Video games are surging (even the PC games sector is rebounding a bit), but other categories of high-tech toys are slumping. Intel put out some cool toys, but is now exiting the market. (Did you ever look at Intel’s microscope that would hook up to a PC? Very hip.) Here’s an article that talks about the sorry state of an industry that ought to be flourishing. It mentions something that ought to be obvious to every parent – kids’ software is hideous. Almost nothing creative or interesting has been done for kids on computers in years. The best-selling titles last year were Living Books and Carmen Sandiego, which are ridiculously dated. The push to get kids on computers in school is starting to seem misguided, since there’s not very much for them to do once they’re on the computer.
