My nerd senses were tingling! I sensed a disturbance in the force, and it lead me to this thread!
Long story short, my husband and I have never purchased a video game system for our kids and have never in our lives used them ourselves. Kids play some things that are available online on the computer, that is it.
Now we are looking for something to keep 2 teen sons and 7 year old daughter entertained this summer and if possible, doing something fun together (at least the boys.) I am picturing the kind of games you use a hand held controller for and play on the TV and can play with someone else if there are two (or three?) controllers.
Yessssss...... congratulations on the first step of your journey to the
dark nerd side. I will be happy to guide your journey, young apprentice.
Our TV is only a little over a year old and we have wifi so can get internet on the TV. So I think the TV would be ok to use as the monitor? Is that possible? And then what else do we need? A console?
Correct; your TV should work fine for any modern console as long as it has HDMI in (which, if it's only a year or two old, it almost certainly does).
What am I looking for? Xbox? Play station? Is this even right?
The current-gen major consoles are the Play Station 4, the X Box One X, and the Switch. Of those, I'd definitely go with the Switch for you guys. Several reasons for this, but the biggest is that the Switch is much more heavily designed around the idea of multiple people playing together in the same room, whereas the PS4 is more geared towards playing with people remotely over the internet.
Note that there are two versions of the switch: the regular one and the Switch Lite. You want the regular one; this has the advantage of being able to easily connect to a TV, and the controllers are more flexible (it effectively comes with two controllers).
Can you get them used and is that advisable?
Yes, though in the case of a switch I'd probably look for a refurbished one (ie, one that's been used, but examined and cleaned and tested to be in full working order, and often comes with a warranty).
How do I know which one to get?
Here's a rough breakdown:
X Box One X:
Most of its games are aimed at teens and adults. Designed for remote multiplayer. Most of the best games -- as far as I know -- are also available on other platforms. That said, it has a very comfy controller, and there probably are games that are kid-friendly and beginner-friendly; I just don't know what they are.
PS4:
Games for all ages, but most of the big titles are aimed at teens and adults with a decent amount of gaming experience, though there are certainly some games that are fine for kids and for less-experienced gamers. Also intended for remote multiplayer -- I don't off the top of my head know of any PS4 games that allow for local multiplayer. That said, it has some truly phenomenal single-player games.
Switch:
Designed to be played together with friends and family in the same room. Most of the flagship titles are kid-friendly and newbie-friendly, while still having enough depth to stay entertaining to more experienced players. The classic switch (not the switch lite) can be connected to a TV, or used as a handheld system.
For a family of non-gamers looking to get into gaming together during isolation, I would definitely recommend the Switch first.
Back in ye olden days of gaming, games were sold as physical discs or cartridges. And while those still exist, they often aren't necessary these days; modern consoles have hard drives, and you can buy games and then download them to the console -- this is what "disc free" means.
Please help and remember I know nothing. Thanks!
Everybody's gotta start somewhere!
Anyway, my advice would be to get a Nintendo Switch. Let me know if you'd like recommendations for specific games as well!