Introducing my dad to video games
As of late, I've decided to introduce my dad to video games. It's his birthday upcoming in a few days, and I'm leaning towards getting an Xbox of some kind. I haven't been in the world of vidya for quite some time, so I'm hoping to lean on other opinions to make the right decision.
The main question I have is: if I'm buying used, is it worth it to try and find a Series S/X or would I be fine at entry level with an Xbox One? I figure I'll get GamePass and figure out what sorts of games he'd like to play before investing. I only really have $200 to spend, which puts a Series more or less out of the question. Would an Xbox One be a decent introduction to gaming for someone who doesn't have much of a standard for graphics / gameplay etc.? Also: what games should I add to the library?
If your dad is a fan of westerns get him Red Dead Redemption 2.
I think he's getting fairly savvy these days. Mid 60s is his age demographic and he can manage stuff like netflix without trouble. I'm hoping to introduce him to video games as an art form, so immersive stuff like RDR2 is more what I'm aiming for.
Great point on taking the technical skill level into account. Feeling overwhelmed can immediately put someone off before they’re able to give it a proper chance.
You’ve got to be really careful going down this route though. Even if the games are legitimately well made (a crapshoot with this category), there may not be enough value-add on top of the real thing to convince someone it’s worth investing time into.
Sounds like OP’s dad will be able to handle Real Games (tm), maybe with a bit if guidance, which is great. For a less savvy person, I’d go with an iPad where I pre-install a curated set of games from different genres and help/encourage them get started. Opt for mechanically simple with impressive presentation (visuals, story, whatever).
Different thoughts:
With that in mind, I've looked at the catalog of the Xbox game pass and noticed some of the more interesting ones, in more-or-less alphabetical order:
I think this is a good introductory list for someone looking to explore a variety of genres, but I'm not sure that a first-time gamer would be able to navigate all of these different mechanics; if you've played games for decades, you will take even the simplest things for granted (e.g., moving and aiming with separate joysticks).
So I would massively simplify this list for a first-time gamer, and then later suggest branching out to more demanding genres (e.g., twitchy platformers like Celeste or overstuffed JRPGs like Yakuza 7). Some suggestions from my end (which overlap with some of yours), again all taken from Xbox Game Pass:
I actually suggest a PlayStation 4 or 5.
Xbox has a serious lack of games. I just would hate for you to say, "Ah man, my dad would love that game but it's a PlayStation exclusive."
I actually can't think of a single reason to buy an Xbox over a PlayStation right now. I guess game pass, but Sony has their own version now.
Plus, if you go for PS5, the PlayStation controller will be more immersive and probably blow his mind.
Game Pass is much much better than PS+ and is more competitively priced - the difference is so big they aren't even really comparable imo. That said, if OP's dad is a more casual gamer he might not play enough to get his money's worth out of it vs just buying the odd game here or there.
Game Pass is the reason to buy an Xbox. For a regular player, it's a much better value.
Just personal opinion but I wouldn't buy a system for this. It's a gimmick, it's fun at first and will make him go "cool!", but it gets old fast.
The two places I would say the PS5 excels over Xbox are a) first party exclusives, which are increasingly expensive and frankly not as impressive as they used to be but that's just my opinion, and b) the Japanese game library (though the PS5 is itself not as good as the Switch in this regard). I doubt OP's dad will care about that though.
I don't think the PS5 is worth the money, because it's not just a pricy console but Sony nickels and dimes you hard after that. You can get a year of Game Pass with tons of new releases for $199 regular price here in Canada... or you can pay $100 for a single new PS5 game on release day.
I would recommend a used PS4 if OP can find one for a decent price. There's a lot of PS4 exclusives that can be found very very cheap and of course plenty of other titles including many still launching for last gen systems.
If they are dead set on a current gen system... it's harder to recommend either honestly. Do you want value and is dad gonna play regularly? Get Xbox + Game Pass. Do you want the hottest latest most hype thing and price is not a factor? Get a PS5.
If the Switch/Nintendo appeals to dad I'd buy that over a PS5, although now there is a new Nintendo system coming soon.
I wound up buying an XBOX ONE and I think I would have been happier with a PS4 but that's because I am into Japanese games. (e.g. in "what are you playing now?" my answer was Disgaea and it will probably be Persona 5 or a Nep game or an Atelier or a Tales game next... I spent my $5 credit at Gamestop on Plants vs Zombies: GW2 this weekend but my favorite XBOX application right now is Moonlight which I use to stream games from the "gaming PC" that I built.)) At the time I was motivated by reports that Plex worked better on the XBOX but I had a pretty bad time with it on the XBOX and eventually gave up and switched to Jellyfin (where the XBOX is still likely to have codec problems)
That's unfortunate, I use Plex pretty much everyday on my Xbox Series X and it works like a charm.
Xbox definitely is lacking for Japanese games which is unfortunate - a number of more niche releases skip Xbox and just do Switch, then probably PC, then PS4/5. On the flipside, Microsoft clearly sees some kind of audience bc they have locked down a bunch of stuff for Game Pass -- including Atlus stuff like Persona 3/4/5, 3 Reload on day 1, Metaphor Re Fantazio on day 1, Soul Hackers 2 on day 1. But they can't push stuff if it doesn't make it to the console in the first place, mostly bc many Japanese games sell best in Japan and Xbox is almost nonexistent there and probably always will be.
Having said all that -- if I'm going to actually BUY those Japanese games I'd rather do it on Switch which is why I have one. Especially for long JRPGs I'd rather be able to play them in handheld when I like. Of course there's remote play and XCloud but that's not quite the same.
Yeah, I used to play a lot of those JRPGs on the PS Vita. It was a blast to wake up on Saturday morning and play in bed or play on the bus or when out on the go. I went two Vitas and replaced the joysticks multiple times, you know you’re a fanatic when you think the best thing about your portable console is that it is field repairable.
The thing is that it was very hard to program the PS3 and it could have been the end of the PS3 if Sony hadn’t developed a very good cross-platform framework based on Microsoft technology (.NET) to develop games for it which could also be ported to the Vita, XBOX, PC, mobile, etc. So even before the Switch became a target some of the JRPG makers were releasing games to Steam.
Microsoft does manage to get some games like that for the XBOX but not that many. Between the use of those frameworks plus the fact that post the PS4 and XBOX One are basically the same, porting isn’t that expensive.
does jellyfin have a native app for xbox? that would be awesome if it did.
It does now. It seems to be basically the web application repackaged as an app but the codec problems I was having before are greatly diminished, whenever i have trouble playing a file now i find the file is corrupted.
ah, that's fair. Part of the reason I was leaning towards Xbox was because I wanted to play Halo co-op but idk if he's even interested in that series. I'll have to consider the PS4.
Why not get a switch instead? There are a lot of games that are more newbie friendly, and you can play party games with him in person, too. Plus the controllers aren’t as intimidating. I got my dad to play Hades on it, and even though he got quite annoyed about how much he died, the story kept him engaged.
The PS4 is the worst console I've owned. The UI is a slow clunky mess, the store is so slow to load pages it's barely functional, game installations and downloads take forever (and for some reason it needs even more time to clean up after a download), and the controller has motion control and touch screen gimmicks that detracts from immersion in games.
Admittedly, I've never used an Xbox One, but I have a hard time imagining it's worse than the PS4. Introduce your dad to Halo (on low difficulty). I'm sure he'd love to go on a co-op adventure with you.
OP doesn’t have the budget for a PS5, and immersion isn’t really a requirement. Game Pass has a lot of games that are far better options for beginners, and the Xbox One isn’t too expensive second hand. I don’t think the exclusives are that important.
If it were me, the important thing would be that I'd be spending time with him, instead of each of us doing something separately, apart from each other. So, it may be enough for you to gather a bunch of local co-op games, and just bring your own console to his house, and have fun for a few hours, including snacks, dinner, beers, or whatever. Then, do it another time, and another time, and then maybe he'll start getting interested in having a system of his own, to play with you online, or play solo games, or even play online with strangers.
As one wise Internet blogger once wrote (paraphrasing): Once we move out of the house, we're actually entering into the final phase of our lives with our parents, the last 10% of days that we spend time with them. Let's cherish the time we spend with them.
I don't have experience with Xbox consoles, but a general tip is to keep in mind his tastes and personality. For instance, I saw you mentioned Halo and Fallout (which does exist on PS4 for the record), but does he like the sci-fi genre? What genres of movies does he like in the first place? Do you think he'd want an intense game, or something he could do to unwind?
On that note, it might be good to start with co-op games so you guys can play together and help figure out what he likes. Even if it turns out he doesn't like the game, at least you got to spend time together.
If it was me I'd get a PS3 or 360 as most if not all of the games are dirt cheap, updates for them are still available, and he can play all the best games of that era. Or at least a bunch of the great ones to start off with and it'll fit nicely within your budget. The graphics are outdated but he's not going to know or care and can enjoy countless hours of gaming fun on the cheap.
I'm still collecting the cream of the crop for both consoles and I can find them easily online and even locally at pawn shops and Goodwill etc.
I used to game with a controller and thoroughly enjoyed it. I no longer can, due to reflexes and dexterity.
Don't forget to also share games that can be played with a mouse. Strategy games like Civilization. Point and Click story games that are highly rated. Building games. Light hearted funny games. This can be a longer term goal if you are only purchasing a console right now, but make it part of your plan.
As for which games on console, is your dad familiar with role playing games? If not comfortable with dungeons and dragons, then a lot of role playing games might not appeal. I agree Red Dead Redemption is probably a good choice. Fallout might be another one. (I haven't double checked which goes with which console) or Mass Effect 2 and 3.
It seems that some games are available on PS Now, but I'm not sure how long that will last. Anyways, for something that's going to be an introduction I think the PS4 and a couple good games will do. Fallout would be great but it doesn't seem to exist on Playstation. Mass Effect would... probably be great? idk, never played it
I thought Mass Effect was an excellent game. There was some dissatisfaction with the way the story ended in 3.
If you have access to any retro consoles (or modern consoles / emulation hardware that run those games), those might be a good entry point for someone new to gaming. I'm thinking classic 16 bit era games like Super Mario World, Zelda: Link to the Past or Street Fighter II which:
Are accessible and easy to learn and progress in (avoid the 'Nintendo Hard' games from the 8 bit era and before)
Still hold up as fun today.
My own dad (in his 60s now) has no interest in current gen gaming but has shown interest in playing the games from my childhood (all of which I left in my parent's garage when I moved out).
I don't have either current Xbox or PlayStation, but whenever I've been browsing I've seen that a used Series S sells for £100 here in the UK. Are they more expensive used in the USA?
I would get a series S, it has an SSD for faster loading and better hardware.if you are getting physical games I would get a series x for the Blu-ray drive. Get a year of game pass as well as there is so much to play on there including main titles the same day they come out like starfield.
I have an Xbox One X (the last upgrade) and I think its still fine. You're not going to be able to play the newest AAA games but whatever.
One alternative to consider is maybe a low end gaming computer or a graphics card for his current computer. If he doesn't have a computer and you have to get a monitor and stuff then maybe the Xbox is a better choice.
The Xbox Series S has its disadvantages:
Despite them, I would suggest the Series S for its usability over an Xbox One. The Series S is ridiculously tiny and slots in anywhere. It runs dead quiet. The power supply is built in so you don't have an ugly brick sticking out the back. The SSD makes a significant difference in load times - seconds compared to the Xbox One's minutes. Since it's a newer console, it'll also be supported for longer.
Renewed/refurbished Series S have gone for as low as $200 at places like Amazon and Monoprice.