Leapfrog, a longtime maker of educational games for children, unveiled LeapMove, a new motion-based learning game console for kids.
The LeapMove system detects a child’s movements and translates them into actions in games. It doesn’t require any game controller, except for the child’s body itself. It costs $70.
LeapFrog has created 25 games and adventures that will be preloaded into the system. It hsa three learning levels, and it was designed with the help of children. It teaches 20 different skills for school, with a curriculum focused on preschool, pre-k and kindergarten.
It’s not unlike the Nex Playground, which is a cube-shaped device for motion games, and the Nex itself takes its inspiration from the Nintendo Wii game system. The Nex, however, targets all players, including adults, and costs $250.
For LeapFrog, it’s a bold move into console hardware, and it’s the kind of risk that the company has taken multiple times across its 30 years of serving kids.
“We are really excited to show you guys the next generation of LeapFrog innovation,” said Tiffany Lavery, a spokeswoman for LeapFrog. “We are the creators of educational gaming. A couple years ago, we decided we wanted to expand the beautiful world of educational gaming, and we know that as LeapFrog we’re founded on the fact that kids learn better when they’re having fun.”
Lavery added, “So our first stop was to take our first step was to take a look at the different ways that we were currently offering learning in the marketplace. We have we had interactive learning with things like our LeapStart and our LeapReader. We personalized the learning journey, with things like a LeapFrog Academy.”
She said that the company’s child learning researchers found that active play boosts cognitive development and learning. When children are moving, it improves overall concentration, engagement, strong connections and retention.
It reminds me of the good old Baby Einstein videos, but those only stimulated our eyes and ears. They didn’t get our kids moving around.
“Bottom line is that when learning while moving, kids can remember what they learn. We identified a powerful opportunity. We knew parents wanted to help their kids learn, but sometimes don’t always have the tools or remember how to teach their kids certain things. We also know kids love gaming, but in true LeapFrog style, we felt that they deserve something made just for them because kids are not our afterthought,” Lavery said.
Combined with the insights from the learning team about the impact of active play learning, the company had the opportunity for innovation.
The LeapMove
The LeapMove addresses “three non-negotiables” when it comes to kids. It had to be packed with age appropriate learning-backed content with 30 years of expertise. It was going to be approachable gaming.
“We knew we wanted it to be approachable. It’s the first of its kind in the toil currently allowing parents to introduce age appropriate gaming for that four-plus age range. And then it was going to be active learning, full body motion that helps promote better knowledge retention,” Lavery said.
This changes learning from something they are forced to do to something kids want to do, initiating learning wth their entire bodies.
Kids are invited to become the controller, using their bodies to control, smash, jump, dodge, catch , fly and dance. They can dance their way through 15 motion-based learning Adventures in the Enchanted Forest. LeapFrog held 240 sessions with kids to test and develop the system and the games.
A live demo
In a virtual briefing, LeapFrog showed a live demo of a boy playing with the LeapMove. The system has a camera, an HDMI cable to connect to a TV and a USB-C port for power. No internet is required.
The boy demoed Super Smashers and another game, Armadillo One. The child’s own image can be the game player on screen, or it can be in the form of a gaming avatar. Super Smashers is a math game where the boy moves his hands to catch various moving circles on the screen. Then the game reads off various math equations for the child to hear. At the same time the child is learning, he is also showing off his gross and fine motor skills.