Journey into videogames.

Ion_videogame_1When I was a kid my family went to Walt Disney World and Epcot Center in Florida, and one of the attractions at Epcot was this exhibit where you could be “in” the movie. It was basic weatherman-green-screen stuff, all designed to make the kids laugh and make their parents look goofy. Unlike a lot of the promises of the Journey Into Imagination, it seems at least one has come true. Sort of.

Hasbro has announced it will launch a new “learning” video game system for kids in the fall called the ION Gaming System (even the name sounds so Epcot). The system has a small motion sensitive camera, which will put the children playing “into” the game so they can interact with it. For instance one game will have kids popping virtual bubbles filled with letters so they can spell a word. It sounds kind of cool, but I bet it feels like playing pong with your hand as the paddle. And no matter what Hasbro says, I don’t think this is going to help stem the problem of obesity in kids.

Who am I kidding? Home electronics/educational toys/video game systems? I think I’m genetically programmed to buy this kind of stuff.

Link via Cool Hunting

Oh yeah. And happy St. Valentine's Day.