Wii or Playstation 3?? - Olathe,KS

If your oldest is 8, I strongly recommend purchasing the Wii. I am in agreement that the blue-ray disc feature is a plus in the Playstation 3, however, the games themselves and overall operation of the game system is MUCH more complicated. We have both in my home and my husband uses the Playstation 3 and the rest of us use the Wii. The Playstation 3 is even confusing to me sometimes from menu maneuverability to playing the games themselves.

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Hi..I recommend the Wii...I don't typically like video games and stuff...I've always thought they were a waste of time and money...After spending time at my sister-in-law's house and the kids playing on the Wii there, my husbands grandma decided to buy a Wii for my kids to have at our house and so she could come play with them...IT IS GREAT. It comes with a sports combo disk...it has bowling, golf, tennis, baseball and boxing...You have to actually get up and simulate the motion to play, it's not just staring at a screen and pushing a button..
We got a game that is called Playground...It has tether ball, wall ball, paper airplane races, car races...It is geared toward smaller kids...my 5 year old loves it...lots of giggling...
We also got the guitar hero...it does have some graphics that may not be appropriate for some kids...kind of rough, tattoed, spike haired, bare bellied female characters with large breasts...My kids that play it are 17 and 15 and I still don't love that part of it and some of the songs I wouldn't have chosen...so use caution there...But the Wii itself is a great system...It encourages activity...
We found it to be cheaper than some of the other systems. In Springfield and KC it runs $250...(I think it was $249.99 at GameStop), but that is with one controller. You can get by with just one, but to get another controller is about $45. They are a little hard to get. You pretty much have to be there when they get their shipments...they sell out quickly. We were told it has been that way from the beginning...
Another side note...They told us they sell these systems to all ages of people...Nursing homes are getting them for the residents...
To be fair...I have no idea about the playstations...But I know I like the Wii...Grandma comes over to "bowl" with the kids almost every day...Great fun.

1 mom found this helpful

We have a Wii and we use to have a PS3. I would totally recommend a Wii there are so many more games for little kids to play and also some that the parents will enjoy also.

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I agree, the Wii is the way to go. Just be careful with some of the games as the graphics do not compare to that of an XBOX 360. Stick to the action games such as wii sports, wii fit is awesome, and racing games are great, and the kids really like Carnival games. Wii is a great family console. Our Xbox 360 is my husbands system. My oldest plays some of the games but my daughter was totally left out. My oldest is also eight, he enjoys strategy games so he does play both systems. My youngest is two and he tries to play the Wii, he can do some of the simple games, baseball (on Wii sports)is his favorite since it requires only movement and no pushing of buttons he can do it(not well, but he doesn't care) If you have any questions feel free to write. We spent a LONG time deciding what to get the kids, the Wii is their first gaming system(well they did have Leapsters)

1 mom found this helpful

We just bought a Wii mainly for my 11 yr. old daughter. My 13 yr old has an XBO360 and Playstation 2 and he likes the Wii a lot too. The Wii games are definately geared more for the younger kids, perfect for an 8 yr. old!! My niece is 4 and can play a lot of the Wii games too! My 2 1/2 yr old loves to watch the older kids play, it's entertaining for him too. If you are trying to decide between the 2 gaming systems mainly for the kids and not just for blue ray discs, Wii is the better choice. Most basic Wii systems are $249. It's worth the money, especially during the summer!
V.

Wii - hands-down. The technology is amazing and YEARS ahead of the other gaming systems. I think it would also make some of the games easier for younger kids since it actually senses your movement instead of having to learn what all the different buttons do.

We have the Wii and absolutely love it. I'm not even really a big video game player, my husband is, but the Wii is REALLY cool and I do enjoy playing it. We have Mario Cart, which is really fun, Wii Fit, which is kicking my butt, Zelda, Wario, some party games, and Wii Sport, which I think your kids would really love.

You can test out the different consoles at places like Circuit City, Best Buy, Toy's R Us, Nebraska Furniture Mart, etc. before you buy.

I see you already have a ton of requests here and I ahve to agree with them! The Wii is the best game console out there! We wanyed one for Christmas last year and finally found one this past April. They are getting easier to find though, Costco actually had 5 sitting in a cart by the register just this week.

My children are 15, 14, 10, and 8 they all play the games and all enjoy them. It makes great for family times and game nights will never be the same!

I will recommend shopping now and getting everything you can. We have 4 remotes with chargers and 4 nunchucks. We do NOT color code with the covers they sell, they got in the way for us. The Sports and Fit are our most played games. They have Winter Sports, Summer Sports, Playgroud...all of these are GREAT!

Mario games are good and I ahve heard good things about the Rayman games for groups of people to play but have not tried them yet.

Good luck to you, I think you found answers from all these fabulous Mom's!

I will say as for PS3 it is more for adults or older teens. The games are not kid friendly in my book at all. If you want more of a traditional game console I would look at XBOX 360 before the PS3 and I am not an XBOX fan. The Wii is the only game console I like. It provides so much more with the interaction and a way to have fun that is healthier to me than sitting in front of a tv getting mad at a game that is controled by your thumbs alone. I am a Christian Mom and like positive, fun, health things for my family and the Wii fits that hands down!

I definately suggest the Nintendo Wii. My husband and I purchased one for my son's birthday when he turned 14 last year. We bought the Wii Sports to go with it. We recently purchased the Wii Fit to add to the collection. Not only does my now 15 year old still play these games, but my 3 and 5 year olds also love to play the sports and fitness games. My husband and I also partake in the activities. We love that the video game teaches hand-eye coordination, but also gets the kids up off the couch. The games I mentioned are great for the entire family and the Wii Fit tracks the time each person spends on the workouts and the progress made, so it's more than just a game! The games are easy enough for young people to learn, but also grow to challenging enough for older kids and adults. My oldest son has every video game system available, but the Wii has been the best investment and still gets the most use.

We are planning on getting a Wii. My son wants one so bad, and he's trying to raise half the money for one. I like the idea of one because it's interactive. You have to move around. Whenever he's played with one at a friend's house, he comes home sweaty and hot, which tells me he's gotten a pretty good workout! And as a kid who doesn't get out much, I think it'll be wonderful for him and for our whole family!

Hello, L.,
I have a PS2 and the Wii..The Wii is definatley the way to go.. your family can enjoy time together with it and its great for all ages!! :) plus you move around more..as in PS3 all you do is sit there, they really dont have games for families or that you can move around with on the Wii! I even taught my son last night how to bowl (he's only 20 months)and we had a good time. Nintendo has more kid friendly games. I think the Wii is perfect, you get exercise while you play! I feel like I am rambling!!

Good Luck in making your decision you and your family will have great family time! :)

S.

PS.. i forgot if you do go and buy it.. I suggest Toys R Us. they have a game with a controller with it and its $49.00..you basically pay $10.00 for a game, it has pool, duck hunt (kinda like the orginal) and many more! Plus if you get the warranty it covers your Wii for 3 years if anything happens to it..they just give you a new one. Good to get with children playing with it!

Again Good Luck!!

I would go with the Wii. We haven't had a PS3, but we had a PS2 and traded it in for a Wii--my 5 y/o daughter can use the Wii much easier than she could the Playstation and my 8 y/o son (the true judge of all things electronic) prefers the Wii much more than the Playstation.

Absolutely buy the Wii. PS3 is geared almost entirely toward adults/older teens. The Wii has a huge variety of kids games. (My husband has both systems and I prefer for him to play the Wii when my daughter is up because I don't have to worry about what's on the screen)

I don't know if I will be much help...but personally I like the Wii station! This can be FUN for adults to do too, because you can play tennis, the bowling is extremely FUN, and there is also a workout routine that you can get for the we.

Our Kids like the Wii too, but I think enjoy Playstation better. We also have another gaming system, but for the life of me, I can't remember what it is called...what ever one you can play Guitar Hero on...that is the craze right now...and that is alot of FUN for everyone!!!! C.

We have a Wii and we love it. One word of advice, though, if you do get a Wii be sure the remote is secure to your wrist really good. We had bought a flat screen tv 3 weeks before receiving the Wii and my daughter (on the first night having the game system) didn't have hers secure because she and her brother were sharing the remote, and when she was doing one of the actions the remote flew into the TV and damaged the screen. It was a total accident, but FYI the warranties won't cover it and our home owners insurance wouldn't cover it. All that being said, it is sooo much fun and I know of some people who say that they have lost weight doing the boxing game (which comes with the system). It does keep the kids active as they play the video game which I think is important. I hope this helped. Good luck!

Hi L., We have several systems in our house...X-Box, Playstation 2 and a newer Wii...My kids play only the Wii. They love the sport games that are on there, ie bowling, boxing, baseball, tennis, etc. We have family compitions with them. I usually lose! It is so fun, you actully get out of your seat and "play" the games. I told the kids I was selling the other systems and they did not care. As far as a DVD player, I am not sure and of course it is to early for them to be awake to ask...LOL! My kids are 16, 14 and 12 and of course my husband is the biggest kid of them all. Have fun. T.

I would go for the Wii. My husband and I have both. We love the Wii cuz you have to get up and play. They have games that are for learning also. The Wii I think is more of a family system then the PS3. You can go to walmart.com and look at all the games that they have for the Wii. My mom bought us this game that helps with spelling,and vocabulary and I love it. It is a lot of fun. I hope this helps.

I will go along with everyone else, the Wii is the best. my oldest is twenty so our first Nintendo product was the Super Nintendo. As a rule Nintendo does not make products that are not family friendly. I think my son mentioned a few that were questionable but they had little success with them. I do want to point out something no one else has, you can play the Wii sitting down with little movement. When my two oldest play they are always sitting down. When their friends come over they jump around. It is kinda funny to observe. Another funny side effect is that my 7 year old cannot even watch tv now without jumping around. We have threatened to duct tape her to the sofa.

I recommend Nintindo WII. We purchased ours a year ago and I don't know who likes it more my son or my husband and I. We have the Wii Sports, Mario Kart, Guitar Hero, Backyard Football and several others. We have a nightly ritual of playing a game each night before bed. My son is 7 and he absolutely loves it. The only thing I suggest is if your going to get it for Christmas buy it now, if you find one, becasue I believe they are hard to keep on the shelves. The unit comes with 1 controllers and 1 nun chuck, we have since purchased 3 more controllers and 3 more nun chucks. They each run about $40.00 a piece I believe, and the unit itselfs runs for about $250.00.

We just got a Wii early this year for my boys (8, 6, 4) and they love it!! They play everyday. Any friends that come over beg to play, also (so do adults-my aunts and uncles love it, also). They have lots of games that are appropriate for younger children. My 4 year old loves playing his Diego game. My husband and I also enjoy playing golf, baseball and bowling in the evenings. The best thing is that they are always moving around while they play--so, they're not just sitting and fiddling. It's also easy to move, so when we go to Grandma's house, we load up the senor, little box and remotes and hook it up on her TV.
When we were deciding what to get, a friend recommended looking at the games they sell for each and make a decision based on that. When we looked around, it seemed as though the Wii sold many more games that were appropriate for younger children.
Just a piece of advice, the Wii is still really hard to find. If you decide to get one for Christmas, start looking NOW! My kids were begging last year at at Christmas-we started looking in October, and never did find one. It was still difficult to find in February. I finally ordered a package through GameStop on line. It was pricey, because you had to buy extra games and accessories, but, we saved some of the games and pieces and used them for birthday presents for my kids throughout the rest of the spring. So, when you figured a late Christmas present, and 4 birthday presents (Dad got a game for his birthday, also) it wasn't too bad.

Well the Wii is great for physical interaction and have some pretty fun games. The Playstation 3 however is great because you can use Playstation and Playstation 2 games on it. You can also download games directly into the game system from the internet.
The good part about being able to play Playstation and Playstation 2 games(as well as PS3 games)on it is that the PS and PS2 games can be found used for much much cheaper than brand new games. A lot of game stores (ie Game Stop) will let you trade any games in for store credit that you can put toward one you want to buy. So let's say you get a game for your kids and they don't like it or grow bored with it... then you can take it to one of these game stores and trade it in and put the credit towards a game they will play.
Hope that helps! :)

We have a Wii and love it! My seven year old daughter especially loves it. You get up and move around and get interactive with the games where as you don't with the other gaming systems. Also you don't have to have to the coordination for the control paddles that you did with the otehr kind of gaming systems which I have never had. It is easy to remember what buttons do what versus having to remember to hit a or b to do certain things like with other gaming systems. My daughter is very fond of the Sports game disk and we are getting the Wii fit as our next splurge, I can't wait (it has hula hooping and other great interactive fitness type games!) The Wii is really the one to go with if you ask me!

We have the Wii and my family loves it. I have two boys, 5 and 9 and a newphew that I take care that is 7. They love to play it and we have bowling tournaments with brackets and everything. We love all the Mario games as well. I don't think you will go wrong with the Wii over the playstation. Cooking mama is a good games as well with little kids. Have fun!

V.

Hi!
My husband and I have a Wii and we love it. The games are so much better and the best thing is that you are moving while you play the games. The kids really won't be sitting on the couch like a potato. They have a new game out now call Wii Fit and it is a fun exercise program that helps you loose weight and get toned. I highly recommed the Wii. I am not a video game person, but I play this one with my husband all the time. The one game that you have to get is Wii Sports. Your family will have a blast playing this one.

M.

My in-laws have a Wii. Some of the games are easy enough for my 4 year old to play and fun enough to keep us adults entertained as well. There are many games that are made to incorporate family play as well. My cousin bought one for his 6 year old and they just have the game that came with it and his son loves it. A bonus is that it gets the kids and adults up and moving and there are many family friendly games out there so you don't have to worry about kids asking for games such as grand theft auto later. I know that we enjoy playing the Wii and it holds my 4 year olds attention for quite a while which is amazing. Best of luck to you.

We just got a Wii for our family (myself, husband, 2 daughters- 11 1/2 yrs and 9yrs) in May. We all love it. My husband and I have been addicted to bowling and have been staying up late for 2 weeks playing it after the kids go to bed........LOL! We have no experience with the Playstation systme, but we absolutely LOVE the Wii. I agree with the other poster, we ordered it in February and saved it for 3 months before we gave it to the kids. Ti was kind of like a graduation gift for us all for my oldest graduating from Elementary school. It took a while to fine. We ended up ordering in online from AceBeach.com as party of a Bundle with Guitar Hero 3. Good luck!

Chris

My son has a playstation 2, and has used the Wii. He prefers the Wii best! My brother is a big game person, and prefers this as well. The Wii has lots of games for multiple players, as well as keeps the kids more active! In fact at my Grampa's nursing home, they purchased a Wii to help with physical therapy! A lot of the games you have to act out the motions, such as hitting baseballs, bowling, boxing etc... As far as graphics etc.. as a retail person at Best Buy, or another place similar, they would know more about that. As far as my opnion though, I'd go with Wii as it would keep them more active, and you can have fun too! Good Luck!

I say wii, the games i have are kid friendly and one can spend hours at a time with. we have one marble mania that well all work on hand eye coordnation. My babysitter and my 8yo both agree go wii!!!

Wii....Wii....Wii....Wii!!! I love ours, its for the whole family and we really have fun at all ages. Plus you can get up and move instaed of vegging out on your couch all day. My son loves the boxing(age 6) and my daughter loves bowling(age 4) and we all love to play the sport games together!!

I have never played the PS3. We have a Wii & love it! Most of the games you have to get up & move to play. However my mom has figured out how to 'couch bowl'. We have guitar hero & like another mom said, there are songs that the lyrics are too much for my boys, so they don't get to play those songs. My boys are 6 y/o & 2 y/o & love guitar hero & we just got Rock Band (they fight over the drums). The graphix are better on guitar hero then on rock band, so you see more of the large breasts on guitar hero. I personally don't think it is any worse than going to Wal-mart & what some of the teens ware today (not that I'm saying it is proper attire for a woman, b/c it's not!). My husband really likes Metroid - you go aroung shooting aliens & with the Wii you really get into the game. The games cost about $50 each, but you can rent them at Hastings for $4 - $8 a week. If your kids play enough it will not take the whole week to finish a game, then you can just purchase the ones they really enjoy.
This is what my husband says about the PS3: The graphix are better on the PS3 than the Wii & the games are more vilolent. He did a lot of research on game consoles before he chose the Wii.
You can also 'buy' the older games if you have an internet connection.
I hope this helps!

God Bless!

I love playstation but I only know one person that has a PS3.

I think Wii is all around more family friendly. The PS3 is more for serious gamers. Don't worry too much about Blu-Ray. I think the next jump is going to be to digital and streaming and that will be happening soon. Nintendo has also stated that they aren't planning a new system for awhile so plenty of games will be introduced and you won't need to think about the next big system coming out. Wii was made to get everyone involved.

I personally would suggest neither. I have an 18 year old and a 13 year old. We had a Play station once, they were on it a lot. So, I unhooked it and gave it to goodwill. I guess if you were really wanting them to have it though, you should give them a set time on it. I think they are breeders of laziness. I know it isn't like that with everyone, but I don't see a lot of kids outside anymore. When I walk into a friends house with one, that is where the kids are. Sorry, I am sure you weren't really looking for this kind of advice...

I woud recommend the Wii. We have one and there a lot of family friendly games. It also encourages the children to be active because you have to actually make the movements of swinging the bat or whatever game you are playing. There's also the yoga thing you can get to go with it to help you relax. LOL. I love ours!

Hi, Im Y.. I have 7 yr old twin girls and an 11 yearold and also a big kid (36 yr old Husband). We have an xbox and I got so tired of seeing them all laying in the floor with a controller in front of them not moving anything but their fingers for days on end. So We bought a Wii as soon as they came out for the girls bdays. That was the BEST investment we ever made for our family. With such a growing obesity problem in this country the Wii gives an alternative to stationary video gaming! You have to get up and move! Yeah! excercise in a game! When you are bowling you have to stand up and trot toward the screen ,rare back your arm and fling forward as if you were really bowling. Baseball and the tennis game, is the same same you have to move as if you are really doing the sport! Its great and both my mother(who never played a video game since the atari days) and my mother in law love to come over and play. The console comes with a game that has bowling, boxing (my fav. its hard workout!), baseball, tennis. But there are so many more kid friendly games for it than for any other system. I like the game it comes with best! im not so into fantasy stuff. Yes they are a little higher but definately they are worth it! At xmas I got alot of wii games on sale for 14.99 and 19.99 at walmart. We play cards with friends alot also and when one of the guys gets out of the tourney they go play wii with all the kids. I definately recommend it! Now they have the wii fit accessories so you can get a work out too. and also you can design the players to look like you and your family . Its so neat you can make them with curly hair or no hair, freckels, moles, glasses, hairstyles and clothing colors. you and your family will love it! I assure you of that! If you have any questions just email me and Ill get right back to you! Good luck!

we also went through this delemma for Chrismas last year. We asked our kids which system they would prefer out of the Playstation 3, Wii, or XBox 360. They picked the XBox 360 and it has been great and I even enjoy playing the rock band drums on it so it has become a family event when we have time to play together which I know rock band is available on other systems as well. We also have the dance revolution game which is good for exercising. I hope in the future they will come out with a Christian Rock option as some of the songs I don't like but most of them are the 80's rock and my kids prefer the Bon Jovi and Boston songs and some of the other milder songs.

We noticed the WII is mostly sports games which our kids find boring to play those and like the action games.

We have a friend that has all 3 systems and they play the xbox 360 the most.

My oldest is 15 and likes to play online with all his friends and a lot of our youth group at church are online and play each other on the xbox.

Oh and I agree Grand Theft Auto is a terrible game. I can't believe they make games that degrade women like that and expect it to become popular.

I also think they picked the XBox because we had the other Xbox system and they could still play their old games on the new system and still find the original xbox games in the store so they can still buy games cheaper as the original playstation games are hard to find although we still have the original playstation and wii games are more expensive.

We still have Sega Genesis which my husband bought before we had kids and the kids love playing those old games and won't let us get rid of that system either and still buy games for it at vintage stock when they find one we don't have.

We have a switch box so they can switch which system they want to play without having to hook up the wires everytime.

We have sega, Super Nintendo (which they just bought at a garage sale), PS-one, XBox, Xbox 360, and they have gameboy color, advance, and nintendo DS lite which they still play them all. The nintendo DS is great and we like the mario games so that is a way they can still play those if you don't have a bigger nintendo system.

I personally recommend the Wii. I have 5 kids, and they LOVE the wii. The man of the house likes the wii too, but he still want to get the ps3... :-)( FOR HIM ) Nintendo has a lot of kid friendly games and the Wii gets you up out of the chair on a lot of the games. It's very hard to play tennis sitting down! Some games are multiplayer games (some go from 4 to even 8), which for you would be a plus to look for when looking at games) I know it is in our house!!! Playstation doesn't have a lot of multiplayer games. I hope this helps.

I personally don't know much about gaming systems, however my husband is kind of an expert. So I asked him your question & he said the Wii. His response is based on the fact that the Wii keeps the kids active even if they are inside playing games. The PS3 can play Blu-Ray but as in all technology the Blu-Ray discs might not be around a long time. I'm sure whichever system you buy, your kids will love & you will find hours of enjoyment. I know we have fun with our Xbox 360 & family friendly games almost weekly.

I would recommend the Wii system. My kids love it and they aren't couch potatoes b/c it makes them move around. I would also recommend looking for the systems now...Holidays drive these up to insane prices...you can even look for them on ebay now...with the recession A LOT of people are getting rid of perfectly good systems with all the accessories and games for fractions of what you would pay for these things new. And, you can by the SquareTrade guarantee on it that it will work for the next year and not worry that you'll get stuck with a dud...I would recommend, however, that when you get it, you plug it in when the kids aren't home and make sure it works.

As an ebay buyer I also will go through a complete seller and see if they have all the accessories I am looking for and if they will discount s/h substantially if I order a lot from them...With as many as are in your family, you will definitely want at least 4 controllers and nunchucks for the games...I've seen used (like less than a yr) Wii's with this many and games go for less than $400 which is an insanely good price.

Also, GameCube games can be used in the Wii system so you also increase the number of games you can play...but watch the lots on ebay...some will say they are wii when they are in fact, gamecube...it makes a difference if you are going to expect to move around for the games...:) Last year I bought 36 games for less than $300. Even if there is a game or 2 I don't want in it, I can siphon it off and trade with neighbors or resell on ebay.

I recommend the nintendo products they tend to put out the most family friendly games. Many of which you can only get for Wii. If your kids are into serious gaming, war games, racing, etc then the ps3 would be great. I have teenagers and preschoolers, the majority of what we do is on gamecube. I did buy a ps2 last year and have found that only my teen boy plays on occasion and have not found any reason to buy more than 4 games, 2 of which are dance dance revolution and an exercise/yoga one(mine). In the quest to upgrade systems I think the Wii will be our next system. ps3 does have amazing graphics, but the lack of family friendly games and price keeps me saying no to that one. Before you let the fact that it plays bluray sway you, price those disks, they are insanely expensive. good luck