tweens
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YouTube will expand parental controls for tweens and teens
Supervised accounts will enable content settings and limit some features.
Fuhu announces the $250 Nabi XD for tweens: 10.1-inch display, Jelly Bean on offer
Fuhu's latest attempt at a tablet for youngsters is the Nabi XD, this time promising to help keep your tween's hands off your shiny new slate and also eschew sibling rivalry. It's packing specs that match its grown-up approach -- a 10.1-inch, 1,366 x 768 IPS display, quad-core Tegra 3 innards, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, dual snappers, and NFC. The customizable wrapper atop the OS boasts a "gadget-based", rule-governed interface that changes depending on time and location. Concerned parents can take solace in its kid-friendly browsing, and fool themselves by springing for the optional silicone keyboard cover -- an accessory that should, in theory, assist with homework, but one that might just be relegated to the side in favor of the device's more enticing gaming capabilities. The tablet will set you back $249 for 16GB and $349 for the 32GB iterations when it lands late December, but ask yourselves first -- is this really what your kid wants?
Crapgadget: BFF Gemz dilute the notion of a best friend (video)
If you want a charm that hangs 'round your neck and glows whenever your friend Missy tells you she loves Justin Bieber, then eMotion Inc has the gadget for you. The BFF Gemz sends pre-written coded messages to pals up to 450 feet away, which they can access the next time they're at a computer. You can add up to eight best friends (the BFF currency devalued to Weimar proportions) and four more if you buy some GPA: Girl Power Average points. It's not entirely private: Mom and Pop will get a weekly email, listing who you're messaging, so if you swap notes with that gal from the wrong end of town you'd better stick to paper airplanes. Those curious to see what the kids might be clamoring for instead of a new cellphone, check out the video after the break.
Leaderboard: Free Realms' vs. Wizard101's unicorns
In honor of the recently revived MMO Family column here on Massively, I thought that this week we'd extend the brutal beatings, clobberings, and verbal beratings to family-friendly MMOs. In many ways, Free Realms and Wizard101 are almost like siblings with so many things in common, and this extends to the use of sickeningly cute unicorn pets. While I personally stopped paying attention to unicorns when Trapper Keepers went out of style, apparently they're still a "thing," especially with the younger market. You young 'uns, always keeping the unicorn union in business! Why don't you just let us harvest them for their magical horns which can be ground up and sprinkled on our Starbucks lattes? Ahem. Sorry. In any event, one such instance of ultra-cuteness is enough; two is completely unnecessary and unhealthy for the well-being of our universe. So today you must decide which game's unicorns will rule as lord supreme over the hearts of tweens everywhere, and which will be sold to the salt mines to haul loads while crying rainbow tears. Vote! And let it forever be on your conscience! [The unicorn on the left is from Wizard101; the one on the right is from Free Realms.]
Toshiba and Best Buy team up on the Satellite L635 Kids' PC, one-ups the kiddy netbooks
If you're under the age of ten there probably isn't much that can top seeing the Jonas Brothers in concert, chasing after Justin Bieber or a new episode of iCarly, but Toshiba and Best Buy are hoping its new jointly created Kids PC can elicit similar feelings of excitement from them youngins. The 13.3-inch Satellite L635 Kid's PC, as you may have figured out by now, isn't a netbook -- no siree, it's a big kid system with a dual-core Intel Celeron P4600 processor, 2GB of RAM, a DVD drive, and 250GB of storage. But, of course, there are some aspects that set it apart from mommy and daddy's laptop -- in addition to the "gender neutral" gray and neon green coloring it's got a rubberized, wipeable keyboard that makes it easy to clean off the cookie crumbs and cooties. Toshiba's also gone and loaded the 4.2-pound machine up with loads of child friendly software; it comes with NetNanny parental controls, KidZui's web browser and games like Lego Batman. It isn't a bad package for $499, but it'll only available exclusively at Best Buy starting on September 26. Hit the break for the full release and the gallery below for some hands-on shots of the not-so-little guy. %Gallery-103050% %Gallery-103051%
Gadget bandz bring gear lust to tween wrists
You know about Silly Bandz, right? Well, maybe you don't have subscriptions to Tiger Beat and spend your evenings at home alone on Bieber message boards like we do, so allow us to explain. They are rubber bands that are shaped like things--unicorns, peace signs, hamburgers, aliens, emoticons--traditionally worn on the wrists, and eventually traded with like-minded collectors. They are very popular in the 8 - 12 demographic. You might relate them to Pogs, slap bracelets, Lisa Frank pencils, and baseball cards. Now that you know what's up, the point is that they are now available in gadget shapes: iPod nano, laptop, iPhone 3G, NES controller, digital camera, and the "most collectible" iPad...er, "tablet." That is all.
Motion capture game teaches tween girls to avoid the come-ons of boys from the Metaverse
The University of Central Florida has been awarded a $434k grant to develop a video game for tween girls. The game, which is still in development, is apparently designed to allow girls to "practice" rejecting peer pressure from boys for sex and make outs. Of course, the only natural way to immerse the player in such a game is to put her into a motion capture suit, where her jittery marionette of an avatar is surrounded by the most diabolical 3D models of teenage males obtainable on that $434k budget -- if it was paid to Neal Stephenson in 1992. "It's a place to practice where there aren't any social consequences," says Professor Anne Norris, who is heading the project. But who will protect them from the psychological consequences, Anne? And will there be any escape from the meta-virus? Check out the unintentionally hilarious video after the break.
MMO Family: Finding time to game during the family years
MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family ... From tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate niches for every family member, MMO Family offers you advice on MMO gaming of the family, by the family and for the family. Believe it or not, the childhood years can be a golden era for your gaming. It's all about availability -- and let's face it, staying home to game gives you a big edge. The trick is making sure you actually are available to your children and partner while you're gaming. (After all, isolating yourself in the back room mumbling, "Just six more kills ... Just six more kills ..." isn't exactly helping anyone find a juice box or get a fresh diaper.) Still, once you stop to consider the ways that gaming can fit into your daily schedule, we think you'll find that gaming is a great fit for a young family.
Virtual worlds for kids an ever-growing market
Kids -- particularly tweens -- are big business today, with an ever-larger percentage of the family budget being used for and influenced by this age group. Smart businesses everywhere are hurrying to get in on the gold mine, and MMO gaming is no exception. MMOs and virtual worlds like Free Realms and Club Penguin are enjoying growing success, and there is still plenty of room on the bandwagon. More and more MMO companies are turning an eye to console development, and that road runs both ways: The Escapist took a look at the possibility of upcoming virtual worlds for the 8-12 year old market. The focus was on franchises that have traditionally been known to be console only, particularly those coming from Nintendo. Nintendo enjoys a nearly unshakable hold on the young casual console gamer market, thanks mostly to the Mario franchise. A virtual world filled with Mario and all of his friends? Why not? Take a look at what The Escapist has to say on the matter.
Survey says, yes, teens and tweens still want video games this holiday
Image credit: alliet What we want to know: If 86 percent of surveyed youngsters are asking for at least one video game this holiday gift-getting season, what miserable manner of childhood have the other 14 percent been living? No doubt leading a crusade to bring joy to teens and tweens everywhere (and, uh, recoup some losses), retailer Game Crazy has put together a handy buyer's guide for concerned parents.Don't know which video games to get your kids because they haven't clearly indicated them in large, bold, triple-underlined letters on their wish lists? Just follow these simple guidelines: For the "Girly Girl" whose fashion obsession is getting way too costly: Wii Sports Resort For the "Music Addict" who's not worth spending real guitar lessons on: Guitar Hero 5 For the "All Things Sports" lover who's just a tad bit uncoordinated to enjoy "outside" sports: Wii Sports Resort For "The Adventurer" who needs to learn that "real life" is largely confined to the indoors: New Super Mario Brothers Wii Oh, and parents, whatever you do, don't buy the oft-requested "Call of Duty" for your kids. It's rated M -- for Mature! -- for a reason. Might we suggest Ubisoft's wonderful line of imagination-expanding titles in its place? Don't worry, their initial weeps are totally normal. Trust us. They'll thank you later, once they've grown up to become animal doctors, champion riders, master chefs, movie stars, and ... babyz.
NPD: Households with kids still the biggest game purchasers
Though the median age of video gamers has increased dramatically over the past decade, a recent report from the NPD Group shows that youngsters still possess a great deal of market dominance -- according to the study, households with children ages 12 and under constitute 45 percent of the gaming industry's total sales. Considering these tweens only make up 17 percent of the U.S. population, that's a fairly large chunk of selling power.Still, it's tough to completely trust these numbers -- as we all know, 13-year-olds are vile, fraudulent creatures who are quick to shave a few years off their age in the pursuit of pure vanity. Just be yourself, 13-year-olds. You've got plenty of good years ahead of you.
Researcher zeroes in on kids playing RuneScape
Hey kids! Do you want to try an experiment? No, you won't get paid but you will help further scientific research through the process of "cognitive ethnography." Not interested? Hmmm, well, you do get to play video games... Oh, you are interested! Let me just get you these waivers to sign...Constance Steinkuehler is an MMO researcher studying teens and tweens in the world of RuneScape. Her research aims to find commonalities in thought process between young individuals who play MMOs. Her work will also assess the impacts of game play over a longer period on their daily lives, social relationships, and school work. Given the abundance and accessibility of games aimed at youth these days, it will be interesting to see how they influence us humans in our more impressionable years.
Plenty of gaming options for today's 'tweens
According to this MSNBC article, there are no less than 200 youth-oriented virtual worlds and MMOs either in development or on the market. Some of these titles even boast account numbers that rival Facebook and MySpace as analysts estimate 30M users in Club Penguin, 52M users in Neopets, and 90M in Habbo.Is this really surprising though? Probably not when you consider that kids today aren't totally different in this generation than previous generations. 'Tweens have always liked to socialize, play, and simply "hang out." The difference nowadays is that parents tend to have looser restrictions and the kids can accomplish most of the things they like to do without even leaving a computer chair. The rules and tools have changed.The article also talks about a 89/10/1 rule that most F2P/RMT games aim for. This rule assumes that 89% of people will play your game for free, 10% will pay the minimum, and 1% will spend lots of money. Apply that rule to the recent announcements that both Free Realms and Runes of Magic have surpassed 1M users. If the rule applies, it means 100,000 people are paying the basic fees (~$5/month) and 10,000 are spending oodles on extras ($15+/month). That's roughly $650,000 per month, which isn't half bad depending on your development costs.
Freaky Creatures has a spot open for you
Despite having had a chance to preview Abandon Interactive's upcoming kid-friendly MMO, Freaky Creatures, last year at GDC, things have been fairly quiet while they've been working on the game. Recently, however, they've opened up the signups for the beta so that anyone who is interested in checking it out can now get in instantly. Sure, you'll still be under NDA according to the signup, but if it's half as much fun as Akela Talamasca thought it was (his words being "this is like Pokémon, but far, far cooler.") it should be interesting to check out. Besides, how many MMOs can you say you get to be a giant sea-space-Eagle-thing with a fire-breathing laser gun like the one above? Or how about a crazed horse bent on freakish amounts of horseshoe destruction? If it sounds like something that would interest you - or your kids - head on over to the Freaky Creatures beta sign-up site and take advantage of the openings for the beta![Via Virtual Worlds News]
Free Realms video blog hits on game's unique features
Free Realms is one of those rare massively multiplayer online games that seems to hold appeal for both children and adults, despite its target group of teens and tweens. Sony Online Entertainment released a video blog from CES 2009 specifically about the game, with SOE President John Smedley and Creative Director Laralyn McWilliams. They explain a bit about what the game is, and some of what makes the title unique. The video blog is interspersed with footage from Free Realms, highlighting its combat-optional design philosophy. This should provide gamers with a variety of options -- including pets and mini-games -- allowing them to play however they choose.
Bury the Shovelware: Bratz Ponyz 2
After a few controversial picks, I've decided to take the edge off and pick on an easy target. After all, doesn't picking on the weak make us all feel a little better? So don't worry about today: we've got not one but TWO S's replaced with Z's! Pedigree Instead of talking about the developer and publisher, let's just take a long look at the title. It's in three parts. First: "Bratz," a franchise which has been criticized locally for allegedly attempting to sell sex to children. Abroad, things are even worse: "On December 21, 2006, the National Labor Committee announced that the factory workers in China, who make Bratz dolls, labor for 94.5 hours a week, while the factory pays only $0.515 an hour, $4.13 a day. The per doll amount is $0.17, much less than the Bratz dolls actually cost (from $20 to $40)." (Wikipedia). And most important of all, let's not forget the last letter of the first word, a disgusting trait also shared with the second word: "Ponyz." When did the letter "S" become uncool? Did he totally say ohmigod and she was all like "right?" Or did Z suddenly become incredibly popular? Did Z come skateboarding through space while wearing sunglasses and playing a hot pink electric guitar? That's still cool, right? Finally, we have the number 2 ... as if there were so many unanswered questions at the end of Bratz Ponyz 1.
Nickelodeon and friends unveil more Npower gizmos
We've never been big fans of giving your tween some Nickelodeon-ized gizmo when you can simply hand down your current gear and use it for an excuse to upgrade, but apparently not everyone sees it that way. Nickelodeon, Viacom and Imation have jointly announced the latest line of kid-friendly Npower gizmos, which includes a digital voice recorder, a digicam and a webcam based on the "breakout hit" iCarly. Additionally, the outfit is churning out SpongeBob SquarePants-themed speakers, boomboxes, MP3 players and digiframes, and there's even a few Dora the Explorer toys thrown in for good measure. All the (inflated) prices and shipping details are down there in the read link -- we won't bore the uninterested any longer by fleshing it out here.[Via Electronista]
Massively interview: KingsIsle on Wizard101
We recently had the chance to check up on KingsIsle and talk to them about their three-year conjuration, Wizard101. We sat down with the studio's director, Todd Coleman, to discuss what's in store for the tween-centric wizard school MMO. We also got some extra hands-on time with the game, so be sure to look out for something written about that soon. Read on after the break for the full article.%Gallery-23433%
Massively hands-on: Wizard101
KingsIsle Entertainment was founded way back in 2005 -- and since their inception, they seem to have stayed quietly sequestered in their offices, hard at work on unknown projects. With a team consisting of industry veterans from Wolfpack (creators of Shadowbane) and Ion Storm, it was hard not to be curious about their work. If you're one of the many who have been wondering what the team has been working on, you're in luck, because they've just announced their first project: Wizard101. We recently had a chance to visit KingsIsle's Austin studios (they've taken up residence in a corner of the complex formerly inhabited by Origin Systems) and enroll in the Ravenwood School for the Magical Arts for a day to get a feel for the game. Though this game is aimed at kids ("tweens" that are too old for the likes of Club Penguin but too young for their parents to feel comfortable letting them loose in Barrens chat), its turn-based combat system and trading card game elements may interest you, too. So what makes Wizard101 different from the proliferation of MMOs on the market? A few elements of the game caught our eye...%Gallery-23343%%Gallery-23433%
Kiddie virtual worlds top the century mark
According to a report recently released by Virtual Worlds Management, there are now over 100 youth-oriented virtual worlds somewhere along the phase of development, from concept to several years post-release. And even that is understating the situation a little bit, as they've lumped both MTV and Disney's burgeoning cadre of virtual worlds into single entries on the list.Virtual Worlds News has a pretty thorough breakdown of the data (with charts!), separating the virtual worlds into categories and target demographics. According to their breakdown of the current landscape, it would appear that the tween category (that is, ages 8-12) is currently the most populated area on the current landscape, targeted as they are by the likes of LEGO Universe, Hello Kitty Online, and practically every other game under the sun. We like to think that Elves and Orcs are the running cliche of the MMO space, but more likely it's purses and shopping.
