December 6, 2011

Pap the Disney Gamer's Highlights: Disney Sega Pico Games

The idea of fusing gaming with educational ideals is one that has been around for a long time. Sega, however, decided to innovate with this concept and created the Sega Pico. Released in 1993 in Japan, and in North America in 1994, the Sega Pico is a console which uses what they like to call 'Storyware.' These cartridges are small books that contain the software. When inserted into the system, the page will appear on the TV screen. As players turned the page, the image on the screen would also change. In order to interact with the images on-screen they used a special stylus connected on the console. This was a really unique and fascinating idea when it came to educational video games. Unfortunately, while the system was really popular in Japan, the system failed to make waves in North America and Europe.

This didn't stop companies from creating software for the system. One of these was, of course, Disney. Alongside Sega, they developed a couple of games based upon their famous franchises. The following are the games that were released for the Sega Pico:

Disney's Pocahontas Riverbend Adventures: Join Pocahontas and her friends as they explore the woods, participate in various puzzle games, travel through the river bend, and play classic games such as 'connect the dots' and dress up.

Disney's 101 Dalmatians: The puzzling mystery of the Dalmatian puppies' disappearance make for a fun and engaging educational adventure.

Disney's The Lion King: Adventures at Pride Rock: Take on various educational activities starring your favorite characters from the smash animated classic.

Mickey's Blast into the Past: Mickey travels through time as kids learn about history and try to rescue Ludwig Von Drake. They also get to learn how to tell time, the seasons and even build their rocket by correctly placing its pieces. They will also get to build the first wheel out of stone and interact with Leonard DaVinci.

A Year at Pooh Corner: Help Winnie the Pooh grab as much honey as possible, re-organize his house in a word association game, and capture the letters are that floating down the river.

This wouldn't be the first or the last time Disney would create educational games, but the Sega Pico stands as one of the most unique fusions of gaming appeal and the accessibility of educational software. The games created under the Disney game are also integral in the Pico's presence as a quirky experiment in gaming.