The Arthur video games franchise was a series of learning and interactive story video games based on the American-Canadian children's TV show Arthur. The games were released in the 1990s and 2000s for PlayStation and Game Boy Color alongside Windows and Mac OS computers.
Arthur was a 1990s video game series developed by Creative Wonders and published by The Learning Company. The games were created as part of the LearningBuddies line.
A Bangor Daily News article hinted that a new series of Arthur video games would be released in fall 1999. [9] In February 1999, The Learning Company announced that it had "signed an exclusive, multi-year contract with Marc Brown to develop and publish interactive software worldwide". The aim was to utilise Arthur's equity by "broadening his visibility in the interactive software category", specifically within the core curriculum areas. [10] The Learning Company announced Arthur's Reading, the first game in the series, in a news release on July 13. The subject was chosen because "reading is a natural subject for this lovable character whose nationally televised adventures have become so popular with young children", according to The Learning Company. [11]
The series was "developed with the help of educators". [12] Most games have an auto-levelling feature to cater to each player's own skill.
A kid-friendly website was also available for players to seek further activities that supplemented the games' content. [13]
The Congressional Record, V. 146, Pt. 15 wrote that a spyware expert found that educational software such as Reader Rabbit and Arthur's Thinking Games may contain spyware. [14] U.S. News & World Report noted that a cause could be the free Arthur screensaver that players of Arthur's Thinking Games have the option to download. [15] The New York Times reported that the Broadcast program, which ran in the background as an application called DSS Agent, used to be included on the installation discs of many software titles made by The Learning Company, including the Arthur video games, while Arthur's Reading Race "was billed as a product updater and communications tool"; online privacy groups put it in the category of spyware for this reason. [16]
According to PC Data, Arthur's Thinking Games was the ninth top-selling software of September 1999, [17] and the top-selling home education software for that month. [18]
PCMag gave Arthur's Preschool, Kindergarten, First Grade, and Second Grade a joint rating of five out of five, writing that the "charming" games covered the same content as the Reader Rabbit series, though also saying that players could easily own both. [13]
SuperKids deemed Arthur's Kindergarten an underwhelming entry in the kindergarten edutainment space, due to having "tedious and overly repetitious" activities. [19] Math and Science for Young Children and Experiences in Math for Young Children suggested that the game could be used within schools. [20] [21] Discovery Education said that Arthur's Kindergarten was "packed with 'smart' features and excellent educational content". [22]
Discovery Education also said that Arthur's Preschool was filled with "smart features and a good range of educational content". [23] MacWorld said the game was easy for young players to pick up. [24]
Teaching Reading in Today's Elementary Schools said that Arthur's 1st Grade was not limited to its target market, but that it could also be adapted for children in higher grades who had special needs. [25] MacWorld said that while Arthur's 1st Grade could be initially overwhelming, it was ultimately rewarding. [26]
Discovery Education deemed Arthur's 2nd Grade "edutainment at its best". [27]
The Eugene Register-Guard gave Arthur's Reading four out of four, deeming all of the activities "well designed, educational, and fun". [5] The Bangor Daily News said that the game would challenge and engage players of all ages. [9] SuperKids said that the game would leave veteran video gamers "unimpressed" and "disappointed". [28]
MacWorld deemed Arthur's Reading Games an "amusing, interactive product". [29]
In 1999, Forbes wrote a piece questioning if wrapping up educational content under the guise of video games featuring children's characters such as Arthur and Dr. Seuss was enough to "entice parents with the promise of easy learning for their kids". [30]
There were several interactive storybooks in the Living Books series based on Arthur, such as Arthur's Birthday and Arthur's Teacher Trouble . The games were developed by Living Books and published by Brøderbund Software and Random House.
Aktueller Software Markt praised two entries in the series and concluded the review by begging for a German version of the games. [31] World Village thought Arthur's Reading Race was "very well written", [32] while All Game gave it 4.5 stars out of 5. [33]
Just Adventure gave Arthur's Computer Adventure a top rating of A. [34] All Game gave it 4/5 stars, [35] while SuperKids wrote that it wasn't the strongest entry in the Living Books product line. [36] The Daily Gazette warned that Arthur's Computer Adventure wouldn't hold kids' attention for long. [37]
JumpStart was an educational media franchise created for children, primarily consisting of educational games. The franchise began with independent developer Fanfare Software's 1994 video game JumpStart Kindergarten. The series was expanded into other age groups and beyond games to include workbooks, direct-to-video films, mobile apps, and other media under the ownership of Knowledge Adventure, which later assumed the name JumpStart Games.
The Learning Company (TLC) was an educational software company founded in 1980 in Palo Alto, California and headquartered in Fremont, California. The company produced a grade-based line of learning software, edutainment games, and productivity tools. Its titles included the flagship series Reader Rabbit, for preschoolers through second graders, and The ClueFinders, for more advanced students. The company was also known for publishing licensed educational titles featuring characters such as Arthur, Scooby-Doo, Zoboomafoo, and Caillou.
The ClueFinders is an educational software series aimed at children aged 8–12 that features a group of mystery-solving teenagers. The series was created by The Learning Company as a counterpart to their Reader Rabbit series for older, elementary-aged students. The series has received praise for its balance of education and entertainment, resulting in numerous awards.
The Legend of Lotus Spring is a graphical adventure computer game co-developed by Women Wise and Xing Xing and released on Valentine's Day in 2000 in North America. It was originally released by Xing Xing in 1998 in China.
Star Warped is a first-person point-and-click adventure video game that parodies the Star Wars universe, specifically the original trilogy released between 1977 and 1983: Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. It was created by Parroty Interactive, which was a division of the game's publisher, Palladium Interactive. Star Warped was released in the United States and Canada, for both Windows PC and Macintosh, in late 1997 as a follow-up to their debut Myst parody, Pyst. The game is no longer in release, as Parroty's parent company folded after being bought by The Learning Company in 1998. The game invited players to "Be seduced by the power of the Dork Side". Star Warped received mixed reviews from critics: some praised the game's variety, originality, and humor, while others dismissed it as lazy, unfunny, and dull.
Star Wars: DroidWorks is a 1998 edutainment computer game and the premiere title from LucasArts subsidiary Lucas Learning. It uses the same engine as LucasArts' previous title Star Wars: Jedi Knight. The creators aimed to create a game that would be both appealing and nonviolent. The game's original release date was moved up by months, which resulted in the development team cutting some planned game features.
Hopkins FBI is a 1998 point-and-click adventure game from MP Entertainment, most famous for very large amounts of gore. A sequel titled Hopkins FBI 2: Don't Cry, Baby, involving Hopkins having to rescue the President's daughter, was announced but never released.
Big Thinkers is a short line educational game from Humongous Entertainment, which revolved around siblings Ben and Becky Brightly, two characters with the ability to shape-shift into any object they desire. The series contains two games: Big Thinkers! Kindergarten and Big Thinkers! 1st Grade. Both titles feature the same goal of collecting stars. The title was conceived and developed by Jonathan Maier.
Early Learning House or simply the House Series is a collection of four main educational video games and two compilations for the Windows and Macintosh platforms, developed by Theatrix Interactive, Inc. and published by Edmark software. Each different game focuses on a particular major learning category with selectable skill settings for preschooler, kindergarten and elementary learners. Millie's Math House (1992) on mathematics, Bailey's Book House (1993) on language, Sammy's Science House (1994) on science, and Trudy's Time and Place House (1995) on history and geography. A spin-off, Stanley's Sticker Stories (1996), sees players create animated storybooks with the series' characters. Millie & Bailey Preschool and Millie & Bailey Kindergarten each contain the combined activities from two of the four software products. In addition the programs can be configured by an adult mode to suit students with special needs. Most of the activities in every game have two modes, one to allow learners to explore and try it out for themselves and the other for learners to follow specific tasks set by the game characters. Learners also have the option to print pictures of creative activities and record sounds in phonics activities. Later the games were re-developed by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Learning Technology and re-published by The Learning Company with newer graphics and additional activities.
Several video games based upon Blue's Clues, a children's educational television series by Nickelodeon, have been released, educational video games and web browser games based on the show. Most of the PC CD ROM-format titles were developed and published by Humongous Entertainment.
Blue's Treasure Hunt is a 1999 educational video game developed and published by Humongous Entertainment, based on the Blue's Clues television series, specifically the episode "Blue's Big Treasure Hunt".
Disney Learning: Winnie the Pooh comprises three titles: Winnie The Pooh Toddler, Winnie the Pooh Preschool and Winnie The Pooh Kindergarten. They are point-and-click educational video games developed and published by Disney Interactive and based on the Winnie the Pooh franchise. The titles were shipped by BAM! Entertainment.
Mickey Mouse Toddler, Mickey Mouse Preschool, and Mickey Mouse Kindergarten are three sister educational video games by Disney Interactive. They are part of the Disney Learning Series, alongside similar Winnie the Pooh games, Mathquest With Aladdin, Reading Quest with Aladdin, Adventures in Typing with Timon and Pumbaa, Buzz Lightyear 1st and 2nd Grade, The Jungle Book 1st and 2nd Grade, Ready for Marth with Pooh, Phonics Quest, Search for the Secret Keys and Ready to Read with Pooh. Although not part of the series, the games Beauty and The Beast: Magical Ballroom and Ariel's Story Studio were frequently sold with the other games in promotional packages and advertised alongside them in trailers and commercials.
Reader Rabbit's 1st Grade is an educational video game, part of the Reader Rabbit series, developed by KnowWare and published by The Learning Company on January 14, 1998.
Reader Rabbit Toddler is a 1997 educational video game developed by KnowWare and published by The Learning Company. It is part of the Reader Rabbit series.
Star Wars: Pit Droids is an educational puzzle game developed and published by Lucas Learning. It was originally released for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh on September 13, 1999. It was later ported to iOS and released on February 9, 2012. The game develops skills such as hypothesis testing and geometry.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Gungan Frontier is a 1999 video game by Lucas Learning.
Physicus: Save the World with Science! is a 1999 educational adventure video game developed by Ruske & Pühretmaier Edutainment and published by Heureka-Klett-Softwareverlag and Tivola Entertainment. It aims to teach players about physics concepts. It is part of a series that includes the chemistry-themed Chemicus and biology-themed sequel Bioscopia. It was the second learning adventure game by Ruske & Pühretmaier after the music-based Opera Fatal. The game's website had a minigame called "PHYSICO DriveIn" that players could download and complete in to get the highscore, which would win them a free copy of a game by the studio. A sequel entitled Physicus: The Return was later released, and was remade for the iOS.
The Forgotten: It Begins is a 1999 adventure/puzzle video game developed by Ransom Interactive and published by DreamCatcher Interactive. A sequel was to be released called The Forgotten II: The Collection. The Forgotten narrative was originally supposed to last over 7 games ("modules"), but these were never completed.
Blue's 123 Time Activities is a 1999 educational game developed and published by Humongous Entertainment. The game works on Windows 95 and above, and on System 7.5.3 to Mac OS X Tiger. It was the third game in the Blue's Clues video game series, in turn based on the television series of the same name.
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