My 9 year old is practically begging for a gameboy...he also said "I'd like an mp3 player", because he's 9 I'm leaning more towards the gameboy advance but I really don't know much about them...his friends at school have them and he has played theirs before and loves them.

Any advice either good or bad in regards to them?

By Paulas on Sunday, December 4, 2005 - 12:47 am:

My kids have the older gameboy advance. I got mine on ebay. My kids play theirs about 3x per month so I'm glad I didn't rush out and buy the new kind.

The only thing...the games are very expensive.

By Cocoabutter on Sunday, December 4, 2005 - 02:26 am:

My son has the GameBoy Advance SP. It's been out about 3 years, I think. It's only $79 new. Games for it are fairly expensive new, like $30, but we go to Blockbuster and Gamestop a lot. They're cheaper if you buy them used, but the price depends on the title of the game. Most of the games my son has are used. The best thing about the one he has is that it will play games from the other GameBoys, the original Advance and the Color. Those games are older and much cheaper, since the only ones you will find are used.

My cousin, who is 17, just gave my son his old GameBoy color. He is so excited! He got all his old games, too.

Gameboy Advance SP

Then again, if your son is like mine, he won't be satisfied with the GameBoy, he'll want the Nintendo DS, which is Nintendo's newest handheld game. A lot of his friends will probably get them for Christmas. They're a lot more expensive.

Nintendo DS

I should also add that Nintendo games are very kid-friendly. There are a lot of games geared toward kids that are non-violent. My son's favorites are Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon. They are all adorable characters that you won't find for any other video game system b/c Nintendo won't release the license to other video game system formats.

By Kaye on Sunday, December 4, 2005 - 09:32 am:

My boys love theirs, my daughter uses it on occasion. My kids all have sp's, the middle child has a DS and the other two are begging for a ds for Christmas. We use them for car trips mostly, our family all is a pretty big trek for us.

By Debbie on Sunday, December 4, 2005 - 09:49 am:

My ds has a Gameboy Advance. He doesn't play it all the time, but enough that it was definitely worth it. It is great for long car rides, trips to the doctor(waiting room), etc. He also plays with it sometimes at home. We also go to Gamestop and get used games. They are a lot cheaper and we have never had a problem with any of them.

By Luvn29 on Sunday, December 4, 2005 - 10:23 am:

My kids (6 and 9) both have Gameboy Advances and LOVE them! They play them a lot in the car. And they are good on days where they just aren't feeling up to a lot of physical activity. And as someone said, these are great for waiting rooms!

Not all of the games are expensive. They range in price new at Wal-mart from 14.99 to about 29.99. Sometimes you can get great sales on them. Also, they have some double packs of games such as scooby doo and power rangers where you get two games on one cartridge for 19.99. That's ten dollars a game.

This is also something that the kids save their money for, so they can buy a new game. Seems better than blowing their money on a silly toy that will be played with once or twice.

Again, we like the Nintendo because of the kid-oriented games such as Mario. That is the reason my kids are getting the Gamecube for Christmas instead of some of the newer more expensive systems. They want the mario games and the new sonic the hedgehog package you can get with it.

It definitely wasn't a waste of money for us!

By Dawnk777 on Sunday, December 4, 2005 - 12:00 pm:

Emily loves her Gameboy Advance SP. When we were on vacation last year, we ended up having to get a car-charger thingie for it, because it ran out of juice. It keeps her busy in the car.

She would love a Nintendo DS, though, because then she could play Nintendogs. I swear, there is always something new on the horizon!

By Mommmie on Sunday, December 4, 2005 - 01:42 pm:

I would go for the SP since it's rechargable and the regular Gameboy Advance runs on batteries. Also the battery case cover can get lost and you have to tape the batteries in. You'll be able to buy good games cheap that are older since you are new to the scene. Once you get all the old games then you have an interest in the "new releases" and those are the full price babies.

By Cybermommyx4 on Sunday, December 4, 2005 - 05:30 pm:

My boys have all of the incarnations of handhelds, and I would have to say that the Nintendo DS might be a better investment, if you can spare the extra money (129.82 at Walmart). It recharges like the SP, and can play the older games, too. The Nintendogs game is precious (a little less than $30)! And they can interact with anyone else who also has one (wirelessly)...Also, since the flip-up double-screen folds down on the other, they are less likely to get scratched than older models. (although the SP also folds up for protection). They are wonderful on long car trips or when waiting at doctors offices, etc.

By Missbookworm on Sunday, December 4, 2005 - 07:40 pm:

I'm going to take a look around and see what I can find. My best friend the other day said that a lot of places have sold out. I'm thinking I'll go with the nintendo DS if I can find one as this will be one of his big ticket items that he gets (my oldest is probably getting an mp3 player). I haven't figured out what big ticket thing to get my 6 year old. I think that's a harder one to decide LOL! I have to make a trip to the toy store that's for sure.

Thanks for all the advice! You guys once again came through.

By Mommybug77 on Sunday, December 4, 2005 - 09:41 pm:

I got one for mother's day. It is what I asked for. I have a few games, plus have borrowed some from my sister. Our 6 y/o DD was a DS one & I said no way. I am thinking of a used older one from Gamestop first.

By Insaneusmcwife on Monday, December 5, 2005 - 07:37 am:

I really think it depends on the child. My son has the SP one and plays it every chance he gets. We don't allow it on school days but come the weekend, when we are traveling or at appointments he always has it in hand. I also shop at gamestop/ebay and the like for used inexpensive games. Right now at Walmart they have a bin and some games are 2 for $20. I'm not sure about the newest one they have out, he hasn't shown an interest.

By Andyjoy on Tuesday, December 6, 2005 - 05:10 pm:

I have an SP myself and really enjoy it. Don't forget that old gameboy games can be played on it! You can pick them up for $5-$15 used at pawn shops and game stores.

By Alberobello on Tuesday, December 6, 2005 - 05:36 pm:

I would rather buy him the mp3 player...Since you asked for any advice good or bad I'll give my opinion: I don't like gameboys or playstations! I'm sorry i know many children have them nowadays but I'm just plain against them. I know you have to control them and all the rest but I just think what's the point? they love them so much that it would be such a battle to keep them away from it.

My dh is with me in this and we have decided not to buy a gameboy or playstation ever. He can buy his own when he saves enough, and then he can buy the games which are very expensive too! We are a very modern family, but we just don't buy into all this electronic games stuff.

By Missbookworm on Tuesday, December 6, 2005 - 07:54 pm:

I avoided the electronic gaming systems for ever. Then my ex bought them both a ps1 and a ps2. We only ever use the ps2 and they only play games that are two player, not one player (or they take turns sharing the one player games). I'm not big on the electronic games either. The thing I love about nintendo is the games are so much more young child oriented.

I've already laid out ground rules for IF he has one and that includes not taking it to school. It will be for if he's sick, on a long bus ride (we take public transit everywhere), and the like. NOT on family outings to do fun stuff and not before homework is done etc.

I'm not going to be buying him a lot of games. He gets money from my family for Christmas and he has an allowance so if he wants a lot of games then he can save up to buy his own.

Thank you Andy for the advice on going to pawnshops! What old games? LOL I'm planning on visiting a pawnshop here I heard about on Saturday One mom I know said I can get games there for it rather inexpensively.

I agree with you Alberobello it can be a real battle but I think with some ground rules in place BEFORE you hand one over it can be sidestepped. With that said, ignoring said ground rules involves it being taken away for a time.

By Alberobello on Wednesday, December 7, 2005 - 04:50 am:

You're probably right Catherin but still I refuse to buy one! However, i don't deny those things to my ds: i take him to our local library and he can book a place to play for half an hour, he loves it and i don't have to fight with him because when the time is up, is up. The library is near our house, i don't have to pay anything and he enjoys it that way. I think he's accepted the fact that he won't get one, bless him!