XBOX advice

[moses]

Any advice on buying an XBox?
Not bothered about the latest model, mainly for the lad to play Minecraft and other games on.
Would a second hand Xbox 360 do it?
Also on the Kinect does anyone's kids use them a lot, not sure if it is a gimmick which they will use once and never use again.
Ta
John

[Orlandokarla]

I wouldn't touch an old 360. The old chipsets overheated, and the drives jam easily. It's just a matter of time before it'll die on you.

A new one shouldn't cost much if you shop around at the right time. I picked up a 2nd one for around £60 last xmas. The kinect for the 360 is a gimmick that only works on few games. I'd give it a miss.

[moses]

Cheers appreciate that.

[RobTheRover]

My 2 lads both have XB360s and XBOnes.  They still play on the 360s as much as the Ones, especially on Minecraft.  To me, the One isnt yet the quantum leap forward the price should justify, but its still relatively young in terms of developers pushing it hard.

The best question you could ask is "what have his mates got", because if they all have XBOnes and you buy a 360 he wont be playing online with them and that is a big thing for the kids.

[DaveDRFC]

I think the latest version of the 360 they brought out (the slimline black one) was a lot more reliable than the old ones. My brother-in-law got through loads of 360s with the red ring of death thing but his last one never broke. He's got a PS4 now.

I personally prefer PlayStation, not that I ever play it these days, it's just a blu ray player, so like Rob says best to find out what his mates have got.

[Orlandokarla]

Did anybody else see the holographic version of minecraft for the xb1 at E3?

I can't stand Minecraft, but the potential for that technology is mind-blowing.

[moses]

Cheers Rob, given that he is asking because he has been to his mates houses, that's a good call.

[Lipsy]

Deffo find out what your lad's mates have got, but be mindful of the fact that the Xbox 360 is now effectively dead as a console and very, very few games will be released for it by the end of this year. Microsoft hasn't slated anything for release, if memory serves, and is now - thanks to launching backwards compatibility on the Xbox One - urging all Xbox 360 owners to jump ship to the new hardware.

If you do decide to go for a 360, then the later slimline model is the one to go for. It's better put together and, I believe, it runs a lot cooler and quieter as well.

Kinect is fun for about 5 minutes - my young 'uns played with the Wii a helluva lot more because developers actually had to make use of its in-built functionality. Put it this way, the Xbox One initially launched with a newer version of Kinect and it's already been effectively dumped from the hardware after a year because gamers don't really want it and developers can't be bothered to develop for it. It also requires a lot of space to be used - unlike the Wii.

Longer term (and depending on money) you're better off jumping getting a new console because they'll both last a good 5+ years, but that's dependent on how old your lad is and - crucially - what his mates are playing on. Personally, I would recommend the PS4 as that's the most popular - and pretty much best - console that there is out there at the moment.

[moses]

Lad is 8. Appreciate your thoughts.

[Lipsy]

Then a slimline X360 (assuming that's what his mates have) will keep him more than happy for a year or two.

[Mike_F]

We bought my lad a second hand (although barely used, still boxed) 360 for his 5th birthday a couple of weeks ago and he's more than happy with it. For that age it doesn't matter about the latest games, you can pick up old ones for a quid a pop at the car boot and they're new to him. The Lego Marvel Superheroes one is excellent.

[RobTheRover]

We bought my lad a second hand (although barely used, still boxed) 360 for his 5th birthday a couple of weeks ago and he's more than happy with it. For that age it doesn't matter about the latest games, you can pick up old ones for a quid a pop at the car boot and they're new to him. The Lego Marvel Superheroes one is excellent.

Have you got him GTA V yet?

[bobjimwilly]

We bought my lad a second hand (although barely used, still boxed) 360 for his 5th birthday a couple of weeks ago and he's more than happy with it. For that age it doesn't matter about the latest games, you can pick up old ones for a quid a pop at the car boot and they're new to him. The Lego Marvel Superheroes one is excellent.

Have you got him GTA V yet?

Max would get an education from playing GTA, that's for sure

[moses]

Thanks for advice lad loved it. Now sister who is 8 is joining in and need to find some "girl friendly" games (not in a GTA girl friendly way though)
Any ideas?

[swintonrover]

Owt by Lego. There aren't really any "girl friendly" games as such (frankly the games for anyone less than 16 have become less and less available), but general Lego platformers are probably best. Or skylanders/Disney infinity/Lego dimensions, but they get seriously expensive with having to buy all the figures.

[Draytonian III]

I've a tennis / squash paddle game that came with our Redifussion rental telly around 1975 ,it's still got its box

[idler]

I've a tennis / squash paddle game that came with our Redifussion rental telly around 1975 ,it's still got its box

Get it on eBay. 😜