System ? What system should you buy a game for? Games are not interchangeable on different systems so be sure you are buying the game for the right one. Ask the kid or their parents what system they own. The main choices are: Playstation 2, Xbox, Gamecube, Nintendo DS, Gameboy Advance, Wii, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PSP. Many kids own multiple systems too, so be sure you know which one they want a game for. They might own a system but never play with it anymore.

Genre - What style of game should I get? Now that you have narrowed down your search to the right system, you have to choose the genre of game you will buy. The best way to do this is use what you know about the child. Do they play soccer? Buy a soccer game. Love watching football? Buy a football game. Do they skateboard or are they obsessed with cars? Buy a skateboarding game or racing game. Or do they really like a particular movie? Almost all movies have a video game released at the same time.

Rating- Is the game appropriate for the kid? Now you have honed in on the games you might want to buy but you have to be sure they are appropriate. Video games have a rating system like movies, with E, E10, T, and M standing for Everyone, Everyone over 10, Teens, and Mature. If the child is seven, but sure the game you choose is not rated Mature or more than likely the parents won't be too happy.

Reviews- Is the game any good? Just like movies, some video games are well made and fun and others are not. You want to be sure you don't buy little Tommy a car racing game that is so bad it doesn't matter how much he likes cars he is still not going to dislike the game. The best place to find reviews is online. You can go gamerankings.com and see all the reviews available for a game. The site gives a percentage score and as long as it is above 60% it is safe to assume the quality will be good enough.

Keep these four things in mind when shopping; System, Genre, Rating, and Reviews. And you should be able to breeze through this daunting task and choose the video game that will make the kid's birthday all they wanted