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 a forum for the uses of videogames in advertising, politics, education, and other everyday activities, outside the sphere of entertainment
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Leapster, the educational handheld gaming device November 1, 2003 - by Ian Bogost Educational electronics manufacturer LeapFrog announced the availability of their new Leapster educational gaming handheld, calling it an alternative to Nintendo's GameBoy system, offering "educational alternative for portable game playing." Slashdot also reports on a LeapFrog spokesperson's comments on the launch:
A half a million GameBoys were sold last year for kids in the 3-1/2 to 6-1/2-year-old age group, but try to get parents to admit that in a focus group. This is a completely untapped market.
Nintendo would probably not admit catering to this demographic either. Last year when I was asking Nintendo for feedback on a GameBoy based educational product idea that appealed to exactly that age range, their reps told me that kids aren't even on their radar until they are 8 years old. Some of this may have to do with the fact that the ESRB doesn't typically issue ratings that cover kids under 6 (the EC rating) to video games. I can't comment yet on the actual educational value of the Leapster. The LeapPad does provide actual educational value, although I'd characterize it as casual educational value. In any event, I think LeapFrog's market positioning for the device is quite smart. Comment from ken on December 18, 2003
Comment from ken on December 18, 2003
Comment from Randy on November 25, 2004
I DO NOT RECOMMEND THE LEAPSTER The leapster concept is great, however the execution of the product is very poor. I bought one right after they came out and the stylus would never register, and I couldn't calabrate it. I called leapfrog and they admitted there was a software glitch that later versions are fixed. However, after getting a replacement, My daughter has had the same problem over and over. It get's costly mailing the unit to them for a replacement. Oh and they now claim there was never a problem, which leads me to believe they never intended on fixing it. Also the software selection is very poor for a product out this long. I'm looking at replacing it with a Gameboy if I can get educational software. Comment from pet friendly hotels on March 7, 2005
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