Some parents believe that video games are an abomination in the hands of their children. Others believe that it’s a great way to get their kids out of their hair.
Me? I have a 15-month-old son. He loves PlayStation 3 controllers and the console even more. He knows that if he presses one of the pretty little buttons on the console, either a disc will come out or the system will stop making noise. I love that he has such great interest in video games, but sometimes I’d like to be able to save my game before he turns it off.
So what do you think of when you hear “kids’ games” or “children’s games” or “rated E for everyone”? I think of Super Mario Bros., Spyro The Dragon, Crash Bandicoot, Croc, and similar games that I grew up on.
Now there’s cool games that integrate toy figurines, like Skylanders and Disney Infinity. Simply place the toy on a cool little platform connected wirelessly -that’s right, no wires!- to the console and voilà! Your toy is now your character in the game! Talk about a great way to keep kids playing with their toys!
Why didn’t they have that when I was growing up?!
What I find more exciting is that my son gets to enjoy the fruits of ever-evolving modern technology. For example, he has a plush toy in his crib that I can connect to the internet and change the songs it sings, the things it says… It even spells out my son’s name.
Thinking back, the most exciting toys I had when I was a kid were the Mega Mic, a Furby and a Tamagotchi or Giga Pet. They were all electronic! If my son has a toy that connects to the internet now, just think of what kind of toys will be available in the next five or ten years!
If you’ve never played Skylanders or Skylanders Giants, I’d recommend trying it at least once. It’s cool, makes a great family game since it only contains a little cartoon violence (most kids watch cartoons anyway!), it’s simple to understand and sometimes can be quite challenging since the lives of your one figurine can run out quickly if you’re not too careful! And in case you didn’t know, Skylanders is the new Spyro game. That’s right – 15 years after the release of his debut game, Spyro The Dragon, Spyro is still going strong in the gaming world.
And he brought some friends.
Did I mention that Skylanders is available on every gaming platform, including mobile devices like the iPad and iPhone? Seems appropriate, right? It should be – it’s a kids’ game!
