Im not much of a gamer (ironically I make games for a living) but I made a bet with my kids that if the Detroit Lions make the playoffs this year I’ll buy them a system, and its looking like almost a lock to happen, so I want to get in on some Holiday deals.
This is their first non-Nintendo system so I’m a little lost on which way to go at this point in the generation cycle. For reference they’re 7 and 9 year old boys and are gonna be new to gaming that isnt based around crafting or Italian brothers. (i made them use my old NES, then SNES first, then got them a Switch a couple years back)
Ask your fuckin kids you freak. Why would reddit know what they want better than them?
Ask what they want / what their friends have.
In my honest experience, I recommend getting them a PC, preferably a desktop (so the rest of the family can use it at home too). A PC will let them develop curiosity and problem solving skills (googling, playing with config files, modding, etc), and allow them to be able to use PC’s and other technical devices without being soft-locked to the current generation’s tech disability with phones and Apps.
With respect to PS and Xbox, and other handheld/portable gaming devices… I’ve lost most of my eyesight to them while playing with my PS 1-3 and Gameboy; couldn’t see past 3 feet/1m by age 10. I wouldn’t want anything like that to happen to other kids.
The biggest distinction would be either Sony’s handful of amazing exclusives or Xbox Game Pass. I saw one of your comments about paying $60 for Pokémon and having it suck. Both of the options above I think would help with that.
Sony’s exclusives are known to be amazing. I can’t speak to how well they will be for your kids due to their age and the content within them but they are highly regarded nevertheless. I don’t own a PS5 so I can’t speak much more on them but I can’t ignore their exclusives.
Game Pass would allow you and your kids to try all sorts of games. All of Microsoft’s first party release (which should continue to grow due to all the acquisitions they have made with Bethesda, Activision-Blizzard, etc) will be on there day and date of the games release. EA Play is also included with it and can play games that EA puts in there as well. Personally I have found a love for the Persona series because of Game Pass because I never had a PlayStation to try them and this lowered the cost of entry for me. And depending on how old your kids are, there are younger kids games in there as well that my 5 year old has enjoyed.
Hope this helps!
Gamepass is worth it alone. Yes it costs money but there’s a lot of games including kids games.