All images courtesy of and © NewKidCo.

The NPD Marketing group has reported that children, aged six to nine, represent 24% of all interactive game users. This could mean a potential demographic group of millions that are coming to video gaming anxious to emulate big brother and sister's play patterns. At issue is that this ever-growing group is familiar with a whole different genre of brand familiarity and entertainment needs. NewKidCo International, Inc. (www.newkidco.com) has their cross hairs on the goal of becoming the leading publisher in the children's video game category by creating quality gaming that meets this demographics needs. Publishing games focused from early childhood (EC) to just before the 'tweens, NewKidCo is concentrating on the already significant and growing group of kids 2-12.

With a wide range of licensees, spanning the classic cartoon Tom and Jerry to today's hottest rated PBS children's show Dragon Tales, this New York group has a very defined formula for success that includes recognizing the characters and brands with which children are already comfortable and that will provide a fun, engaging and safe play experience. Paul Samulski, executive vice president and chief creative officer for NewKidCo International, Inc., stepped away from the demands of the corporate and creative to answer a few questions about meeting the challenges of children's game development.

Jacquie Kubin: Who is NewKidCo?

Paul Samulski: We are a publisher of video games for children, creating content for the dedicated console, including Playstation 1 and 2, Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advanced, Nintendo and Game Cube and, eventually, the Microsoft X-Box, though right now they are concentrating on games for the more 'hard core' or older gamer, so the time is not right for that platform, yet.

JK: What are early childhood, or EC, rated games?

PS: When I came to NewKidCo from Acclaim, I said, 'I have no problem moving from Mortal Kombat and MBA Jam to Goofy and Sesame Street, but I don't want to write down to these kids.' Too often it seems that developers feel you don't have to give them a lot to satisfy them because, 'Hey, the kid is only four.' But that is not true. Kids know their own lives and what they can do. For example, they can reason, 'I can bend down and touch my toes, so why can't the character?' You have to bring a level of kid maturity to the table if you want to create games for younger viewers.

Also, the game progression must be justifiable and go beyond the surface of the game. Children will become bored from a game that is only two-dimensional. Face it, if it is boring for mom and dad to play, it's probably not a lot of fun for the toddler either.

NewKidCo faces challenges when bringing such well-loved characters as Goofy into new, interactive realms.

JK: What are some of your biggest challenges?

PS: One of the biggest problems we have is that we take the EC products and try to push them as far as we can, always pushing the line. For example, we are doing things with the Sesame Street characters that the characters would never do on television, because they are puppets. But now, in the context of the game, they are walking, talking, individual, three-dimensional characters that must react in a way that is consistent to how children think they should.

JK: Computer games often contain an edutainment element. Do you try to bring that to the console games as well?