14 DAY TRIAL // One of the direct consequences of Nintendo's success is the fact that there are less and less potential market segments that the company has not already conquered. The Nintendo Wii has managed to expand the appeal of gaming and the Japanese videogame developers have launched quite a few titles specifically targeted at wide categories of gamers.
Those interested in fitness got to play Wii Fit, those interested in keeping their mind young played Brain Training, those keen on making sweet music using the console could buy Wii Music.
It seems that, in its quest to use every possible gaming niche, Nintendo is getting ready to educate all the kids in the world using a Nintendo Wii and its well-known character, Mario.
Various sites are reporting that Nintendo has gone to the United States Patent and Trademark Office in order to register the idea for a series of edutainment titles on the Wii, which are set to be specifically designed for “toddlers and pre-kindergartners, and/or people with disabilities.”
The patents filed are full of diagrams, one of which you can see attached to this article. It appears that the games will be very simple, like identifying which animal makes which sound, matching various piles of objects with numbers, etc. There are even details for a game that would teach a child how to make the bed. Although Mario is the clear choice to be the central figure for the edutainment titles, it seems that other well-known children's characters, like Pikachu and Dora the Explorer, will be making appearances.
The patent does not mean that Nintendo is set to develop and release games based on it, but it makes sense to have the Nintendo Wii also act as a teaching tool. The console is in a lot of homes, it's easy to use by children and to set up by adults. At the moment, there is no names attached to the project of edutainment games. How about “Mario's Wii Bed?”