8 Year old - First console

PTR said:
She's only 7, almost 8. I don't think any of her friends play games really.
I've tried to get her into old consoles a few times, but tbh, we just never have the time. By the time I finish work, there's about 2 hours to do something, and then we have our tea, tidy up and then its about time to start getting the twins bathed, school books read etc.
Hard to find time.

Suppose I'm leaning towards the Switch for her to play on her own ^^ there.
Especially as I can play AAA games on the big telly via Gamestream. That's got its downsides for sure though, as it completely ties up my PC and realistically I'd need to be there to put it on for her.
Quest 2 looks really good too though. Just not sure how much it would really get used long term. I mean, ** I ** want one so I can play Alyx, but that's not a good enough reason :lol:
tbh, from a standing start, its a lot to take in! I haven't been a console gamer since the Xbox360, and even then that was a one-off. Been a PC gamer since about 1993!
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Have a look into sorting wake on lan. It might make your set-up work better.

 
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Lambchops said:
We like the switches mind, like I say he has a normal one and me and the littlest have switch lites so when they're at the grand parents we still like a laugh on mario kart. I hate the Xboxes though cos the little shit wipes the floor with me on fifa

You might be surprised with the friends aswell most of the boys school friends have Xboxes and PlayStation's and he's just turned 8
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Do you think girls are still less-likely to play games, or have those days gone?
 
PTR said:
Do you think girls are still less-likely to play games, or have those days gone?
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I dunno, the daughter is only 5 but loves mario kart, sonic mania and the likes - bit young to judge really. All the boys play mind they all have a WhatsApp at football
 
Lambchops said:
I dunno, the daughter is only 5 but loves mario kart, sonic mania and the likes - bit young to judge really. All the boys play mind they all have a WhatsApp at football
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She's always played games on her Fire tablet, since she was 3.
But imo, its a big difference to "proper" games.
 
PTR said:
She's always played games on her Fire tablet, since she was 3.
But imo, its a big difference to "proper" games.
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Aye she's been the same which is why she got the switch lite to see if she'd use it - tbf she does and they're excellent for and long journeys you do
 
Getting her something she doesn't want is a total waste of money and potentially a big Xmas let down. There are better occasions for mulling over best value consumer options.

I'd get her the game and headset she's asked for or choose something else from her wish list.
 
Ciro_DiMarzio said:
There are two versions. A handheld only one and once which has a dock which allows you to play one the TV. Yeah you can attach multiple controllers.

It's pricey but the Nintendo switch pro controller is really good for adult hands.
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The pro controller is a must. The standard controllers wear out quite quickly and are not that great to use imo.
 
PTR said:
I'm really going to struggle to make peace with £45-60 for a switch game mind, wow.

Haven't paid anything like full price for a game for 20 years.
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Amazon have an offer on at the moment I got assassin’s creed and mario rabbids game for £20 there’s a few games to choose from it’s for a digital code which is sent in a switch game case for some reason, worth a look though
 
Quest 2 has a £50 discount and they're throwing in Ressi Evil 4 as well as that beat sabre game - mind, I cannot get my head around paying £10 to have some different music playing on that game - its madness, its the same price (pretty much) as a full album that you can only play when you mess on with a daft VR game.
 
PTR said:
Quest 2 has a £50 discount and they're throwing in Ressi Evil 4 as well as that beat sabre game - mind, I cannot get my head around paying £10 to have some different music playing on that game - its madness, its the same price (pretty much) as a full album that you can only play when you mess on with a daft VR game.
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BeastSaber – Beat Saber Custom Map / Song Reviews is the answer to that - can sideload custom made tracks, some rubbish efforts but lots of good ones to choose from.
 
PTR said:
The bairn has just been talking about what she'd like for Xmas (picking things from Santa's lists - the Smyths catalogue!) and she's mentioned a VR headset. Well, she said a single game, but its one that needs a headset.

Not sure how they work, but I imagine they need to be connected to a console anyway? And regardless, that seems like a better idea for the longer term.

Got me thinking, what console to get her. Do I go for a last-gen PS4 or Xbox (sorry, entirely lost track of their numbering system). Or something else? The current gen stuff has been out for ages though, so the last gen must be a bit crap by now? But £500 is a fair chunk for a 8 year old isn't it?

The other option is to turn on Shield Link to my PC, which apparently lets me play any games on my shield, but runs it off my gaming PC. Which - if this actually works - would be higher quality than the current gen consoles too and the games are ah-hem, significantly cheaper

Anyone got any thoughts?
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Can't go too wrong with a an xbox series s, they're only £250 and you get current gen games albeit cutback graphics and speed.

The vr she mentioned is most likely the meta 2 (formerly oculus quest 2) and no they are stand alone. I wouldn't get one brand new like as ours has been in the cupboard for months, novelty wears off. You can plug them onto a gaming pc and use it that way.

As far as the shield streaming I found geforce now streaming pretty crap and not comparable to the real thing. I haven't tried using the shield for streaming directly from the laptop as its just seems pointless, could just play on laptop surely? Also tried the new xbox cloud streaming and that could be an option, with xbox game pass ultimate it's free for now, if you don't have it you'll also get the added bonus of getting pc games for nowt. I've streamed for a on my phone and it was spot on
 
League Wan said:
Can't go too wrong with a an xbox series s, they're only £250 and you get current gen games albeit cutback graphics and speed.

The vr she mentioned is most likely the meta 2 (formerly oculus quest 2) and no they are stand alone. I wouldn't get one brand new like as ours has been in the cupboard for months, novelty wears off. You can plug them onto a gaming pc and use it that way.

As far as the shield streaming I found geforce now streaming pretty crap and not comparable to the real thing. I haven't tried using the shield for streaming directly from the laptop as its just seems pointless, could just play on laptop surely? Also tried the new xbox cloud streaming and that could be an option, with xbox game pass ultimate it's free for now, if you don't have it you'll also get the added bonus of getting pc games for nowt. I've streamed for a on my phone and it was spot on
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Geforce now - yeah, not really interested in that. For one thing, you have to pay for it.
Its the streaming from my Gaming PC that I tested the other day - "Gamestream", which is free and works with anything you have on your PC. Put RDR2 on the other day, and it was perfect. Suppose is helps being a decent PC and also GB LAN connected on both sides.

I imagine the Quest thing might get boring after a while. I'll probably play HL Alyx on it eventually, and as you suggest, probably end up flogging it and buying her something else with it down the line.
 
PTR said:
Geforce now - yeah, not really interested in that. For one thing, you have to pay for it.
Its the streaming from my Gaming PC that I tested the other day - "Gamestream", which is free and works with anything you have on your PC. Put RDR2 on the other day, and it was perfect. Suppose is helps being a decent PC and also GB LAN connected on both sides.

I imagine the Quest thing might get boring after a while. I'll probably play HL Alyx on it eventually, and as you suggest, probably end up flogging it and buying her something else with it down the line.
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Aye totally forgot about the payment and it took £30, haven't even used it
 

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