You’ve probably heard about Project Natal by now. It’s Microsoft’s “secret” project that lets you use your body as the input device for the Xbox Live. No controllers, no wires, no headgear or gloves. If you liked using Nintendo Wii’s controller to play games you’ll love the freedom and increased capability of using your body.

Yes, it’s a Trekian buzzword, but telepresence creates the illusion that something or someone is with you.

Nothing wrong with a mindless game every now and then, but some games are more mindless than others. I’d have your kids steer clear of these. One because it’s grossly sophmoric, two because it was a terrible game that Michael Jackson’s death will resurrect. And three because it fuels the notion of jihad as something [...]

Whoever designed the three-month summer vacation must have received kickbacks from the electronics industry. Even the most well intentioned moms and dads need a break from lemonade stands, swim parties, and cookouts. Here are a handful of great ideas followed by a handful of fair warnings.

It’s show time for the digital toy business. Time to trot out previews of the summer’s releases.  This season offerings has a few recurrent themes. First is low price. Almost all of the manufacturers are selling less expensive variations on their older toys.  The second trend is all about using the body and brain in combination. [...]

Have you tried shopping for educational toys  for young kids lately?
It’s a jungle out there.  If you’re looking to help them practice  reading, math, critical thinking, color matching  … whatever, there are hundreds to choose from ranging from the mundane to the sublime. And no way to know for sure much about what’s inside the box.
Leapfrog, [...]

Now that they’ve seen game developers turn into rock stars (and get paid like them too) parents are much more likely to take gaming as a serious career path.
Game development is a part of many colleges computer science curriculum and in a number of high schools like this one in NYC, building a game is [...]

In the old days (just last week), before Nintendo’s new portable game console, the DSi, was available, portable game consoles were for kids with good eyesight, fast reflexes, and too much time on their hands. The DSi, the next generation of Nintendo’s DS, is going to shake things up by changing the nature of the [...]

Mario and Sonic are Olympians with a pretty impressive track record. Separately, Mario plays for the Nintendo team and Sonic plays for Sega. But when they join forces, whoa, stand back. They teamed up in Beijing to star in Mario and Sonic at the Summer Olympics and managed to sell over 10 million games as [...]

Many parents are just about ready to give their kids two cans and some string and send them out to play. The days of $300 robots and $100 learning systems are fading fast. At Toy Fair this year, there was a nod towards austerity. But, while lower in costs, the toys did [...]