Gaming, Party of Four
September 26, 2017 5:29 AM Subscribe
What's a good console (and games) for family gaming?
My sister ask me to recommend console setup (new or used) for her. This would be for gaming with her step-children (ages 9 - 14) on the weekends. She's looking for something:
My sister ask me to recommend console setup (new or used) for her. This would be for gaming with her step-children (ages 9 - 14) on the weekends. She's looking for something:
- Family friendly (no shooters)
- Group gaming 2-4 players at a time
- Price under $400
- Easy to use
The Nintendo Switch fits that bill - Just last weekend we played a bunch of Mario Kart, Overcooked, and Jackbox games on it with 4-6 people. It's a new console, so lots of stuff on the way, too.
posted by soplerfo at 6:43 AM on September 26, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by soplerfo at 6:43 AM on September 26, 2017 [2 favorites]
Seconding the Wii. She should do fine with any or all of the following, in order of replayability (IMO):
- Mario Kart Wii
- Wii Sports Resort
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii
- the original Wii Sports
- Wii Play
These are the Wii games with which I'm familiar that aren't shooters and that can handle 4 players. They cover a wide range of challenge levels. Even a couple of those just might be all she needs, and are very likely to at least make the purchase worthwhile.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 7:29 AM on September 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
- Mario Kart Wii
- Wii Sports Resort
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii
- the original Wii Sports
- Wii Play
These are the Wii games with which I'm familiar that aren't shooters and that can handle 4 players. They cover a wide range of challenge levels. Even a couple of those just might be all she needs, and are very likely to at least make the purchase worthwhile.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 7:29 AM on September 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
Consoles other than the Wii are 75% shooters (or games featuring shooting)
Well, it depends in part on how you define "shooter" (Does original Zelda 'feature shooting'? I mean sorta, but it's a very kid-friendly game).
And percentages don't tell the whole story. It may be true that more Xbox 360 games feature shooting than do not, but it has a huge indy arcade store where there were literally hundreds of games that did not feature shooting, costing $1-3 each. I can fire up that console hand have dozens of awesome games to play with kids.
The Wii is still probably the best all-around bet, and least expensive, but even PS4 and XBONE have at least a hundred good non-shooter games each.
Finally, it matters a bit what the kids are experienced with. If they've already played hundreds of hours of Wii, it maybe isn't the best option.
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:47 AM on September 26, 2017
Well, it depends in part on how you define "shooter" (Does original Zelda 'feature shooting'? I mean sorta, but it's a very kid-friendly game).
And percentages don't tell the whole story. It may be true that more Xbox 360 games feature shooting than do not, but it has a huge indy arcade store where there were literally hundreds of games that did not feature shooting, costing $1-3 each. I can fire up that console hand have dozens of awesome games to play with kids.
The Wii is still probably the best all-around bet, and least expensive, but even PS4 and XBONE have at least a hundred good non-shooter games each.
Finally, it matters a bit what the kids are experienced with. If they've already played hundreds of hours of Wii, it maybe isn't the best option.
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:47 AM on September 26, 2017
The Switch is great for family friendly multiplayer and is easy to set up/use, but might not meet your price requirements. The console is $300, but you'll need extra controllers if you want more than 2 people ($80 for 2 more), and the console is still new enough that most games are still full price (~$60). If she does end up getting a Switch, I would probably try to get it now, as the new Mario game is coming out in late October and stock will probably be in (even shorter) supply afterwards through the Christmas rush.
If you do go the Switch route, the kids might enjoy Splatoon 2, which is a shooter -- I don't play it myself, but I've heard relatives say it's extremely family friendly. Personally I really enjoy Mario Kart, Overcooked, and Puyo Puyo Tetris. Wii will definitely be much cheaper, though.
posted by angst at 7:55 AM on September 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
If you do go the Switch route, the kids might enjoy Splatoon 2, which is a shooter -- I don't play it myself, but I've heard relatives say it's extremely family friendly. Personally I really enjoy Mario Kart, Overcooked, and Puyo Puyo Tetris. Wii will definitely be much cheaper, though.
posted by angst at 7:55 AM on September 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
My kids and a couple of their friends are always hanging out in my basement playing their Wii U - Mario Kart, Minecraft, Super Mario games, lego games, sports resort, etc. My youngest figured it out when he was 6. I would get a Wii U instead of an old Wii, as it can play the Wii games and newer ones.
posted by fimbulvetr at 8:00 AM on September 26, 2017
posted by fimbulvetr at 8:00 AM on September 26, 2017
With 9-14 year olds I'd be concerned about "an old Wii" because there's a fair chance that unless they've had zero exposure to games previously, they may have played a lot of the usual Wii options to death long since. They might still love them! Or they might not. There's not going to be a console with "no shooters"--you just don't buy the shooters, you know? Especially with stepkid kind of relationships going on... seriously, she should ask the kids what kind of games they want to play and then evaluate what consoles those games are on and whether those games are appropriate. The kids are more than old enough to have opinions about this stuff and to know what's out there. Buying video games for kids without input from the kids is just... not a great idea, unless they're literally too young to know what to ask for.
posted by Sequence at 8:33 AM on September 26, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Sequence at 8:33 AM on September 26, 2017 [3 favorites]
I've come in to also recommend the Switch. It's a bit on the higher side, because it's a new system, but there are a lot of great multiplayer games, and it has new games coming out regularly.
posted by Nimmie Amee at 9:00 AM on September 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Nimmie Amee at 9:00 AM on September 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
Co-Optimus has a searchable database of games with multiplayer co-op mode. You can search by "couch co-op", and by platform. It won't show you head-to-head multiplayer, and I don't think you can search by genre (to filter out shooters or whatever). Still, it might be a semi-useful to check out what it lists for the platforms you're considering.
posted by aubilenon at 11:18 AM on September 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by aubilenon at 11:18 AM on September 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
We have an XBox One in the house. The kids play a lot of co-op games on it, that I think are available on all the other systems - Minecraft, Lego Avengers, Lego Worlds. I think Minecraft is the only one that supports 4 players at a time, outside of sports games like FIFA and Madden. They also play some solo games, Slime Rancher is a current favorite. The XBox One costs about $250 with one controller and usually a free game. Extra controllers are also about $50 each. I buy XBox Live for $60 a year and EA Access for $30. Those 2 give me about 45-50 free games a year, and I rarely buy other games. My kids are happy enough playing FIFA 17, which is free with EA Access and won't ask for FIFA 18. This may not be the case when they're older and want to play online against their friends. Other than games I use the XBox One for Netflix, Amazon Video, HBO Go, etc. It's a useful entertainment center, which may be of interest if her kids only use it at weekends. The PS4 has these apps too - the Switch doesn't have Netflix though a quick Google shows it's expected to be added soon.
We rented a video game truck for our oldest kid's birthday party a couple of weeks ago. Kids there ranged in age from 4 to 13 and their parents were hanging out too. The truck had a couple of XBox Ones, a couple of Switches, a PS4 and an NES Classic that had all the games you remember from your youth.
The Switch was fun. It had a cartoony fighting game - Arms - where you have big springy arms that punch all the way across this arena. My 4 year old daughter and her friends loved it. The older kids played it some, but I think they got bored after a few games, I didn't see much of it, it seemed pretty repetitive, but the sheer joy on my daughter's face makes me tempted to buy a Switch. Everyone loved Mario Kart on it and it had a couple of other games I'd have liked to have tried if I'd had time. The controllers seemed fiddly, but maybe I just needed practice.
Most of the kids played Minecraft on the XBox the longest. It's a 4 player split screen setup, so there was a lot of fun co-op play. I didn't see the different games on the PS4, but there was always a bunch of kids playing that too. The other XBox had the sports games on it. Kids and adults all played FIFA for quite some time. Most of the adults spent lots of time playing on the NES Classic. The kids would occasionally have a try before realizing just how hard old school games were and going back to the modern systems.
If I were buying a console for the first time today, and the news about adding a Netflix app is confirmed, I'd probably go with the Switch. I really like my XBox and I've accumulated a huge library of games for not much cost, but the Switch exclusive games seem more family friendly and it sounds like, when they release their subscription service next year, it will include access to classic Nintendo games.
posted by IanMorr at 12:59 PM on September 26, 2017
We rented a video game truck for our oldest kid's birthday party a couple of weeks ago. Kids there ranged in age from 4 to 13 and their parents were hanging out too. The truck had a couple of XBox Ones, a couple of Switches, a PS4 and an NES Classic that had all the games you remember from your youth.
The Switch was fun. It had a cartoony fighting game - Arms - where you have big springy arms that punch all the way across this arena. My 4 year old daughter and her friends loved it. The older kids played it some, but I think they got bored after a few games, I didn't see much of it, it seemed pretty repetitive, but the sheer joy on my daughter's face makes me tempted to buy a Switch. Everyone loved Mario Kart on it and it had a couple of other games I'd have liked to have tried if I'd had time. The controllers seemed fiddly, but maybe I just needed practice.
Most of the kids played Minecraft on the XBox the longest. It's a 4 player split screen setup, so there was a lot of fun co-op play. I didn't see the different games on the PS4, but there was always a bunch of kids playing that too. The other XBox had the sports games on it. Kids and adults all played FIFA for quite some time. Most of the adults spent lots of time playing on the NES Classic. The kids would occasionally have a try before realizing just how hard old school games were and going back to the modern systems.
If I were buying a console for the first time today, and the news about adding a Netflix app is confirmed, I'd probably go with the Switch. I really like my XBox and I've accumulated a huge library of games for not much cost, but the Switch exclusive games seem more family friendly and it sounds like, when they release their subscription service next year, it will include access to classic Nintendo games.
posted by IanMorr at 12:59 PM on September 26, 2017
Nthing the Switch. I own all of the consoles and have five kids ranging in age from 5 up to 16. Most of them love Minecraft on the Playstation 4, but that game is also on the Switch. And other than that one title, the Switch gets the most play from them.
As others have said, Splatoon 2 is a shooting game, but you are shooting paint, not bullets. It is very family-friendly. And Snipperclips is a $20 downloadable title that encourages out-of-the-box thinking and creativity. My kids love it.
posted by tacodave at 3:51 PM on September 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
As others have said, Splatoon 2 is a shooting game, but you are shooting paint, not bullets. It is very family-friendly. And Snipperclips is a $20 downloadable title that encourages out-of-the-box thinking and creativity. My kids love it.
posted by tacodave at 3:51 PM on September 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
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posted by pipeski at 5:43 AM on September 26, 2017 [2 favorites]