If you go out shopping for a video game system without first doing some research on the many different ones available it is quite likely you will be confused and overwhelmed by the myriad of choices in systems available today. Just like a lot of technological devices you may find that children and teens are way more knowledgeable than you are when it comes to gaming systems. With the Christmas season coming up you need to get yourself up to speed on what is available and what is hot as well. The following guide will help get you started.



First off you can do like I do for research and use the internet to get the information you need to make an intelligent decision that will also be well received by the intended recipient of the gift. There is a plethora of information online so make good use of it before you visit a local establishment. You may even find an online store that you want to do business with, I know I do almost all of my shopping online. You will need to know what some of the abbreviations are or you will get lost before you even get started so here's a quick guide to that for you:

The popular Playstation from Sony's newest game is designated as a PS3, others from Sony in the Playstation genre are PS2, the older system, and the smaller PSP.

The Wii is Nintendo's reentry system into the video game market while the Xbox 360, of course is Microsoft's signature system which just released a special version for play with the newly released and widely anticipated Halo 3 from Bungie. EA Sports is another well known game maker known for games such as the Madden Football series and NBA basketball.

Another thing you will want to know when buying games, especially for youngsters is the rating of the game you are looking at buying. Much like the motion picture industry the software industry also has a ratings board called the ESRB which stands for Entertainment Software Rating Board and they give all games a rating to help parents decide what may or may not be suitable for their child.

If you watch TV at all you have probably seen commercials that mention these ratings, the one that I recall easily is "E for Everyone". This one is just like it says; the game is rated as being acceptable for any age from 9-90. Others include the designation of "C", which is generally reserved for the early childhood development games. E 10+ is for the age of ten and older while "T is for Teens". M is a designation for adults.

A good place to start to find out what is hot right now is to go on eBay and go to Ebay Pulse. This is the section that will tell you the hottest items on the market currently.