Game Boy for a 6 yr old?

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nt00deep

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My 6 yr old has just recently gone beyond just the occasional interest in games on the home PC. He now likes to play for a while most days.

Santa is being asked for a Game Boy. I'm not sure if Game Boy is a good buy ...

Pros:
¬ Cheap relative to other consoles
¬ Portable as-is outside the house (can use in car)
¬ Portable as-is inside the house (can use in any room)

Cons:
¬ small screen
¬ small overall - greater chance he will mislay it
¬ he currently has no-one he could share games with
¬ we currently have tens of games for the PC and I have noticed he changes between them frequently. Concerned that the 1-2 games he might get with the game boy won't hold his interest for too long

Other options being considered ...

PS2 with LCD option
¬ Certainly solves the smallness problem, and gives him the portability within the house, if not in the car
¬ Can share games (tens) with the older cousins
¬ Costs more, and cumbersome relative to the Game Boy

There is also the PSP option which I know is bigger. Not too worried about the limited availability issue. If it is the best option (even for a 6 yr old) I will be able to convince him that a wait until new year is worth it.

Would anyone have strong feelings on ruling in or out a Game Boy based on the points above, or based on anything I have not yet considered.
 
Our 6 year old has had a Game Boy Advance for the past 15 months and he gets great use out of it since we have no other game consoles at home.

Its only real advantage is its small size and portability and it has been a lifesaver (for us!) on long car trips and even in restaurants. It's very popular with that age group for this reason. In terms of graphics and gameplay, however, it's not a patch on PS2, PSP and PC-based games.

I would push for the PSP as it is portable but is also a powerful console and it would do him until he is in his teens. The Game Boy is going to look very dated in a couple of years.
 
I'd swing the other way. A 6-year-old isn't even going to be aware of the superior graphics/processing power etc. of a PSP (basically a glorified GameBoy, in the first instance) — and new games will cost you an arm and a leg. Whereas you could buy a GameBoy bundled with a few games for half the price of a PSP. Look around the [broken link removed] and the [broken link removed] (sorry, searching 'temporarily' disabled for about the past month...:( ).

The great joy of a handheld console is its self-contained portability (whereas if he gets, say, a PS2, you're eventually going to have to get an extra TV... :eek: ). Car journeys, etc., as already mentioned.

I would push for the PSP as it is portable but is also a powerful console and it would do him until he is in his teens.
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Based on my own experience, the PSP will do him until the PS3 (or PS4, or whatever) comes out. Our 11-year-old started out with a Gameboy and slowly 'graduated' through a PS1 to a ('chipped') PS2. But his younger (7 & 9-yr-old) siblings are still getting great mileage out of his 5-year-old GameBoy and accumulated games. The day one of them breaks/loses/swallows it, it'll have served way beyond the call of duty...:D
 
I agree with the Doctor - I have 4 nephews - aged 11, 9, 7, 4 and they have two gameboys between them. They love them and it makes things very easy for us getting presents etc. The games are great on them and even for the 11 year old Pokemon is the most played and the 4 year old plays that too.

They live in Galway countryside and even though they go to a small school it seems that most of their friends have the same console and they all swap games or else play multiplayer.

As for cost I know GAME in Dawson St. have a bundle of Gameboy Advance + 4 games for €150 whereas you'll be lucky to get a PSP for Christmas and at a cost of €250 minimum.

Also TOP TIP - searching on Boards.ie is disabled but yuo can search the site by using google with the syntax <searchterm site:www.boards.ie>

cheers,
nai
 
Our 4 year old inherited his older brother's gameboy advance and boy is he well able to whizz around on it and he has been using it for the past 6 months. I wouldn't buy a PSP for a 6 year old - its too expensive etc etc. You say he has no one to share games with - wait until he gets the console. They are like magnets and will attract other 6 year olds who have GBAs as well. And the peace and quiet on car journeys is amazing!
 
I have 4 kids and 3 game boy colour's for 2 years now for the oldest threee.

I'm sorry I ever got them for them as I believe the concentration required on them to succeed in what ever they do with them is too much for their eyesight on such a small screen. I noticed a good bit of squinting also going on.

If using them make sure use them in very good light and limit their use for 30 mins only.

In fact my kids of 12, 10 and 8 are willing to sell them so I will be putting them in the buy to sell when I get round to it.

Sorry to be a spoilsport as I also think that Playstation is bad for kids and recently read a report on how bad these were for children. Much better off getting out and about if at all possible.

Daddy
 
I should have also added in relation to my nephews, my brother and his wife have a strict rota in place - they are not allowed any more than 30 minutes per day in 10 minutes rotations on any game console. And they have a bell timer to trigger the start/end of a rotation - works really well - the kids adhere to it and it doesn't seem to get in the way of them spending time outside.
 
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