The S personally, price point is very attractive and games pass is to me easily the best value in gaming.

I’d recommend this video when you get a few mins. You won’t need to buy any extra controllers to start

https://youtu.be/gUEhQ65FOJ8

Games are definitely cheaper on the Switch than Xbox (ignoring games pass )/ PS . Maybe around $35-$45

It comes included with a controller or you can slide the sides out and it can be used as two joy sticks. You could probably just start with that and then see if another full size control would be useful down the line.

Yes it does both - it can connect to your tv and then also use it as a handheld. Pretty cool.

https://youtu.be/f5uik5fgIaI

In my opinion the Xbox’s value for money proposition is excellent and arguably unrivalled when it comes to Xbox Games Pass. For a low monthly fee you have an unbelievable choice of top games to play and they’re updated all the time.

The Switch I still feel though would be better suited for the age range you’re talking about. Being able to play it on the go in the car etc (hopefully they share! Although something to consider on the flip side, maybe it’s good for a console to stay at home if you don’t want them playing too much) , and I feel like the games themselves are more tailored to that age.

Alongside Mario Kart there’s the likes of Pokémon, Luigi’s Mansion, Paw Patrol, Super Mario World, Minecraft, splatoon, donkey kong, Mario tennis, sonic, Zelda, the Lego games, Spyro, the list goes on.

Switch would be a good introduction to gaming. And you can’t go wrong with Mario kart.

Depends on your budget, but I’d favour Xbox right now. The Series X is more powerful than the PS5, but it’s mainly the value for money you get with Xbox games pass, it’s too good. If you’re not overly concerned about the highest spec graphics or having a disk drive, the Xbox series S is a great choice console to get you back into gaming