Which game system for a kid?

How old? If you are referring to your daughter i would probably suggest a Nintendo Wii. Not the newest most powerful system but full of non-violent games that are suitable for younger kids but with the ability for strategy games that will challenge most adults. Its also relatively "active" for a game counsel. Some of the available games are even exercise programs like yoga etc.

The newest version of the Xbox will be released soon and will be the most advanced counsel available does not really have the best game selection for younger kids and is targeted more towards the 14-25 yr old crowd with high end graphics and detailed war/racing and simulation games.

Quote from Wishihadgills

i would probably suggest a Nintendo Wii. Not the newest most powerful system but full of non-violent games that are suitable for younger kids

X2 for the Wii.
Wishihadgills nailed it. My son has enjoyed it for about 3 or4 years and IMO it has the most age suitable games in comparison to other systems.

I only looked into it with my son when it came out and at the time he didn't seem interested. To me it seemed to complicated and they didn't' have a whole lot of a game selection as most new consoles do when they roll out but that might have changed. In addition, my understanding is the the Wii U can play Wii games as long of you have the Wii controllers.

I want to say this was last year right before x-mass or maybe it was the year before (time flies). It also seems that most of his school friends have the other consoles from conversions we've had but he is close to the high end of the age range of what your looking for.

If you think you'll be tempted to play it at all, get a ps3

Also itll play dvds and blurays

Dan. When you say "latest and best" do you mean of right now? Or the one that is about to land before this Christmas season (November)? It would perhaps be unwise to purchase a XBOX360 or PS3 right now because come November the new fancy ones will come out (At a hefty price tag) and the old ones will drop in price. Were basically on the tail tail end of an 8 year gaming console cycle. As soon as the new ones come out most developers will switch all their efforts to the new platforms leaving mostly the games that already exist available for that system. Meaning every new game that comes out wont be available.

IMHO The new XBOX ONE will be the best choice if you are really talking latest. Unlike the PS4 it will have a larger selection of age appropriate games. And with the KINECT many of those games end up being full on physical activity (Dancing, sports, etc). I own a WII and find thrashing that damn controller around quickly becomes a gimmick, even for many kids. I much prefer the versatility in types of physical games that are available using the KINECT sensor. Dancing and sports where it can sense all the moments of all your limbs etc. The only possible issue with the xbox one would maybe be the controller size. Its probably the largest of all consoles.

I somewhat disagree with Xan on how many age appropriate games will be available for the xbox one. I def agree its not mainly targeted at kids like the WiiU or Wii. But its very family oriented and split pretty evenly. Between the nextgen consoles its most kid oriented I think (over the ps4). And when kids come over they always want to play xbox not the wii. If the games they have for the 360 are any indication there will be tons of age appropriate stuff in the future for one. Here are some games they already announced in the direction you are talking (learning, creativity, and physical activity):

Just Dance 2014, Fantasia, Minecraft: Xbox One Edition (she would love this, infinite virtual legos) , Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare, Project: Spark, Kinect Sports Rivals, Lego Marvel Superheros.Not to mention adult centric but still kid appropriate games like sports/racing.

Thats more really cool games then you would probably be willing to buy for a while at 60 bucks a pop. Although in a few years you can get used games for nearly nothing (There are also rental services like netflix that let you mail game rentals)

The Wii U is a good kids gaming system but IMHO rather then promote physical activity it promotes "never stop" mentality that kids can sometimes get when they obsess over playing video games. It also really lacks the kind of power and technology the new systems will have and use to make really interesting beautiful games. The Wii is even further behind in that arena but less confusing.

I have a wii sitting in my drawer if you want to borrow it indefinitely.

Even though i haven't played in a while , i would say for a young kid Wii would be best as they have more games tailored to younger kids , although he/she would probably find XBOX or Play station cooler because they have more adult games . personal opinion though .