Please note: this thread is not intended to initiate (1) a round of Microsoft bashing, or (2) an impassioned discussion about how horrible it is that Santa would consider ruining the little boy's life with a video game console.

Thanks again.

The X, for sure.

Honestly, for an 8 year old (and I'm gonna bet I'll be bucking the trend here), I'd say go with the Gamecube, just because there's likely to be more games targeted at the slightly younger gamer. I make no claims about the technical superiority of either system, but the Gamecube is going to run $199 versus $299 for the XBox, and the titles for both are going to be rather thin until after Christmas anyway.

I'd have to agree with general_re. Kids love the Mario, Pokemon, and Zelda. That's a one-system boat right there. With most of the XBox games, you can either get them on other consoles, or get them on your PC. There's nothing special about it, really.

He'll shoot his eye out.

Some specs for the systems...

A good friend (and self-proclaimed tech/game geek just got back from Comdex, and looked at many aspects of the XBox there, where it was showcased. He said it was very disappointed (and not because it is from MS). It is just not a great console. If you've got a little one, Nintendo is always for "kid friendly" in its game selection. Hope this helps.

I'm in the game industry, and have been lusting after an XBox ever since I was first briefed on the system two years ago. And I despise Nintendo's games, their business practices and the fact that their machine doesn't play DVDs.

Having said all that, however, if I had an 8-year-old, I'd buy him a GameCube. The games for that platform are unquestionably skewed younger than those for either PS2 or XBox. I think GameCube will have fewer titles overall (thanks to those business practices I mentioned), but it will have such a higher percentage of kid-friendly titles that it's the clear winner for the under-12 set.

To be perfectly honest, if you don't have a Playstation 2, it's the best choice of the 3.

Right now, there are only two really good games for Gamecube and two really good games for X-Box, and there are about 20 REALLY good games for PS2.

Ask again in 6 months or a year and the answer might change, but for now, PS2 is unquestionably the best way to maximize your holiday fun.

As you can see, XBOX kicks butt in processing speed, memory, etc... Plus it can be used as a DVD player (as can Playstation 2, but Game Cube is not DVD able).

Plus, the Playstation2 can play all of the Playstation 1 games out there, so you have the entire library of PS1 games to choose from as well, and there's lots of kids games for PS1 (and you can find them cheap at used game stores, garage sales, etc.) PS2 is the way to go.

Was just reading some info on "/.". A poster brought up a good point, if you are going to play console games on anything voer 32", you may want to consider the Xbox. It can handle the resolutions better than the cube and PS2. Just my 2 bits...

Honestly, for an 8 year old (and I'm gonna bet I'll be bucking the trend here), I'd say go with the Gamecube, just because there's likely to be more games targeted at the slightly younger gamer.

I also agree. The demo units I saw side-to-side show better graphics for x-box. They may be difficult to find although I snagged one today. You can use the x-box to play DVD's. You can go to xbox.com to see trailers for the games and decide if appropriate for an 8-yr old.

Yeah, the X-Box will play DVD's, but it's my understanding that you have to buy a $30-40 add-on to get it to do so. The PS2 will play them out of the box.

Also, remember, when it comes to the selection of games available, with either system, the first wave of games is ususally not a very good barometer of what will be avaialble down the road, as far as selection or quality.

I appreciate all the comments. I have been debating and researching for a while. It seems XBox has a bit more horsepower, and may be geared for an older group. And it has the DVD player (though not a really great one, apparently - no progressive scan).

Nintendo is cheaper, if not as robust. Seems to be geared for the kids. The Nintendo name seems (so far) to carry a little more weight with the younger crowd. Kids like the proprietary Nintendo games.

I suppose my biggest concern is: I don't want to have to buy another system in a year or two because I picked the "loser" system that isn't being supported with good games down the road.

I think I was leaning XBox at first because of the better hardware. I'm probably leaning GameCube now because of the apparent "Kid-Friendly" factor.

As you can see, XBOX kicks butt in processing speed, memory, etc...

Yes, but Nintendo has something Microsoft will never have - Shigeru Miyamoto.

If you want to play Tomb Raider, I think you have to have Sony Play Station 2.

Think PS2 has this market wraped up. The other two are just fighting for the leftovers.