Kids 3 to 6 get own games for PlayStation, Nintendo
By Jean Nash Johnson, The Dallas Morning News
Four-year-old John Michael Cude loves the game console.
His older brother Christopher, 10, saved his money to buy his own Nintendo 64 unit and budgets his time wisely. “We've never had to worry about Christopher—it's his little brother who would stay on for hours if we let him,” says Ann Cude, the boys' mother. Ann and Jonathan Cude of Irving carefully monitor their sons' electronic game habits, and that's why she and her husband like the idea of preschool learning games for the consoles. Before now, the edutainment title, a category combining education and entertainment, has been a staple only for the computer.
But NewKidCo has released the first such title for the Sony PlayStation and Nintendo Gameboy, and plans a fall release for the Nintendo 64. The star of the new line is none other than Sesame Street's Elmo.
With the recent school violence in Littleton, Colo., parents are searching for alternatives to the violent games that dominate store shelves.
“I wish this idea had been around when Chase (who turned 5 in December) was younger and wanting to play the PlayStation games with his older brothers,” says Kathy Bukhair of Arlington. “There just aren't any appropriate games for the real little ones.”
The mother of three sons says her soon-to-be 13-year-old, Ryan, begs for violent games such as Doom, the game allegedly revered by one of the teens accused in the Colorado tragedy.
“His father and I just keep saying no...The boys pretty much stick to the sports games and some of the fantasy stuff. But we have to monitor them closely. When you look at the headlines, you just know those games have some impact.”
Parents won't have much to worry about with the NewKidCo releases. Elmo doesn't get killed and there is no threat of danger. And with Sesame Street and the Children's Television Workshop backing, the games are virtually childproof. Elmo's Letter Adventure and Elmo's Number Journey are interactive and designed to help little ones as young as 3 learn their ABC's and 123's on Big Brother's or Dad's PlayStation. The titles, which started showing up in stores in April, solve a common problem for families, says Jonathan Harbor, NewKidCo co-founder. “Retailers say they get the question all the time: ‘Is there something for my younger child?'}” Harbor says. But more important than simple desire, he says, is the reality that the console is the practical entertainment answer for households with kids of all ages.
“It's affordable,” Harbor says. “A PC can cost you $1,500, a console $150. And it's easy to use, especially for little kids who have the tendency to just turn it (the machine) off when they're finished.
“There's one button. You turn it on, put in a cartridge and hit go. There are no files to destroy. Parents can leave the child alone to play in the family room where most game consoles are put, while mom or dad go do laundry, pay bills or whatever in the next room.”
With most preschool PC titles, Mom or Dad has to be right there with their child from installation to finish.
The Cudes, who also own a PC, say John Michael has been playing with his brother's Nintendo since he was about 3.
“They play sports games mostly, and he has had no difficulty grasping the concept,” Cude says.
The boys often play games together, Cude says, and that is what Harbor likes hearing. One of NewKidCo's target areas is the hand-me-down market, a household where there is the typical 9- to 13-year-old console game player and a younger sibling.
For early preschoolers, the Elmo games contain many of the same features that early learning computer software has. The Elmo titles are in 3-D, and the controller is brought down to their level of use. Most of the directional buttons are deactivated. A child can move Elmo forward to find letters and numbers, for example.
There also is a graphical representation of the arrows on the screen so a child who has not mastered the hand-eye coordination can use one hand and look at the screen while moving the characters. The games are audio-aided so that the child can at least hear the commands if he's not able to follow the graphics.
Some of those features for small children, however, may be what make the game less challenging for some 5- and 6-year-olds. (The games' age range is 3 to 6.)
Chase Bukhair, for example, tested the product and played at the highest skill level but still found it too easy.
His mom says, however, he may not be the best test case because he has two older brothers and mastered game consoles two years ago.
“He watches and plays with Ryan and Layne (age 10), and knows all the moves,” Bukhair says.
Older 2-year-olds and children ages 3 and 4 are the most likely to enjoy the Elmo games, says NewKidCo's Jean Lizotte, who helped develop the titles.
“The Children's Television Workshop ran the field research,” she says. “But I also was doing testing of my own at home with my 2-year-old son.”
“I have found that an older 5-year-old is on the high side of the Sesame Street scale in general,” she says. “Previous exposure (to consoles), too, can make a big difference with older kids, but unfortunately it is not a very clear-cut line since kids develop at different rates.
“Certain aspects of traditional game play we knew we had to eliminate, and time pressure and multitasking were at the top of the list. In the Elmo games, kids can play at their leisure doing one task at a time. This way we ensure that the child is learning at his own pace,” Lizotte says.
NewKidCo's three-year deal with Children's Television Workshop, plus Sony's financial backing, gives the company an immediate edge. While the solid name recognition helps promote the concept and the products, Harbor says, it also offers parents quality assurance.
Children's Television Workshop's field-testing is indisputable, he says, and Sony has long wanted to tap into the little kids market and also break ground in games for girls. NewKidCo has just released Hello Kitty, a puzzle game for girls ages 8 and older.
Throughout the game-building process, the Sesame Street group worked with day-care centers, parents and older siblings, says Gina Covington of Children's Television Workshop. As a result of watching the children play and studying their reactions every two weeks, they were satisfied that issues such as managing the controllers and understanding the concepts of the games were fulfilled.
It wasn't practical to assume that children would even hold the controller the same way an adult does, Covington says.
“A 3-year-old will put the controller on the floor with one finger and stop or start the motion. They are not quite ready to do the hand-eye coordination as we adults know it. NewKidCo had some challenges in the beginning.”
Now all involved are satisfied that the product will take off. In addition to more Sesame Street releases by holiday time for Nintendo and PlayStation, NewKidCo plans to add other TV shows and characters to its preschool learning category. There also will be titles developed as companion pieces to this fall's Sesame Street film release.
“Look at it this way: When the Sony PlayStation took off in 1994, the average age of the typical player was 23-24,” Harbor says. “Add on a few more years, and you've now got players who are people with kids. They have the history and they have the units.
“In the old days, you taught your kid how to ride a bike. This generation will teach their kids to take their first step on the PlayStation—or N64. We're hoping for a bonding experience like none other.” |
