4 ms·

IMO the biggest difference is the style of games. Switch games are much more comprehensive like Zelda. iPad games are geared towards button mashing and showing

IMO the biggest difference is the style of games. Switch games are much more comprehensive like Zelda. iPad games are geared towards button mashing and showing ads for other games that do the exact same thing. A switch game will be $30-60. An iPad game will be “free”. Subjecting your kids to advertising driven games which aim to have them play much as possible to drive revenues is noticeably different. I’ve taken away the iPad entirely after seeing how my kids respond to it. Contrast it with the WiiU or Switch that we’ve had and it’s a totally different experience. Right now I TRUST Nintendo with the game experience that’s best for my kids.

tlrobinson 9y ago
I don't have kids so I haven't looked into it, but I assumed there would be more games with educational value on iOS than Nintendo. Is curating your kid's apps to only allow such games an option?
- astura 9y ago
  What's the point though? The app store is 99% low quality garbage. Sure, you can spend your time and effort searching out the 4-5 high quality gems that may exist and configuring the ipad but it's 10x easier just to buy a Nintendo game and call it a day. Nintendo's first party games are almost always very fun, always high quality, ad free, and always(?) kid friendly. When you buy, for example, a Zelda, Mario, or Kirby title you know exactly what you are going to get. Not all entertainment needs to be "educational" and we are talking about entertainment here.
  - oneeyedpigeon 9y ago
    The Switch offers digital downloads too, some of which are pretty low-quality (and the number of these will only increase this year).
  - tlrobinson 9y ago
    Maybe "educational" isn't the right word, but as a kid I mostly played games that, in retrospect, had some sort of value beyond pure entertainment (Sim City, The Incredible Machine, etc) Surely there are blogger parents who do the work to find decent games for kids, educational or otherwise?
  - thirdsun 9y ago
    You're exaggerating. Of course there's a lot of garbage and Apple could do a better job of curating and surfacing the highlights, though their recent app store redesign is a step in the right direction. However it's easy to find countless high quality, worthwhile and affordable games - from platform exclusives and indie hits to popular titles like Civ VI, 80 Days or The Witness.
- fsloth 9y ago
  "games with educational value" Unfortunately that's a near non-sequitur. For example a "math game" may actually be a crappy button smashing experience that's made to look "educational" in the store. Etc.
  - Angostura 9y ago
    Having watched my kid build bizarre red-stone power contraptions in minecraft, picking up the basics of logic circuits along the way, I disagree.
    - fsloth 9y ago
      That's still no replacement for basic formal mathematics and linguistic skills, such as how to craft a good text. I value my kids learning the multiplication tables and understanding fundamental geometric concepts. Universe is built on math and the society is built on math and writing. I'm not denying Kerbal and Minecraft are stimulating for kids but no way can they replace the fundamentals. In the general sense. If we categorize kids time into 'education' and playtime ( both of which are important!) I would categorize minecraft and kerbal into the play section.
      - deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
  - TeMPOraL 9y ago
    You know what's worse than what you describe? Educational games, i.e. schoolwork disguised (usually poorly) as a video game. No one is getting fooled by that. As for good games with educational value, I'd point to obvious examples like Kerbal Space Program (makes 12 years old learn the math behind rocketry and orbital dynamics), Minecraft (can make kids learn to program), Zachtronics games like SpaceChem or Shenzhen I/O, and ultimately any narrative-heavy game as a good way for kids from non-English-speaking countries to learn English.
    - PascLeRasc 9y ago
- narrowtux 9y ago
  You can disable the App Store in iOS as well, if I were a parent, I would choose a few good games but disable the App Store for my kid's devices.
hrktb 9y ago
To nuance the point, “free” and non kid friendly games are coming to the switch. The first in-app based game I see is the karaoke one, which is free to download and you pay for eaxh song. That’s reasonable, I’m just noting the mechanism is there. Then a game like Senran Kagura, centered on boobs (lityeraly, the main gimmick is vibrations from “massages”) also came to the switch, and I can’t remember any IP of this kind up until now on a Nintendo console. For better or worse, the current Nintendo is much more open and less risk averse than before.
- icebraining 9y ago
  Then a game like Senran Kagura (..) and I can’t remember any IP of this kind up until now on a Nintendo console. You mean, except the two Senran Kagura games which have already been released for the 3DS?
jakobegger 9y ago
Just because free ad-driven games are unsuited for kids, doesn‘t mean the iPad as a whole is unsuitable for kids. Watching my kids (4 & 5) play monument valley is a joy. The game costs 5€ and is absolutely worth it.
- brightball 9y ago
  The early educational games were great. Now that they've gotten a little bit older (9 and 7) is where I'm seeing the problem.
  - pythonaut_16 9y ago
    What kinds of games or things would you like to see for that age range? What kind of research have you done on what's available? I'm genuinely curious as to what's out there and who's working on things like this.
    - brightball 9y ago
      In general or for iOS? Right now from WiiU to Switch my impression has been that the entire platform is “kid first”. Online play is chat minimal with only some prescripted text. Friendly characters from the Mario universe with great games built around them like Mario Kart, Mario 3D World or Zelda. With Zelda I like that my 9 year old is slowly working his way through things that are hard. He’s talking to friends at school about how to work through tougher parts or find secrets. Probably the thing that I wish was available more than anything was an equivalent to Nintendo Power magazines. Being able to let them read, find secrets, learn about other games, etc from something where I don’t need to worry about parental controls or click to buys would be a relief. I like giving them to opportunity to find ways through something that is hard but fun. I just don’t want to have to feel like I have to keep looking over their shoulder.
rvanmil 9y ago
There are plenty of really great pay-once ad-free games for kids on iOS.

tlrobinson 9y ago

I don't have kids so I haven't looked into it, but I assumed there would be more games with educational value on iOS than Nintendo. Is curating your kid's apps to only allow such games an option?

astura 9y ago
What's the point though? The app store is 99% low quality garbage. Sure, you can spend your time and effort searching out the 4-5 high quality gems that may exist and configuring the ipad but it's 10x easier just to buy a Nintendo game and call it a day. Nintendo's first party games are almost always very fun, always high quality, ad free, and always(?) kid friendly. When you buy, for example, a Zelda, Mario, or Kirby title you know exactly what you are going to get. Not all entertainment needs to be "educational" and we are talking about entertainment here.
- oneeyedpigeon 9y ago
  The Switch offers digital downloads too, some of which are pretty low-quality (and the number of these will only increase this year).
- tlrobinson 9y ago
  Maybe "educational" isn't the right word, but as a kid I mostly played games that, in retrospect, had some sort of value beyond pure entertainment (Sim City, The Incredible Machine, etc) Surely there are blogger parents who do the work to find decent games for kids, educational or otherwise?
- thirdsun 9y ago
  You're exaggerating. Of course there's a lot of garbage and Apple could do a better job of curating and surfacing the highlights, though their recent app store redesign is a step in the right direction. However it's easy to find countless high quality, worthwhile and affordable games - from platform exclusives and indie hits to popular titles like Civ VI, 80 Days or The Witness.
fsloth 9y ago
"games with educational value" Unfortunately that's a near non-sequitur. For example a "math game" may actually be a crappy button smashing experience that's made to look "educational" in the store. Etc.
- Angostura 9y ago
  Having watched my kid build bizarre red-stone power contraptions in minecraft, picking up the basics of logic circuits along the way, I disagree.
  - fsloth 9y ago
    That's still no replacement for basic formal mathematics and linguistic skills, such as how to craft a good text. I value my kids learning the multiplication tables and understanding fundamental geometric concepts. Universe is built on math and the society is built on math and writing. I'm not denying Kerbal and Minecraft are stimulating for kids but no way can they replace the fundamentals. In the general sense. If we categorize kids time into 'education' and playtime ( both of which are important!) I would categorize minecraft and kerbal into the play section.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
- TeMPOraL 9y ago
  You know what's worse than what you describe? Educational games, i.e. schoolwork disguised (usually poorly) as a video game. No one is getting fooled by that. As for good games with educational value, I'd point to obvious examples like Kerbal Space Program (makes 12 years old learn the math behind rocketry and orbital dynamics), Minecraft (can make kids learn to program), Zachtronics games like SpaceChem or Shenzhen I/O, and ultimately any narrative-heavy game as a good way for kids from non-English-speaking countries to learn English.
  - PascLeRasc 9y ago
narrowtux 9y ago
You can disable the App Store in iOS as well, if I were a parent, I would choose a few good games but disable the App Store for my kid's devices.

hrktb 9y ago

To nuance the point, “free” and non kid friendly games are coming to the switch. The first in-app based game I see is the karaoke one, which is free to download and you pay for eaxh song. That’s reasonable, I’m just noting the mechanism is there. Then a game like Senran Kagura, centered on boobs (lityeraly, the main gimmick is vibrations from “massages”) also came to the switch, and I can’t remember any IP of this kind up until now on a Nintendo console. For better or worse, the current Nintendo is much more open and less risk averse than before.

icebraining 9y ago
Then a game like Senran Kagura (..) and I can’t remember any IP of this kind up until now on a Nintendo console. You mean, except the two Senran Kagura games which have already been released for the 3DS?

jakobegger 9y ago

Just because free ad-driven games are unsuited for kids, doesn‘t mean the iPad as a whole is unsuitable for kids. Watching my kids (4 & 5) play monument valley is a joy. The game costs 5€ and is absolutely worth it.

brightball 9y ago
The early educational games were great. Now that they've gotten a little bit older (9 and 7) is where I'm seeing the problem.
- pythonaut_16 9y ago
  What kinds of games or things would you like to see for that age range? What kind of research have you done on what's available? I'm genuinely curious as to what's out there and who's working on things like this.
  - brightball 9y ago
    In general or for iOS? Right now from WiiU to Switch my impression has been that the entire platform is “kid first”. Online play is chat minimal with only some prescripted text. Friendly characters from the Mario universe with great games built around them like Mario Kart, Mario 3D World or Zelda. With Zelda I like that my 9 year old is slowly working his way through things that are hard. He’s talking to friends at school about how to work through tougher parts or find secrets. Probably the thing that I wish was available more than anything was an equivalent to Nintendo Power magazines. Being able to let them read, find secrets, learn about other games, etc from something where I don’t need to worry about parental controls or click to buys would be a relief. I like giving them to opportunity to find ways through something that is hard but fun. I just don’t want to have to feel like I have to keep looking over their shoulder.

rvanmil 9y ago

There are plenty of really great pay-once ad-free games for kids on iOS.