Xbox 360 is hands down the best system available. It does have some games that are too mature for younger people, but it has a lot of kid games too. When you get bored with those there is a huge library of downloadable games on the live marketplace. You can also download video content, game trials, and demos, and all sorts of inexpensive "decorations" to trick out and personalize your dashboard. I love my 360 and I wouldn't trade it for any other game system.

I Def would say the wii gaming system is the best. I personally own a wii gaming system and a wii fit. it's so interactive where the whole family even guest can get invovled and play.everyone loves it that i love. also their games for everyone like kid games family games sport games cooking games fitness games music fighting. you just can't get bored and your being interactive with the game so it's not like your sitting for hours. you can even do yoga on the wii fit.We just love it! WII Systems actully did go down in price. i give 5 stars to the wii

I've played for years on many many game consoles and I'd have to say that the Nintendo 64 is the best family gaming console to date. The newer ones might have newer games and better graphics but even so I'll still go back and play my N64 for hours on end. It had some real quality games and it's a quality system.

By Far it is the PS3. I am a huge XBOX fan also. But when your dealing with the entire family. PS3 offers more. You get a gaming system and a blue ray player. PS3 also offers free online options. XBOX and Wii charge for this service. PS3 has a "Home" online where you and your kids can create virtual selves and "live" in a city with friends. It does have the parental options to safe gaurd your kids. XBOX is great for adult games, but PS3 offers a more diverse gaming choice. plus watching disney or jurasic Park on blu ray is awesome. Wii tends to be more aggrevating with its controllers. Its a great concept but the controllers are way too sensitive and for younger kids can be disheartening. PS3 costs a little more but the quality the gaming options and the online community is well worth the price. I have all three systems and they all three have there pros, PS3 just has less Cons.

For kids and adults the XBOX 360 is the best choice. There are issues we have with our son playing the Wii. First off, the innovative control style is great for promoting exercise, but 99% of the games on the Wii REQUIRE that you move the controllers around. This does get tireing and boring after awhile. The sports games are very hard to control, and there are very few racing games. The XBOX 360 has many titles for family and adults. Also it has the ability to download movies from the internet and watch them on your tv. Also, most games can be downloaded as demos, so you can try them before you buy. This is a great feature. The Family Restriction Options are great also. We use the built in family timer to set how much time the XBOX 360 can be played daily or weekly. Also we can set the rating so only certain games can be played. Our son is 7 and he likes playing the XBOX 360 much more than the Wii. Forget about the PS3. Its way overpriced. Not a family system.

Economically Nintendo is infront with the newest generation of console, and have not sacrificed their family friendly universe of games.

However, 360 and PS3 have the more adult friendly systems if you are willing to play the price. PS3 would give you and your family the enjoyment and quality of Blu Ray DVD entertainment, whilst Xbox360 has the best rendered and widest selection of games for any system on the market.

It is a tough choice to make because all of these 3 systems bring things to the table the other's dont,

Wii = Economical, Kid Friendly and
inovative

PS3 = Sleek, Stylish, Jaw Dropping Blu Ray capability and graphics

X360 = Wide range of innovative gaming, a resonable price.

XBOX 360 is by far the best for all age groups. it offers games of all types (from kids to mature) that people can enjoy. We have had every game system... the Wii was way to childish, the PS3 was too adult like and the XBOX 360 was the perfect medium. It offers great online play along with many arcade games that you can download and now it offers Netflix so you can watch downloaded movies straight from your computer to your TV screen (which is great with a big screen TV!)
The other systems don't compare to the quality and satisfaction that we get from the XBOX 360. The others just sit collecting dust. Both the kids and my husband love the games offered for the XBOX 360.

hello,

It depends on what you want, the Wii is an awesome gaming system for the family but if you are also wanting a good deal, I would suggest maybe the playstation or any other cheaper system. They are all great! :)

I got the wii system for my family: husband and young children and we all love it. The controller buttons are easy to operate for both adults and children, not complicated. I had my elderly mother playing bowling with me. It's the first game system that I have ever used where you work up a sweat playing it. We love the wii

I believe the Wii would be perfect for the family. The fact that it's more than just a video game system since in quite a few games you need to stand up and actually hold your "sword", swing you "bat, or wind a "crank". Children will find the games fascinating because many games require more than just sitting and pressing buttons. With the Wii FIT it can be useful as well as fun. What more can you ask for. Also, the potential for Wii games of the future are practically unlimited. You can still play GameCube games and use the old controllers if needed. I may be a bit jaded because I haven't owned another system besides Nintendo products. My stepdaughter had bought a playstation 2 for her son but says that at 7 years old many of the games are too mature for him. Nintendo does lean to the younger crowd but I believe they will eventually create more titles for adults.

I agree. The Wii is by far the most family-friendly unit on the market. I say this on the standpoint of being a 'hardcore' gamer, and plan to make a career out of Game Design.
The Xbox 360 is geared and was planned to be a late teen or Mature console, pointed at developing and licensing games for mature audiences specifically. The PS3 is the same idea, whereas the hyper advanced graphics engines and sound systems they both support are for people like me that would go to the extent of using their abilities to the fullest. On the other hand, the Wii fails miserably to gamers, but where it fails to people like me it succeeds greatly to the average family, or 'casual' gamers. They don't have highly sophisticated technology packed into their small white box, instead Nintendo decided to make a console the whole family can enjoy. The graphics aren't great, and the sound could use a tune-up, but the use of motion-sensor technology is absolutely fascinating to anyone, and that's the real pride and joy with this console. It's a known fact that Nintendo was shooting for a system that calls for charming, clever ways to use the motion sensors. As well, the Wii has the largest library of all. The games seem trivial to people like me, but the games are fun and enthralling nonetheless. I can spew for days on how family friendly the Wii is, but I suppose I've made my point. Have fun, and Good Hunting!

While the Wii definitely has the younger market cornered, there's not nearly as much good stuff for the older crowd (meaning anyone over 13). If the kids will be the main players and/or you're not planning on buying a whole lot of games, go with the Wii. The best games are also the best for the adults (Mario, Zelda, Smash Bros., Metroid, and the Guitar Hero and Rock Band series).

That being said, the Xbox 360 is the best overall gaming platform with the best, most diverse library. It may be known for Halo and Gears of War, but there is also a strong kid-friendly library including Viva Pinata, Banzo & Kazooie, the EA Sports series, as well as downloadable Live Arcade games. The 360 has effective parental controls to manage kids' playtime, and has access to lots of exclusive things like extra content for games, downloadable movies and TV shows. If you want to take games online, you'll find it has the best community features for making and networking with friends, as well as means of avoiding the "Grandma's Boys" out there. It's also the best platform for the music games. So if you'll be playing this as much as your kids, I say get this.

The only thing the PS3 has going for it is the fact that it's also a Blu-ray player. If you have an HDTV, Blu-ray movies do look way sweeter than standard-def. But the PS3's games library just doesn't stack up to Xbox 360, and it is sorely lacking in kid-friendly games (though it can play the massive catalog of PS2 games, plenty of which are kid-friendly).

Speaking of that, you could always get a PS2. They're dirt-cheap now but have loads of awesome games that may not be as pretty but are still timeless, for both kids and grownups. It can also play the Guitar Hero and Rock Band games.

The wii without a doubt. I have two kids that play ages 10,7 my husband and i also enjoy playing with them. Its great quality time

I say the best game system is the wii. We got the Wii and my 5 year old son just loves it!! Plus he is on the autism spectrum and they say the wii is great for autistic children! We play everyday. My 2 year old tries to play, but doesn't really understand.

I have had both the wii and PS3. I have a 5 year old son. and with that stated i believe the ps3 is the best system out there for both age ranges. The wii is great for kids but its online capabilities are horrible, and not much games to offer for adults. The PS3 has a six axis controller (just like the wii) and a bowling game like the wiis but with much better graphics - plus you can use old ps1 and ps2 games on it - or buy the old games online for around 5$ to play them. the price of a ps3 out of store seems high. but if you bought all the assceroies for an xbox that the ps comes with the xbox would actually cost you more - and i havent even mentioned BLU-RAY

Microsoft's XBOX 360 is probably the best cross generation game system on the market.The Wii is more of an active game system and not to great after 6p.m.The PS3 is just to expensive plus its mostly geared towards 17 year old boys. Now the XBOX 360 has active games like DD revolution, Guitar Hero,Rock Band just like the other system's plus older Sega and Atari games on xbox live, and all the new games like Call of duty 5,Far cry2 and over 400 family games. It just has a lot to offer and its the only system i know of that folks continue to use after the first 30 days.(unlike the Wii)

I too own all the systems. Honestly, the wii will probably be one of the best system to go with in my opinion. I say this because it's friendly for those who have never really played the game system with the traditionally controllers. The games I recommend are:

Mario Party 8
Boom Blox
Cooking Mama
Hasbro Family Game Night 1 and 2
Wii Play (comes with bonus Wii-mote)
Wii Sports Resort
Mario Power Tennis
Carnival Games
Mario Kart Wii

The X-box 360 (in my opinion) doesn't offer many games for the family except maybe DDR and/or Singstar, and the rock band, world tour, dj. hero, band hero (which is better on wii as you can play with the nintendo ds as well.

The PS3 doesn't have many family games again the guitar hero, rock band, world tour, band hero, and singstar i think Hasbro family fun night is available on this system as well.

I hope this helps

I would really suggest rock band - it is fun for the whole family!!

If you have really little ones, do the lego rock band!

For PS3 i would snag Little Big Planet, me and my five year old love that game. Everyone i've ever let play it has fallen in love with it. If you can run to the right and jump, you can play LBP. If you have 4 controllers you can all play at the same time exploring the levels, and then when they go back home, they can play with you online.

On wii, there is nothing better for multiplayer than Mariokart, it has a great weapons system that boosts players with not as much skill and provides the right handicap against that one "racer" in your family.

My whole family loves dinner dash (the youngest is my brother 15) my mom and dad even play it and even two of my neighbors when there chillin' at my house (22 & 20)

For Wii Wii Sports Resort. For PS3 Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2

I REALLY really like all of the Mario party games, and the Shrek games. Not Shrek Wrestling or whatever that one was, but the campaign type one. I had a lot of fun playing that one too....

And finally, Over the Hedge. Pretty much any of the "kids" type games, as long as they're multi-player, are ultra-easy (I can even get through without too much trouble, and I'm a little bit video-game-incompetent, that 2 joystick action(one for head, one for walking) completely alludes me) and SO MUCH fun. Wii Sports is always a good choice as well.

My whole family loves the Lego games like Lego Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and especially Batman (can play levels from hero or villain points of view). All of them are multi-player and require team cooperation. Both adults and kids can play. Overall really fun!!

I agree that Carnival games is one that everyone can enjoy. Grandparents are familiar with the games, and most do not require "lots" of movment. The 3 year old can play it fine so can the 80 year old.

My parents ( age 60+), brothers (ages 30+) and all my kids ( 5-11 years old) play Wii together a lot. We love Wii active and Wii Sports, but our FAVORITE is rock band & rock band Beatles. Everyone knows the songs, or quickly learns them. It is such a great time. I highly recommend them. However, avoid the game Family Feud. It is really awful!

Try Singstar for the PS3. My family has gatherings every few months with ages ranging from 9 to 65. Everyone enjoys the game and anyone can sing with such a wide selection of songs. Also buzz! for PS3 is so much fun with the 8 controlers. Hope this helps

Guitar Hero or Rock Band are great party games but the instruments may be too complicated for your parents not to mention finding space to store them. I'd say try Wii Sports Resort - it's easy to pick up and play and is a lot of fun.

On the XBox our family gets together at least twice a month to play rock band. Even friends of all ages, show up on the designated nights. Everyone takes turns playing on all of the instruments. Even if your parents can not get the hang of playing the instruments, they can sing. The worse the singer the more fun we have and it always ends up with everyone laughing. Great fun!

On the Wii we usually bowl against each other, it's an easy game for everyone, even the smaller kids.

On the PS3, we play DDR often and everyone has a loves it and they get some exercise, it also has some music from almost every era.

If your parents are the age of when gaming systems began, I would suggest a nostalgic game, something along the line of donkey kong or pacman, they should already have the concept of playing this and it's easily purchased on the WII using the console.

Hope you and your parents have a Great Christmas Gaming! This is a good question and a great thought to include everyone this year.

rockband is always a good one. My fav game of all time is call of duty moderate warfare. But for a family game that everyone loves has to be ratchet and clank. I seen 7 yrs old play this game all the way up to 53 yr old. Very addicting

I posted up a long review on another Q/A exchange question, and I am shamelessly copy/pasting it to this one.

I would recommend Rock Band 2, for a few reasons.

First of all, the calibration is better on Rock Band. The calibration screen on GHWT is not exactly intuitive, so if you have an HDTV setup, you will likely not be able to get it synched up properly. The Rock Band 2 calibration screen, on the other hand, is very straight-forward and intuitive.

Secondly, the Rock Band 2 engine is simply better than the GHWT engine. Harmonix was the company that made the GH1 and GH2 games, but then they left Activision to go make Rock Band (since Activision refused to publish it). Activision picked up the GH engine it still owned and tacked on the drum and mic parts, but they are very sloppily tacked on, and the GH engine has suffered from the loss of Harmonix development. If you liked GH1 and GH2, you should buy Rock Band instead of continuing in the Guitar Hero series for that very reason.

Among the various engine improvements RB made over GH was the "overdrive" system (compared to "star power"). I find overdrive easier to keep track of since the notes are white, making them easier to see; compared to GH where the notes go from being circles to being stars...so unless you're looking really hard, it's difficult to tell when you have star power notes coming up. Also, once in "overdrive", the entire fretboard on-screen is lit up in a very dramatic (and very cool-looking) fashion...whereas GH just turns all the notes blue. Another improvement of RB over GH was the use of square notes rather than circles. Since the circular notes have both a leading and trailing edge, tracking exactly when to hit the notes is difficult to do; whereas the square notes of RB make timing note hits easier. These are just a few of the improvements of the RB engine over the GH engine.

Thirdly, if you have both RB2 and RB1 (or rented RB1 once, at least), you can pay a modest fee ($5, I believe) and download all the RB1 songs to your hard drive, making them playable on RB2. The Guitar Hero series boasts no such support.

Fourthly, characters....GH has a limited capacity to create your own band character, whereas RB has nearly limitless customization by comparison.

Fifthly is merchandise. If you have Xbox Live (or PSN as well, but not 100% sure on that), you can log onto your gamertag (or PSN equivalent) on the rockband.com website, view and take pictures of all your bandmates (or your entire band), and you can even make merchandise like T-shirts, hoodies, even little figurines (called "bandmates") of your band characters or the whole band that you can order.

Lastly, as for DLC....Rock Band is coming out with a tool for artists to design their songs themselves, have them peer-reviewed by other artists, then release them onto the DLC market, without requiring Harmonix to make the songs. This means that songs will come out much faster with a lower cost of development and a MUCH wider range of artists. Some of the more indie artists would NEVER get enough requests on rockband.com/request for Harmonix to develop the tracks for Rock Band, but now they can simply design and release the song themselves.

Overall, I think Rock Band 2 is simply a better deal when you consider all factors involved. One other reviewer mentioned difficulty, but I found all expert songs on RB to be more difficult than their GH counterparts. To be quite honest, I found the GH versions boring by comparison. Either way, though, you should definitely not get it for the Wii unless you do not own another system, as the Wii simply does not do either game justice.

I hope this "short" review helps you make up your mind, and whichever game you go with, have fun rocking out!

Lets get one thing straight. Rock Band 2 AND Guitar Hero World Tour both have guitar, base, drums, and mic.BOTH!!!!!! I have both games and I would recommend both of them. Everyone has their prefrences. I am a very advanced player and I will tell you that Guitar Hero has some mean songs.But so does rock band 2. Honestly, if your aiming for difficulty, get Guitar Hero(if u play guitar, otherwise I would get Rock Band if u play drums). If you want pick-up-and-play, get Rock Band 2(especially becuase it has an option to make it so you can't fail, better for little kids). I tell everyone that no matter what you pick, you can't go wrong, both are very fun. Both have a similar selection of songs in genre(classic rock, metal, etc.). If you have the option, I would get both(I would also recommend the full band kit, it allows the entire family to participate).

O.k. My friends and i debate on this almost everyday, it usually comes to the same conclusion, Rock Band. I myself think Rock Band is better. Rock Band uses the original recordings of the songs instead of covering, or for people out there that don't know what this means it means make their version. Rock Band also has more songs and better songs than Guitar Hero games. Not that Guitar Hero is bad. It is just not as great as Rock Band. Rock Band is for groups of people or just solo play. Guitar Hero games you can play against people, but it only involves two people at a time. Its your decision, make the right one. Rock Band.

Rock Band is the way to go. It encompasses all genres of music (including country soon for fans of that genre.) Has over 500 songs available right now, and more coming every week. It is the original band game.

Guitar Hero's drums are very fragile and not nearly as "realistic" as people claim. Rock Band's drums are much better. They have velocity sensitive pads, have expansions for cymbals and are very durable.

As a player of both games I highly recommend Rock Band. In my opinion Rock Band is the much better purchase.

Great question. It really depends on the skill level of the player. Rockband does have "cleaner" graphics which make it much easier to see the notes, and is an easier game to master. Guitar hero by comparison is much more challenging (nothing comes close to the intesity of "Freebird" on expert), and seems to more accuratly reflect accual play. It also depends somewhat on your preferences in rock eras. Rockband seems to be more late 80's to modern, and guitar Hero seems to be more "classic" rock. Both have excellent playlists, and extensive career modes. For longevity of play at easier levels I would recommend Rockband. If your son is an avid gamer he would likley find Guitar Hero more to his liking. Either way be ready to replace your sound system, both are enjoyed best very LOUD!!!!! Any close neibors will be calling...either to join or to comlain:) Happy gaming. LOL

Actually, I would recommend the new Guitar Hero: World Tour. It is a whole band experience, not just guitar, just like Rock Band. However, the new Guitar Hero: World Tour's drum set is more realistic than Rock Band's. Guitar Hero's new drumset has two cymbals, three toms and a bass drum pedal which feels more like a real drumset than Rock Band's version. Guitar Hero's new game is also ALL master tracks, no covers, which is great. If he has a "new generation console" (Wii, PS3, XBOX360) he can also download more songs or full albums online and also create songs on the new guitar hero and share them online with others, where people can download it and share it. It seems much more fun. Check out the Guitar Hero website and click on GUITAR HERO: WORLD TOUR to see all the new game can do. I feel it offers much more than Rock Band and being a musician, I'd say maybe it'll help kids appreciate music better as well.

The latest Guitar Hero World Tour game is available as a whole band experience...including a lead singer. It is one of the hottest games out right now, so I would anticipate difficulty finding it.

Rock Band is best. Guitar Heroes has some good songs but Rockband has more instruments. Plus your child can actually learn a skill with the new drums on Rockband II because It's been updated to represent a real drum kit. And If your son is going to play with friends he's definitely going to want Rock band. You might find you'll be interested to steal a play now and again. It's quite fun!

depending on the number of people who will be playing it with him...guitar hero I think is more fun as a solo game (though it is also fun with a group of people) but Rockband is such a fun family game! You can play Rockband alone and it is quite fun but I personally think guitar hero was geared for more solitary play.

I also had a hard time deciding it but we bought Rock Band (1 in Wii) mainly because of the drum set. And I was glad we got Rock Band because my son is 7 years old and he is having a bit hard time playing guitar since his hands are small. I don't know how old is your son but if he is small like my son this could be a consideration.

I would say rock band is the best. People buy rock band over guitar hero because: 1) rock band has more songs, plus more songs to down load. 2) it good for most ages, some younger kids have trouble playing the guitar, but they can always sing. 3) i have worked at a game place for a while and more kids enjoy rock band. I myself own both, I do own rock band two, but i never play it. i use the guitar hero guitar for rock band. Oh and i would buy the whole set, not just a few pieces its fun for family and friends that way

According to my 8 year old son who has only played at a friends house -- "rock band is soooo much better". You can play more instruments, it's easier than guitar hero and according to him, it's more "appropriate" for younger kids...

I've played Guitar Hero 1 and 2 extensively, and I am a fan. It was fun in the beginning to play against my friends in 2-player mode, but I think I really honed my skills through the career mode. I started out playing easy mode, and now I am able to get through most of the game on expert. Freebird on Guitar Hero 1 still kills me on expert.
I've also tried Rock Band, and though I agree that the drum component is nice to have, I am a guitarist at heart so the drums and karaoke don't really appeal to me. Plus, I hear the new Guitar Hero is coming out with drums as well.
Much better rock song selection on Guitar Hero than Rock Band.

I am a pretty decent guitar player and it helps when you know how to feel the beat and know when to strum the instrument. Other than that I can barely play on hard mode and I've seen 10 year olds playing on expert so I would say that it really doesn't matter if you can play or not. However playing the game will not teach you how to play a guitar better either. Hope that helps.

I am on Expert right now and when I started I had not even totched a guitar so much as played one. I've see my aunts and uncles fail miserably on easy though so its something you need to get used to. Also I'd like to correct some faulty information. Thatonekid guitar hero 3 only has the guitar. guitar hero 3 is the one that came out 2 years ago. The one that every one is buying for christmas is Guitar Hero World Tour. That has the guitar the drums and the microphone. Rock Band 2 has the same insturments. But I recomend Rock Band 2 because the insturments are more reliable. You don't want to go through the hassle of getting a new drumset because your guitar hero one didn't work. Also Rock Band has over 500 songs and if you have Xbox Live you can download more songs to play because Rock Band puts out new songs every week like clockwork. I hope you can make an informed dicision based on this answer. Remember, you child might not get the one he wanted but they will love it anyway.

No prior instrumental expierience is required or even helpful(unless u play drums or sing, both of which will give you an advantage, but not an advantage that cant be overcome by other people in the long run). If you plan on playing guitar, Guitar Hero's guitar is amazing and is the best hands down. If you plan on playing drums, its a bit of a decision. Many of the Guitar Hero drum sets are not sensitive enough and do not work properly. Although, Red Octane will send you a free usb-to-midi converter and free adjusting software if u file a warrenty claim that fixes the problem 99.9% of the time. The Rock Band drum set works with Guitar Hero, but I am not sure about the reverse. I have both and would definently recommend both, so if u got the dough, get 'em both. I also use my Guitar Hero guitar for both Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero, and i strongly recommend getting that guitar whether you get either game.But seriously, get them both.

Absolutely not, you could have never even seen a guitar or drums to play rock band. Having experience may help you perform better when playing but is not required. I have never ever picked up real drum sticks and i jam the drums on hard on rock band. Rock band defiantly has better instruments, Guitar hero only has guitar rock band features guitar, singing/microphone,and of course the drums. ROCK BAND WILL OWN GUITAR HERO IN THE LONG RUN

#1. RockBand and Guitar Hero Instruments are not compatable on the Wii.
#2. Guitar Hero Drum Kit is a lot better than RockBand.
#3. If you buy Guitar Hero World Tour and want the drums you must buy the BAND KIT. Drums cannot be purchased separately as of yet

You do not need to know how to play as both systems dont really have any likeness except for the drum sets.

The drum set for guitar hero is more realistic. however i have seen returns on a fwe of the guitar hero sets because people SLAM on the symbols to hard...

in all honesty the guitar hero set is better with more options all together. being able to create your own music if you want to and to down load more choices.

well i would say that all together rockband would be a better you, the reason why is because i my self think that the rock band set is more durable than the guitar hero set.if you like playing the guitar i would suggest getting guitar hero because there controllers are better.as for the drums if you are a begginer rock band is better than guitar hero because it has 4 drums to hit.the guitar hero set has 5.my over all judgement is that rock band is better than guitar hero. :]

As you can see in some the answers posted, you don't need to know how to play an instrument. It's actually pretty easy to learn. The other day my 6 year old daughter and her grandfather were "rocking out" to a song. One good thing about these games is that the movements actually mimic the motions of playing an instrument, which totally sets your child (or adult) up for learning to play later. Have fun! Rock on!

You do not need to know how to play an instrument. There are tutorial modes to help you learn how to play.

I DO NOT recommend Guitar Hero's drums. They break easily or just stop registering drum hits. Rock Band's drum set is much better and will work with Guitar Hero.

Both the games have very good song sets, and no matter the song, curse words are always edited out. Guitar Hero does not have the "Evil" stuff that some people have described(those may have been earier games). Honestly, both games are about the same in musical quality. From what I can tell, you want a family friendly enviroment of songs. I will tell you now, both games will have have songs that you will not like.But those are few in number. If you like classic rock, both are very plentiful, but I would have to give the edge to Guitar Hero. Both games have artists like Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac, Bon Jovi,The Allman Brothers Band, etc. Guitar Hero also has Jimi Hendrix(actually 2 songs), Bob Seger, and the eagles to name a few. but Rock Band has songs by Jethro Tull and Journey. Really, u should look at the sets yourself and decide for youself.
Guitar Hero-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_in_Guitar_Hero_4
Rock Band 2-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_in_Rock_Band_2
I have both games and there is no way you could go wrong.

For your first question. the Rock Band Side of this genre of games has more and better songs than Guitar Hero. As for the second question, Guitar Hero and Rock Band's songs are about equal for family-appropriatcy.

ok, for starters, guitar hero isn't for little kids. its rated T... for TEENS. So is rockband. Neither is appropriate for little kids. But if you ARE buying for a TEEN, guitar hero is the best. hands down.

My 10 year old got Rock Band for her birthday, and my hubby got GH Aerosmith for his birthday. Rock Band has been fun for the whole family and so has GH. I have my qualms about some of the songs on them both. I wish they'd come out with songs for younger kids on both formats.

Personally I think that Rock Band has better songs. And the hardware, such as guitar and drums, are much better for Rock Band. Guitar Heroes hardware has been experiencing many problems. And one thing that my dad loves about Rock Band is its wide variety of music from the 60's, 70's, and 80's.

Hope this helps you!

Rock Band has over 500 songs, and adding new ones every week.

Guitar Hero, although still good just can't compete with those numbers.

My 5 year old got a Nintendo DS lite for his 4th birthday and loves it!! It is great since he can play it at home, car, restarant or anywhere kids have to wait. We even have movies from the Gameboy that work in the Nitendo DS (little spongebob) and he loves watching them. Good luck!!

My 4 yr old got the Leapster 2 for his birthday. Let me tell you ...he LOVES the Jedi Math game. It is unbelievable how much he has learned too! The other day I was talking to my 6 yr old nephew about subtraction and before the 6 year old could answer the questions, my 4 year old son answered. I back Leapster 2 by Leapfrog 100%!

I have a 4 year old daughter who loves the Nintendo DS. We are military and travel ALOT so this has been a life saver! Her favorite game is Crayola Fun Factory which is coloring pages and some puzzles. We take the DS to restaurants, doctors offices, anywhere we know we are going to wait. The best part is that it is portable and the games are getting cheaper - Nintendogs is another fun one! Plus, I got games for me like Crosswords! :)

We have the PS3 and we LOVE the game Little Big Planet.

I argee the wii system is best i also have a 3 year old and a 4 year old and they love playing it. their favorite is monster trucks

I would recommend you call Nintendo at 1-800-255-3700.

BOOBOOTHEBEAR has a good suggestion - try a friend's cord if possible. However, you don't have to buy a new cord since your system is still within the 12 month guarantee period. Call Nintendo and request one. Nintendo will have you go through various steps to verify that you have a bad cord and they will send you a replacement. Likely it will be a refurbished one but it will work.

I didnt expirence a bad cord but i know that if you have a weak extension cord it will not power up. but on a hevy duty or plug it in the wall it works great no problems

Ours does the same thing. I have to wiggle or prop the cord in a certain position to ensure it will connect and power system. I wish Nintendo had a recall on it. At least yours is still under warranty.

I would recommend Rock Band 2, for a few reasons.

First of all, the calibration is better on Rock Band. The calibration screen on GHWT is not exactly intuitive, so if you have an HDTV setup, you will likely not be able to get it synched up properly. The Rock Band 2 calibration screen, on the other hand, is very straight-forward and intuitive.

Secondly, the Rock Band 2 engine is simply better than the GHWT engine. Harmonix was the company that made the GH1 and GH2 games, but then they left Activision to go make Rock Band (since Activision refused to publish it). Activision picked up the GH engine it still owned and tacked on the drum and mic parts, but they are very sloppily tacked on, and the GH engine has suffered from the loss of Harmonix development. If you liked GH1 and GH2, you should buy Rock Band instead of continuing in the Guitar Hero series for that very reason.

Among the various engine improvements RB made over GH was the "overdrive" system (compared to "star power"). I find overdrive easier to keep track of since the notes are white, making them easier to see; compared to GH where the notes go from being circles to being stars...so unless you're looking really hard, it's difficult to tell when you have star power notes coming up. Also, once in "overdrive", the entire fretboard on-screen is lit up in a very dramatic (and very cool-looking) fashion...whereas GH just turns all the notes blue. Another improvement of RB over GH was the use of square notes rather than circles. Since the circular notes have both a leading and trailing edge, tracking exactly when to hit the notes is difficult to do; whereas the square notes of RB make timing note hits easier. These are just a few of the improvements of the RB engine over the GH engine.

Thirdly, if you have both RB2 and RB1 (or rented RB1 once, at least), you can pay a modest fee ($5, I believe) and download all the RB1 songs to your hard drive, making them playable on RB2. The Guitar Hero series boasts no such support.

Fourthly, characters....GH has a limited capacity to create your own band character, whereas RB has nearly limitless customization by comparison.

Fifthly is merchandise. If you have Xbox Live (or PSN as well, but not 100% sure on that), you can log onto your gamertag (or PSN equivalent) on the rockband.com website, view and take pictures of all your bandmates (or your entire band), and you can even make merchandise like T-shirts, hoodies, even little figurines (called "bandmates") of your band characters or the whole band that you can order.

Lastly, as for DLC....Rock Band is coming out with a tool for artists to design their songs themselves, have them peer-reviewed by other artists, then release them onto the DLC market, without requiring Harmonix to make the songs. This means that songs will come out much faster with a lower cost of development and a MUCH wider range of artists. Some of the more indie artists would NEVER get enough requests on rockband.com/request for Harmonix to develop the tracks for Rock Band, but now they can simply design and release the song themselves.

Overall, I think Rock Band 2 is simply a better deal when you consider all factors involved. One other reviewer mentioned difficulty, but I found all expert songs on RB to be more difficult than their GH counterparts. To be quite honest, I found the GH versions boring by comparison. Either way, though, you should definitely not get it for the Wii unless you do not own another system, as the Wii simply does not do either game justice.

I hope this "short" review helps you make up your mind, and whichever game you go with, have fun rocking out!

GH world tour HANDS DOWN!! I have both GH world tour and RB 2, and i realy wish i would have never paid $201.29(after tax) for that horrible RB2,However thats because RB2 holds no challenge to GH world tour.If you have a hard time with GH world tour Then RB2 is for you.Expert on RB2 is like a cross between medium and hard on GH world tour,Game play is glitchy for RB2 on the 360 Elite not sure for the regular XBOX 360(or Wii).The drums are more fun on world tour and so is the guitar,however singing is easier on RB2 thats only 1 + for RB2 out of 4 (don't forget bass) RB 2 has more songs but they are not as good (that depends on age and music taste) Take a look on the store shelves,around here they are full of RB2 kits and folks who want GH world tour have to wait ITS on Backorder

Rock Band 2 easily. Because it has so many songs and such a deep campain that you could spend 50 hours on it and still not be done. Needless to say they are both great games so I recommend (If you have the money) Getting the Rock Band instruments and also getting Guitar Hero World Tour but without the insturments because im pretty sure they are compatible.

Both. Seriously. They are both great and have their weaknesses and strong points. If you are more of a guitar/base guy, i would recommend Guitar Hero. If you are more of a drum/mic guy, get Rock Band 2. If you like your classic rock, I feel guitar hero has you a little more covered than Rock band. Metal? Rock Band 2. Rock Band 2 also has a more established DLC base(DownLoadable Content)(not sure if they have the songs that were previously offered on the wii, or just newer ones, but thay have DLC for the wii). But Guitar Hero is just as active in DLC as Rock Band now. If you plan on playing online a lot, i have found rock band 2 to be more enjoyable.Obviously, there are lots of factors, but no matter what you get, they will both be very fun and you can't go wrong.
P.S. or u can get both =)

i work at the wal mart in rantoul illinois and when we did have the guitar hero drumset set up for display, the two "cymbols" broke like they were nothing. i have the rock band 2 drumset at my house and it is still up and kickin and believe me, me and my buds put it to the test.

Both sets are approx. the same quality, but Guitar Hero has just started including drums and, therefore, some sets are not sensitive enough. Red Octane is fixing the problem by sending a free usb-midi converter and free adjusting software if you file a warrenty claim. Of course, this is not always great to get a present and having to wait for a properly working drumset, but they might have fixed it by now. Overall though, rock band 2's is without defects. Guitar Hero's also has two cymbal pads(total of 5 pads), while Rock Band has 4 without a specially designated pad. The Rock band drum set also works with guitar hero, and the game adjusts itself accordingly. Not sure if the Guitar Hero one works with Rock Band. The Guitar Hero one is more realistic and satisfying, but rock band set is probably a little easier. Thats about as much as I can help, so I hope you make the right decision.

i work in the electronics center at walmart in gardner mass store 2155

the drum set for guitar hero seems to break more often then the rock band set. but it is caused by some one SLAMMING down on the drum set and not being careful with them. In all honesty the drum set for guitar hero is more realistic and alot more fun to use.

Game is right on all his/her suggestions, another one i would add is "A boy and his blob".

Some more are: Okami, Mario Galaxy, Little King's Story

Also if you are online w/your Wii, these are some great "Wiiware" titles available for download from the virtual console:
Lost Winds
World Of Goo

Also don't forget that there are some great gamecube games that will play on your Wii as long as you have a gamecube controller and a memory card (available together in a bundle, or used) like: Beyond Good and Evil
Baten Katos

If your curious about any of these check metacritic for reviews and descriptions.

Try the square looking sim games, you get to buildn in there alhough if you want problem solving the best game i can recomend is zelda (if your willing to do DS try Prof. Layton IT IS AWSOME!)