Would you purchase a product that billed itself as educational but contained a shooting game? What if you didn’t know a company was including a shooting game with a device you were purchasing?
MobiGo ($59.99) and the Touch & Learn Game Pack cartridge that comes standard with the device. Falling within the target demographic (ages 3-8), almost 4 year old Captain Computer was thrilled to get his hands on such a cool looking device. While a bit big for his little hands, the touch screen and QWERTY keyboard are nice features. The included cartridge comes with 6 games and I was a little taken aback to find a game called The Shooting Gallery on an educational toy.
The Shooting Gallery is a game that requires kids to “shoot” at ducks with letters on their backs by finding the corresponding letter on the keyboard. When a child taps the game to begin, it starts by saying “ready, aim, fire.” Images of guns shooting at the ducks are part of the game.
I was surprised by the fact that a company that manufactures ed ucational toys for young children would automatically include a game with guns and shooting. It seems irresponsible for toy manufactures who are trying to market educational games to automatically include a game wi th guns and shooting. Sure, I played Asteroid and shot at virtual centipedes on the Atari as a kid but by no means were those early video games, or those that are now sold for platforms like Wii, PlayStation, and XBox, billed as having educational value.
I sent my PR contact an email expressing my concern as both a parent and an elementary school teacher and was assured that my comments were communicated to the company.
I received the following official statement from VTech in response to my concerns:
Since 1976, VTech has been developing innovative, educational products for children from birth to preteen that deliver “smart play” through the combination of entertaining electronic formats and engaging, ag
e-appropriate content that help children learn while having fun in a safe environment.
One of our newest products, MobiGo, features a game that combines early word recognition and typing skills in a traditional “shooting gallery” format akin to the classic carnival game. When a letter is typed, a squirt of water emerges from the water pistol and knocks down the animal with the corresponding letter.
VTech does not condone or promote violence in any form, and understands parental concern about pretend gunplay. However, according to a recent article published on Education.com, “no study has yet linked pretend gunplay to future violent behavior, and most child experts agree that by forbidding gunplay entirely, parents give it far more power and will probably drive it underground.
Hmmmmm…..Would you willingly purchase a product that billed itself as educational b ut contained shooting game?
VTech’s MobiGo isn’t the first educational game that contains shooting.
Jill from Musings from Me reminded me of the educational software title, MathBlaster . Sold by well known educational software company Knowledge Adventure who makes the popular JumpStart series, MathBlaster is a futuristic adventure marketed to 6-12 year olds and is designed to help them practice math skills by shooting at asteroids Jill said she was ok with her kids playing it but a friend was not so her kids couldn’t play it when they had certain friends over.
With MathBlaster, a consumer has an idea of what the games are about if they read the box. The VTech box for the MobiGo says that it includes a game cartridge, with no warning about the content of the games on the Touch & Learn Game pack. I can see an unknowing consumer, like a grandparent, shopping for a gift and purchasing it because the educational buzz words on the box make it seem like a great gift. I would feel horribly giving a gift that contained such a game to a family who had a strong aversion to guns.
While many other reviewers gave the MobiGo high marks on their blogs and via YouTube videos for being an engaging device, I feel that VTech has a responsibility to tell consumers The Shooting Gallery is part of the enclosed Touch & Learn Game Pack or give them a choice by providing appropriate descriptions and clear wording on the box so there is no question about what is inside when the child opens it up and starts playing with the device.
What do you think? Should companies marketing educational toys for young children be allowed to include violence as part of age appropriate learning experiences?
Please be respectful in your comments. No flame wars about parent need to educate their children about guns, gun control, or any other inflammatory issues not related to the question. Thanks!
VTech provided the MobiGo for review purposes and recently sent a cartridge of my choice to replace the Touch & Learn Game Pack that contained The Shooting Gallery game. Captain Computer has not tried the new cartridge yet.
Thanks for reading Tech Savvy Mama through your feed!
Original post by Tech Savvy Mama
I received a sample of VTech’s newest product, the MobiGo ($59.99) and the Touch & Learn Game Pack cartridge that comes standard with the device. Falling within the target demographic (ages 3-8), almost 4 year old Captain Computer was thrilled to get his hands on such a cool looking device. While a bit big for his little hands, the touch screen and QWERTY keyboard are nice features. The included cartridge comes with 6 games and I was a little taken aback to find a game called The Shooting Gallery on an educational toy.
