The LeapFrog “Leapster” Learning Game System and the newer LeapFrog “Leapster L-Max” Learning Game System are educational handheld devices, aimed at 4 to 10 year olds.
The device was originally released in 2003 and is currently the best-selling handheld edutainment device of its kind. The Leapster has undergone multiple revisions, mostly optimizing shape and size.
The only difference between the slightly more expensive Leapster L-Max and the Leapster is an optional TV Output. The TV-Out enables players to connect the Leapster L-Max to a standard RCA Composite Video and RCA Stereo Plug using the supplied A/V cable.
Tom Crago, CEO of Tantalus Interactive and President of the Australian Game Developers Association GDAA, gave us some insight into the game development industry from Down Under and the new released game “Pony Friends” (Nintendo DS).
Pony Friends Pony Friends allows players to choose from 6 breeds and create and customize their very own pony. Three ponies can be kept in the stable at any one time. Players have to make sure their pony is well groomed, clean and happy, as well as take it for trail rides to keep it fit. While riding, the player must watch out for birds, animals and hidden rare items to collect. The game uses the stylus to feed, pet, brush, shampoo and condition the pony. Other features include: New trail entrances and hidden gifts by touching the screen on a trail ride. Spotting animals on trail rides with the stylus. Using the stylus to write the name of the pony; Placing rosettes and updating a diary; Using the stylus to remove stones from the pony’s shoes.
About Tantalus Interactive: Tantalus has developed over twenty titles on all platforms since its debut on the SNES in 1994. With a renewed focus on quality, the last three years have seen Tantalus begin to realize the great potential of it’s talent base and technology. The Melbourne based studio makes games for the current generation of consoles and for the major handheld devices presently on the market. Over forty developers are currently employed, led by some of the video game world’s most experienced Programming and Artistic talent.
About the GDAA: The Game Developers’ Association of Australia (GDAA) was formed in December 1999 and launched at the inaugural Australian Game Developers’ Conference (AGDC) in Sydney. The GDAA was created by leading developers to increase the profile of the Australian interactive game industry both domestically and internationally.
If pictures can say a thousand words then have a look at these screenshots for the upcoming “My Sims” Game for the Nintendo Wii and DS by ElectronicArts (EA).
Edutainment (also educational entertainment or entertainment-education) is a form of entertainment designed to educate as well as to amuse. Edutainment typically seeks to instruct its audience by embedding lessons in some familiar form of entertainment such as video games or computer games.
Much has been written about (self-proclaimed) Edutainment games with little or no educational value that are just pure game (and usually not very good ones). Or alternatively, the ‘game’ part is really grim and hopeless, reinforcing the child’s perceptions that learning is boring. Edutainment Toy and Game makers Leapfrog and Vtech tried their best to keep the genre alive but it was Nintendo’s Brain Age for the Handheld ‘DS’ who brought Edutainment back into spotlight. The success of Brain Age inspired several spin-offs, but none with a budget big enough to make an impact.
This is about to change…
Ubisoft announced the “My Coach” series.
The games will allow players to improve themselves and learn in an interactive and stimulating way. The first two games in the line are “My Word Coach” and “My Life Coach.” “My Word Coach,” is being developed in collaboration with linguists and will help players improve their verbal communication and vocabulary in a fun way. “My Word Coach” can be played alone or with friends on Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS, to be released in Fall 2007. “My Life Coach” is being developed in collaboration with a behaviorist. “My Life Coach” is a personal coach that gives anybody concerned about their well being the willpower they need to change their habits the way they want in a motivating and fun way. “My Life Coach” will be available for the Nintendo DS in Holiday 2007.
As families get ready for summer travel season, Delta Air Lines and Nintendo are teaming up to provide customers access to free video game demos for the Nintendo DS portable gaming system during their down time at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. Today, on-the-go Nintendo fans of all ages can download interactive demos and sample a variety of new games for free to help pass time as they prepare for their flights.
Through this service, travelers can easily and wirelessly download video game demos at no cost by bringing their portable Nintendo DS video game systems with them when they travel to or through New York-JFK. Within a few seconds, a temporary demo version of a popular Nintendo DS game transmits wirelessly to the Nintendo DS. Game demos available for download include Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day, Elite Beat Agents, Cooking Mama and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend. Demos are updated periodically and will showcase everything from brain training to action games, appealing to baby boomers and seniors, and to teens and kids.
The service also is available in Delta terminals at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
My Sims Screenshot 1
My Sims Screenshot 2
My Sims Screenshot 3
