Present Indecision (1 Viewer)

[drobbins]

My son wants, really badly, Xbox 360 for Christmas. Some how I just can’t bring my self to do it. He is 15 and wants to play Halo 3. Adding up the cost, it will probably be around $500 total for the system extra controller and game. Then there will be the online membership. To me that’s a lot just to play one game. I know there are others, but we already have a Nintendo 64, Gamecube, Wii, & PS2 with many games for each. He hardly plays the Wii that my wife camped out for last year. :frowning:
The other gift we are thinking about is guitar lessons. He has been fooling around with one in his room for months now. I would have posted this in the gaming section, but I know the answer I would have gotten there. What do you think? Am I just being cheap? Should I just get him what he wants (Xbox) after all it is Christmas? $500 to play one game – Whoa.

 

[Patrick Sun]

At 15, does he have means to earn the money (cut yards, part-time job, etc) to buy the Xbox 360 (and add-ons) he needs for Halo 3? It could be a good time to make concrete the value of money earned and appreciated.

 

[drobbins]

I just remembered Patrick, He also already has the old Xbox and Halo 2. He cut grass last summer and bought them.

 

[Bryan X]

If he really wants the 360, he could sell some or all of the other game systems and games he has since it sounds like he rarely uses them. Depending on what he sells, he could probably get the 360 with minimal or no out-of-pocket expense.

I'd be leary of spending that just for one game. The single player Halo is very short and if he wants to play multi-player, tack on another $50 a year for Xbox Live Gold.

Don't get me wrong. The 360 is, I think, the best system out there-- great games and Microsoft's online experience cannot be beat (We have the Wii, PS2, Xbox, and Xbox 360 and the 360 gets nearly all of the playing time). *But* for just one game? I'd have to question that.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

N64, Gamecube, and PS2 are all pretty worthless on the used market, so I'm not sure if having your son trade-in his old toys for new ones (a lesson most audiophiles and car collectors are familiar with) will really make that big of a dent in the 360's price tag.

 

[ThomasC]

No way. The most expensive present I ever got for Christmas was worth a little over $100, which was a LEGO Airport set. $500? No way. Make him earn it with chores, or tell him to get a job.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Sell the Wii! To the guy who's got this thread on looking for a Wii.

You could also meet him half way, front 50% of the cost, and he'd have to pony up the rest for 360/Halo3 combo (selling the Wii accomplishes this).

 

[drobbins]

My daughter & I still use the PS2 and Wii so we will keep them. Do they still have the online gamming for Halo 2? Maybe if I get him a few months on line, it will be "new" again.

 

[Al.Anderson]

This is a Christmas present for gosh sake! All you Scrooge's with the "make him go earn it" should stop and go figue out what your own personal Rosebud is.

The Wii is a different kind of game system and does not represent mainstream gaming. Having one is nice, but it's kind of like the movie's indie of the gaming world; having just the Wii is unsatisfying.

There's really two questions here - how much is $500 to you? (BTW, not really $500. You can get the regular system for $400 from Costco with an extra controller. Or you could get the low end system for $250.)

If it really comes down to the 360 or lessons, then which would he enjoy more and benefit him more? I'd say the lessons. (For my kids, I tend to spring for anything that's "educational" - so guitar lessons or the Shakspeare book is on me. A game or the latest Forgotten Realm book is on them -- or it's a BD / Xmas gift. But I can afford the $500; if I couldn't it would be a different story.)

The second question is how much does he play games? If not too much, then I wouldn't get any system for one game.

The old systems don't really apply here, there are no more games being made for them. His friends will be moving on. (Did he play those systems a lot, or was it just one or two games?)

Finally, if you get the 360 get either Rockband (more multiplayer focused) or Guitar Hero3 (more single player focused).

 

[Mike Frezon]

Dave: You must know how difficult a question you've posed to anyone who doesn't really know you, your family and your financial circumstances.

So, I'll completely stay away from the question about the 360 and just throw in my $.02 that you will never regret any investment in music lessons...ESPECIALLY if he is actually fiddling around on a guitar in his room. Even if he only wants to "play" with the guitar and not get serious, the concepts learned through music lessons stay with us forever (not just the mathematics and the technique, etc...but the "life lessons" about how practice really is required to make us better at a task!). The important part of your story is that your son has expressed a real interest in the instrument...and not just by saying so but by demonstrating it to be true. That's cool.

My son had NO interest in piano lessons...so I didn't force him (for too long!) But, he's been able to learn some of the same principles through baseball lessons...which he loves.

 

[Holadem]

Agreed 100%.

--
H

 

[Mike Frezon]

By the way, is it just me or does the title of this thread sound like the title of a Tom Clancy novel?

 

[DaveF]

I have no idea if your son should get an XBox 360. For what it's worth, I want one, but my wife won't let me get it But I'll try and give a different perspective.

The lifetime of a game console is about three to five years. The N64 is 11 years old (launched 1996). No one plays with the N64 anymore. Not even me.

The GameCube is 6 years old (launched 2001). It's past its prime, and there's only a dribble of new games for it. Moreover, a Wii plays Gamecube games, so there's no reason to keep this either.

The Wii, despite being the new hotness, largely has very different games than the Xbox 360 and PS3. My limited time with the Wii (at friends' and the store) has left me cold. The games I've seen are dull. If your son is a Halo-twitch-gamer, I can see how he might be (unexpectedly) uninterested in the Wii. Bowling is like watching paint dry for an action gamer, and the graphics are generally uninspired. (please no flames. I've not played Mario Galaxy )

In this sense, the Xbox 360 is a perfectly reasonable new console to buy. Your old ones are antediluvian (in a gaming sense), except the Wii. And the lack of interest there might be a fluke. And honestly, with the short supply on Wii, you could sell it no problem and should get good price for it.

But none of that really matters. The real questions are ones only you can answer:
- Is $500 an appropriate amount to spend on your son for a toy?
- Will he likely get $500 "worth" of use from it? Will he play Halo for a few days and be bored with it? Or will he be playing Halo 3 online every weekend and most evenings for the next year?
- Does he really want an Xbox 360 over the multitude of over things that can be bought for $500? (e.g. guitar lessons)

 

[DaveF]

It's the latest one where President Jack Ryan can't decide who to nominate for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

 

[Mike Frezon]

...or what to get the first lady for Christmas!

 

[drobbins]

Well if I look at the $500 and the time he will play it the $ per fun ratio is acceptable. He will play it until the controller is worn out. But that is also another issue. I had to take his internet access away (World of Warcraft) until his grades came up. I am sure he will play this non-stop for months.
We had given him guitar lessons before and he did well. He lost interest because the teacher focused only on notes and timing. After 6 months he got board because he still couldn't play a single song. This is why he decided to try and learn on his own. I need to find another teacher that can balance the technical learning with the fun aspect.
By the time I get the system, the game, an extra controller and the headset, I think it came to just under $500. Let me know if there are any deals out there.

But $500 for a game? If it were a computer or stereo I probably wouldn't think twice about it, but for a game eeech!

 

[Holadem]

Um... you got your face on the cover of Fortune magazine. Whatchoofrettin'about? $500 should be like pocket change for ya.

--
H

 

[drobbins]

Being as nobody else joined in the fun with that post, I was thinking about stealing some pics from the member picture thread here and making some other covers. I think you would look good on Sports Illustrated?

 

[DaveF]

If your son lies to you and tells you he splits the same time playing Halo 3 between 20 different games, would that make it worthwhile?

What'd you pay for the guitar? $500? For a meager 6 strings? Sheesh!

It sounds like you don't have any qualms with the Xbox 360 as a gift, per se. You just think your son should play more than one game, so you feel like you got your money's worth. If that's the case, it seems you should buy it and never ask him what exactly he plays on it.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Bingo! If he can't play Stairway to Heaven after six months...!!!

Shouldn't be too hard (I wouldn't think) to find a guitar teacher who would know how to keep a teenage boy interested. Where's Mr. Holland when you need him?!