Leapster TV vs. Handheld My daughter got the Leapster TV for her 4th birthday. The graphics are 80s style and I am not impressed although she likes it. I am intrigued that the cartridges will work with the handheld. I am thinking of getting the handheld for her for Christmas. I am wondering if anyone knows if the graphics will look better on there. (I can't imagine they could be worse!) Also, the compatibility of games is my other question. It seems that any Leapster game will work with the handheld or TV system. Has anyone else tried this? Should I just return the TV system and get the LMax which will do both TV or portable anyway? Or get the handheld to use the same games on the go?Thanks people! :) Leapster TV vs. Handheld My daughter got the Leapster TV for her 4th birthday. The graphics are 80s style and I am not impressed although she likes it. I am intrigued that the cartridges will... » Read More Leapster TV vs. Handheld My daughter got the Leapster TV for her 4th birthday. The graphics are 80s style and I am not impressed although she likes it. I am intrigued that the cartridges will work with the handheld. I am thinking of getting the handheld for her for Christmas. I am wondering if anyone knows if the graphics will look better on there. (I can't imagine they could be worse!) Also, the compatibility of games is my other question. It seems that any Leapster game will work with the handheld or TV system. Has anyone else tried this? Should I just return the TV system and get the LMax which will do both TV or portable anyway? Or get the handheld to use the same games on the go?Thanks people! :) « Show Less
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Hi I don't know if my answer will still help you but here goes. The graphics on the handheld are much better in my opinion. My kids have both the lmax and the leapster tv, they prefer the lmax. And yes all games can be played on both the leapster tv and l-max. Hope this helps.
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What about the L-Max graphics when attached to the tv? I'm looking for a back-up for the time when my L-Max goes again (already did once, and they did refurb it for $50, but for $15, this would be a much better option for all the cartridges we already have...we rarely play this on the road). Can anyone compare the graphics from the L-Max on the tv set to this on the same tv? I would think they'd be the same, since the cartridges are the same, but I'd love to know for sure...
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Get the DS. If your kids are already playing the Wii, they will be probably be bored with the kids stuff on the Leapster. There are TONS of games available for the DS. Many are very simple for young children (Crayola Treasure Adventure), then there are lots of adult oriented games (Brain Age, Professor Layton, etc). .. Then there are lots of games in the middle for all ages.
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I'm kind of in the same boat. My six year old will be getting a DS for Christmas and I thought it would be nice for my 3 year old to have his own gaming system. I'm pretty sure they would fight over the DS if we didn't get him something of his own. Is a Leapster age appropriate for my 3 year old?
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I called Leapster.com to try and purchase a recharging system just last week and they are on back order. They were on back order over the summer as well, so I'm not sure they're going to be available for the holidays.GREAT NEWS The recharging system is now on SALE for only $19.99 on the leapster.com website. I just bought one! 1/12/09
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Leapster is great. My kids loved the educational games. It lasted a couple of years. While they still play it, they are now ready for the DS. I'd go with the Leapster, and maybe go with some used games. I wouldn't invest too much because around 6-7 they want the newer big-kid games.
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my 5 yr old has the L-Max and she can use the regular Leapster games on it without a problem. hope this helps.
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My mom told me she wanted to get my older girls these [ages 5.5 and 8.5] I told her to get the Leap Pad since they have games to age 9. I would think my 8 year old would be bored.
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My children who are now all a bit older, went through the same phase. They learned they needed to be X years old to have a DS. I believe the bar was set at age 5 or when they were responsible enough. Granted, the youngest tend to get things younger and younger, but still...it's nice for the oldest to be special. We went the Leapster route and my son was content for about a year....possibly a bit longer. The games were not as challenging as those for DS and he was very proud of HIS own special game system. They do make some games for the younger ones now, but why not be successful with a Leapster first and move up to a DS? You'll be glad you did! My children who are now all a bit older, went through the same phase. They learned they needed to be X years old to have a DS. I believe the bar was set at age 5 or when they were responsible enough. Granted, the youngest tend to get things younger and younger, but still...it's nice for the oldest to be special. We went the Leapster route and my son was content for about a year....possibly a bit longer. The games were not as challenging as those for DS and he was very proud of HIS own special game system. They do make some games for the younger ones now, but why not be successful with a... » Read More My children who are now all a bit older, went through the same phase. They learned they needed to be X years old to have a DS. I believe the bar was set at age 5 or when they were responsible enough. Granted, the youngest tend to get things younger and younger, but still...it's nice for the oldest to be special. We went the Leapster route and my son was content for about a year....possibly a bit longer. The games were not as challenging as those for DS and he was very proud of HIS own special game system. They do make some games for the younger ones now, but why not be successful with a Leapster first and move up to a DS? You'll be glad you did! « Show Less
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I got this game system for my son when he was 4. He was not yet in school but getting ready for preschool. He loved it myself as well. I loved watching him learn new things and answer the questions he already knew. He had the leapster explorer and the leapster 2 way before he got the Nintendo ds and Wii. He wanted all the games so we got him as many as we could including Tangled . He played it and just like the other games he learned from it. We also found out the store Five and Below carries tons of Leapster Explorer games for $5 not the $20 you pay in a reg. Store. But I highly recommend this game especially for a 7 year old girl. Hope this helps.
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Hi, My daughter has the Leapster 2. It has one game installed and there is also a "paint" option, kind of like Windows "draw." She rarely played with those features, but they're not bad features. The game has dragons and you have to chase letters or something like that. If I'm not mistaken you can also download a game or two from the site. Just the same, I would definitely consider getting your niece a game to go with it -- Leapfrog.com was having a sale, maybe still is, which made many of the cartridges very affordable. My daughter loved Digging for Dinosaurs, Wall-e, the Backyardigans, and Finding Nemo in particular. She got the Disney Princess game but only played with it once. It looked like a real stinker. If cost is a consideration (as it is for me) maybe just let her parents know that you got her a Leapster 2 so they can plan on getting her a game or two. And how nice of you to get her such a lovely gift! It is a truly educational tool and was a huge hit in my house.
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My daughter got her DS when she was barely 6. Her barely 3 year old brother used many of the games, some of them just didn't interest him or were too hard to play. I am buying him a Leapster 2 for his 4th birthday coming up. We had the original leapster we bought my daughter when she was tiny and it has since broke. While some DS games are fine for the little ones, I think the Leapster is a better choice for them at this age. And, like someone else said, in a few years there will be a new system out the older kids will want anyway.
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I purchased from Amazon a Star Wars game for my grandson for the old Leapster. If you have an updated new version game system I am not sure then but usually if you click on the game it will tell you what system it is friendly with. Hope this helps:)
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Jewel train, Sugar Bugs and Alphabet Stew are the titles geared toward the older children. There are 2 new Discovery videos geared toward the 5-9 age group. Other than that, the selection may be limited and your son may find it interesting a few days and they he may quickly outgrow the product. I hope that Leapfrog expands their library toward the 7-10 age range. There are maybe 3 to 4 cartridge games also for the 5-9 age range like X-Man and NFL Rush Zone. If I was in yours shoes, I would perhaps consider buying a Nintendo DS as they also have good educational titles and also play some of the leisure games with the same device. Our 6 year old is getting the LeapPad as well as the Nintendo DS Lite (same price now). Hope this is helpful.
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we own the original leapster but from any knowledge that ive had I am about 90% sure they made the leapster two so it can still play all the old games. but a leap pad and leapster are two different components all together so a leapster2 yes a leap pad im gonna say no.
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I called Leapster with that question and they do not rec rechargeable batteries b/c they aren't as strong as reg batteries even when they are new and thus the game may not work properly. Logically though, I'm wondering the diff. in the batt pack and rech batteries. Hope this helps.
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any luck with this? were you able to unlock the games? i thought it was broken and was going to return it. will have my daughter try it again tonight now that we have new batteries for the leapster.
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If you look at the picture of the box it says "Leapster GS" so it should be fine. Most of these games can be used by various systems. Hope that helps.