Best family game console 2013

For kids who like to combine craft and tech, littleBits are fab. And we love SAM Labs wireless electronics components for making it easy for kids to make Internet of Things inventions.

Lots of electronics kits for kids have support for the Arduino microprocessor environment. The DuinoKit Jr is one of our favourites. Arduino is a fab skill for older kids and teens to develop.

We've got lots of them and write reviews and projects that use them. Our programmable robots for kids buying guide is a good place to start if you're not sure what's available. Roby the mBot Meccano robot dog is one of our popular projects and has been with us to lots of events.

If children don't develop these skills as they grow up then physical making projects can become frustrating rather than fun. The Maker Community uses the term 'making' as a broad term to include all sorts of artisan skills or craft activities. Being able to make things can lead to life-long hobbies or even careers. It's a great feeling to be able to take a project from an idea in your head to a real object that does something.

We're particularly interested to explore products that combine maker skills with tech skills such as electronics but others focus purely on the physical making skills that are still important to modern making.

Which is the Best Family Games Console for ? Are you thinking of buying a new family games console this year? Which one is the best? There's been a lot of excitement around the next generations of the established games consoles.

And we're also seeing Android based games boxes that connect to the TV and other alternative TV gaming machines. We'll take a look at the various options from the perspective of families with children who want to play games.

Before looking at the consoles it's useful to consider what you want to use your games console for. The next generation consoles also want to act as Smart TVs and offer social gaming and integration with social networks. Some want to integrate with other devices that you have so they can be used as controllers. Parental controls are also worth considering. And importantly, different games are available for different controllers so if there's a specific game or accessory that you really really want then you'll want to check availability.

One of your major decisions is whether you want a full games console that will allow you to play the big console titles, or whether you will be happy with big screen Android gaming. There are interesting options in each category. We've previously discussed why we haven't bought a Wii U yet.

The Nintendo Wii U is a capable new console that has been well received but without a great deal of excitement. Nintendo really focus on the family market and it would be unusual for a big console game for kids not to appear on the Wii U.

The real new feature of the Wii U is its GamePad controller which allows you to use a touch interface for games and also play a Wii U game on a small screen when the TV is in use. This trailer for the LEGO Batman 2 game shows the Wii U GamePad being used to provide special features and to support 2 player gaming with different views for each player.

The Wii U has parental controls that allow parents to restrict social features, payments, blocks games over a given age rating and other features but not time limits as far as I'm aware. The Wii U has a good range of accessories for all the family including the balance board for keeping fit. Summary : The Wii U is an excellent choice for a family games console. The PS4 Pro also has the same problem as the PS4 in that there isn't good backwards compatibility for previous console generations.

There's also no built-in Ultra HD Blu-ray player so if you're looking for a console that will play your physical 4K media, this isn't the one. It will, however, still play standard Blu-rays and DVDs, and can stream in 4K from compatible services. But it is a cheaper gateway to 4K gaming than the PS5. Think you might make the jump to 4K? Available in standard or slim versions, the PS4 is the baseline console offering from Sony, sitting underneath the PS4 Pro and the new PlayStation 5 in terms of power.

Since it launched eight years ago, the PlayStation 4 has been a firm fan favorite, even cementing its place second bestselling home console of all time. Key reads: Make sure you check out our full PlayStation 4 review and our picks of the best PS4 games. These are the best PS4 deals you can get right now. To truly get the most out of the Xbox Series X, we advise picking up an Xbox Game Pass subscription that enables you to access hundreds of games for a monthly fee and definitely helps the Xbox platform stand apart from its competitors.

With mobile streaming available as part of Game Pass Ultimate, the Xbox is finally able to offer a portability that steps on the toes of the Nintendo Switch but only very slightly. It will, however, see you playing older titles on your new console rather than brand-new games, which is a bit anti-climactic for a new console generation even if some games are optimized. However, there are some great new Xbox Series X games in the pipeline that could change that. Buy this if you want: You want minimal loading times and smoother gameplay, a great audiovisual multimedia experience, to keep access your older Xbox games and accessories and more control over your storage.

The Xbox Series S is a next-gen console that takes a radically different approach. It's designed to offer the same generational leaps as the Xbox Series X , such as high frame rates, ray tracing and super-fast load times, at a considerably lower price — and inevitably, this means it comes with a few key compromises.

It has significantly less storage than the Series X, and targets a resolution of p for gaming and upscales to 4K when connected to an ultra HD display. A couple of titles are capable of native 4K, such as Ori and the Will of the Wisps, but this is a machine designed to run games at a lower resolution.

Games on the Xbox Series S are impressive, with smoother frame rates, increased resolutions when compared to Xbox One and Xbox One S and faster load times The Xbox Series S is a great entry point into next-gen gaming, then, without the sizable financial outlay required to own a full-blown next-gen console. As we've alluded to already, there are drawbacks to consider.

If you prefer to purchase games physically, or have amassed a large collection of physical Xbox One games over the years, the Xbox Series S's lack of disc drive may put you off.

The other factor that may deter people from buying Microsoft's more affordable Xbox is the fact that outputs at p for gaming. This lower resolution is a firm favorite in the PC gaming space due to the superior image quality it provides over p, and lower amount of graphical grunt it requires, which has allowed Microsoft to create a lower-spec machine that still boasts next-gen features.

If you own an Xbox One X, the drop to p from native 4K can be noticeable, and the Xbox Series X is the console for you if you're after the outright best image quality possible. Yes, the Series S has fewer teraflops than the Xbox One X four compared to six , but teraflops are no longer the defining factor in how a GPU power is determined. For Xbox One owners looking to upgrade without breaking the bank, the Xbox Series S is a great option, if you can accept what it's been designed to achieve.

Buy this if you want: You're on a budget, but still want to experience next-gen gaming, you plan on mostly getting games from Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold, and you're tired of sitting through long loading screens.

Here's where to buy the Xbox Series S. Looking for an entry-level console but not interested in what PlayStation has to offer or in next-gen? The Xbox One S may not be as powerful as the Xbox Series X, but it does offer access to plenty of new Xbox games, such as Psychonauts 2 and the upcoming Halo infinite, as many new Xbox releases are cross-generational.

At present, Xbox doesn't have a huge amount of exclusives to write home about, but, to make up for this disappointing exclusive lineup, Xbox consoles do have much better backwards compatibility capabilities than PlayStation consoles. If you ever owned an older Xbox console and you still have the games from that, or you really want to catch up on a bunch of excellent titles you missed out on then the Xbox One S is a great way to do this.

Also, thanks to Smart Delivery, if you do decide to upgrade to an Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S at a later date, you can take many of your games with you and play them on your new console.

An area where the Xbox One S completely outstrips its direct counterpart, the PlayStation 4, is overall home entertainment — while both consoles are able to stream from a variety of entertainment apps like Netflix and Amazon, the Xbox One S also has a 4K Blu-ray player built in.

One issue Xbox has compared to PlayStation is exclusive games. Where PlayStation has quite a robust collection of exclusives, Xbox is somewhat lacking. What it does have on its side is Xbox Game Pass, which for a monthly fee gives access to a rotating library of games. We would recommend having a look at the Xbox Series S before picking up an Xbox One S, as this digital-only, cheaper alternative to the Xbox Series X offers the benefits of next-gen gaming with a price tag not far off that of the Xbox One S.

Key reads: Make sure you read our full Xbox One S review as well as our picks of the best Xbox One games to see what you could be playing. Think this is the console for you?

These are the best Xbox One S deals right now. The most recently released console on this list, the Nintendo Switch OLED sees the standard Switch getting a pleasing upgrade - but it won't appeal to everyone. The Nintendo Switch OLED boasts a seven-inch OLED screen, which provides perfect blacks and accurate colors while offering a larger picture than the standard Switch, alongside enhanced speakers which sound fantastic. However, the Nintendo Switch OLED is an inherently flawed product due to the console's original hybrid design: dock the Switch OLED, and the benefits of the sumptuous new 7-inch display, redesigned kickstand, and enhanced speakers vanish.

You'll still have access to Nintendo exclusives but, like with the standard Switch, the console's third-party offering is less substantial than that of the Xbox and PlayStation consoles. Buy this if you want: console that can be played on your home TV and taken on the go, access to Nintendo exclusive games, a screen bigger and better than on the standard Switch.

Key reads: Looking to know more about the console? This Japanese company was launched in with Pamcoms, whose main game console possibly saving the gaming industry was later released as the now legendary Nintendo Entertainment System. Nintendo continues to innovate and finance the home gaming market with unique products such as the Wii Motion Control, but according to digital trends and other reviewers, the new Nintendo Switch is perhaps the most ambitious console design ever.

Nintendo developers love to reinvent the wheel or console for that matter , and the switch will do it right. The 2-in-1 hybrid design allows the switch to connect the docking station to the TV for use as a home game system. Swipe from the dock and enjoy the game with family while on the go. Nintendo Switch also offers a great home-based social gaming experience. This is what modern consoles support and ignore critical online multiplayer. The biggest question mark of Nintendo Switch is about the game, which is the most important part of console selection.

Current switches have a small lineup and it is unclear how the system handles longer games. Wii and Wii U are all compatible with previous generation game discs and are great features not found on switches. The hardware is weaker than that found on another console familiar to Nintendo consoles since GameCube.

This raises questions about the future ability to handle modern Triple A games. Compatibility with previous versions, many buyers who want to enjoy new games have no groundbreaking elements, the switch library is a little lighter, and a completely new console such as PS4 Pro or Xbox One X Not only is it improved, but it is already a new console.

Many third-party developers have also promised to import games into the new Nintendo system. Strengths: With a unique form factor, you can switch from console mode to portable mode, suitable for multiplayer games at home and online, and suitable for kids and best gaming console for families. Cons: The current game library is a bit lacking, the hardware is weak compared to other consoles, and it is unclear how the system handles old media. Adding two Microsoft consoles to the list may seem redundant, but the Xbox One X is also hot, and the Xbox One S is not old but is broken.

Xbox One X offers more impressive hardware, but S is our best anticipation for buyers who want an affordable all-in-one gaming and multimedia system that can play streaming shows and movies through popular services such as Netflix and the latest AAA games. And Hulu. According to Digital Trends, this is a smaller, smaller update for existing systems with upgraded hardware that has the ability to stream 4K video and play Ultra HD Blu-Ray.

The controller is also available in Windows 10 without the need for an upgraded wireless adapter on a new Bluetooth connection. This is a good bonus for PC gamers. PlayStation 4 might have a few advantages when it comes to gaming libraries, but the Xbox One has a strong lineup of Triple A or Indie titles and large exclusive franchises such as Halo and Gears of War. For an excellent all-in-one entertainment system.

Another big point of the Xbox One S is the lower cost than the X and PS4 Pro, and there are many bundles available at various price points, including many special edition consoles for almost all tastes.

Considering rich hardware and multimedia features, S is arguably the best value on a home gaming console. In addition, while Microsoft says that future games developed for hardware that are stronger than X can play on S even though they have low settings , this is a good idea for how well the old system handles new titles or how long Microsoft intends.