I'm potentially interested in getting a gaming system such as a Wii or Xbox w/ Kinect.

Firstly, I'm not a gamer. I'm looking for something with active games (like Wii sports or something else where you move), though not the dancing games. I'd likely also probably get a first person shooter game or two, like COD, and maybe racing games.

Recommendations on a system, games, extras (controllers, etc.)...

When/where to get?

11/9/2011 10:08:52 PM

xbox + kinect based on what you said

BF3/MW3 for your FPS
Forza 4 for your racing

one of those zumba kinect games or something

11/9/2011 10:12:37 PM

^

11/9/2011 10:14:42 PM

stick and ball works too... gaming system from the 1930's.

xbox 360 is probably the best system per your request. Also, the dancing game on the kinect is actually pretty fun.

11/9/2011 10:21:34 PM

360 and then go get it modded if you want to play a racing or FPS game that looks decent and handles well.

I play neither of those genre so I'm a big fan on my modded Wii.

[Edited on November 9, 2011 at 11:21 PM. Reason : Your Shape 2012 has pretty good reviews.]

11/9/2011 11:21:33 PM

360 + Kinect

When you lose interest in mobile gaming you can still control Netflix with voice commands

11/9/2011 11:23:28 PM

Why do you need to mod it to play good racing games? Forza 4 exists. Modding will just get you banned from Live.

11/10/2011 9:05:56 AM

I think 'modding' of any sort is beyond anything the OP is interested in at all. It has little to no relevance here.

11/10/2011 9:30:42 AM

haha kinect. lol

I'm Krallum and i approved this message.

[Edited on November 10, 2011 at 9:31 AM. Reason : good troll good troll]

11/10/2011 9:30:57 AM

Are you looking for lots of local multiplayer stuff? Like friends coming over to play on the same system? If so, go for a Wii, there are tons of party games and stuff like Mario Kart that will work well for single player too. It's got a limited library of quality games though.

If you are looking for something that is more single player or online multiplayer, go for an Xbox. It has A LOT better online capability and better game selection. Pricier though.

11/10/2011 10:03:38 AM

Ditto to what everyone already said.

[Edited on November 10, 2011 at 10:05 AM. Reason : xbox + kinect]

11/10/2011 10:04:30 AM

new wii coming out next year iirc.

11/10/2011 10:09:31 AM

yeh, I don't see me ever needing to mod the system.

^^^eh, yes & no. I can imagine a few (or two) people playing the interactive games. and I do love me some mario kart & smashbrothers.... so I guess there is a strong possibility for local multiplayer use.

i'm mainly interested in interactive games (i have experience with wii and liked those active games); secondly into FPS, and thirdly into racing.

oh yeh, I like you Entertainmentians so far... friendly and helpful. The Gayragers are the complete opposite of you all.

[Edited on November 10, 2011 at 1:36 PM. Reason : .]

11/10/2011 1:33:29 PM

Quote :

"new wii coming out next year iirc."

a new nintendo system, but not a new wii. I believe nintendo is moving away from movement based gaming and back to traditional controller games.

11/10/2011 1:47:52 PM

Actually it's called the Wii U

So it is a new Wii, and it uses the current Wii's controllers plus some sort of touchscreen tablet like device.

11/10/2011 1:53:05 PM

If you are going with interactive then, you can't beat the Kinect. It's probably the most interactive of all three motion related systems now. Combine that with tons of FPS and driving games and it seems like the Xbox is definitely your choice. The only real downside is that the Xbox + decent sized hard drive + kinect is going to cost quite a bit more than a Wii.

11/10/2011 2:04:36 PM

are there some good interactive games on xbox (like wii sports, etc.)?
mario kart, smashbrothers, etc. on xbox?

I'm assuming I'd be fine with the lower capacity HDD? I mean, I can buy hardcopies of games and use those; I don't see any other use for the HDD (other than storing games, which isn't a big deal to me).

[Edited on November 10, 2011 at 2:07 PM. Reason : .]

11/10/2011 2:06:58 PM

The Kinect comes with a decent one called Kinect Adventures. Kinect Sports Season 2 is getting good reviews as well. Dance Central 2 (don't knock it til you've tried it seriously) is arguably the most entertaining party game ever.

Non-Kinect multiplayer games you can find a ton on Live. My wife and I are partial to Pinball FX 2, Worms, and some other live arcade games.

Any game you get on Live you'd need HDD space for but you can always swap em out. You can also rent movies and stuff on Live so you might need some space for that if ended up doing so.

11/10/2011 2:14:48 PM

fair enough.

is it easy to back-up the HDD? I mean, if I buy a game via live and it's stored on the HDD and the HDD/system shits itself, I'm out the games as well.

11/10/2011 2:18:14 PM

I'm kind of an "XBox fanboy" but for what you want to do, Wii might be your best bet

also I've never used a Kinect, so I'm ignorant of them, but Wii has some fun local multiplayer games

11/10/2011 2:19:38 PM

I don't know; kinect has the best active games for sure. The only thing Wii has over Xbox is 1st party Nintendo Titles. If you can't live without Smash Bros, get a Wii. If you want to play a variety of fun active games, and be able to play a non-terrible game of Call of Duty and a non-terrible racing game, then the Xbox is what you want.

I own all 3, btw, and Kinect.

I think you can get a cable or something to back up the HDD but it's not necessary. Your Live account keeps track of what you've bought and you can always re-download them. If you end up with just 4GB it'll probably be a necessity if you get more than a few things from Live.

Also another thing to consider though, an Xbox Kinect Bundle is going to cost a lot more than a Wii and then you almost have to get Xbox Live Gold ($5/month).

[Edited on November 10, 2011 at 2:29 PM. Reason : .]

11/10/2011 2:26:22 PM

boom blox on wii FTMFW

11/10/2011 2:43:35 PM

Yeah, that's a good one too.

11/10/2011 4:50:31 PM

so what would be a good price for a 360+kinect and 2 wireless controllers. i mean, i can look them up, but I'm thinking more of upcoming sales and potentially haggling at hhgregg

11/10/2011 5:02:21 PM

^You can pretty routinely get a Xbox 360 4gb + Kinect for $299 with a $100GC now. Amazon/Walmart/Target/RadioShack have been doing this a couple times a month for a while now.
It comes with one wireless controller.

Wireless controller I believe is $40. You can always buy the HDD later and add it. 320gb drive goes for $160 retail I think? Not sure on that.

For your "what happens if it shits the bed" question, Cloud Profile + Game Saves are coming in the Fall Xbox update. So if you have a Gold Live subscription, if you're HDD (and/or console) dies, you just get another one and redownload your stuff.

[Edited on November 10, 2011 at 5:23 PM. Reason : .]

11/10/2011 5:22:45 PM

Wait a year and get the next XBox?

11/10/2011 8:28:02 PM

For extremely large values of 'a year' at least

http://kotaku.com/5794000/microsoft-and-sony-targeting-2014-for-new-consoles-leaving-nintendo-in-the-clear

11/10/2011 9:17:30 PM

if FPSes are important, the Wii is out

after that, it becomes what exclusives you prefer and what you want to pay

PS3: resistance, killzone, gran turismo
360: gears, halo, forza

I think the Move is better overall than the Kinect, but the Kinect is better for certain things and cheaper (a lot cheaper when considering multiple people)

if fpses aren't terribly important and mariokart will itch your racing need, get a Wii, it's easily the cheapest

ther are 360+Kinect bundles for about $200 during Black Friday, I'd try for that

11/10/2011 9:47:50 PM

yeh, i'm thinking about going with the 360. just need to decide on going with a cheap 4gb deal and possibly upgrading the HDD later, or just going ahead with a higher capacity HDD console now.

and I could always wait 'x' amount of time for the next one; unless a MUCH better system is coming out in the short-term, I'd rather not wait.

11/10/2011 10:03:10 PM

people are still buying the Wii?

smh

11/11/2011 10:17:17 AM

If you want to watch Netflix/Hulu + on an Xbox 360, does that require a gold xbox live membership? Is there a corresponding fee for ps3s?

11/13/2011 12:25:46 PM

i pay no fee for online games or netflix on ps3 (besides my netflix account obviously)

11/13/2011 12:53:02 PM

^^I believe you need a Gold membership for Netflix.

11/13/2011 3:35:53 PM

well, I didn't feel like dropping the cash for an xbox and ended up picking up a wii for cheap.

so what are some good games?

12/29/2011 5:32:16 PM

^boom blox is a great multiplayer game, as stated above...even the ladies enjoy it

12/29/2011 5:49:04 PM

^^I got the wii last Christmas. Getting it late like this helps with picking up some decent games cheaper than they otherwise would have been.

Check the Nintendo Selects games. Basically some decent games that were $50 for the longest time rereleased for $20. Super Mario Galaxy is the best of the select titles. You can probably do without Wii Sports if your system came with Wii Sports Resort. If it didn't come with either go for Resort.

Other Selects titles I have:
Mario Super Sluggers - Wouldn't recommend it. There's not much to it.
Punch-Out - a fun game for $20. I would have been perturbed had I picked it up for the original price ($50)
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - If you already have the gamecube version there's no point. You might pick up Skyward Sword instead. The motion control is a whole lot better than Twilight Princess. Night and day really, plus Skyward Sword is only $40 right now - the price drop is likely related to there being close to 100 copies on the shelf when I went to BestBuy earlier today. I guess they over-manufactured to cash in on the Christmas sales.
Paper Mario - it was ok I guess. Probably geared more toward children.

Other cheap titles:
Okami: Like Zelda but you're a dog (better than several of the 3D Zelda incarnations). You use the wiimote as a paintbrush to do things. This one varies in price. I got it for close to $20, but sometimes it is more due to popularity. The only negative here is that while the graphics are nice they are "muddy." You get used to them I suppose.
Muramasa: The Demon Blade ($10 on Amazon). A really good game for only $10. No motion control gimmicks though.
Sin and Punishment: Star Successor - a title I hear a lot about and bought (currently $17 on Amazon). I played it a bit, but shelved it for now. It's like Panzer Dragoon on steroids.
No More Heroes - I've never played it, but I hear a lot about it.
MadWorld - You can get it new for under $10. I've never played or even seen this game, but I hear a lot about it.
Monster Hunter Tri - Another really cheap game that people rave over. I've never played it, don't even know what it is about.

More expensive games that are fun, the ones that will likely never go on sale:
Super Mario Galaxy 2 - I liked it better than the first, but others like the first one more. They're both good
Donkey Kong Country Returns - harder than the originals but fun
Mario Kart - Just got it for Christmas, still evaluating.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii - If you like the first SMB. A bit pricey for what it is, but I come back to it from time to time.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl - fighting game. I always suck at fighting games, but this one was very popular.


Toss a Metroid game in there somewhere, not sure which though. I picked up Metroid Other M because it was like $12 but I wasn't that impressed. It's another one that I shelved with plans to go back to once all the other games become boring.


[Edited on December 29, 2011 at 6:19 PM. Reason : -]

12/29/2011 6:16:22 PM

^^,^ thanks, I'll look into those.

12/29/2011 9:45:19 PM

^^Lots of good advice up there. I'd add that New Super Mario Bros supports 4 players, which is good for people looking for old school Mario fun. Also Donkey Kong Country Returns is fun, but gets INSANELY hard pretty quickly, so if you're easily frustrated skip that one. Mario Kart is great, and another good title for playing with friends. You can take it online too.

THE Metroid game to play is Metroid Prime trilogy. It's 3 games in one and they're all great. They're FPS but more geared toward exploration instead of combat.

I'd skip No More Heroes and Mad World. No More Heroes has some great concepts but isn't much fun. Mad World gets repititive quickly. The best part of that game is the commentators.

There's also the Virtual Console that lets you buy older games. You can find all the older Marios, Zeldas, and Sonics on there, although they tend to be overpriced IMO.

12/29/2011 10:11:42 PM

Quote :

"Paper Mario - it was ok I guess. Probably geared more toward children."

are you referring to super paper mario on the wii? no way, that game is cool, lots of fun, and pretty tough at times

12/30/2011 9:10:10 AM

Suda51 games def not for casual gamers, not because they are hard but because they are quirky as hell japanese games.

Quote :

"Okami: Like Zelda but you're a dog badass goddess wolf "

12/30/2011 10:34:51 AM

We have a wii and I moved it to another room to be able to watch movies on it. I am not much of a gamer but I find that most of the games for that system are fun for my 6 year old some of the titles are really odd and gameplay/customizations are limited compared to the same game title on another system like xbox.

I think if you wanted a first person shooter game then the xbox and kinect is the way to go. My husband and I discovered that there is a monthly payment option for the xbox membership in case you don't want to subscribe for 12 months. The kinect is really cool I've used it for voice commands and even my 6 year old can speak and navigate through the screens. I got the Zumba for Christmas and I will say it's kind of a workout. I feel it much faster than the wii's version. The thing about xbox kinect is that they have some pretty good games and a few appealing titles coming out.

I bought mine a year or so ago, but I saw a good deal with a $75 giftcard at gamestop.

12/31/2011 5:03:32 AM