Recommended Video Game System Best for Kids

There are many choices in the games that kids can play. Some are educational, fun and extra entertaining for many kids to enjoy. Because of our new innovative technology and progress, even changes in the way children games have also transformed to a more realistic and virtual game playing with contents unacceptable for many kids to view.

Before, video games were invented for educational and entertainment purposes that kids have enjoyed playing even today. Most likely, parents did not have to worry about what their kids are playing because game content was safe and fairly protected from harmful contents. Like the Atari video game system, offering wholesome games such as Pac-Man or Space Invaders, kids are open to have a fun and be entertained without any explicit content and away from corruption that could influence the children's behavior. Unfortunately, changes in technology have altered the way video games are today. Games of today are more realistic and are in stilled with adult content that many game manufacturers have included in their games. Therefore, parents are now concerned on the typical game system that they want their kids to have. In fact, many parents are opting to find the best video game system that is best for their kids but away from adult contents and other threatening factors that could influence the kids.

Unlike before, Atari game system was the best video games made available to kids. Now, video game system has increased due to so many selections available to consumers especially to parents. Large selections of different types of game system such as Sony PlayStation 2, Nintendo's GameCube, and Microsoft’s Xbox and Xbox 360 video games from Microsoft are some of the selections that parents consider purchasing for their kids.

The best selling game console in the market is the Sony PlayStation 2 (or often referred to as PS2), it caters to all ages while providing about 600 different types of games. These games have been rated for every age bracket to enjoy and specifically for preference of age limitation allowed for each game and level usage. For example, games rated with E are allowed for ages from six and up. Other games at this rating, however, are complicated for younger children to play therefore, rating with E10+ are advisable for children above ten years old to play. Likewise, other games for younger children below 10 are rated with EC or in other words, Early Childhood.

A popular video game system that children basically love is the Nintendo GameCube console. This game system has about 263 games that are based on children's favorite titles like the Sega's Sonic GEMS Collections, Mario Party 6 and Mario Tennis from Nintendo, and other game titles particularly for GameCube console that are also rated E.

Another video game system rated E is the Xbox and Xbox 360 video game with a built-in parental control. The Xbox has about 270 available games while the Xbox 360 has about 12 games and increasing with other popular releases. Although, some of these games may not only be available on the Xbox but as well, be available to GameCube and PS2 or all three video game systems mentioned. In such, the Xbox games with E rating like Astropop and Feeding Frenzy can have crossover titles that many publishers have also released and made possible to other video game system. For instance, rated E games like Eidos InteractiveLEGO Star Wars are available to GameCube, PS2 and even Xbox whereas other rated E10+ are also available to other game systems, while other games like the rated EC Global Star Software's Dora the Explorer are solely for Xbox and PS2 only.

Choosing the best video game system for the kids is important especially if parents are very concerned in their kid's preference in video game playing. The abovementioned video game system can help parents understand the kinds of video game system available to kids while assisting parents in finding the best video game system to give to them. Parents should keep in mind that video game systems for their kids should have parental control options on the game system to lock functions or set limits to the kind of games or titles allowed for playing or viewing. From the abovementioned video game systems, the most advisable for parents to purchase is the Xbox and Xbox 360 because it comes with a built-in parental control.

Xbox: The Perfect Game Video and Home Theater Component for Different Tastes and Preferences

Several video game systems are available to all ages but if you were looking for a game system that also can be used for home theater entertainment, the right choice would be the Xbox game console. The Xbox game system is perfect for parents and many people with preference for both a video game and home theater system. The Xbox game system has features that many people will want to purchase. The Xbox is the future generation game play console that provides movie playing capabilities as well as virtual game play. Because of the advance technology we have, it has been made possible to have one video system also used as a home theater.  Not only is it a game system but also provides a wonderful home theater system. It has widescreen video capability that has HDTV resolutions with Dolby Digital and DTS sound to allow high quality support making it a perfect home theater system component.

An advance video game system for future generation invented by Microsoft is the Xbox. The Xbox is designed with a powerful and sleek look, black color with an X inscribed on the console and a green Xbox logo resembling a jewel-like appearance. The Xbox overrides all other games making game play more realistic and powerful for all users.

In such, game artists have taken advantage of the new technology combined with appalling ideas to this game system by creating games never seen before. Games for Xbox have been created between fantasy and reality that most people will definitely enjoy. As a game system, Xbox has many PC components for a more powerful play. PC components like an Intel processor, NVidia graphic chips, internal hard drive and many more are used in Xbox game system, yet this components are unable to be run on Windows because these components was specifically built for the Xbox itself. These special features in the Xbox game system allow DVD's to be played; as a result it is a great add-on to a home theater system. Also, as a game system, there are four controller sockets in front of the box for connection, and it has an Ethernet socket for multiplayer games that allows other gamers to take part in the game. These features are specifically designed to enhance the performance and powerful game play of the Xbox.

The Xbox system includes controllers with a 9 ft cable, standard AV cable, and AC power cord. Also, a DVD loading tray, multisignal audio-video connector for easy connection to televisions and other home theater systems are all included in the Xbox game system. As said, not only is the Xbox a game system but also a home theater component because an Xbox is suitable for a home theater system due to features like component video output, digital sound, widescreen support, and DVD playback that makes the Xbox suitable as a home theater component. The Xbox is indeed a wonderful gaming arena because of the ultimate high-speed performance it has while at use. As a matter of fact, other accessories for the Xbox can be purchase separately for upgrade and better performance. To name a few are DVD Movie Playback Kit, Memory Unit, High Definition Av Pack, Controller, Advanced AV Pack, Standard Av Cable, and many more that are available to the Xbox game system.

Having an Xbox can change the way you play your games. The Xbox lets you take part in the games the experience and enjoy the ultimate audio-video performance of this game system. Available games that gamers will love to use in the Xbox to experience the audio-visual superiority are the NFL Fever 2002 or American Football, Dead or Alive 3, Project Gotham Racing, F1 2001, and Halo, all have wonderful graphics and will definitely entertain you while enjoying full realistic and graphical designs from these featured games mentioned.

For those concerned in their children's choice of games or movie playing, the Xbox comes with special feature most parents would definitely love. To keep track and limit their children's' viewing content of games or movies, the Xbox is the only game system with a built-in parental control for parental use to control their children from viewing adult or threatening contents.  Not only is it the best choice for parents but because of the wonderful DTS home theater system with Dolby Digital and high HDTV resolution, the Xbox will surely change the way a game system was once deemed.

Microsoft Xbox: The New Generation of Game Systems

Entertainment is an integral part of our lives. In fact, there are various forms of entertainment that existed during the pre-colonial era, such as watching opera and musical theater plays. Betting is also an active recreation during the colonial times. It is designed to provide pleasure to individuals of varying age groups and areas of interest.

However, with the rapid development of technology nowadays, entertainment is not just about watching operas and musical plays. Entertainment in the 21st century is now dependent on the development of technology—animated and digital films, television programs, and video game consoles.

Video game console means entertainment for the younger members of our society. Because of the animated game characters and graphics similar to real-life characters, video game consoles became one of the hottest items in the electronic market. Since its existence in 1972 (when Magnavox released its 1st home video game console, which is the Magnavox Odyssey) until the continuous release of its new generation game systems, video game consoles are now what we call the “entertainment of the 21st century and beyond”.

Because of the popularity of these video game consoles to the gaming public, particularly to the young generation, different technology firms released different game consoles that cater to the needs of the gaming public. It paved the way to the birth of the sixth generation of video game consoles, which the Xbox belongs to.

Xbox’s producer, which is no other than the Bill Gates’ Microsoft Corporation, said that Xbox game console takes you away beyond the ordinary entertainment. It redefines the way you play the game of your choice. Aside from games, you have access to music and movies through this high-technology game console system. Thus, it lets you share good times with your friends and even lets you compete with other gamers around the world.

Xbox was Microsoft’s first independent business enterprise in the video game console industry, after the development of the tools for MSX (the standardized home computer architecture of Microsoft in the 1980s) and the operating system for Windows. It was launched on different dates: November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Europe.

The development of Xbox was initially facilitated by a small team formed by Microsoft, which included the famous high energy physicist and game developer Seamus Blackley. The rumors of the release of a Microsoft-developed video game console first spread at the end of 1999 following interviews of Microsoft big boss Bill Gates, saying that the company is developing a gaming and at the same time a multimedia device that is essential in the convergence of digital entertainment era. And the company confirmed such rumors through a press release on the “Xbox project” on March 10, 2000.

As previously mentioned, the first launch of Xbox was in North America on November 15, 2001. On its first launch, most of Xbox’s launch titles became one of the best-selling games at the end of 2001. Some of the successful launch titles of Xbox were the Halo: Combat Evolved and its sequel, Halo 2 (which became the most played game in the Xbox Live), NFL Fever 2002, Dead or Alive 3, and Project Gotham Racing.

Xbox’s design was based on the fact that there must be a game system that will take advantage of the slowdown of saturated PC gaming market and at the same time integrate a built-in Ethernet adapter. It was the first video game console to integrate a hard disk drive into its system, which is used mainly to store game data compressed in a ZIP archive and content download from Xbox Live. Thus, it eliminated the need for a separate memory card, which is popularized by Sony’s Playstation. Most of the Xbox games make use of the console’s hard drive as the disk cache for quicker game loading time. There are also games that support “Custom soundtracks”, which allows the user to rip music from standard audio CDs and add it to the soundtrack of the game.

With the Xbox as one of the modern video game consoles ever produced, it provides unusual entertainment for gamers; especially those who are looking for a gaming experience that will make them crave for it.

Yes, Microsoft’s Xbox did it—one of the game systems that you will love once you get your hand on it.

MAKE TIME 2 PLAY

Children Need To Hop, Skip And Jump Back Into The Real World

*- 1/3 of children value entertainment technology over traditional play
*- Only 2 in 10 parents understand the benefits of traditional play to their child's development
*- 20% of parents believe too much outdoor play could have a negative impact on their child


New  research revealed  today for the Make  Time  2  Play  (MT2P)  campaign,worryingly reveals children are spending too much time playing in the virtual world and not enough in reality.

The  results  tested  parents’  perceptions  of  play, alongside  a  report  commissioned  by  MT2P and written by child health education specialist,  Dr  Aric  Sigman .

The report entitled 'Play – it's  in  their  DNA' highlights  the  vital  importance  of  real  world  play  for  the  development  of children and calls for play to be recognised as more than just fun entertainment.
In a survey of  2,000 UK parents, a  whopping  1/3  say  their children's  idea  of  play  is using recreational technology  over  traditional  play Of  those  asked,  7 in  10 parents admit  to giving their child a screen entertainment based activity,with 20% even believing too much traditional  or  outdoor play  could  impact  negatively  on  behaviour  or  grades.  Perhaps uncovering why Britain's love is shifting from handlebars to handsets.

But, it was the reasons behind these perceptions that really stood out.
The  survey revealed 56% of parents use entertainment screen - based play to cure boredom, but  an  astounding  77%  say the  reason they  rely  on  high  amounts  of recreational screen time comes down to their belief in the educational and learning benefits.

In  contrast,  Dr  Sigman's  report  shows  traditional  forms  of  play,  both  indoors  and  outdoors, have  enormous  hidden  benefits;  including improved  behaviour,  increased  abilities  to concentrate and even better school grades.


"It  is  clear  that  small  screens  have  been  accompanied  by  a  drop  in traditional  play.  The survey  of  parents  shows perceptions  of  playtime  are  shifting  to  include entertainment screen time to the detriment of real world play, said Dr. Sigman.


When it  comes  to  traditional  playtime such  as  games,  puzzles  and  outdoor  activities, parents struggle to see the benefits other than fun and entertainment, with a mere 2 in 10 feeling such activities have academic value or the ability to build their child’s self esteem. 

This is in comparison  to  a  huge  66%  who  assume entertainment screenplay  gives  children both enjoyment and educational benefits.



From Dr Sigman’s comprehensive report, it is clear that the virtual world is not a substitute for the real world  and there  needs  to  be  a  balance  between  the  two for  children, to enrich their overall learning and development.

"Children  need  hands  on  play  experiences  in  the  real  world  not  just  the  virtual  world”, commented   Sigman.   

Something   as   simple   as   blocks   and   puzzles   help   with   spatial awareness, maths, problem-solving performance and science.

"Play  may  have  a  role  as an aid to combatting child  obesity,  behaviour  in  the  classroom and academic  performance.

Playing  in  nature  may  even  make  children  into  nicer,  more thoughtful individuals. Children need to learn to experience the real world before they start to manipulate experiences in the virtual one.

“Children have been compelled throughout evolution to learn the skills they need for adult life  through  childish  play.  Play  remains  highly  undervalued - the  poor  cousin  or  fun alternative  to  ‘learning’.  Play  may  be  fun  but  it  is  also  now formally  considered  a  medical and developmental requirement for all children.”

As well as highlighting parents' modern perceptions of play, the research also uncovered its obstacles, with 43% of parents blaming their busy schedules for children spending too much time in a virtual world.
Ironically, children gain huge benefits from playing on their own - so only need to be given the time to play.

Dr Sigman’s report recommends that parents limit entertainment screen time and balance activities through the week to give children the opportunity to experience real world play, particularly as children go back to school and extra curricular activities and time pressures increase in term time.

This  year's  MT2P campaign is supported  by mum  of  two, Michelle Heaton,who said; "As  a mum,I  know  it's  tempting  to  hand  kids  a  device  to  keep  them  entertained,  but  it's  really important it's not the only type of playtime they get. It doesn't have to be expensive it's just about  engaging  them  and  their  imagination.
The  report  from  Dr  Sigman  has  highlighted really  important  benefits  of  play  that I  think  all  parents  will  want  to  know  about  and  show
their support by making the #pinkyplaypromise.

"The benefits of traditional play are so much more than perceived in the modern world and MT2P's research demonstrates that play should be valued in the same way as nutrition – too much of the same thing can be bad for children. The key is in finding a healthy, balanced play diet.