I think the main issue for Leapfrog is the fact that a depressingly small library of software is available for the Leapster. I can say my six year old sometimes uses it, but some more varied software would make it much more interesting for him.

I don't know if I mentioned this in my weblog, but what the Leapster REALLY needs is memory to save stuff on. There is a drawing game on one of the games, but it does not allow a kid to save his picture! I can tell you that is the first thing my son tried to do. He has used a drawing program on my PDA and he knows that such devices should be able to save.

After that, Leapfrom needs to realize that there no platform that has ever been sucessful without third-party software. Its about the games ( or learning applications, doesn't matter what you call it, kids would rather play something called a game ). There is a small, not very compelling library for Leapster. I don't suspect too many were sold after Chirstmas.

Besides that, a strong hobbyist platform would be amazing. The Leapster package is great for kids. Imagine a PC based product where a kid could make his OWN interactive videos. I can tell you that creating their own content would be very compelling for any kid, and it would be more inspire more learning than any pre made "learning experience."

Hmmm. That is my real point, I'll have to develop that some more.

Thanks for the space.

Dave

It would be self-defeating for them to continue to do without third-party development.

The longterm value of a media-delivery platform relies on compelling and diverse content. Each new title builds the appeal of the platform, and provides consumers with a new case for purchasing it.

And a 3rd party development community is a vital asset. Without one, you're a voice in the wilderness. They provide a network of businesses and individuals with a deep, vested interest in the success of the platform.

Dave -- good to see you here, thanks for the comments. LeapFrog says they have around 20 new Leapster titles slated for release this year. Still, I'm not sure that's enough.

About a hobbyist platform, one can certainly do DIY dev for the GameBoy; yes, you need to be able to code C++, but you can buy cart writers online from Hong Kong and get a working one-off game built. Since Leapster is Flash-based, I can see an even more fruitful hobbyist community. The hobbyist community is different than the third-party community, but it's still worth talking about.

Ian,

Yep, I guess I didn't read your post closely enough. Still I agree. There is no way to get a compelling and diverse library of content without third-party developers.

As you said as long as LeapFrog gets to approve games from third-party developers, it can't hurt them.

A strong library of games will encourage sales of all the games, as long as kids like them. They have to be fun no matter what.

Thanks for following up on this one... my son is a texbook case: bright, game-loving, frustrated by traditional workbooks and lesson plans.

He was probably three or four when I introduced him to Riven, and I remember how he kept asking me, "Can I go up these steps? Can I go in that door?" He was amazed at the freedom he had in the game world.

But I'm just not comfortable investing in a closed platform. It's not as if I have any deep ideological misgivings, and I do think that for less technically inclined parents its probably a safe and comfy alternative to real comptuers. And based on the comments posted to your earlier article, in which consumers mention the parts breaking down, I think I made the right decision.

My son often spends hours flapping his hands in front of his face pretending they are dinosaurs, or spaceships, and making up lyrics for theme songs for his various adventures. So giving him a Leapster is probably not necessary.

Dennis -- thanks for your thouts. I'm curious, does your discomfort in investing in a closed platform primarily have to do with its longevity? If I understand you right, your misgivings have to do with computational simplicity?

Hmm... that would depend on the product. My reasons probably aren't philosophical at all... In this case, we've got enough comptuers in the house already, so I just don't want to buy more stuff that will clutter up the house -- so perhaps that translates to a longevity concern. And the fact that the comptuer is in another room, where he has to ask permission to use it, keeps him from spending too much time on it.

Ah, I understand. I guess that position would be valid for any kind of kid activity, huh? One benefit of Leapster is that it's portable, of course. Let me ask the question differently:

What kinds of games might change your mind about the value of the Leapster as a supervised computer activity?

I think LeapFrog hasn't yet, but will soon, realize that opening one's platform doesn't mean losing control. As the article said, Nintendo has done an excellent job giving the stamp of approval on 3rd-party games without which nobody can succeed in the market. Looking at the number of titles available is really depressing. This looks like a great platform, and I have been chomping at the bit trying to find a company out there who will hire a talented flash developer to work on this fledgling educational game market. But there just aren't any openings out there (that I've seen)! Anyway, the real point is that LeapFrog will soon realize that a growing library of great games will really make its product! They don't have to open the platform to hobbyists; real hobbyists are perfectly content to reverse-engineer any system, right? ;) Though I imagine I have no clue what I'm talking about since I'm just imagining buying an EEPROM reader and downloading a .swf decompiler, heh.

Ian, I've been slow to answer, because I've been in full-time Daddy mode for a few weeks now.

I don't really think it's a matter of content... it's the platform I don't like. Too expensive to be a toy, too limited to be a real computer.

While the reviews on Amazon praised the product, there were enough complaints about durability that I'd just rather buy 3 or 4 traditional edu-games for the PC than risk a Leapster.

My son also enjoys the flash games on the VeggieTales website -- he's not snobby about graphics.

Grr... got an error when I tried posting, so I'm retyping. I'm in full-time Daddy mode, so I've been slow in responding.

I'm cross posting to my blog so I don't lose this again...

The Amazon reviews of Leapster praised the concept and quality of the software, but there were more than enough problems with durability to make me pass on the hardware. Since I'm not really comfortable (yet) with the idea of letting my son have unlimited access to his games, I'd rather buy 3 or 4 edu-games for the PC we already have than risk a Leapster.

My son is not that picky about graphics, so he's happily playing some old (mid 1990s) games, and he prefers the 1994 (or so) Star Wars X Wing vs Tie Fighter to the more recent X Wing Alliance... So the fact that I can share with him games that I enjoyed means something to me.

In terms of content, what would it take to get me to change my mind? I don't know... I'll know it when I see it. We don't get cable TV, so he doesn't know who Spongebob or Dora the Explorer are, so the branded content is actually a liability in my eyes.

Some educational games make a funny blooping noise when you make a mistake or get a wrong answer. My son enjoyed trying to knock Curious George unconscious so much that he never paid attention to the letter-recognition game, and besides, he already knew his alphabet. So he got stuck on a level -- by his own choice -- for several days.

I would love to have been able to tweak the level of encouragement the game provides.

I know my son prefers games that feature a plot with an opponent to overcome... For several years he has been enthralled by Lego Stunt Rally, which has completely captured his imagination (to the point that we have to limit his access to that game, or he will make car brake squealing noises for hours at a time, re-playing races in his mind).

Sometimes I'd like to see the "plot" suffer an extreme setback if the kid is careless...

Oh wait -- I just thought of a game that might make me buy Leapster.

My son needs some work with penmanship... I had, and still have, terrible handwriting, so I'm senstitive on this issue.

If there were a game where you played... I don't know... a construction foreman, and you traced out shapes on a blueprint, and then construction teams built the roads according to the layout you designed, and then you had to drive on the roads, wrecking your nice cars if the wobbly lines drawn on the blueprint were too far from the norm. A game like that might also include map reading, simulation, basic math, and abstract thinking. Oh, and of course there would need to be random citizens with fruit stands to be smashed.

Throw in a villain with a handlebar moustache and a cool car that can spew smoke screens and drop oil slicks, and I'd buy it.

Planes, ants, Chewbacca making the calculations for a jump to hyperspace -- anything that moves in a boundary would work. It's drawing on the touch screen that would make the difference. But it's that touch screen that seems to be the source of a lot of frustration from consumers.

I'd really love to buy a leapster for my son, but I need many more titles available before I do.

Some easy-reader adventure games available for the platform would be great. My son loves playing Pokemon Gold, and in doing so he learned to read most of it before he was 5.

Frank -- thanks for sharing this. Your Pokemon example is one of game learning theorist Jim Gee's favorites -- Pokemon requires a very high reading level, and provides inherent incentive to learn it. This is one of the modes of learning that LeapFrog might consider, instead of just the edutainment variety.

Let us be frank. The probable reason these folks that make this game platform [razors] want to keep this a closed system is so they can capture 100% of the sales of the cartridges [blades]. So be it.

In doing so, they stifle true innovation, relying on in-house capabilities and out of box thinking, in selfish consideration of only their pockets. Ain't gonna happen. I am not buying into the platform after understanding they are keeping it a closed system.

One bright shining example exposes the illogic of their stance - Apple and the Macintosh and OS. Apple never learned this critical lesson of the risks of CLOSED SYSTEMS, and now is forevermore relegated to a sub-3% marketshare, while Microsoft captured the 90+ marketshare with their OPEN SYSTEM OS and has to think hard on how it will distribute billions of profits. The software world is littered with remnants of software companies that kept themselves closed, and we see one more former giant of a hardware company, Sun, now floundering under the weight of being a closed system. 'nudff said.

Look at the background of the founders of this company (Ivan Boesky, M Milliken) and that about says it all for their genuine concern for the schoolchildren of the US...their motivation is not really targeted at true innovative education IMO. Just lining their pockets. At least they are keeping it more honest this time around.

Just one lady's opinion. Sai I would be blunt, right ?

withheld --

There are other models that fall in between the two extremes. It's widely held that Nintendo's establishment of the Nintendo Seal of Quality was one of the reasons for the revitalization of the console industry after the tragic fall of 1983-4. The seal game retailers a guarantee that the product wasn't complete garbage, and added some incentive on the part of developers to adopt part of an agenda that the publisher endorsed.

I'm not sure the Apple Computer analogy is really all that valid. While Apple's hardware has traditionally been closed, Apple's software systems have always been open, and there are many third party developers for Mac. Moreover, 3% marketshare of the PC industry is nothing to laugh at. As Steve Jobs often points out, Mercedes has about 3% of the auto industry.

In Nintendo's system -- which continues to this day in GBA and GC games -- Nintendo charges developers a fee to manufacture and package games for their devices. So, they do make a profit through third party development, and they grow their content base. This is the kind of strategy I'd hope to see from LeapFrog.

Just call me a mom here... but since there ARE gameboy's and nintendo's that are pure gaming, and don't have any, or few "educational" options...already out there, I'm guessing that Leap was trying to give us parents who do not like to see, or allow our children to zone out in front of gaming consoles a more educational option? By introducting 100's of titles, leapster would just be another gameboy... wouldn't it?

I do agree they are lacking cartridges, but I do think they should continue to keep the "games" on a more learning side of things. I don't think 4 year olds need to be spending hours poking at a gameboy, leapster, pixter, ect... Don't get me wrong I live with an avid gamer, but let gameboy sell the true games. If your 4 - 6 year old plays with the leapster and loves it.. great! It sounds like they might actually be learning something!

My issue is weather or not to by one! I had pretty much made up my mind that we were going to get one for my 4 year old this year for xmas, but after reading all of the BAD reviews I am more than a little hesitant...

Ps... did I read that Spiderman & the Incredibles will be released 12/15 for the Leapster?? Can anyone from Leap comment on those games?? still going to be educational based??

Debating a leapster> The issue is whether those seemingly "educational" options really do any good educating. There's plenty of evidence that edutainment games neither entertain nor educate. Now, not all of the GBA games are quality content, but, conversely, not all of the Leapster titles are either.

While these are all very good points, I find myself somewhat averse to really becoming exited about Leapster because of the hardware issues. If they don't care enough to take care of the touch-screen issues. ( we just had another unit go belly-up. It worked for 9 months and then-poof! This is number 4) It just seems to me they would have no problem blowing smoke about future development when they aren't going to put enough effort into it to make ANY more sales.

I agree. It seems very strange that they "insist" that the touch screen issues are limited to a single batch that was produced, but from what I have read on this website and quite a few other's this problem has been going on for well over a year... not quite a single batch. And if that is the real truth then they have have had enough of these come back to them that they should be able to isolate the bad batch to do a recall so that no more bad ones are sold... IF that really is the truth... which I am not buying... the problem is too consistent and has been reported for too long to be "one batch."

As for the "evidence" about edutainment games doing nothing... I can't say that I've looked at any fancy research numbers on this subject, my expertise is in my 2 and 4 year old boys. All I can tell you is that my 4 year old is thrilled when he gets to play educational computer games. And do I think they teach... absolutly... when you compare matching, spelling and counting to playing pac-man on a Game Boy. And it's not like he never sees anything else... his dad is on the PS2 plenty...

Not to mention, in just about every post the parent claimed that this was their child's favorite toy and a great concept by Leap, if only they could get the mechanics right. So evidently, the software they are using is holding all these children's attention??

All in all, I wish the product didn't have such issues. I know my son would love it... but I don't think I'm up for the hassle.

I agree. It seems very strange that they "insist" that the touch screen issues are limited to a single batch that was produced, but from what I have read on this website and quite a few other's this problem has been going on for well over a year... not quite a single batch. And if that is the real truth then they have have had enough of these come back to them that they should be able to isolate the bad batch to do a recall so that no more bad ones are sold... IF that really is the truth... which I am not buying... the problem is too consistent and has been reported for too long to be "one batch."

As for the "evidence" about edutainment games doing nothing... I can't say that I've looked at any fancy research numbers on this subject, my expertise is in my 2 and 4 year old boys. All I can tell you is that my 4 year old is thrilled when he gets to play educational computer games. And do I think they teach... absolutly... when you compare matching, spelling and counting to playing pac-man on a Game Boy. And it's not like he never sees anything else... his dad is on the PS2 plenty...

Not to mention, in just about every post the parent claimed that this was their child's favorite toy and a great concept by Leap, if only they could get the mechanics right. So evidently, the software they are using is holding all these children's attention??

All in all, I wish the product didn't have such issues. I know my son would love it... but I don't think I'm up for the hassle.

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Leap Pad sees itself as an educational company and as such I can understand why they are hesitant to open their platform to other companies. Especially companies that probably see themselves as being entertainers first and educators last. In fact, I can see a number of advantages in keeping the system closed, especially if by doing so one can protect the fundamental character of the system.

For Leap Pad this is probably a "contamination issue". In defense of Leap Pad, I have seen how education usually takes back seat to entertainment (in the gaming industry) and how it takes strong leadership to prevent this from happening.

If however we accept the premise that one of the best ways to learn is to play then one also must believe that at some point another gaming platform will see the light. Maybe they will create a Lexus like subsidiary that ties educational titles to their system but under a new name and a new division. Maybe this other company will figure out a way to insure that entertainment is always bent to the will of educators.

On the other hand if Leap-Pad did this first, if they were able to insure that all the titles were educationally inspired and were educationally sound they could get the leap on their competitors. It could even end up being an ipod like jump on their competitors. I wonder if Leap Pad is up to making an ipod leap?

Certainly, from my point of view Leap Pad, by doing all the development in house is missing out on a huge Global market. Their educational titles are designed for an English speaking market. By opening up the platform to a global development base they might begin to see some possibilities that they never envisioned before.

M Butler --

The caution you describe is exactly the same as that which game companies, especially Nintendo, employ in awarding official licenses and allowing content to be published for their systems. There are problems with such methods too, but the model of third-party content under device licensor approval does exist and has been successful in practice.

Hi all

I working on an amateur science fiction action film and need a small hand-held device that can be used as a personal computer for one of the characters. I initially gravitated towards the Leapster because I like it's shape and it's screen is big enough that the camera will see it and it's visual content. The downside is, obviously, there is no way to create custom graphics and animations for the Leapster as it current stands.

I know the Nintendo Gameboy and likely the DS are 'moddable' by the community, though I haven't seen any info on whether the DS can be modded yet. The twin screens would be a nice touch, and I can add external cosmetic mods to the DS (as with the Leapster) to make it unrecognizable by the audience. (Paint the case, add extra switches, buttons & LEDs), but I liked the Leapster because it's essentially have the cost of the DS, which makes it more appealing.

Any information on the adaptability of the Leapster would be helpful.

Peace,

Mark

The leapster is a great device. I gave one to each of my girls 5 & 6 they love it. However the lack of storage and additional 3rd party developers is hard to understand. Leapster could eaisly make $$ from fees for development kits and other charges -- however the games they have are nice and do keep kids at it but they could learn a lot from groups like HeadSprout.com... If parents could have downloadble content it would be a valuable addition to our digital collections and a tool/game system children would be hard pressed to do with out.

Leapster please hear our voices release some third party dev. tools and some storage options/upgrades :)

Thanks

BCC

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Apparently Leapfrog is finally moving in the direction of open some of their platforms to third-party development..in a Jan. 18 2005 press release ( here: http://www.leapfrog.com/do/findpage?pageKey=press ) they state that they are partnering with some high profile firms like HP and Disney to make software for their upcoming FLY pen computing device.

But buried in the release is the following...

" LeapFrog plans to expand its network of third-party publishers and technology

companies over time, offering tools and support for qualified companies and authorized

developers in a variety of content and technology categories. Details on the expanded

program are expected to be unveiled following the anticipated market release of the FLY

pentop computer in Fall 2005. For more information about this program, please contact

LeapFrog at partnerships@leapfrog.com."

So it would seem that opening up to outside developers is coming sometime down the road in late 2005..

Despite of the drawbacks which memtioned above, I still fell in love with Leapster product on the first sight.

I sincerely want to be a distributor of this product in China. Who could inform me the detailed requirement of being an agent or distributor of Leapfrog?

Many thanks! Your help will be highly appreciated.

Things are looking promising for the PenTop as a platform. Here's an exchange that I had with LeapFrog's support-email:

---------------------

We are working on a Developer's Kit and plan to release it in 2006. I will send your contact information to the project manager who will contact you when the kits are ready. Thank you for your interest in this product.

---------------------

Customer (Jonathan Epstein) 12/07/2005 07:05 PM

Hi,

I have a QuantumPad that I purchased a few years ago for my kids. Like many techie parents, the FLY seems really attractive. But it would be much more so if there were an SDK for third-party developers. The sky's the limit: teach another language, more musical techniques, etc.

I found a reference on your website to corporate partners, but I am referring to a much more grassroots relationship. Look at the LEGO Mindstorms community for purposes of illustration.

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I am a third party developer and have been trying so hard to get some feedback from Leapfrog for developing applications for their products. I have been to their offices, met many people and was given very positive response. They gave me the tools needed to build applications and then stopped communicating all together. What is that about?

I was about to invest significant dollars into creating applications for their products, but I decided to cease all efforts due to their lack of follow through. No wonder they are struggling.