help please,,thinking about a console for kids xmas, but dont know which one ,any help would be appreciated,

oh god.

what do they like? what have they had? what do their mates have? what will it be used for?

Run for the hills. Run for your lives...

The wii looks great for family type games and for younger children.
The PS3 has hi def and vidzone (free music vid player)
The xbox has more games than the PS3.
Each has its strengths and weaknesses. :)

Yo listen up here's a story
About a little guy that lives in a blue world
And all day and all night and everything he sees
Is just blue like him inside and outside
Blue his house with a blue little window
And a blue corvette
And everything is blue for him and hisself
And everybody around
Cos he ain't got nobody to listen to

I'm blue da ba dee da ba die...

I have a blue house with a blue window.
Blue is the colour of all that I wear.
Blue are the streets and all the trees are too.
I have a girlfriend and she is so blue.
Blue are the people here that walk around,
Blue like my corvette, it's standing outside.
Blue are the words I say and what I think.
Blue are the feelings that live inside me.

I'm blue da ba dee da ba die...

I have a blue house with a blue window.
Blue is the colour of all that I wear.
Blue are the streets and all the trees are too.
I have a girlfriend and she is so blue.
Blue are the people here that walk around,
Blue like my corvette, it's standing outside.
Blue are the words I say and what I think.
Blue are the feelings that live inside me.

I'm blue da ba dee da ba die...

Inside and outside blue his house
With the blue little window and a blue corvette
And everything is blue for him and hisself
And everybody around cause he aint got
Nobody to listen to

I'm blue da ba dee da ba die...

I'm blue (if I was green I would die)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H25lz7gchaw

If your kids are under 10, get a Wii.
If the kids are older get a PS3 or 360, both are excellent. If they want to play online with their friends find out what console their friends have and get that one although bear in mind you have to pay a subscription for onling gaming on 360, PS3 online gaming is free (although not as good).

"PS3 online gaming is free (although not as good)."

A good and sensible idea would be for someone to start a topic on this so people could responsibly discuss, like adults, the merits of each system. Any takers? :)

The biggest thing to take into account of buying for the kids at Xmas will probably be what their mates have or are getting.

EDIT: Assuming their mates have / desire consoles. A lot of my friends with kids aged 8 - 15 (showing my age?) have their kids glued to consoles on an evening - mainly 360's I would add as they can use the chat function. My guess is this allows them to watch TV in peace in another room.

The xbox360 cost's about 35 pound a year for online gaming and the PS3 is free for online gaming, online is a thing you need today to take a game to it's full potential.

The price for the 360 ranges from 180 - 280 pound. Don't get a xbox360 core package its just not worth it, I would suggest you got an xbox360 elite package if you chose to buy the xbox360 assuming you have a HD TV of course as that is essential for today's graphics.

The price for the PS3 ranges from 200 - 300 pound. The new slim line PS3 is slightly more advanced than the 40 GB and the 60 GB PS3 consoles and I would recommend the slim line.

Although the xbox360 is slightly lower in price like I have stated above it costs around 35 pound a year for online gaming and it only has HD up scaling and not full 1080p HD.

The PS3 may cost a little more but it has slightly better graphics than the xbox360, the online gaming is free, and it is full 1080p HD compatible.

Overall I think the PS3 has the edge, I do have both consoles and I much prefer and would recommend the PS3, The ps3 would get a good reaction at Christmas however this is my opinion, don't get me wrong xbox360 is a grate console but it is older and I don't think it would be the best console now.

"and it is full 1080p HD compatible"

So is the 360. Why do people keep assuming it's not? In fact, all games on the 360 can be upscaled to 1080p, but the same is not true of the PS3 so the 360 actually has an advantage there. There are very few native 1080p games on either console and all of the big AAA titles tend to be 720p or less anyway.

WHY DON'T YOU ASK THEM WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE? BUY THEM STUFF THAT ENCOURAGES THEM TO GET OUTSIDE MORE. but if you have to, buy them a ps3, no more kids on xbox live please. thank you and goodnight.

How old are the kids? I wouldn't recommend a PS3 or 360 if they're like 7 or 8 years old.

Younger kids = PS2 or Wii
Older kids = PS3 or 360 (unless they've dropped hints that they want a Wii)

I think the 360 is a better gaming console than the PS3 overall, but if you've got 2 kids and they're both likely to want to play online, that's 2 Live Gold subscriptions you'll have to buy, so the PS3 might be the better option in that case.

unless they share a live account but could cause arguments and bickering

A PS2 lol, yes if you want a disappointed child, if you do why not get a Nintendo 64 ha-ha.

PS3 allows for up to five free online accounts, also 1080p up scaling is not the same as full 1080p HD as anyone with an IQ higher than EVIL GRIFFIN knows.

Peter, what are you trying to say? I'm guessing you're another n00b that doesn't know WTF he's on about.

Both consoles have support for full native 1080p games but there aren't many of those on either platform. Both consoles can upscale games and DVDs to 1080p, but only the Xbox 360 can upscale every disc based game to 1080p. The game has to support it on the PS3 and not all of them do. Both consoles can play or stream full 1080p videos.

So what was your original quote of "it is full 1080p HD compatible" regarding the PS3 referring to exactly? Both consoles are full 1080p compatible. In terms of upscaling games to 1080p, the 360 is better though.

Ask them what games they want, and work out what console can play them? lol

You forgot about PS3's blu-ray...

Ok sorry for being harsh but you clearly haven't got a PS3, PS3 also up scales 720p games and DVD's to 1080p providing you have a full 1080p HD TV, also all games don't go lower than 720p again providing you have a full 1080p HD TV.

Thanks for reminding me K. B PS3 do have blu-ray players built in also.

You need all facts before you criticize. I'm starting to think your a Jealous 360 fan.

WHERES THE OP GONE!!!!!!!!

QUICK COME BACK SO WE CAN DEFUSE THE SITUATION!!!!!!! *Cries*

Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god.

"Ok sorry for being harsh but you clearly haven't got a PS3, PS3 also up scales 720p games and DVD's to 1080p providing you have a full 1080p HD TV, also all games don't go lower than 720p again providing you have a full 1080p HD TV."

Do you have trouble reading? I said that the PS3 upscales DVDs and games to 1080p, but it can't upscale EVERY game to 1080p like the 360 can. This is a fact. The PS3's scaler only does horizontal scaling, therefore if the game does not have a native resolution that's capable of being scaled to 1080p using only horizontal scaling, that mode simply is not supported. Your TV may be capable of scaling the game to 1080p, but the PS3 is not.

Here's one recent example - the supported modes for Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising: -

360 - 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
PS3 - 480p, 720p

As for "all games don't go lower than 720p", here's a few examples that are lower than 720p (natively) on the PS3: -

Alone in the Dark = 1120 x 630
Bionic Commando = 1120 x 640
Call of Duty 4 = 1024 x 600
Call of Duty: World at War = 1024 x 600
Grand Theft Auto IV = 1152 x 640
Guitar Hero World Tour = 1040 x 585
Prototype = 1120 x 640
Wanted = 1120 x 640

So as usual with over-confident n00bs, it's YOU that needs to be in possession of the facts before commenting.

wrong again PS3 upscales ALL YES ALL GAME'S TO 1080p!! like i said.

Nope, it doesn't. You are flat out wrong about that I'm afraid, just like you were wrong about the PS3 being the only "1080p HD capable console" and you were wrong about "all games don't go lower than 720p".

you my friend talk S**T! you truely dont have a clue do you.

Stop trying to be smart, it's failing badly

No need to get angry just because you were wrong multiple times. Learn from the experience and move on. ;)