Our video game loving family has a large number of birthdays in July, so I’ve been doing a bit of research into what are the top selling and top rated video games, especially games that are appropriate for kids – all with an ESRB rating of E or E 10+.
Top selling E rated video games:
- Super Mario Galaxy 2, wii
- New Super Mario Bros, wii
- Just Dance, wii
- Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4, wii
- Madden NFL 11, Xbox 360/PS3
- Mario Kart wii, with wii wheel
- WipeOut wii
- Dragon Quest IX: Sentinel of the Starry Skies, DS
- Mario Kart DS
- Wii Sports Resort
Top selling video game consoles and accessories:
- Xbox 360 1600 points
- Microsoft’s Kinect Sensor with Kinect Adventures, for Xbox 360 (scheduled for release on 11/4/10, price $150; also Kinect Sports and Kinectimals are due for release on 11/4)
- Xbox 360, 250 GB
- Playstation 3, 120 GB
- Wii, with Sports Resort, black
- Wii Fit Plus, with balance board
Top rated games:
- Super Mario Galaxy 2, wii (released 5/23/10) – rated a 10!
- Dragon Quest IX: Sentinel of the Starry Skies, DS (released 7/11/10) – rated 8.5
- Tales of Monkey Island, PS3 (released 6/15/10) – rated 8.5
- Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11, wii/Xbox 360/PS3 (released 6/8/10) – rated 8.5
- Bit. Trip Runner, wii Ware (released 5/17/10) – rated 8.5
- Picross 3D, DS (released 5/3/10) – rated 8.5
- 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, Xbox 360/PS3 (released 4/27/10) – rated 8.5
- Alice in Wonderland, DS (released 3/2/10) – rated 8.5
- Puzzle Quest 2, DS (released 6/30/10) – rated 8.0
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, PS3/PSP/Xbox 360/DS/wii (released 6/29/10) – rated 8.0
If you’re looking to purchase a videogame for your child, I’m hoping these lists will give you a place to start. A couple of things to keep in mind when you’re buying videogames for kids:
- What game systems/consoles do they have?
- Does the game require reading? Does the level of reading required to play the game match your child’s ability level?
- What type of game does your child typically enjoy?
- Are there particular characters your child likes to play? (For example, we are mainly a Nintendo family, and love Link/Zelda, Mario, and Sonic.)
Also, the ESRB rating system is not perfect – it would be a good idea for you to initially check out the game with your child. For example, Super Smash Bros Melee is rated T, but is perfectly appropriate for ages 4 and up. And we had to return a Spiderman game rated E, due to inappropriate language. Seriously!
If your child is stuck in a game, and doesn’t know what to do to get to the next level, or complete a quest, check out the FAQs at one of my favorite sites – www.gamefaqs.com. GameFAQs was purchased a while ago by www.gamespot.com, which is a great place to get information on video games for any platform, including: ratings, reviews, previews, and release dates. (Note: My lists are based on topselling stats from Amazon.com, and top rated stats from gamespot.com.)
3 of our kids are now playing Dragon Quest IX: Sentinel of the Starry Skies, and if I can get them to stop playing for a minute, we’ll get a review written and posted. They’ve been playing for 4 days straight (within their allocated “electronics time”), so it must be good!
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