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You can get her a DS for fairly reasonable prices and Mario Kart DS for okay prices and its a pretty decent Mario Kart, also the 3DS is backwards compatible with DS games so if you maybe doubled the cost you could get hold of a 3DS and Mariokart DS and later on get Mario Kart 7 which is considered one of the best.

The Snes and N64 versions are a great blast, particularly in multiplayer so if you want to share the experience these are probably the best versions to get.

N64's are built like brick poop houses, the important thing to remember is that the controllers would crap out a long time before the console so check the 3d stick doesn't crunch when moved and it centers when untouched, theres sometimes issues with corrosion on the cart slot and power supplies failing but generally as long as you can see the thing running before you buy you should be alright. Snes is also a very robust console, the important things to check is for corrosion on the cartridge slot and once again controllers, check the D-Pad isn't loose and the shoulder buttons feel solid but not overly tight, 3rd party joypads are easy to find and work just fine but quality can sometimes be an issue, the SNES power block tends to outlast the consoles but check for damaged wires and kinks but replacements are cheap. AV cables for Snes and N64 can be found on amazon or ebay for dirt cheap prices so if you find a console missing some cables you can take a chance if its cheap.

You could try getting a Wii and the GameCube version, although I find that Double Dash is not such a great Mario Kart in my opinion but it is fun. As long as the Wii you're buying has the gamecube controller ports (Amazon, Ebay, and you'll find cheap used official controllers and my local Gamestop even stocks compatible controllers so you shouldn't be unable to find gamecube controllers) it will play Gamecube games but if you get one of the later versions you won't have backwards compatibility, check something like craigs list and you might find some kind of a bargin, bonus about going this way is you also have access to Mario Kart Wii and several other AAA Nintendo games too boot Just noticed you already seem to own a Wii so forget that part.

Be aware that you can get 3rd party unofficial consoles, results vary but the stuff thats been coming out in recent years does a reasonable job playing most popular games without much if any issues. It would take a trained eye to spot the differences between popular games played on a Snes or say a Retron more Retron info if your keen. Get official joypads or 3rd party recreations as everyone hates the bundled joypads. Big positive about going this way is you can also get her Mario Bros ( nes game is very cheap because its extremely common, pay more than a couple dollars for it and you're a fool) Depending on what you find in your area you might find this is the better option purely for costs.

Check goodwill stores if they don't carry electronics ask them if they know who does. I wish there was something like this in my hometown in Ireland or any kind of pawn shop or second hand store. In this day and age everyone has internet access so prices can sometimes seem stupidly high because people just look at "Buy it Now" prices on ebay forgetting that the actual completed listings that sold is what determines a consoles price and demand, check the completed listings on ebay and narrow the range to say 50 miles from your location, sometimes you'll see failed to sell consoles with 2-3 bids because unreasonable sellers think retro = cash, look for consoles that sold on their bid prices and that should give you a guide about how much a console costs. Always check the seller on Amazon and Ebay, you don't want any nasty surprises and try to stick with sellers who appear to sell consoles because if they say its working and have a good rating then its probably a fully working console. //wall of text.

You're going to be doing your ears and the ears of the people you're talking a disservice to by getting a "Gaming Headset." I've owned a Steelseries Siberia v2 for a couple years now and I regret it every time I use them.

Average is the greatest compliment I can give them. Average soundstage, average bass, average highs and average mic quality. And if you're going to be spending ~$90 on a head set you want something that will be more than average.

This is what I wish I went with years ago and what I still wish I could justify buying while my Siberia is functioning:

• $95 Audio Technica ATH-AD700 - "Good for Gaming, Movies (very open soundstage). Good bass response but not bass presence (not thumpy). Comfortable and very very very large." -HeadFi
  
  
• $190 Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO, 80 ohms - "BASS!!! Great soundstage for a closed can. Very good movie and gaming can.+ -HeadFi
  
  
• $10 Zalman Zm-Mic1 High Sensitivity Headphone Microphone - Clip on mic that attaches to your headphone cable. Everything I've heard about this mic have been glowing reviews, amazing sound and fantastic sensitivity.
  
  By going with a pair of headphones that are high quality and feature an exceptional soundstage, which basically means how far around you you can hear (good for picking up footsteps and locating bullet shots), and top of the line sound reproduction you're setting yourself up to have the best of both worlds, gaming and music.
  
  This is all coming from someone who wishes they had more money to spend on audiophile gear. Make sure to check out /r/audiophile as well, they have a lot of good information there as well.
  
  [http://www.head-fi.org/a/buying-guide-headphones-by-price-range]

I have two gaming mice that I switch to and from occasionally.

Corsair M65 is my go-to, though it only has two programmable buttons. It's very good for shooters but also feels sturdy in the hand, and has weights on the bottom that you can adjust as needed. I also like using the low-DPI "sniper" button to be more accurate with my pointer, but this is something you can likely do on the other mice as well.

Logitech G602 is my backup mouse that I primarily use with my laptop. It has several programmable buttons on the side as well as a customizable DPI (like the M65) and it feels very nice in the hand.

Both of these are great mice but they still might not suit you. A friend of mine has a Corsair Scimitar RGB mouse with 12 programmable side-buttons and he swears by it. He also frequently plays MMOs, and I do not. So maybe that one would be better for you.

You may also want to check out this thread. It's a year old, but has some good suggestions too.

Between the 3DS and Vita, you should really just go for whichever has games you're more interested in; I've included links to the top-scoring games on Metacritic, so you can get an idea of what each one has to offer. If price is an issue, the 3DS is almost $100 cheaper than the base Vita model on Amazon ($160 v. $250), though personally I'd highly recommend the 3DS XL, which is closer to $200-$210. For Vita models, unless you want to import from Japan, there are really just 2 options: WiFi vs. 3G. Ordinarily, I'd recommend the WiFi, as the 3G is pretty useless and costs $50 more, but currently on Amazon the 3G model is $50 off and comes with an 8GB memory card, whereas the WiFi doesn't. And on the subject of memory cards, I should point out that they're extremely overpriced on Vita (as in, $100 for 32GB overpriced), while the 3DS is compatible with standard SD cards. As far as the specs are concerned, I find this article, though old, to be pretty accurate; the tl;dr is that the Vita is more powerful than the 3DS in almost every way, but that doesn't mean it's an objectively better system.

If you have the money, I personally use my Vita far more than my 3DS (though I expect that to change once the new Pokemon games come out). Having PSN trophy support for its games is a big plus in my book, and with a Playstation Plus subscription I get at least 2 free games a month for it. It also has better indie support, with games like Machinarium and Limbo currently out, and Hotline Miami and Terraria on their way.

You might really like the Majesty games. The first is aged but is still considered a playable classic by many. (I've played it a bit in the last couple months.) The second lacks some charm of its predecessor and often feels like a puzzle to solve, but the style of play is unique.

Given that you like AoE, you may also like Rise of Nations or its fantasy counterpart, Rise of Legends.

Rise of Nations has a new EE version available, and the game is a lot of fun if you like quasi-nation builders like AoE and Civilization. (The lead designer was involved with Civilization 2 and Alpha Centauri, and those roots show through a bit with RoN.)

Rise of Legends is a more difficult option, only because I think you'd have to grab a physical copy somewhere. Many gamers, myself included, prefer this addition because the steampunk flavor of the game works so well.

As someone who also loves FFX (My personal favorite FF), I think you should try to play it yourself. Sure the graphics are a little, meh, but there's still plenty of fun to be had. I started with FFX then went back to play FF7 in later years and was still able to enjoy it quite a bit.

If you have a ps3 you can buy it (digital download) on PSN for $10 I think. Or, if you have a PS1 / 2 you can get it on ebay or amazon (For about $25 is seems, or 30 for greatest hits version: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00000JRSB/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used ) or if you're feeling lucky you can try Craigslist.

I've heard bad things about the PC version, so I can't really recommend that. If PC is your only option, you might as well emulate it.

You want an Intel Compute Stick. It's a tiny PC that fits into the palm of your hand, plugs directly into the HDMI port of a TV or monitor and contains either an Atom quad-core (the kind of chipset you'd find in a small tablet) or a more powerful m3 and m5 dual-cores with hyperthreading. These come with either Windows 10 32bit or no operating system at all - and strangely enough, the Windows version is often cheaper. There's 2 or 4GB of RAM and either 32 or 64GB of storage, which can be expanded. Bluetooth, WiFi and USB are included, of course and power is drawn from a simple USB power supply.

Even the cheapest one is easily fast enough for N64 emulation and less demanding Indie games, as well as virtually all 3D games until around 2005 to 2006 and all kinds of multimedia like streaming. A more powerful machine is recommended if you want to use it for more and be absolutely sure that there are no performance drops at any point. Get a couple of bluetooth controllers (like these N64 looking ones from a reputable company or alternatively smaller ones) and you are set. Make sure to only get the most recent versions of this mini computer, since earlier iterations suffered from various issues ranging from overheating to connection losses.

The emulator of choice is Project64. It's not perfect, but it emulates Goldeneye well enough. I have a tablet with the exact same hardware as the cheapest Compute Stick. You want to use Jabo's Direct3D 8 plugin for best performance. Even on this weak hardware, the game will run significantly better than on the original N64. You have to set up each controller and its button mapping individually, which will take a few minutes of time.

I have been using this one for about half a year with a lot of success. I also bought a big pack of AmazonBasics long HDMI cables to go with it. I think at the beginning I had one issue with a screen flickering, but I unplugged and replugged and I haven't had an issue for a long time. My real issue is when I'm playing PS4 in the morning and my PS3 comes on to auto-update and this switcher auto-switches to the PS3. Gah! Wait a min switchy thing. Just have to push the button on it to force switch when that happens. I like it so far.

https://www.amazon.com/Kinivo-501BN-Premium-wireless-adapter/dp/B0049SCB2Y

If it helps, I have a PS4, PS3, Steam Streamer Box, PS2, and Wii all plugged into it going into a Samsung HDMI TV (not 4K).

If you're curious, I have HDMI adapters in the Wii and PS2, so that's how that works. They also are great and I got them off Amazon, can't recall which obscure brand. Though they do occasionally have their issues since they're all weird knockoff checp things.

No, do not buy surround sound headsets, even if you play CSS. I spent around $100 for my pair of 5.1 surround sound headphones (Tritton was the brand -- the audio division of Mad Catz), and while they were a very blatant step up from the shitty generic Logitech headsets I'd used in the past, they are not even close to the quality you get when you just purchase a normal pair of high-quality headphones, especially considering how much more expensive they were.

Immediately after going through two different pairs of surround sound headsets, I decided to just buy normal headphones and a separate microphone for voice chat. I currently use a JVC HARX900 and a Zalman mic, which will cost you about $70 altogether, but it's well worth it in my opinion. The sound quality is fantastic, and most FPS games are made well enough that you can get distinguish sound coming from different directions, even with stereo headphones.

Surround sound headphones are entirely unnecessary, and I wish someone had been there to tell me that before I bought mine.

As a side note, listening to music on stereo headphones vs. a surround sound headset will make no difference, as pretty much 99% of music is 2 channel anyway, so having 5 speakers makes no difference. Yes, it can be upmixed to 5.1, but if you just buy a good pair of stereo headphones, it will sound equal to, if not better, than the surround sound headphones.

I only have two MMO's on my computer. I mostly play RTS's. I've been asking around and on discord someone linked to me a cheap chinese mouse that'd fit perfectly for my hand. People have also linked to me in two separate discussions the Prodigy G203. How long does the G403 last, and could a Prodigy last as long, if you've ever used one? Should I really save money and buy the chinese mouse? I'm close to making a final decision before I get at least one good mouse before getting the G600 for my birthday or christmas.

Get headphones and buy this mic. For a budget, the smartest thing you can do is decouple your mic and headset. If one breaks, you have to buy a new one. Also, the mics on gaming headsets blow, whereas that 8 dollar mic is pretty good. Then, when you are rich and famous, you can buy a nice pair of headphones and keep your mic.

If you get a mixer you can plug any old headphones into it and get really good quality sound out of them.
But if you're looking for a headset I doubt you'd find a good quality one for $80. Definitely don't buy Logitech headsets. They break really easily due to how the ears swivel where they connect.
If you had the money and didn't wreck your headsets I would especially recommend the Sennheiser PC363D. Sennheiser make some awesome headphones.

This is what I got, pretty simple, cheap, but does the job alright! Hope it helps :)

Amazon PS4 Slim Stand

As mentioned above, Steelseries pads are great, inexpensive, and you can easily pick one up from Amazon or your shop of choice. I personally like the QcK+, because it's like designating an entire part of the desk for that purpose for a few bucks extra.

Don't fret too much with the mousepad choice, with a decent mouse, he could probably use a nearby wall and still get perfect tracking.

what /u/trashpantaloons said is correct although there's also a wireless adaptor available but I wouldn't recommend it due to limited support (example: wireless adaptor doesn't work with a steamlink while the Bluetooth controller does).

Additionally Steam Controller Software now supports most controllers. That means you can easily use controllers like the Dualshock 4 for PC gaming if you'd like to consider that option or alternatively rebind your keys on your xbone/360 controller.

Black and White?

Jurassic Park Chaos Island (Not sure what's up with the Metro 2033 logo there).


DinoPark Tycoon

I'm not sure about Petz but you can search Amazon and see if anything that comes up matches what you're looking for. Amazon is a decent spot to search for older games because you get the websites and people who are selling used copies through Amazon as well.

If you have any issues you can buy a PC adapter ($24) and the vibration works regardless of when you turn it on. I was using the controller that came with my Xbox One so I needed the adapter. I just recently got an S controller so I could use that controller for my Xbox and just continue to use the dongle and it works perfectly.