What kind of parent would you be if you bought the Wii, PS3, and XBox 360 for your child for Christmas?

Answer 1

I considered doing the same, but thought better of it. Parents would be sending a message, loud and clear, that life's focus should be more on frivolity (games) than on more serious matters such as education. If it's a separated/divorced dad thing, consider a day out fishing or a trip to the races together, you'd both gain more from it. If this is one of the parental ploys to "keep the kids busy" so they require little or no interaction... I'm sorry for the children. In the end, it's really the parent's call, but if if the parent does decide to go all-out and give a child all three systems for Christmas, I fully expect to see another question in the near future from the same parent "Why doesn't my child listen to me, do well in school, or function in society?"

Answer 2

Coming from a hardcore gamer, my opinion is that you would be foolish, gullible, impractical, and most likely desperate to gain the favor of your child by buying all 3 consoles for Christmas. Here's why:

Foolish: You can't just buy the 3 core systems and expect that to be it. The total cost of games and peripherals over the lifespan of each system will eventually dwarf the cost of the console alone, so you're spending more money than the initial sticker price would lead you to believe - not to mention that the markup you're likely to pay if you *have* to have both by Christmas is utterly outrageous. Also, don't forget that the PS3 almost requires an HDTV to appreciate fully, so tack on another $2000 to get that set up if you don't already have one.

Gullible: Regardless of what any kid might say about how cool it would be to have all 3 systems, one of them will eventually become the favorite and at least one of the other two will suddenly turn into a very expensive doorstop. You should either make your kid the coolest one on the block by buying them "only" a Playstation 3 (and hope that Sony doesn't drop the ball), or go slightly more overboard and snatch up both a 360 (which is already a well-established platform) *and* a Wii (which might end up being the coolest of all) for roughly the same overall cost. You still face the prospect of buying games and peripherals for 2 systems, but you may end up spending less in the long run. Plus, if they don't like the combo route, you can return both and get a PS3 and maybe even get back a little change. (but probably not)

Impractical: Having a setup that is configured to make a single game system accessible is plenty difficulty already. TV, DVD, TiVo/cable box, etc. - pretty crowded, right? Get one (or two, at most) and make sure it matches up with what your kids already have. If they already have a DS, buy them a Wii; or, get a PS3 if they already have a PSP. They're going to want whichever one they don't already have when games are announced with "enhanced" modes that require both systems to play, and that means an extra $150 somewhere down the road if they don't already have one.

Desperate: Seriously. As I mentioned above, no child of any age is really going to be able to fully appreciate 3 different game systems, especially when they already have a PSP or DS, iPod, cell phone, PC, robot dog, etc. If you're worried about image, the PS3 is the sexiest thing out there and every kid would probably be stoked to get one. The 360 doesn't really hold much cache now, but it's a fine box. And the Wii... well, unless your child is a big Nintendo fan, it's probably going to get you the least amount of excitement. Then again, of all the systems you could get, at least you might be able to play a game on the Wii with your child sometime.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on the matter. I think if you really step back and think about it, it just doesn't make any sense to try to get all 3 systems at once. Pick one, stand behind it, and let the chips fall where they may. Or maybe give them a $400 gift card to Best Buy and let them decide. If they want a PS3 bad enough, they'll find a way to scrape up the extra $200. But please, whatever you do, *don't* pay the holiday/shortage rate for a new game system. It's debatable that the PS3 is worth the retail value, but paying twice or even three times as much for one is simply ridiculous.

Answer 3

A rich parent. And lucky because the Wii and PS3 will be hard to obtain and you may even half to pay more for the PS3 and Wii if you cannot find in stores. Or the parents would half to wait in line hours or days before the store opens like the many people that just did for the PS3 so either way the parents would need to be rich or very outgoing.

Answer 4

When i was a child my parents purchased everything i wanted, just like your self. As a child i felt it was great, my parent had the cash and spent it. As i got older and the thing i asked for started to get very expensive, they slowly stopped buying, and the value of a dollar hit me hard. When i say hard i mean "hitting a brick wall at 100 mph" hard. As a former spoiled child, I feel that you should buy one system and get some really good game to go with it. Dont ever do it. when you child gets older the the prices go up $3000 turns to $60000. Once you start make sure that you can keep up. I know the value of a dollar, but my parents are still making up for lost time. go to www.myspace.com/seqorey and see what you might be doing in 10 years.

Love and time are better that money.

Answer 5

thank you, Bandolero, for not sounding like an ignoramous.
video games are just like any other activity, and getting your kids all 3 would be a very wonderful and generous feat indeed. though, the Wii would probably be the best bet if you wanted to have a better chance of actually enjoying the games with your child. unless, of course, you enjoy the stuff the PS3 and the 360 have to offer, in which case, go for all 3 if you really can afford them without losing everything you own

Answer 6

Well, how old is your child? I kind of disagree with most of the answers above. I don't think giving expensive gifts to your child makes you a bad parent. It depends on child's personality and maturity. I got really expensive gifts from my parents when I was child. I don't consider myself spoiled. Infact those gifts made me realize that my parents can buy those gifts because they work hard, intelligently and also because they are well educated. Sometimes I got conditional gifts rather than on occasion. For example one condition was if I top the class, I would get a trip to Europe. I also had most of the game systems like Sega Mega Drive and Super Nintendo and when I was young. So depends a lot on way you gift your child. Don't let the child feel that he is lucky and that is why he is getting the gifts and not everybody gets it. Make sure you explain him that in return of gifts you want him to improve in some quality.

I also disagree that game consoles are bad. Everybody needs entertainment. Let's put it this way what do you gain out of seeing 4 hours of football on TV? I personally don't think most of the people learn anything from watching that. Even I know many people who watch football but never play it. Football is their entertainment. So can be the video games.

Answer 7

The kind of parent that loves my child and is willing to spend time with him doing what he like because he spends time with me doing the things that I like. Since I am an older parent I made sure to be involved with everything that my child does, and you know what - it's paid off in the long run! My child is 15 and he's a straight A magnet school student that according to his principal is a shoe-in for a full Millennium Scholarship!!! He's involved with the honor society, both math and science clubs at school and the Trio Center at our local university taking classes to prepare for college along with helping tutor elementary students and volunteers to help out at our City Safekey sites!! We have every system that has ever come out except for NES, Super NES and Sega Genesis and he maybe spoiled according to you but the school that he's attending is AOIT - Academy of Information Technology and he wants to design games for the upcoming next generation systems! He plans on attending MIT in 2009 after graduation and after completion of college he wants to procure a job working for one of the game developer companies. Oh yeah he also has game designing software on his computer which he is using to develop his own game. As you can see not everything is like some of you have stated in your replies to this question, every situation cannot be the same! Stop trying to stereo type/pigeon hole people that you do not know...and maybe ask, "Wow how did you manage that feat since the supply didn't meet the demand?”

Answer 8

When Christmas rolls around everything seems to suddenly turn into buying your child's affection to make up for your poor parenting skills and lack of being there for them. I myself have plenty of stuff, but that doesn't mean I love my parents. 3/4 of my belongings came about because my parents wanted to hide the abuse and neglect.

And then you come on here, a very public thing, and announce such a thing. All that is is bragging about your money and trying to outdo the Jones. Any way you look at it, you're doing the wrong thing by buying all that stuff for your kid.

Spoiling is called that for a reason, yanno.

Answer 9

Rich parents who spoil their children and buy them anything they want. Honestly, that is a lot of presents for Christmas. However, I do have friends who have parents like that. Parents who buy them whatever they want. They usually just end up being spoiled brats who whine and complain A LOT when they don't get their way. They also act really rudely at times towards others, which definately pisses me off. But hey, it's the parents decision and money so if they wanna spoil their kids then let them.

Answer 10

Getting all three game consoles would make you a great American parent, training your child to be a great capitalist. Buy them all the games they want. Make them work to pay it back and then they can invest the rest. Your garage or playroom could become a community pit-stop for your child to begin her/his first business! As for schools and education--socialist public schools, unfortunately can't teach such an economic capitalist lesson--they are strapped for dollars! That's why many kids drop out and sell drugs--kids like capitalist opportunities just like adults! Giving them the right start is better than allowing them to be pulled into other worlds.