Nintendo 2ds or 3ds for six year old?

[xaeniac]

Chime in on which you think is more suitable for a six year old child and why. Thanks!

 

[mmntech]

Nintendo doesn't recommend the 3DS for kids under 6, as the 3D effect has been linked to eye issues in young children.

If you don't care about the 3D effects, the 2DS is definitely the cheapest way to go. Which is always a plus with kids. It costs $100 alone or $130 with Mario Kart 7 as the pack-in game. The tablet form factor is a bit chunkier though. Still rugged but the screen's aren't protected when the system's not in use. Not that it matters at that price though.

The 3DS XL is quite a bit more expensive at $200. It's not too bad if you can still find the Mario & Luigi: Dream Team bundle. With that you get the 3D effects and a slightly bigger screen.

While I do prefer the clamshell, I think the 2DS is the one to get for kids.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

A box of crayons and a large appliance box. Cost is negligible, fun level high, replay value through the roof, multi-player ready, no batteries or power supply needed.

 

[xaeniac]

Nintendo doesn't recommend the 3DS for kids under 6, as the 3D effect has been linked to eye issues in young children.

If you don't care about the 3D effects, the 2DS is definitely the cheapest way to go. Which is always a plus with kids. It costs $100 alone or $130 with Mario Kart 7 as the pack-in game. The tablet form factor is a bit chunkier though. Still rugged but the screen's aren't protected when the system's not in use. Not that it matters at that price though.

The 3DS XL is quite a bit more expensive at $200. It's not too bad if you can still find the Mario & Luigi: Dream Team bundle. With that you get the 3D effects and a slightly bigger screen.

While I do prefer the clamshell, I think the 2DS is the one to get for kids.

Oh I see.... 2ds it is. Thanks.

 

[HeXen]

Android gaming tablet like any of JXD's...provides more free gaming options, saves the parents money on carts, has tons of free games and emulators equals less likely to get bored.

 

[xaeniac]

Android gaming tablet like any of JXD's...provides more free gaming options, saves the parents money on carts, has tons of free games and emulators equals less likely to get bored.

Looks quite interesting, however sometimes ease of user experience and me not having to fiddle with the device is worth the money of the cart. Maybe in the future as the child gets older.

 

[tential]

Looks quite interesting, however sometimes ease of user experience and me not having to fiddle with the device is worth the money of the cart. Maybe in the future as the child gets older.

Too often I see kids playing freemium games on Android tablets (Watch South Park Freemium Episode for explanation). It just seems to have a horrendous effect on kids, been watching it first hand with my cousin the difference between him playing Android freemium games vs playing Mario Kart and other mario games on the Wii U. At least with those games there is some kind of thinking/problem solving going on.

I don't recommend the Android tablet just because there are so many bad games for kids mental development on it.

 

[blackdogdeek]

Nintendo doesn't recommend the 3DS for kids under 6, as the 3D effect has been linked to eye issues in young children.

If you don't care about the 3D effects, the 2DS is definitely the cheapest way to go. Which is always a plus with kids. It costs $100 alone or $130 with Mario Kart 7 as the pack-in game. The tablet form factor is a bit chunkier though. Still rugged but the screen's aren't protected when the system's not in use. Not that it matters at that price though.

The 3DS XL is quite a bit more expensive at $200. It's not too bad if you can still find the Mario & Luigi: Dream Team bundle. With that you get the 3D effects and a slightly bigger screen.

While I do prefer the clamshell, I think the 2DS is the one to get for kids.

Can't the 3D effect be turned off on the 3DS? I know; what's the point then? I find the form factor is better on the 3DS.

 

[Lil Frier]

It can be turned off, but if he's concerned about the health issues mentioned, then he might be worried that his kid will turn on the 3D (intentionally or not). The 2DS would avoid that issue.

 

[nurturedhate]

Parental controls on the 3DS means the child cannot turn on the 3D. If cost isn't the concern I would go with the 3DS. Design is superior in my opinion. The clamshell keeps the screen safe when not in use which has been a huge plus with my 7yr old. I would also suggest picking up this,http://www.gamestop.com/nintendo-3d...a1p6gzsNEIit7qe-RjxxL7GMoe1H7UQ-fcRoCXzzw_wcB to help protect the outside from drops.

 

[mmntech]

A box of crayons and a large appliance box. Cost is negligible, fun level high, replay value through the roof, multi-player ready, no batteries or power supply needed.

Yep. Kids that age really should be engaged in imaginative play, preferably outside. If you do get them a game system, smart thing is to limit their screen time.

Can't the 3D effect be turned off on the 3DS? I know; what's the point then? I find the form factor is better on the 3DS.

Yep. There's a slider on the side that lets you adjust the depth or turn it right off.
I figured he'd prefer the cheaper alternative for his kid.

 

[blackdogdeek]

I figured he'd prefer the cheaper alternative for his kid.

Agreed, it's significant savings. However, I just wanted to point out that the 3D was optional in case he had other criteria like the form factor, etc.

Here's a comparison of the two devices (they are basically the same):

http://www.nintendo.com/3ds/features/compare

 

[Fulle]

A few thoughts on this:

- A "new 3DS" model is releasing sometime in 2015, with some hardware upgrades. If you're not in a hurry to buy a 3DS, waiting might be a decent idea.

- 3D doesn't do any permanent damage to children's eyes. Its just that they get eye strain easier than adults do.

- If 3D was to be a used feature, it would be worth waiting for the New 3DS. It has a front camera that helps adjust for the 3D's sweet spot, so that it's less troublesome to actually turn the 3D on. In my experience the sweet spot on the 3DS is sort of small. Online reviewers with Australian and Japanese New 3DS units, have said that the 3D is much more enjoyable to use on the "New 3DS".

- One of the most common repairs needed on a 3DS or 3DS XL, is the screen hinge. For a kid, the 2DS design is actually more durable, so long as you install a screen protector. On the clamshell design 3DSes (3ds and 3ds XL), you'll need a screen protector anyway, since the two screens can rub under some pressure when a 3DS is closed.

- If you plan to "borrow" the 3DS from time to time, the 3DS XL is the way to go. The 2DS and regular 3DS, are too small and will cramp your hands.

 

[dguy6789]

A 6 year old would be much more likely to break a 3DS due to the hinge. I vote for 2DS for that reason alone.

 

[tential]

Yep. Kids that age really should be engaged in imaginative play, preferably outside. If you do get them a game system, smart thing is to limit their screen time.



Yep. There's a slider on the side that lets you adjust the depth or turn it right off.
I figured he'd prefer the cheaper alternative for his kid.

Can't agree more with the first part. Most times parents put their kids in front of a screen to keep their kids quiet. Works in the short term, but long term hurts the kid. Spend some time with your kid or have other kids come over/send your kids for play dates more often.

Screen time should really be very limited.

 

[HeXen]

Too often I see kids playing freemium games on Android tablets (Watch South Park Freemium Episode for explanation). It just seems to have a horrendous effect on kids, been watching it first hand with my cousin the difference between him playing Android freemium games vs playing Mario Kart and other mario games on the Wii U. At least with those games there is some kind of thinking/problem solving going on.

I don't recommend the Android tablet just because there are so many bad games for kids mental development on it.

Well technically you could just setup an Snes or GBA emulator and some kid friendly games. Requires practically no setup other than the obvious of moving said games to the right folder. All the games on 2DS are just updated versions of what was on older consoles.

My 5 yr old step granddaughter has one, I put a few kid oriented titles like the Sesame Street series, the older Mario karts...etc.

 

[xaeniac]

Screen timevery limited. Our favepast time is bike riding, soccer and the Frisbee. There are days that are rained in or kid wants to game. We all had a game sysat one time, but agree that it should be limited. I'm choosing the 2 ds

 

[Zodiark1593]

Well technically you could just setup an Snes or GBA emulator and some kid friendly games. Requires practically no setup other than the obvious of moving said games to the right folder. All the games on 2DS are just updated versions of what was on older consoles.

My 5 yr old step granddaughter has one, I put a few kid oriented titles like the Sesame Street series, the older Mario karts...etc.

+1 on the gba emulator. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is a fun game and requires some thought. PS1 and N64 emulators should work as well.. If you go the tablet route though, for God sake, don't get your kid hooked on those satanspawn freemium games. Turned my 12 year old sister into a monster.

 

[Ichinisan]

Nintendo doesn't recommend the 3DS for kids under 6, as the 3D effect has been linked to eye issues in young children.

I don't think that was ever confirmed. It was just an abundance of caution that the Virtual Boy had minimum age recommendations and built in time limits (all the games I played allowed you to easily disable this).

Combined with the awful/uncomfortable design, it drove hysteria where people actually believe it caused headaches. I personally believe it was just textbook mass hysteria. Most people that claim to "remember" excruciating headaches are actually just remembering how awkward / uncomfortable it was to play. If anything caused headaches, it was the hunched way you'd have to play affecting circulation to your head (neck bent backward at a sharp angle because you'd never find a surface with the right height).

Since VB became so notorious long after its death, Nintendo still has to be overly cautious with 3DS...which will feed back into a never-ending loop of hysteria.

 

[CZroe]

It had nothing to do with "linking to issues." It's simply an overly-cautious recommendation based on the fact that 1 in 10 people never develop stereo vision in the first place and they want to make sure they are never blamed for that by introducing inaccurate 3D before stereo vision has fully developed. When they chose 7yo as the minimum age for the VB, they chose an age that was at least twice the age that was known as the point of no return for developing stereo vision. Every man-made stereo 3D image can be implicated just the same. Many 3D TVs have similar age recommendations. I bet 3D ViewMaster even has it printed somewhere.