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New Learning Console from Hasbro's Playskool Division Gets Kids up and Active

Business Wire, Feb 10, 2005

PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- -- ION Educational Gaming System adds physical activity to a category of passive electronic-learning toys--

Playskool, a division of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS), announced today its plans to introduce the ION Educational Gaming System (E.G.S.) for kids ages 3 to 7 that uses patented motion-capture technology to place the child onscreen and literally "in" the game. Players move their bodies to navigate through learning adventures in core preschool and elementary subjects. This latest innovation from Playskool becomes the first electronic educational gaming system to provide kids with learning benefits and physical activity that really gets them thinking on their feet, not playing in their seat. Playskool will unveil its new creation at the upcoming International Toy Fair in New York City.

"Moms of preschoolers and early elementary school children have never seen an electronic learning aid like the ION (E.G.S.)," said toy and children's lifestyle industry expert Chris Byrne, also known as The Toy Guy(R). "Playskool's new educational gaming system makes them active participants in their own learning and uniquely synthesizes different learning modes in a seamless and fun activity."

Slated to hit store shelves nationwide in the fall of 2005, Playskool's ION E.G.S. comes complete with console, compact camera and an Active Learning Disc with five games. The camera with motion-sensitive technology lets kids appear live on the TV screen and become part of the game. Players move their bodies--not game controllers--to control the action and guide themselves through learning adventures.

Playskool is working with several content providers, so children can complete these learning games alongside characters from their favorite TV shows, such as: Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob SquarePants, Lazy Town and Blue's Clues from Nickelodeon.; The Wiggles(R), Thomas & Friends(TM) and Bob the Builder(TM) from HIT Entertainment; and Elmo and friends from Sesame Street (Sesame Workshop.)

Also in the fall, Playskool will release additional Active Learning Discs, each with games that separate content into two age ranges, 3 to 5 and 5 to 7. Younger kids learn preschool basics like letters, numbers and colors, while older children graduate to core elementary skills like reading, math and problem solving.

"We've worked hard over the last year to make an active and entertaining educational gaming system," said Brian Goldner, president of Hasbro's U.S. toy group. "This meant creating a console focused on educational exploration--not just rote learning like many of the listen-recite-repeat toys currently available. We're proud to offer parents a unique product that engages their child's brain and body."

Educational content for the ION E.G.S. was developed in association with Dr. Erik Strommen, a Washington State-based developmental psychologist, who has worked for Sesame Workshop, Microsoft Corporation, and other companies designing and testing innovative interactive learning products for more than 15 years.

"All of us--not just children--learn best when we can engage multiple senses and our entire bodies," said Strommen. "Kids playing the ION (E.G.S.) exercise their minds and their bodies as they duck, dodge, tag, tickle, and really move, while mastering letter and number skills and more. This system engages the whole child in a way most learning technologies do not."

The ION E.G.S. gives kids one more way to be active every day. Guidelines from The American Heart Association recommend all children ages 2 and older participate in at least 30 minutes of "enjoyable, moderate-intensity activities every day."

"A product like the ION (E.G.S.) that combines moving and learning is much needed," said Rae Pica, an expert on the importance of physical activity in a child's life and education. "Children need to move--not just for the sake of their physical selves, but for their social, emotional and cognitive development. Parents should welcome a fun product that both teaches and gives their kids another way to be physically active."