I would say that it probably is worth it. While I haven't actually experienced any 3rd version of any Pokemon in any gen, I can tell that they usually tend to make some changes that make the purchase worth it. For my favorite gen, I would have to say 5th gen. I pretty much liked everything about it from adding in triple and rotation battles, to having animated sprites at all times, I really loved the region, I think the Pokemon introduced were for the most part very solid, and I really liked the stories and characters of both the original and sequel games.
I would imagine he is on a Mac since he likes to make some art, and I would imagine possibly animation (I forgot if he does do animation). I'll know soon though.