The next toy story: kids' educational software is hot

Discount Store News, May 20, 1996 by Pete Hisey

The children's educational software market is growing up, with ever more sophisticated graphics, better and more subtle content and emphasis on plot and character that helps the learning go down more easily.

"The secret is to make the parents think broccoli and the kids think ice cream," said Catherine Winchester, president of start-up Wanderlust Interactive, which will release its first title based on its Pink Panther license later this year.

Wanderlust is just one of many relative newcomers to the category who are introducing titles with extremely valuable educational content wedded to state-of-the-art game play to produce products that are irresistible to parents and kids alike.

Until recently, the children's market broke down into three often mutually exclusive categories: games, dry "drill and kill" educational titles and often lightweight "edutainment" programs.

The newer titles tend to incorporate all three approaches, giving parents the educational guarantee they demand and giving kids a rich and fun experience that passes along a surprising amount of learning.

The category has become so attractive that it is now being invaded by the heavy hitters of the entertainment industry. Two of DreamWorks' first products will be interactive educational titles, and LucasArts, the producer of some of computing's most advanced and popular games, such as Dark Forces and Rebel Assault, will debut its first educational title, Mortimer and the Riddles of the Medallion, later this year.

DreamWorks Interactive, a joint venture between the DreamWorks entertainment company and Microsoft, is working on Cooper's Cliffhangers, a grammatical adventure" that requires kids to pass various grammar tests to move on to new levels, and Now You're Cooking, an interactive cooking game that teaches the very young how to cook and compile recipes.

According to DreamWorks' Dan Kaufman, "Cooper's takes the boring structural parts of English and makes them fun. Kids play arcade-style games where they have to whack incorrectly spelled words when they pop up, and they really have to learn to succeed at the games."

Disney Interactive, which started out with educational titles, then switched to kids' activities, is veering back to the educational approach, adding counting and matching games with several levels of difficulty to its smash hit Toy Story.

Upcoming titles, particularly this fall's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, will have even more learning value, according to vp marketing, edutainment Carolyn O'Keefe. "We are continuing to learn what the customer wants, and that seems to be more educational content," she said. "We are working with educational consultants to deliver good educational value and good value, period. No one wants to spend $35 for a product and have it just sit on the shelf. Our research shows that products with a rich, varied and challenging content get used more often and for a longer time. And that makes consumers feel good about buying Disney."

Hunchback, due in October, will feature five challenging learning games (including one that allows kids to compose their own song, then choreograph it with dancing gargoyles) as well as a 360 degree section that allows kids to explore France during the time period.

"Even the clickables have an educational aspect," O'Keefe said. For instance, a gypsy tightrope walker will fall unless the child balances the right amount of chickens on his balancing pole.

"The complexity and interactivity have been increased throughout the game," O'Keefe said. "We think Hunchback, because of its subject matter, will skew a little higher than previous titles, and the educational content has to appeal to and challenge these older kids."

Creative Wonders, the joint venture between Electronic Arts and VTech, the electronics company that single-handedly created a niche in precomputer learning toys for kids, is moving into the computer market with software and kid-oriented peripherals. According to vp Carol Seitz, the company will release six PC titles licensed from Encyclopedia Britannica, which until now has kept its content off retail shelves. The titles will take a Time-Life Books approach, compiling, EB material by subject with added interactive game and adventure play.

Titles include Inventions of Mention. in which kids will access information about important inventors to help them catch up with their dog, who is chasing a transcontinental frisbee. For instance, when stymied by the Grand Canyon, the player can get useful advice from the inventor of the elevator or of the hot air balloon.

Others under development include Take Flight, in which kids build and fly their own test aircraft, a space adventure called Stories in the Sky, Ancient Civilizations and a language title called Beyond Words.

The company has also introduced a series for very young PC users called PC Talker, which includes an in-pack doll of a major character with each software title. The "doll" is actually a third speaker that broadcasts only the lines of its on-screen character, adding concrete play value to the computing experience. According to Seitz, the PC Talker line will include four titles based on classic fairy tales like Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk.