The last gaming system I bought was an N64, so I've been out of the look for a while. My son REALLY wants a PS4 for his birthday (8 yo), I think for one game he's seen. Right now he loves playing Minecraft, Roblox, and similar games on the computer, and I am hoping we can steer him towards some fun and constructive games on whatever system we get. So my questions:

1. Is there a better option than a PS4?

2. I'm not spending $400. I see many on Craig's List for around $100. What do I need to look out for buying a used one?

3. What should come with it, or what should I add? Obviously he'll want at least two controllers, what else?

4. Game recommendations for an 8 year old?

TIA

I’d be wary of those $100 Craigslist consoles. You don’t know how they were treated and if they blow up you have no recourse.

Take a look at GameStop. They sell used ones and they warranty them. Plus you get a few days to test it and take it back with no hassle.

The extra controller is a must. If he’s going to play online you’ll want to get him a decent headset (I like the PS Golds) and he will need a PSN account.

The system is easy to setup and allows for parental controls to keep him safe online. The only thing is that if you want to get him a PSN account lie about his age and make him 16. If you don’t tgen Sony locks him out of some games.

Dallas,

Please send me an e-mail.

I don't need to play my PS4 anymore with school and family duties; and the best way for that to happen is with me getting rid of it.

Recommend a wii u for an 8 year old. Minecraft, mariocart ..... bunch of fun games for kids.

Sounds like you may be getting the hook up from Edmund but Sams has them for $250.
https://m.samsclub.com/ip/sony...console/prod22182825

My 9yr old plays Minecraft. He builds his own worlds but no internet play. No server access to talk to other or join other worlds. He loves it. He also enjoys a combo game that has Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy on it. That can play up to 4. But he usually plays the computer. But family has played a few times. Learns things and makes him interact more and ask us questions. Which starts good conversation.

I do have all the Sony Parental controls turned on. And I leave my controller, the master, in my room. Originally I left out but he soon found out he could login on it and get internet access. He also will not know any passwords for Sony account. Or passwords for changing settings on game console.

He doesn’t and won’t have any games that you have to have internet connection and ability to talk to others. Not old enough.

Roblox is no go here. It’s a social media game. His nephew, same age, had (has) it and the things they say on there are a no go for a 9yr old. I think they have a way of changing some of the interaction stuff but I just don’t allow it to keep from having any issues. Kids figure things out. This nephew also plays Call of Duty. Parents make him play it with volume off so he doesn’t hear the foul language that the tweens spew out during game play. Yeah right. And they wonder why he curses.

I did one time rent a game from Redbox. Some zombie vs plants. Thing is you had to go through some big internet connection allowance to be able to play. I just want a game that loads and plays only. Not one you have to spend an hour answering questions and setting passwords.

There’s lots of fun to have you just have to vent the games for the younger kids.

Also 99% of the games are one player games. Since most are a form of social media. I went looking for a multiplayer game but wasn’t happy with the limited selections.

Wii U for 8 year old.

I have one that I primarily use for a Blu-ray player. Played a couple used games from gamestop, it's fun and entertaining,but I'm just not really into video games. If I had a son or daughter to play with, I'd probably love it.

Instant karma, PS4 camera thingy. Unfired NIB. Let me know if you end up buying one.


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quote:

Originally posted by x0225095:
Wii U for 8 year old.

Big gamer here, nothing else to do in the middle of nowhere. Do NOT get a Wii, unless you live in 2010.

Get the PS4 from Edmond. Lots of father-son time to be had.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
I have one that I primarily use for a Blu-ray player. Played a couple used games from gamestop, it's fun and entertaining,but I'm just not really into video games. If I had a son or daughter to play with, I'd probably love it.

Instant karma, PS4 camera thingy. Unfired NIB. Let me know if you end up buying one.


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If Dallas passes on this, I’d be interested.

As an alternative suggestion, maybe look into a Nintendo Switch? They're around $300 new.

quote:

Originally posted by Edmond:
Dallas,

Please send me an e-mail.

I don't need to play my PS4 anymore with school and family duties; and the best way for that to happen is with me getting rid of it.

email sent

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
I have one that I primarily use for a Blu-ray player. Played a couple used games from gamestop, it's fun and entertaining,but I'm just not really into video games. If I had a son or daughter to play with, I'd probably love it.

Instant karma, PS4 camera thingy. Unfired NIB. Let me know if you end up buying one.


.

Generous offer Skins! Is the camera primarily for games? I wouldn't really want him video chatting or anything like that.

quote:

Originally posted by Orguss:
As an alternative suggestion, maybe look into a Nintendo Switch? They're around $300 new.

I was considering this, especially since it seems they have a lot of construction stuff now for kids. Are there other reasons you think this would be a better choice?

Game stop has them used. OTherwise the PS4 is the best of the current if you want. Crash bandit and spyro are old classics that are on ps4, Most anything not rated m is pretty decent for kids.

We purchased a PS4 slim 1 TB model for $199.xx during the Sony pre-Christmas sale. We put the savings into a fan unit (with two charging ports), an extra controller, and a game, and still came out less than the regular price. My special-needs son enjoys the Lego games and I'm glad to finally be playing Skyrim.

If you're not looking for the brand new games to play with friends, you can generally find brand new copies of older PS4 games on Amazon for 15-30% of the price of new games and the kids who haven't played them yet will enjoy them just as much as if you'd spent the big bucks to get the one that just came out. We've had good success with used games at Game Stop in the past, too, but haven't purchased any there for the PS4. I've purchased a few used games on Ebay in the past, too, but that can be hit or miss depending on the seller.

quote:

Originally posted by sooma:

quote:

Originally posted by x0225095:
Wii U for 8 year old.

Big gamer here, nothing else to do in the middle of nowhere. Do NOT get a Wii, unless you live in 2010.

Get the PS4 from Edmond. Lots of father-son time to be had.

Not true at all. Although Nintendo killed their brand by abandoning their niche the wii and WiiU still reign for younger players. Most pS4 games are not appropriate for 8 year olds . Period. Conversely, most wiiU games are not interesting to older players.

My advice still stands, buy a used wii or wiiU and a collection of games on the cheap and then graduate to a PS gaming system in three or four years.

I actually have both of these systems and a ton of games all boxed up for a garage sale where someone is going to walk away with a lot of all-inclusive entertainment for a couple hundred bucks.

These deals are out there just look around a bit.

quote:

Originally posted by Dallas239:
email sent

Dallas239,

E-mail replied to.

quote:

Originally posted by Dallas239:

quote:

Originally posted by Orguss:
As an alternative suggestion, maybe look into a Nintendo Switch? They're around $300 new.

I was considering this, especially since it seems they have a lot of construction stuff now for kids. Are there other reasons you think this would be a better choice?

Since it's from Nintendo, it's going to have more kid-friendly games. Also, it can be used by two or more players for party games, which the Nintendo Wii is/was famous for. And being portable, he could take it with him out of the house to occupy him when you don't necessarily want to do family activities together.