Nintendo: Kids Just Want to Have Fun
Parents are always complaining that their children are wasting hour after hour on those Nintendo video games, which require skillful hand-eye coordination but little brain power. They’d love to see software for the system that’s entertaining and educational--or even just educational.
But they’re out of luck. There’s not much on the market and not much in the pipeline. “It’s a matter of business,” Nintendo spokesman Tom Sarris explained. “You market what the people want.”
And the people, in this case, are kids. Nintendo says that 37% of its players are in the 6-11 age bracket, with another 12% between 12 and 14.
“Players in this bracket like to have fun,” Sarris said. “If the game gets too educational, it’s a turn-off for them.”
Added Sherry Pfefer, public relations manager of Hi-Tech Expressions, which makes games for the Nintendo system: “Kids like to do their homework and then play Nintendo games. If you make it too educational and make them feel they’re learning something, it’s like school. Parents want educational games but the hard-core players don’t. Parents want software that stresses mind-power but the kids want software that tests their hand-eye skills.”
Sarris said that Nintendo of America Inc. has no immediate plans to release software that might be categorized as educational, although some of its licensees do.
In early 1986, when Nintendo was being introduced in this country, Nintendo itself marketed “Donkey Kong Jr. Math,” which helped kids who are just starting school learn how to add, subtract, multiply and divide.
“It wasn’t a big hit,” Sarris said. “There’s wasn’t much enthusiasm about it. Nintendo would have probably developed more software like that if that one had been received better.”
But he said that the company, sensitive to the lack of educational software and undoubtedly fearing an eventual parental backlash, donated $3 million in May to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for research into how children learn while playing--information that would ultimately help in the development of games that are both entertaining and educational.
What is on the market that qualifies as educational?
Hi-Tech Expressions offers “Sesame Street 123” and “Sesame Street ABC,” geared to children 3-6. “The ‘Sesame Street 123,’ which came out last year, didn’t do as well as the ‘ABC,’ which teaches the alphabet,” Pfefer said. “Parents are more interested in kids learning the alphabet.”
Later this year, she added, Hi-Tech will introduce a cartridge called “Hide and Speak,” in which Big Bird will teach basic reading and phonetics for 3- to 6-year-olds.
Also for the youngsters: Licensee Gametek Inc. markets “Fisher-Price I Can Remember,” “Fisher-Price Perfect Fit,” “Fisher-Price Firehouse Rescue” and “Jeopardy Jr. Edition.”
Another Nintendo licensee, the Santa Monica-based Sofel Corporation, recently released “Wall Street Kid,” which the company’s marketing assistant, Bob Wittenberg, said appeals primarily to players 18 and up.
“The stock market is the environment of the game,” he said. “The player can go to an adviser to get advice on the market. This adviser gives educational information about the market. If you know nothing at all about the stock market, you can learn something.”
In October, Chatsworth-based Software Toolworks will introduce its $300 “Miracle Piano Teaching System,” which includes a cartridge for the Nintendo system and a keyboard. “It’s designed for a wide range of age groups and piano-playing skills,” said chairman Les Crane. “It utilizes the educational capabilities of Nintendo the way people would like to see them utilized.”
