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Discount Store News, Feb 6, 1995 by Pete Hisey

Cloaked in play

A rising trend at this show seemed to be a shift toward more educational titles combined with high-level entertainment, the same approach taken to deliver education to kids under the guise of entertainment. History was particularly strong as subject matter.

One example was Wyatt Earp's Old West from Grolier. Combining a healthy dose of shoot 'em-up down at the OK Corral with a guided tour of an Old West town, Earp gives the user a revealing and accurate look at how people lived at that time, right from the horse's mouth.

Another compelling title, aimed at older kids, is Louis Cat Orze from IVI Publishing, best-known for its Mayo Clinic family health titles. Louis is a cat in the household of the better-known King Louis XIV, and is charged with solving the mysterious disappearance of the Queen's favorite necklace. That requires learning about the court, the people, the culture and the language of France during the period, and compiling a series of obscure clues. IVI's John Holt noted that in addition to gamers, Louis will appeal to cat lovers, French history buffs and classical music fans.

Turner Interactive will introduce a title based on the hit children's book, Dinotopia (which is also being prepared as a movie). Following its hit with Pagemaster (the CD has been more successful than the movie), Turner is turning up the heat. At the show it debuted The Mask Screensaver, and has another Mask title, Behind the Mask, that includes outtakes, interviews with the cast, a documentary about the special effects generation and much more, due soon. Turner is working on additional action and adventure titles, but nothing too violent, said Dov Jacobson, newly promoted vice president creative.

The Discovery Channel, which markets primarily to what it calls "information hungry adults," is expanding its line of software with titles like Ocean Planet and a strong historical title, Nile: Passage to Europe.

Time Warner Interactive's Aristotle MacGuffin takes kids back to several historical eras, where they have to save the eccentric inventor from the natives -- shades of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.

Another rising trend was a shift to lower prices on software. IVI's John Holt, for instance, noted that except for hit games, most software, particularly in reference and edutainment, is settling at $29.95 and will probably go lower. "For instance, look at our Home Time title; there are about 22 similar titles on the market," he noted. "We think ours is the best, but that number creates a lot of noise." IVI, which plans on a name change sometime this year as it moves into more general titles, is reacting by shifting away from "the noise" into special interest niches. A fly fishing title due this year, for instance, will offer the dedicated fisherman the most comprehensive look at trout streams throughout the American West and will appeal strongly to the "guy who thinks nothing of spending $250 on a graphite rod. If we can sell 20,000 copies in this niche, it'll be a nice business," Holt said. Similar strategies will accompany a Shakespeare product and a new ecology title will be marketed directly to the 750,000 members of the National Wildlife Federation.