Expert: Joseph - 11/16/2008

Question
Hi! We just bought a Wii system for us and our 6 yr old, but have a bit of buyer's remorse. We can return it. My son is 6.5 yrs old. He has a Gameboy and Leapster, and loves to play my older nephew's Playstation and Xbox. He enjoys Star Wars, anything to do with Animals (we noticed the Wii Zoo Hospital and Vet games, Horse Riding, etc. But he loves the traditional "battle" and racing games (Mario Cart, race cars, etc). My fear is that the controllers on the Wii will be a bit limiting for him (or am I wrong?) Also the set we got doesn't include a steering wheel, although I have heard it's not a great one anyway.

The other options to buy for him are Xbox or PS3, but the man at Toys R Us felt the games were more geared for Teen and Adult. Yet I think that applies to both.

For now we got the Carnival Arcade game and the Star Wars game for Wii....spent quite a bit of $$ and wondering if we perhaps got the wrong system for his age and ability. Would love your opinion.

PS - he masters and does well with the Gameboy games on his own mostly - he figures it out on his own - like Star Wars, Scooby, etc. Thanks! :) Linda

Answer
The wii is the best option for his age group.  Nintendo designed the wii for everyone.  The controls are meant to be easy to pick up and learn quickly, so that everyone will be able to play without getting frustrated or turned off because of the complicated gameplay.  The xbox 360 and PS3 are vastly more complicated systems, and yes, they are more geared to people in the 18-35 age demographic.  There really aren't a lot of games that would be appropriate for your son (and the ones that are, also come on the wii).  Also keep in mind that those two systems and the games/accessories are more expensive than the wii.  I work at a major video game retailer, and have personally sold dozens of wiis.  I've never had one returned in the two years the wii has been out, either because of a defective product or the person didn't like it.  Like I said, the wii is made so that adults, teenagers, kids, grandparents, can all play together, which is where the wii really shines.  I recommend sticking with your purchase, it's an excellent system and I'm sure your son will love it.  Me personally, my three favorite games on the wii are Super Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart, and Super Smash Brothers Brawl, all of which I highly recommend looking into.  If you ever have any trouble deciding on games to buy, check out www.gamespot.com.  They review all video games that come out for all systems and list the good and bad qualities for each.  It's where I go before I decide on purchasing a game.