Gaming console and games for a almost 6 year old.

Sounds like you want a Wii (not Wii U). Cheap, stacks of games, hand-eye coordination with the controller, etc.

I agree with slater that you want a Wii or WiiU. The WiiU is newer and will continue to be supported and have games made for it for years to come. The Wii was recently made obsolete by the WiiU, but already has tons of games for it that you can purchase used for cheap. Both the Wii and the WiiU are extremely kid friendly and have games that will meet the requirements you posted here easily.

I have a PS3. My kid has played on it for years (currently 6 years old). hand eye coordination -> angry birds! social playing -> Lego games (Lego Star Wars, Lego Batman, etc). I play them with my kid and we work together. Also, Little Big Planet.

Seconding Wii, but perhaps not WiiU. Given the situation I'd keep things simple and the second-screen stuff on the WiiU could lead to a lot of frustration at first. There's http://ask.metafilter.com/251829/White-bundle-of-joy-or-white-elephant#3657473 going on right now and there are some great recommendations of games there. Hell, you could just start with Wii Sports and play 2-person bowling for a long long time. Wii Sports Resort (not the same as Wii Sports) also has a fun flying game where you need to hunt around a large island and find hidden balloons. That's great for spatial awareness and memory. The educational value of these games will be in the cooperation and discussion that goes on while you play together. If you want games to reinforce math, vocabulary, letters, etc I'd stick with what's available on the tablets.

Buy a Wii and get the games Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort (one or both may come pre-packed with the console when you buy it. Also buy Mario Kart Wii. Buy at least one extra Wiimote and Nunchuk, and buy a steering wheel type adapter for each Wiimote. This alone will give you months and months of gaming fun, and will be a pretty shallow learning curve for both of you. All three of those games involve competitive play and require following cues and instructions ("Press A to Start" type stuff), but are not complicated. After that you can branch out to other games like the LEGO series and Little Big Planet (good cooperative and competitive gameplay).

You don't need a console, you don't need multiple games... you need 2 computers and 2 copies of https://minecraft.net. Survive, build, and thrive together. Seriously, kids take to the game like fish to water, it offers an incredible canvas for creativity not just in building stuff but in designing redstone circuits, piston-based machines etc... plus it offers a sense of mastery (extremely important in learning!) and because there's no handholding/tutorial you and your child will have to go looking for hints together on how to accomplish things. Also, playing first-person style games is great for motor skills. Precision mousing and click timing are essential. The kind of stuff you're asking for ('educational' games where the user must 'respond') are among the least creative things going on in games right now! Seriously, oldschool educational games are a snore for kids. Believe me, I played tons of them as a kid, hated 'em all. There are some slightly better things going on on tablets right now, but personally I find most educational games severely underestimate kids' intelligence and potential. Minecraft doesn't. It's an equal playing field for kids and adults, and you will be surprised how much faster than you your kid will acquire the skills. Learning those skills (and getting ideas for projects to work on) will naturally lead you to the many Minecraft videos on YouTube and it's awesome to share that with a kid. You can both be awed by the incredibly complex machines and giant-scale constructions, and it'll give you both ideas for projects of your own to tackle. Not to mention, Minecraft leads naturally to real-world questions about physics, geography, digital electronics, DIY construction projects, farming... I highly recommend you give up on 'educational' games and focus on stuff where your kid can bring his imagination to bear.

If you go with the Wii, you definitely want to get the series of games called http://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/2009/09/learning_with_the_pooyoos_episode_1. Two of my children have played it at various points over the years, and I think it would be perfect for the child you describe. Your child will probably also instinctively glom onto one or more of the sports games that are included with the console.

Wow, those are pretty fast and good replies. Thank you folks. Now, if I may ask for one more favor, I noticed GameStop sells pre-owned Wii hardware. It will be great if someone could just point me to right hardware to buy. http://www.gamestop.com/browse/nintendo-wii?nav=1350-8a of pre-owned hardware and games. I have good pointers for games, I am still not too sure I am knowledgeable enough to buy hardware.

http://www.gamestop.com/wii/consoles/nintendo-wii-blast-from-the-past-system-bundle/111535 seems to be the only system they have on the site, and I wouldn't recommend it, both because it comes with a bunch of games you may not need and it doesn't seem to have a Motion Plus Wiimote. I'd walk into your local branch (or your local independent video game store, if one exists) and tell them you need the following: 1x Wii console 1x AC adapter 1x Sensor bar 1x whatever cable you need to connect to your TV 1x Wii Sports 1x Wii Sports Resort 1x Mario Kart Wii 2x Motion Plus Wiimote 2x Nunchuk 2x steering wheel adapter (optional, but adds to the fun of Kart) Used I bet the whole schmear is around $100.