Admittedly, I'm in the PC camp of Go Whole Hog rather than a Gaming Laptop or such, else go Console instead...

I was a PC gamer for a long long time (floppy disks and BBSs to Quake and Counter Strike and beyond), and console gamer since Pong and Atari and Intellivision to XBox and PSs.

While PCs have some advantages, I think it only really shines and is worth it at the extremes. Else consoles are maybe 80% of all of the best gaming I've ever done.

So this biases my comments, right or wrong.

Good luck.

It seems way easier for porn to find a kid on a regular PC than on a console.

We had a family get together this Thanksgiving. Although we have gaming PCs, X-Boxes, etc, guess what the kids spent the whole time playing? My SuperNES and Donky Kong Country on a 25" CRT TV, and a little bit of Nintendo Switch. My kids don't seem to be mesmerized by fast hardware. In fact, they seem to completely dig retro. IDK, maybe they've gotten adjusted to Minecraft and no longer care. Perhaps I'll drag that Atari 2600 and a box of cartridges out of storage. Now where's that "ET" cartridge, anyway?

CRT Retro gaming is a blast, still.

Agree with finding out what his friends are using first. I am partial to PC gaming though. Either way I think he will be very happy.

quote:

Originally posted by SR025:

quote:

Originally posted by gpbst3:
As Lefty Sig said. Find out what system his friends use. Nothing worse than having the wrong system and being left out.

A lot of games especially the popular ones are cross platform now.

While they are available on different platforms the online multiplayer games are not to my knowledge. You cannot play Call Of Duty together online with a Xbox and PlayStation.

quote:

Originally posted by gpbst3:

quote:

Originally posted by SR025:

quote:

Originally posted by gpbst3:
As Lefty Sig said. Find out what system his friends use. Nothing worse than having the wrong system and being left out.

A lot of games especially the popular ones are cross platform now.

While they are available on different platforms the online multiplayer games are not to my knowledge. You cannot play Call Of Duty together online with a Xbox and PlayStation.

with a ps5 you can play COD online with Xbox and pc players.

Update in OP.

Given the update, here are my thoughts:

Buy him the parts to build a PC and build it together using YouTube videos.

A PC is a worthwhile *investment*. Yes, to a 10 year old, it's just "games", but everything he is doing right now is formative.

Think about the types of things he's asking to do: he's playing in sandbox type games which are more creative outlet than most people realize; he wants to create videos; he wants to *make* things. This is good, and to be encouraged.

The PC, over the next 3-5 years would be a decent investment. It'll be a platform not just for gaming, but to learn about computers, typing, increased reading, a platform to learn video editing, an outlet to learn to be confident in front of the camera; as well as a platform for future learning and creative outlets--robotics, 3D printing, programming, etc.

Computers are a maintstay today. It's also the launchpad for tomorrow's technologies. The sooner he gets fluent with computers, the better. A lot of young people I encounter in the workplace suck at computers. They've grown up with tablets and phones and are completely useless without IT support for basic computer tasks. Don't let your kid be that guy. Give your kid the tools to be technology fluent. 10 years from now he may not be programming AI and building robots, but at the very least he won't be the dumb intern that can't get his computer to connect to the network.

How many computers does a parent typically buy for their kid in their lifetimes anyway? 2? One at 13-15, one before they head off to college? So get him one now (a PC, with upgradeable parts), refresh some parts at 14, and then get him a new computer when he goes off to college. Ultimately, you are just out the money for the upgrade parts at 14 (above and over what you would have spent on 2 computers anyway), and you've avoided the $500 every 6 years upgrade cycle for consoles (in addition to computers you'd have to buy him anyway).

Additionally, a little webcam green screen setup can take up no space at all. They make little circular green screens with wire frames that fold up like car windshield sunshades and attach to your chair.

https://www.amazon.com/Webarou...9074547&sr=8-10&th=1

Consoles are like razors, or some Sigs for that matter. The base price is cheap, but they make it up on the blade refills, magazines (Sig), and games. Consoles are subsidized by the game licensing and you get a very very powerful system.

During SD and CRT days I thought consoles were a joke with the limit of 640x480 interlaced resolution. With the advent of HDTV and Consoles and a PS3 I got a deal on when buying a Sony XBR4, I realized modern consoles make a lot more sense. The consoles last 5 years or so, and the games work within the hardware limits until the new console comes out. They can't push the hardware performance limits and force you to upgrade your graphics card or other computer parts, because you can't upgrade the console. It's cheaper for parents, and kids spend more time playing games instead of messing with hardware.

Sort of like we spend more time shooting than building AR's and P320's....