Best hand held games unit, for 7 yr old

[M3]

Father xmas needs advice on the best hand held games unit for a seven year old, must be portable not xbox or wii etc. Not loads of money like i pad.

Ta

[Allaloneatron]

When I was that age, I found I got the most fun from a stick shaped like a Machine Gun. Great when running around the local woods.

[GT Kodiak]

• waits for the recommendation of a free, portable, handheld unit designed to entertain the male species for hours on end*

If you're not worried about it being up do date I remember Duke Nukem on the old Tiger handhend system keeping a friend and I entertained for hours. It was a sepia toned system so fell out of favour once the Game Boy colour arrived but... was chunky and felt durable enough to survive a 7 year old I'm sure...

[ben_h100]

Nintendo DS?

[M3]

Just looked on line, PSP 3000 or there is another on similar.. any good?

I agree with the stick in the woods...but there are to many nutters in the woods these days....

[jazzybee]

Nintento DS - My kids have had these and the PSPs but the PSPs barely get touched.

[ZesPak]

For a 7-year old, deffo the Nintendo DSi.
The little BiL has had one since he was 8, he's 12 now and still loves it.

[Storm1984]

Definitely the Nintendo DSi I think

[Steve Evil]

Whether he's 7 or 70, definitely the DS. Even Sony have admitted that the PSP is all but dead.

[RicksAlfas]

Age 7 to 70?
DSi.

Great for games, and with a memory card great for music/audio stories etc.

[M3]

So nintendo is definatly better than PSP?

So do I go for DSi XL or smaller one?

What are the games like and which are the best ones?

[Thorburn]

DS and a copy of Super Scribblenauts, they'll learn some things and you can nick it to play too.

[Steve Evil]

There are two Zelda games out for it now too. Both are great fun, then you've got Pokemon and plenty of other things to keep a 7 year old busy.

[ZesPak]

Plus, get Big Brain Academy: pretty fun and challenging (for yourself, of course)

[RicksAlfas]

M3 said:

So nintendo is definatly better than PSP?
So do I go for DSi XL or smaller one?
What are the games like and which are the best ones?

Go for the DSi - feels better, bigger screen, memory card slot.
As for the games, it depends what they are into but Mario Kart seems a favourite and is great played WiFi with their mates.
Lego Star Wars, Batman and Indiana Jones are good too.

Oh yes, and Call of Duty World at War for Dad.

[DannyVTS]

Another vote for the DS

PSP are a bit geekier imo, and of course the DS has a folding chassis which protects the screen

[RemaL]

my daughter's have both DS and DSi and are 5 and 8. both love their's

[Myc]

Definitely go for the XL version of the Nintendo DS as the screen is much better. I was concerned before purchase it'd be to big and heavy for my GF's 6 year old but its fine.

I bought his from Game though as they're 2 year warranty for about 25 pound seemed pretty good as I've heard the hinges can snap over time if the children are particularly heavy handed with it.

Also if considering games, the Lego ones are rarely out of his DS eg Lego Star Wars, Lego Batman etc.

[LukeBird]

The DS definitely!
Far better than the PSP IMO.

[koolkul]

jazzybee said:

Nintento DS - My kids have had these and the PSPs but the PSPs barely get touched.

+1
DS wins with age group from 6 - 15.