Talk to us here at Rochford Life : 0786 342 7294 or E-mail us. For other numbers see individual pages.
Make a point of visiting us weekly! Tell a friend about us.
8. Insights on Games Consoles....
...and all that jazz (Continued some more)
To return to Penny’s ‘front’ page, please CLICK HERE
Lastly in relation to both consoles:
· They are both as good as each other, with customisations that may suit different people. Try to figure out what your gamer wants before you buy a console, as it is a large commitment.
· Since 2006, Playstations are a little more money compared to the Xbox 360s, but recently Sony has announced that they are lowering their prices to £199 for their new slim models. This means that in most shops both consoles will be more or less the same price.
· The next thing you may or may not have heard of – the Red Ring of Death or the Yellow Light of Death? If your gamer has an Xbox that has a red light circling the on/off button – this means that the console has a manufacturing/user fault that needs to be fixed immediately – or no more gaming....
Microsoft was once swamped with consoles that suffered from this fault and suffered quite badly in their sales and tech support efficiency. They have since fixed the problem, but I have heard of the problems arising every now and then. These days, the newer Xbox 350 models boast a newer design that alerts the user of technical faults in a different way and to be honest – faulty Xbox consoles are returned to stores less frequently. There is a guarantee with everything electrical you buy, so the chances of this fault appearing in a console is pretty much the same as anything else you buy. Anything can go wrong, so don’t let the Red Ring of Death deter you from buying a new Xbox.
Microsoft was once swamped with consoles that suffered from this fault and suffered quite badly in their sales and tech support efficiency. They have since fixed the problem, but I have heard of the problems arising every now and then. These days, the newer Xbox 350 models boast a newer design that alerts the user of technical faults in a different way and to be honest – faulty Xbox consoles are returned to stores less frequently. There is a guarantee with everything electrical you buy, so the chances of this fault appearing in a console is pretty much the same as anything else you buy. Anything can go wrong, so don’t let the Red Ring of Death deter you from buying a new Xbox.
· The Playstation 3 also has its infamous technical fault alert – dubbed the ‘Yellow Light of Death’ which is pretty much the same thing. The same observations that I’ve stated above are relevant here too.
· Lastly, like the Playstation 3 and all Blu-ray players that are sold these days, they need to be updated to make sure their internal software can access all features, run smoothly and play all games that are released for it. They need to be manually updated but when you go online with both consoles, they should prompt you with an update message. It’s all quite easy really, so don’t fret. Any problems you may experience with the running of the console, may be a direct result of no updates – so make sure you read the instructions and teach your child to do this if they haven’t done it before.
So there are the main contenders and all the information I could think of to help you in your purchasing choices. Here are the other consoles briefly for your Christmassy considerations!
The Nintendo Wii
· This console is specially formulated to turn the user into the controller, and it was the front-runner in the motion capture gaming industry until Sony created the Move and Microsoft created the Kinect.
· The player holds two devices in their hands to control their movement and can play the Wii’s massive range of games with their bodies. The biggest selling game on the Wii nowadays is Zumba Fitness, and I think it may be at the top of all the game charts combined at the moment. Those clever people at Nintendo haven’t tried to compete in the Call of Duty first person shooter market, but have in fact created a league of their own. They aim to attract a ‘broader demographic’ with their console, but to be honest I personally see it as something for younger players.
· Buy the Wii for younger children, for those who want to work out, those who like quizzes, those who like retro games like Super Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog and Zelda that have been revamped and those who like a lot more movement involved in their gaming.
· Exclusive games include: Animal Crossing, the Donkey Kong series, Big Brain Academy, Big beach Sports, Just Dance, Mario Kart, Mario Party, Zumba Fitness and many more.
· The Wii is the successor to the Nintendo Gamecube, so if your child has this console, they can play their Gamecube games on the Wii.
· Wii consoles update themselves with a unique wireless configuration that is active 24 hours a day. It can receive messages and update itself even when in stand-by mode.
· To play with the Wii, you must have both of these two controllers in each hand – called the ‘nunchuck’ and the ‘Wii remote’. Without both of them, you won’t be able to experience all of the consoles features.
· The console has very little in the way of storage, but it does have an access port so you can add larger external space in the form of an SD card.
· If you want to play with a controller, you can! There are specially designed Nintendo Wii controllers available from any good game store – so go ahead and ask them.
· Pretty much the Playstation 3, but smaller and with less games that I would be interested in.
· It is called the Playstation Portable (full name) and the new, upgraded version (the Vita) will probably boost Sony’s sales quite a bit.
· To be honest, I prefer my graphics on a big screen, to get the best experience available. Please buy this hand-held console if you want to annoy people on public transport or do nothing in the office all day.
· I hear that you can even sync the PSP with the Playstation and control it. Sounds pretty cool no?
· An innovation in merchandising from the awesome guys at Nintendo – another hand-held console, but it is considered to be one of the top four players in the game (no pun intended), the others being the Playstation, the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii.
· It’s aimed at those who I believe primarily like puzzles and working things out. Using your brain is a way of a console to boast it’s ability to make you think instead of the widely accepted norm of ‘square eyed’ teenagers that become part of their gaming chairs.
· As far as I know, there is nothing on the DS that promotes violence and would probably be perfect for kids at 5 years old or above.
· Pretty much the same as the above, but with one small difference....you can play all games in 3D without using glasses.
· Having played on one myself, it’s pretty trippy to say the least. After a few moments of disorientation – it was quite amazing and is definitely well worth the reduced price at most major game retailers.
· It is not meant to be used by children under seven and there is a warning, as well as an age recommendation on the front of the box. This is because children’s eyes don’t stop forming until the age of seven (give or take), so constantly viewing their games in 3D could definitely damage their eyesight. It might be cool every now and then, but be careful parents and read some online reviews about other users and their experiences before you buy it.
Fast links to Consoles covered in Penny’s article
Penny Glen Investigates