# when to get a PS3?



## cmtar (Nov 16, 2005)

I thought about getting my sone a PS3 for Christmas but he is only 5, is that to early? I want one for mainly the blu ray ability but i may play a game or too but the game portion will be mostly for him. I know they have kid games but is the PS3 to much for a 5yr old? I dont want to spend $300 plus on something he cant even figure out and wont play much.


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## mazter (Jul 4, 2006)

Buy it !! He will love it. My six year old has had one for a couple years now. You'll probably enjoy it more than him.


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

He'll figure it out. Don't worry. Just teach him to be careful when handling the discs and inserting them into the machine. And of course, as with any game system for young children, moderation is always a good idea. You don't want him to be a brain dead gamer at 6.


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

Chris Blount said:


> He'll figure it out. Don't worry. Just teach him to be careful when handling the discs and inserting them into the machine. And of course, as with any game system for young children, moderation is always a good idea. You don't want him to be a brain dead gamer at 6.


Hopefully you can hold that off until he hits about 13.....:lol:


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Get him one right away! It's never to early to start stunting his mental and physical development. It sounds to me like this is more about you and your wants than about your son's well-being.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

I had a PS3 for a couple of years, but only used it for Blu Ray - and then sold it.

I did, however, buy a Wii for my boys for xmas last year (they were 4 and 7 at the time) and they love it. I liked the idea of being able to bowl with them and play tennis and such, rather than just playing standard games.

At 5 years old, I'm sure he'll figure it out, if that's your worry.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

Nick said:


> Get him one right away! It's never to early to start stunting his mental and physical development. It sounds to me like this is more about you and your wants than about your son's well-being.


Well, back in the day, playing games increased your mental development and computer skills. Nothing like spending half an hour tweaking your config.sys and autoexec.bat to get another 20k free, or learning abut IRQ conflicts when you had no sound 

Overall though, the Wii seems to have more kid friendly games. Hard to go wrong with the first party Nintendo games. Problem is that very few other games are much good. Games that you can play with him would be great.


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## BattleZone (Nov 13, 2007)

I strongly recommend a large CRT for the Wii, though. I see lots of broken flat-screens due to Wii controls that got loose and crashed into the TV screen, and at least two from people hitting them with their bodies (one bashed with a hand, the other person fell into the TV). CRT glass is thick and tough, while flat-screens are VERY fragile!

Wii's aren't HD anyway.


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## flexoffset (Jul 16, 2007)

My 6-year-old loves the PS3. His hands are too small to hold the controller sideways for High Velocity Bowling but he is incredibly proficient with the other normal games. 
He sometimes beats me in ModNation Racers, and can keep up with me in Little Big Planet, etc. He likes my 2006 F1 game, too.

He loves the Playstation Move.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

BattleZone said:


> I strongly recommend a large CRT for the Wii, though. I see lots of broken flat-screens due to Wii controls that got loose and crashed into the TV screen, and at least two from people hitting them with their bodies (one bashed with a hand, the other person fell into the TV). CRT glass is thick and tough, while flat-screens are VERY fragile!
> 
> Wii's aren't HD anyway.


There's a strap on them for a reason. And with Xbox Kinetic and PS Move, that issue won't just be a Wii issue for long. 

- Merg


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## cmtar (Nov 16, 2005)

Nick said:


> Get him one right away! It's never to early to start stunting his mental and physical development. It sounds to me like this is more about you and your wants than about your son's well-being.


How do you figure its MY wants? I said i want it for the blu ray portion true and yea i might play a game now and then but the game playing would be mostly for him. If I were getting it just for me i wouldnt care to even ask if he is to young for one i would just get one. I have an old PS2 he plays so i thought about getting him the PS3 and since it has blu ray yea i would benefit from that. If i was just thinking about me I would just get a regular blu ray played. You dont know me so dont tell me about my son's well being!


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## DCSholtis (Aug 7, 2002)

I agree with the others get it now and let him get used to it. As to when exactly to purchase it. Wait till Black Friday there are always some package deals out there then. That's how I got mine last year from Amazon.com.


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## neomaine (Feb 3, 2003)

BattleZone said:


> ...Wii's aren't HD anyway.


Only _partially _true. They do have 480p and widescreen which makes a world of difference. You'll need the Wii component cable to take advantage of it but its well worth the extra $20.

Personally, I'd get a seperate BR player and a Wii.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

neomaine said:


> Only _partially _true. They do have 480p and widescreen which makes a world of difference. You'll need the Wii component cable to take advantage of it but its well worth the extra $20.
> 
> Personally, I'd get a seperate BR player and a Wii.


$20?!?

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10830&cs_id=1083007&p_id=6499&seq=1&format=2

- Merg


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

neomaine said:


> Only _partially _true. They do have 480p and widescreen which makes a world of difference. You'll need the Wii component cable to take advantage of it but its well worth the extra $20.
> 
> Personally, I'd get a seperate BR player and a Wii.


I don't think many would consider 480P or EDTV to be anywhere near equivalent to HD.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

dpeters11 said:


> I don't think many would consider 480P or EDTV to be anywhere near equivalent to HD.


No, but it is a lot better than the composite cables the Wii comes with. I couldn't believe the difference in video quality when I switched to the component cables.

- Merg


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

The Merg said:


> No, but it is a lot better than the composite cables the Wii comes with. I couldn't believe the difference in video quality when I switched to the component cables.
> 
> - Merg


There's no doubt it's much improved. But saying it's only partially true that it isn't HD is overstating it a bit.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

dpeters11 said:


> There's no doubt it's much improved. But saying it's only partially true that it isn't HD is overstating it a bit.


Tomato / Tomahto... :lol:

- Merg


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

Not sure if hhgregg is still honoring it, but yesterday their flyer listed the PS3 160GB version for $199. It was most likely a misprint, but they did honor the price in their flyer even though it was a $100 off the regular price.

- Merg


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## neomaine (Feb 3, 2003)

The Merg said:


> $20?!?
> 
> http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10830&cs_id=1083007&p_id=6499&seq=1&format=2
> 
> - Merg


Yowza! Came down in price over the years... even better! Thanks for the link.


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## Getteau (Dec 20, 2007)

cmtar said:


> I thought about getting my sone a PS3 for Christmas but he is only 5, is that to early? I want one for mainly the blu ray ability but i may play a game or too but the game portion will be mostly for him. I know they have kid games but is the PS3 to much for a 5yr old? I dont want to spend $300 plus on something he cant even figure out and wont play much.


I know you're looking at the PS3, but this may help you judge what type of games to get for it.

I bought our Wii when my daughter was 5 and my son was 3. She's not really a gamer, but over the past year, he's turned into one (he'll turn 6 in December). From what I have seen with him, he does really well with car games where they have a steering wheel, the Mario/Sonic type games where you run and jump in a straight line and the shooting games where you put the remote in one of the little fake guns. If it's a puzzle game where they have to do 2 or 3 things in order to make some larger thing work, it tends to go over his head (I don't think most 5 year olds have that much cognitive reasoning yet). So I try to get games that are fairly simple and linear in their flow.

I thought they would do better with the Guitar Hero type games, but so far, they haven't gotten the hang of the guitars. I don't remember if it's Guitar Hero or Rock Band, but one of them has a beginner level where all you have to do is strum the guitar. That turns it into a single hand game and they seem to do a little better with that.

He also has a DS and plays similar type games on it. We got him the DS about 9 months ago and I really don't know if the DS has made him better at the Wii or if the Wii made him better at the DS, or if he just got more coordinated and got better at both. The downside to the DS is the game cartridges are tiny and they keep losing the stupid things.


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## Getteau (Dec 20, 2007)

The Merg said:


> $20?!?
> 
> http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10830&cs_id=1083007&p_id=6499&seq=1&format=2
> 
> - Merg





neomaine said:


> Yowza! Came down in price over the years... even better! Thanks for the link.


+1 on the Yowza!! At $4, that's an instant impulse buy.


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