Console Games (Nintendo, Sony etc.) and Arcade Games/Which system to buy

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Expert: Helen Joan Casper - 12/8/2006


Question
Hello,
We are getting my father in law a gaming system for Christmas.  He was in Best Buy and memerized by the quality (realness) of the games he saw people playing.  Which system would you recommend for a newbie and why?  We will ALL be playing it, so of course we want awesome graphics, etc.  I am not up to date.  I used to play Quake, but was so addicted we had to remove it from the PC.

Thanks,
John

Answer
Amongst the newest consoles, the Wii (by Nintendo) is ideal for the beginning console game player. It is easy to set up and has a wide variety of games for it. It is also very fun and very easy to use for even the most novice gamer. The controllers are just like your average remote control but a hundred times more fun. The Wii is the perfect console for a newbie gamer and has enough game diversity that the whole family can enjoy it. However, the Wii is one of the hottest selling Christmas items so it may be a bit hard to find in time for Christmas. Check your local stores first and then go to Amazon.com (I know they're in stock because I just checked for you) or another online retailer (however, I caution against online auctions- only buy from those who still have the consoles in box and who have a high amount of positive feedback as a seller).  The other consoles (Xbox 360 & PlayStation 3) are really more for the dedicated gamer. They have a lot of power and technology behind them but unless you're used to playing a lot of games (and mashing a lot of buttons on controllers), you might find it a bit difficult and cumbersome to use.

Let me know if I can help you with anything else.

Best wishes & Merry Christmas!
Helen =)

Console Games (Nintendo, Sony etc.) and Arcade Games

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Helen Joan Casper

Expertise

Ever since I played "Pong" in the early 80's, I've been a video game aficionado. I can answer hardware & games questions about PSP (PlayStation Portable), all PlayStation (1,2,& 3), Wii, Wii Fit, GameCube, Nintendo DS, Nintendo (NES), Super Nintendo, Gameboy/Gameboy Advance, and antiquated systems (ColecoVision, Atari, Sega, etc). I can answer hardware questions about all systems (including PS1 - PS3, Wii, NES, SNES, PSP, DS, GBA, GB, Xbox and Xbox 360). I can also answer PC game questions, especially CounterStrike: Source, Vampire: Bloodlines, Half-Life 1&2, Portal, Team Fortress 2, and all Sims & Sims 2 questions. I am ESPECIALLY knowledgeable in Square-Enix (formerly SquareSoft) games such as ALL the Final Fantasy games (I can even tell you really obscure things about these games). If I haven't played the game yet I will research it and help you find the answer, renting the game if necessary. I can even answer questions dealing with the consoles themselves (hardware questions). I cannot answer questions about Action Replay. I cannot answer questions about football, basketball, or wrestling sports games. I also have very limited knowledge about Xbox & Xbox 360 games unless they are cross-platform. If it is an independent game that has not been widely published and/or a game only released in some countries, I may not be able to help with it either (sadly!)

Experience

I currently am employed as a supervisor for a large, national video game retailer. I am also an expert here in games/roleplaying games, weddings, childbirth, and doulas. My husband is a computer programmer and one of the forefront coders for CounterStrike: Source scripts & mods. He has his own forums for coders/scripters at Mattie.Info. I have been an expert here since 2000 (under the name of Helen Chipman) and also volunteer on numerous other game-related websites and forums.

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