We want to get her (she will be 11 in Feb. 2012) a video game that we could also use. Initially we thought of Sony Playstation but then my wife discovered that they cater mostly for boys and their games are rather mindless and violent. We have now been considering XBox. Since this forum comprises of a lot of young people - your feedback and imput is solicited.
If you want to avoid violent games, the Wii is built around that premise. Here's 1 popular title on the xbox in action: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/gTfmSf5I2uM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> And that's noting. Go here to really see the game in action: http://youtu.be/x9QYQPFWNNc Point being neither the xbox or PS3 will be a good fit if you are trying to avoid violent games. Wii has that part of the market cornered.
I vote for the Wii. I have my son, grandson (6.5 years) and granddaughter (9) who stay with me. They have xBox, PS, and the Wii is the one I like to have hooked up in the main media room. We can all play it, and they really like it. Yes, the others do have "rough" games, and I don't censor or anything (up to my son and daughter in law to do that), but they really love the Wii. FWIW, Don
The Wii, all the way. My nieces have all kinds of good family games on theirs. There are plenty of games for older folks too. TW golf, etc. One word of warning though. You may want to make sure there are no video cameras anywhere near while you are doing crazy dance moves in front of the TV. I learned that one the hard way.
The Wii is clearly the answer, or maybe a portable game system that other kids at her school use, but you shouldn't shy away from certain games because they seem for "boys" only, they actually make them for both genders.
Definitely go for a motion console, you've got the Wii, Sony Move, and MS Kinect (which doesnt require a controller..pretty cool) Wii is probably the best bet for an 11 year old girl with parents who want to have some fun too. Fun dancing games for her, and Wii golf and bowling for you. Wii golf is a blast.
I'm glad you guys brought this up. My daughter is 15 and I was going to buy an x box but now I'm going with the wii. I asked her yesterday which she would prefer a wii or x box, she couldn't decide. Makes it easier for me. The wii it is. Now if you're thinking how come she hasn't had of these electronic toys sooner, well for one thing she's a thug {:>) and keeps getting in trouble and I have to keep taking things away. This is usually a situation when you have a child who is a "genius". Now you might think I'm making this crap up but let me tell you, last year she read "Les Miserables" (wtf 1100 or 1800 pages) in about a week. That is some boring ass shit, too!