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hobbies Gaming Machines

I'm planning on getting my boy a gaming machine for his b'day (turning 11) - was wondering whats the best one to get at the moment. He had a PS2 that lived about 6 months before it just stopped working so not keen on getting a PS3. I like the idea of the Wii but are all the games lame on that?

He's keen on 1st person shooters, Halo etc also likes reality style racing cars TOCA Racer, & the GTA series.

So whats the best to get & why?
 
I'm not keen on the PS3 myself, but it's mostly due to personal preference.

The Wii is a great system for families and the like. The game selection does tend to cator family-style activity games, but also has a decent of racing style action games. It's great for kids and parents.

The Xbox360 carries the game you mentioned. Also has a great selection of action-oriented games. It's also one of my personal preference. It's a nice, sleek system with a ton of options. And you can probably find them relatively cheap nowadays.
 
Go for Xbox360. Wii is fun for social gaming. But a xbox360 is way more fun to play alone or with a friend.
 
If you're really set on a console, an Xbox360 is a good choice.

I'm more of a PC-based gamer myself, but there's a lot of things on XBox that I used to love to play.

And yeah, Wii games are really lame if you have anything resembling twitch-skills (the sort of reflexes that let you throw out 5 TF2 headshots in 5 seconds every 2 mins).
 
Wii is for the most part a family console. If you like to play with the whole family it's a good choice but it has very few hardcore games

I have a PS3 and a XBOX360. I like them both.

XBOX 360:
+ Huge selection of games
+ The new slimline edition is very quiet
+ Best controller for shooters
+ Achievements
- You have to pay for Xbox Live Gold every year to play online

PS 3:
+ Free online gaming
+ Better machine (graphics and such)
+ Cheap playstation classics (i.e. Metal Gear Solid)
+ Trophies
- Far smaller selection of games

Both consoles have their exclusive shooters

XBOX360: Gears of War, Halo
PS3: Killzone, Socom

I would recommend looking at the games available and go with the one that has the most games your son likes.

PS for racing games. Xbox has Forza and PS3 will soon have the long awaited Gran Turismo 5
 
Vincent nailed most of my arguments on the head. The other thing to remember with the PS3 is you also get one of the better blu-ray players on the market.
 
I recently asked a friend(who has all 3 systems) the same question and he said everything that Vincent said. I think I'm gonna get the PS3 because I'm a Gran Turismo fan, and I want the blu-ray.
 
Like everyone else has said, Vincent pretty much nailed it. I have played the Wii, and it IS a more "family-oriented" gaming system. I used to have an Xbox 360, up until a couple of months ago. A couple of things that I can add are this...the main two reasons why I got rid of the 360 was #1 having to pay to play. The damn games are already $60, then I have to pay ANOTHER $50 a year just to play my friends?! Nope PS3 is FREE, and free is for me! #2 is the fact that Xbox's customer service SUCKS ASS! Its like pulling teeth just to get sosmething on your account changed, like a credit card, etc. I cancelled my Xbox Live membership when I sold my 360, and was just charged TODAY for another membership!! Needless to say, I called them and got that taken care of. They cancelled a card, but not the card connected to thee account. (I had is set up to where the membership came out of my account every year.) But, like Vincent said, the controllers are DEFINATELY more comfortable on the 360. The ones for the PS3 are decent. I mean hell, if he's had a PS2, then it wont be any different. The 360 controller is just more ergonomic.
That and I sold the 360 so I could get the PS3 for the Blu Ray player. It has most of the same games I like, and I now have a bad ass Blu Ray player.
This is the way I see it, if he's coming into his teen years, he'll want either a PS3, or an Xbox 360. If he prefers to play Halo and Forza 3 Motorsport, then the 360 is the way to go. If YOU dont want to have to pay the extra fees to him to play every year, and if he likes the PS3 specific games, and wants a Blu Ray player, then the PS3 is the way to go. Its like the difference between DirecTv and Dish Network. They are pretty much the exact same thing, other than the fact that DirecTv has sports packages. So, if you like sports, fgo with DirecTv, if not, Dish Network.
I dont think you could go wrong with either or, honestly.
 
Thanks for all the input & advice.

I bought the PS3 after all that

#1 - I didnt like the idea of paying for online play

#2 it omes with a blu-ray player

#3 They had a deal on where it came with Play TV - which allows pause live TV, record tv etc ($130 value)

Worst part is now I have to wait until Tuesday (his b'day) before I can play it :D

Thanks again
 
Wait, this is for your SON, right? lol
I feel ya though! Like I said, you really cant go wrong with either one. Im a new PS3 fan now, so good on ya for getting one! Let me know what your, I mean your "son's", gamer tag is, and maybe we can play a little. Well, actually, the only game I play online is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
 
Good choice. I can recommend some great games

Killzone
Uncharted (both parts, great games online and offline)
Ratchet and Clank
Heavy Rain

Upcoming releases:
Gran Turismo 5
CoD: Black Ops
 
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