Portable gaming/Santa question

[devilgate]

A quick question for anyone who may know: what's the best of the handheld game systems for an eight- — nearly nine- — year old boy?

For values of "best" that include robustness, flexibility and the ability to stop playing it when you're told.

I realise the last requirement may not have been implemented on any platform yet.

Oh, and preferably in a sub-stratospheric price bracket, too.

Comments

[mr-snips.livejournal.com]

Gameboy Advance?

The Nintendo DS is newer (more powerful / more exciting / blah blah blah), but somewhat more expensive and possibly harder to get hold of.

[devilgate.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Those are the sort of directions we're looking in, certainly. Is Nintendo considered better (in whatever sense) than Sony, generally? Or is the PSP a whole different kind of beast? From the prices Frances saw, the PSP is a lot more expensive?

[mr-snips.livejournal.com]

The PSP is much more for grown ups than the GBA or the DS, i.e. it's twice as expensive and has games like GTA: Liberty City Stories, while the GBA tends more towards Charlie and the Chocolate Factory territory.

[devilgate.livejournal.com]

Thanks. That's the impression Frances has been getting in the shops, too, and also what I infer from Paul B's comments on the B50 list (are you on that, BTW?)

[mr-snips.livejournal.com]

are you on that, BTW?

Yes - though curiously I only seem to be getting half the messages at the moment:-) (I imagaine more will trickle through eventually...)

[asajeffrey.livejournal.com]

Seconded. GBA still appears to rule the pre-teen market. The PSP you buy for yourself.

[devilgate.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Though I'm not really moved by computer games any more. But if I could have a vintage Asteroids machine... ;-)

[mr-snips.livejournal.com]

The solution is clear - buy a GBA (or a DS, which I think is supposed to play GBA games as well), and then get this :-)