that go along w/ it are not educational. The leapster is age appropriate and educational. So if your going to get him/her into video games the Leapster seems best.
Think about when, and how much, he will use it. My daughter has a DS, and got it at about 5 or 6. She really likes it, but the games are kinda pricey.
She now has a hand-me-down iphone, which since it's not connected, is basically the same as an ipod touch. She gets lots more use out of it. If you spend any amount of time in the car or traveling, it could be a better investment. It may cost a little more upfront, but the games and such are a lot cheaper. Almost all of hers were FREE downloads. She has a couple that were maybe $1 or $2. And one (Little Pet Shop) that was $5. We have loaded it with music, books & tv shows. So when we're in the car for long rides, she can watch an episode, read a book, listen to music, or play games. Lots more options.
She even likes to use the weather app in the morning to see what the weather is going to be LOL
My son is five and we got him a Leapster for his birthday which he loves. I couldn't see the point in buying a five year old a $185+ electronic device plus the cost of all the games. The Leapster has lots of fund "branded" games like Star Wars, Iron Man, Ratatoullie...he loves it and plays a lot, although we limit the time. I figure he can get one of the Nintendo, PS game things when he's a little older. The Leapster is like $50 and games are around $25.
Good luck.
-M
My advise is to not get him started until he starts asking for the kinds of games and game systems he wants. My son was 6 when we got him the Nintendo DS, but he really only used it when we were travelling or dirt bike riding (since it's a long night in the desert). That was the only device he had till my parents bought us a wii 3 years ago.
how about the itouch and he can download applications and play different games ..my son is 4...he plays on my iphone sometimes..he likes tapfish..tapzoo..zombiefarm..and on the computer he likes a game called SPORE..its for 10 and over but he's mastered it..i don't let him play too long with the games but those are his faves.
D.
Leapfrog Explorer is new and seems to be great...my 4 & 6 year old nephews love the leapsters too.
My three-year-old plays with my husband's DS, and he loves it. It's a device that will grow with him.
My son used his Leapster until he was about 7. We travel a lot and he uses it in the car or on an airplane. However, he was outgrowing it. Some of his friends have PSP and some have DS. I looked on line at Amazon.com for all the games available for both systems. Some games are made for both systems and some are not. Amazon has lots of reviews so you can get an idea of how difficult certain games are. I went over the list with my son to see which games he preferred and wound up with the PSP. DS seems to have more games available but it really depends on what your son likes.
Hope this helps!
I have a house full of boys and we/they have all the "gadgets"...I personally do not like the Nintendo DS, but all my kids do! Have you checked out all the Leapfrog stuff? They have some cute educational things...I saw a commercial the other day for a new "gadget" can't remember what it was called or who it was made by but it flips open like a cell phone and has a keyboard like a cell phone but when you close it has a touch screen? Sorry, this probably isn't helpful...but if you try Toys R Us or Target they probably have tons to choose from!
