I agree that it depends on the games... and on the kids. I was dismayed early on when I bought my boys a used Wii and they just couldn't get it. We all got frustrated and lost interest.
Then I hit success with a used Xbox 360 and playing Lego games cooperatively--where the adult is the helper and coach making it more fun. My boys also love the Kinect and really got into dance and adventure games. So the trick seems to be to try out lots of things and see what groks.
Once a few games clicked with them, they were willing to engage with more advanced games. In one year I went from playing Lego to cooperative Halo and we love it. For balance, we limit what we call "ePlay Time" to an hour a day and make it conditional on good behavior and spending quality time on the board games Daddy prefers to play.
Then I hit success with a used Xbox 360 and playing Lego games cooperatively--where the adult is the helper and coach making it more fun. My boys also love the Kinect and really got into dance and adventure games. So the trick seems to be to try out lots of things and see what groks.
Once a few games clicked with them, they were willing to engage with more advanced games. In one year I went from playing Lego to cooperative Halo and we love it. For balance, we limit what we call "ePlay Time" to an hour a day and make it conditional on good behavior and spending quality time on the board games Daddy prefers to play.