CES Summit Calls for More Educational Games
Sure, gaming and gadget conferences like CES08 have always been a go-to source for sexy new screenshots, industry announcements and geek-luxe accoutrements aplenty. But these days, in light of an ever-younger gaming market and the popular media blaming video games for a host of societal ills, any gaming festival worth its salt better be ready to show its concern for The Youth. To that end, the Sandbox Summit at CES presented the D is for Digital report, which reviewed over 300 interactive media products aimed at children. The report, compiled by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, found only two videogames they deemed educational by current curriculum standards. Their verdict? Acknowledging gaming’s educational potential for today’s tech-literate kids, the report called for a push toward more educational game development–with a focus on adults and kids playing games together. Ben “All Kids’ Games Are Crap” Sawyer, founder of the Serious Games Initiative and himself a recent conference speaker on the state of youth gaming, no doubt wholeheartedly agrees.