The V.Smile is an educational game system by VTech. It is designed for children ages 3 to 6, but offers software designed for some age groups between 3-9. The title is available on a ROM cartridge called "Smartridges", to play the system education nature. Graphics are mainly sprite based. These consoles are often sold bundled with certain games. With most of them having a game called "Alphabet Park Adventure." Some variants of the V.Smile console are sold including handheld versions, or models with additional functionality such as an integrated tablet controller or microphone. V-Motion is a main variant with its own software suite that includes movement sensitive controllers and has Smartriges designed to take advantage of active "movement-related" learning. V-Motion and Smartridges are fully compatible with other V.Smile and V.Smile Smartridges variants, and V-Motion Smartridge can also be played on V.Smile console or handheld, albeit with limited functionality. However, in 2010, V.Smile NEW and OLD are discontinued. VTech is still making games for V.Smile Pocket and V.Motion.
Some versions of the V.Smile and V-Motion consoles and handhelds go on sale after newer models are introduced, allowing consumers a wide range of consoles to choose from (often offered in pink schemes for girls, as well) without worrying about the lack of backwards compatibility between games or consoles. Some of the key differentiators between the system and the ability to fully utilize all the functions of the game include microphone options, touch tablets, additional joystick ports (for 2-player gameplay), enhanced controller with stylus, or motion sensitive pad (With V-Motion).
Video V.Smile
Konsol
V.Smile generally has live and dead buttons on the console itself and two joystick ports, and one compartment to store cartridges other than cartridge slots. Originally available only in Orange/Purple and bundled with Winnie the Pooh game, a pink/violet console was sent later, targeting girls and bundled with Cinderella games. Long time later, the Red/Blue and Red/Silver models were introduced and bundled with the game Scooby-Doo .
The buttons on the game system and large controllers to accommodate manual dexterity are less developed by small children. The default controller consists of an analog stick, four colored buttons, a large enter key, a button (dubbed the "Learning Zone" button) that immediately takes the player to the software minigame section, the Exit button (which displays options for ending games or to keep playing, exit whichever menu the player is located) and the Help button (which repeats the spoken instructions or instructions provided by the game to the player).
The second generation V.Smile console was launched in 2007. The console is now bundled with a microphone, and the redesigned controller is shipped, which now comes with embedded graphics tablets. However, the console design is still the same as the first generation console apart from the presence of the microphone holder. Internal systems also seem to be based on the design of the first generation console, since software intended for first-generation consoles can be played on second-generation consoles, and vice versa, although software that utilizes the microphone feature will disable portions of software requiring microphone usage when played on first generation consoles.
In 2008 a visually impaired V.Smile TV Learning System Limited was released including two joysticks, and Alphabet Park Adventure game cartridge. Console color reversed (transparent orange face with purple body) of normal console color (purple face solid with orange body).
Games
The majority of educational games offered by Smartridges for V.Smile involve popular licensed characters with children in the 3 to 7 age groups such as Scooby-Doo, Bob the Builder, The Little Mermaid, Go Diego Go !, and The Wiggles. CGI animated characters from the movie also find their way to V.Smile, including Kung-Fu Panda, Ratatouille, Finding Nemo, and Cars. Vtech also offers less commercial or traditional characters in games such as Soccer, Little Red Riding Hood, and Whiz Kid Wheels.
Smartridges are labeled for the intended age of the player. The two main categories are Junior Thinkers (Ages 4-6) and Master Minds (Ages 6-8). There are also Beginner games with ages of 3-5, and advanced games for ages 6-9, such as SpongeBob SquarePants: A Day in The Life of a Sponge . Educational content and age-related gameplay difficulties. For example, in Dora's Fix-it Adventure (Age 4-6), Dora will not fall off the edge of the platform if the child makes a mistake when moving it. Instead, he will stand on the tip of his toe and look unbalanced. For children in older age ranges, Cinderella and Batman games offer educational and action-based games that are more challenging.
Some titles may include the text "New Version and Better Version" on its cover. This is the latest version of existing game titles that now include enhanced tablets enhanced microphones and/or games, such as Singing Together through the use of microphone features added to the second generation V.Smile and New V.Smile Pocket consoles.
List of V.Smile games
- The Miracle of Aladdin World
- Alphabet Park Adventure
- The Backyardigans: Viking Voyage
- Barney: The Land of Make Believe
- Batman: Rescue Gotham City
- Sesame Street: Bert and Ernie's Imagination Adventure
- Blue's Clues: Collection Day
- Bob the Builder: Bob's Busy Day
- Bear Care: Lessons in Caring
- Car: Rev it Up at Radiator Springs
- Cinderella's Magic Wishes
- Cranium Partyland Park
- Dora the Explorer: Adventure Fix-it Dora
- Elmo World: Elmo's Great Discovery
- Finding Nemo: Nemo Ocean Discovery
- Go, Diego, Go!: Save the Animal Family
- Practical Mani
- Jammin Gym Jam Class
- Kung Fu Panda: Path of the Panda
- Learnin 'Wheel
- Lil 'Bratz: Friends, Fashion, and Fun
- Little Einstein
- The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Majestic Journey
- Mickey Mouse: Mickey Magical Adventure
- Noddy: Detective for a Day
- Ratatouille: Remy's New Recipe
- Scooby-Doo!: Funland Frenzy
- Shrek: Dragon's Tale
- Shrek the Third: Arthur School Day Adventure
- Intelligent Keyboard
- Soccer Challenge
- Spider-Man and Friends: Secret Missions
- Spider-Man and Friends: Doc Ock Challenge
- SpongeBob SquarePants: A Day in Sponge Life
- Superman: The Greatest Hero
- The Lion King: The Great Adventure of Simba
- Thomas & amp; Friends: Machine Works Together
- Tinker Bell
- Toy Story 2: Woody Rescue Operation
- Up
- V.Smile Art Studio
- WALL-E
- Whiz Kid Wheel
- The Wiggles: Time to Shake!
- Winnie the Pooh: The Honey Hunt
- Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!: Attack 50 Leg Fleegle
- Zayzoo: Earth Adventure
- Zayzoo: My Alien friend V.Smile_Pocket_and_V.Smile_Cyber_Pocket "> V.Smile Pocket and V.Smile Cyber ​​Pocket
- The V Smile TV Learning System Plus Joystick includes a built in write pad and stylus. Joystick with writing works on the original V.Mile and New V.Smile TV Learning System, and can be used to utilize the newer Smartriges that use in-game writing functionality.
- The V Smile Smart Keyboard is a PC-like keyboard that can be connected to the V.Smile System console. It includes some activities and lessons that teach typing, letters, spelling, and logic.
- The V Smile Smartbook includes "Smartbook" - an interface with a stylus that stores an activity book and works in conjunction with Smartridges (an idea pioneered by Sega with Sega Pico and Pico Continued Advanced Japanese gaming education system Beena). Activity book playing along with smartridge and Smartbook know which page to use when touch-sensitive needle directs playback. Smartbooks may be bundled with the SmartBox Activity Books Scooby-Doo . Additional Activity Books and Smartridge combo like " Dora's Got A Puppy " or " Toy Story 2 " are also available for use with SmartBook devices.
- The V Smile Art Studio is a large touch pad and a stylus device that allows "painting" to appear on the screen. Interactive stamps, color palettes, image images, color mixing, animation makers, coloring-in pictures are some of the features of Art Studio. It comes with Smartridge Special Studio.
- The V.Smile V-Link is an accessory that only works with the Maya Pocket system, PC Pal, V-Motion, and some newer Vsmiles. This allows users to track their progress by keeping the accessory plugged into the Game Console where it automatically tracks child progress and scores. By plugging V.Link into PC's USB port and designed to connect automatically to secure websites where children can see how they rank against all V.Smile players also use V-Link. As children play more of their Smartridges and master more skills, they are rewarded with on-line bonus games that are "unlocked" by their progress.
- V Smile Jammin 'Gym Class is similar to the popular dance pads by Dance Dance Revolution . It's called "soft exercise mat for interactive play, dancing and sports" by VTech. This includes 10 different active learning activities and connects directly to the V.Smile TV Learning System or V.Smile V-Motion with Jammin Gym Jam Cartridge. Help teach letters, numbers, colors, spelling, and health concepts.
- V.Flash
- VTech Socrates
- VTech
- Learning Game
- Official Site
The V.Smile Pocket is a handheld version of the V.Smile console. It features built-in Passive color-based LCD screens and mono speakers, but is otherwise similar to a desktop console partner. However, there are no connectors for additional joysticks, and therefore many games that support two player modes will prohibit the access selection of those modes. In addition, the device is not compatible with games that use one of the other accessories due to the lack of an additional joystick port. Originally introduced on Orange/Purple, but the Pink/Purple model was introduced later in line with the color schemes available for the desktop console. However, there is currently no Red/Silver or Red/Blue V.Smile Pocket.
The second generation V.Smile Pocket was introduced in 2007, where a microphone was added to the device. Regardless of the new features, adding support for games that use the microphone, and repositioning from the speakers from the bottom right to the top left, it maintains the general look of the first generation V.Smile Pocket. However, when compared side by side, a slight difference in the bulkiness of the bottom of the unit can be seen, with New V.Smile Pocket being slightly slimmer and narrower downwards. The game system may seem great when compared to devices like Nintendo Game Boy Advance or Nintendo DS, but consideration should be made to the fact that V.Smile Pocket uses full size Smartriges from the console, and is generally offered at a cheaper price. in most markets.
The third generation V.Smile Pocket was introduced in 2008. Called V.Smile Cyber ​​Pocket, a redesigned console with a smaller open-flip screen (still Passive matrix based) and integrated graphics tablet, while retaining the microphone which was introduced in the second generation V.Smile Pocket. Also, a proprietary port is added to the console, which is like a flash drive device with a proprietary connector that fits on one end and a USB connector on another, can plug into a Cyber ​​Pocket. This device is used to transfer game data that supports the functionality to the PC, which in turn uploads the data to the website. The data can then be used to map progress of the player and used to open bonus games on the website.
During Black Friday sales in 2008, limited inventory of New V.Smile Pocket units were sold at US Walmart stores at a discount of $ 25 USD. This was roughly half the cost of one Xbox 360 Game Disc at the time, and almost a tenth the cost of the PlayStation Portable game system package.
PC Pal
PC Pal is a variant of the basic V.Smile console with integrated accessories, a more colorful and functional version of the Smart Keyboard accessory with built in joystick and tablet controls. Unlike the usual V.Smile system, V.Smile PC Pal has a port for V-Link accessories. It comes bundled with Smartrige of games for keyboards that teach typing and other basic keyboard skills. The main unit looks like a standard V.Smile system with the name "PC Pal" printed on it. It plays all the Smartridges, but since the joystick control is built into the keyboard, the setting is easier to use on the desktop surface with a small TV as a monitor, similar to a personal computer. For someone who already has V.Smile, the Smart Keyboard accessory and touch-enhanced joystick tablet will provide a similar experience. Because the keyboard can be disconnected and a standard joystick or other V.Smile accessory is used, PC Pal can be easily converted into tasks as a normal V.Smile system when needed.
V-Motion
The newer variant of V.Smile is the V-Motion Active Learning System, introduced as a kind of low-cost education alternative from VTech to the popular Wii with its innate control accelerometers that detect motion. The V-Motion system is not so advanced, but includes Wireless, motion joystick enabled which is righty/left-handed adaptable. The controller can be tilted in the direction to achieve on-screen results, rather than using traditional joystick direction controls. Dodge or move left and right with the controller can inspire players to engage physically in the game. He won the Seal of Approval National Parenting Center for 2008, and Creative Child 2008 Seal of Excellence.
Accessories
Note: In addition to V-Link, this accessory is intended for consoles connected to the TV, not a handheld version of V.Smile.
Competition and comparison
V.Smile Pocket Direct Competition is a Leapster handheld by LeapFrog. Leapster TV Learning System is a less popular partner but is available for some V.Smile and V-Motion consoles that connect directly to the TV. Leapster L-Max is comparable to V.Smile Cyber ​​â € <â € V.Smile PC Pal console variants and Smart Keyboard accessories face direct competition with Leapfrog's Leapfrog ClickStart education offerings, and indirect competition with low-cost toy education laptops and desktop PCs with child-friendly software and child-friendly accessories. While the Smartbook V.Smile console may face competition from Sega Pico due to its conceptual similarity, Sega Pico has not been available outside Japan for a long time. A rough comparison of technological capabilities with the V.Smile console in terms of graphics and sound can be made for the Nintendo SNES console or the Game Boy Advance system, so most consoles are technically comparable to most of the fourth or fifth generation consoles although released in that era. from the seventh generation console. The V.Smile system is generally offered for a fraction of the price of the console when they are new, and the V.Smile system is designed specifically for children with a focus on education. The durability and quality of plastics and other components of the V.Smile system are in line with expectations given the low cost of the device. Replacement game system hardware can often be purchased for less than one game on the current generation of dedicated console game systems from Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo on the market. Maps V.Smile
Baby V.Smile Baby Development System
An unrelated and separate spin-off system called Baby V.Smile Baby Development System was released shortly after the original V.Smile was introduced to the market. Games and cartridges from V.Smile Baby are not compatible with V.Smile and vice versa. This is an important difference because so many other consoles named "V.Smile" are interconnected. The control system for Baby Development Systems is very different from that used in V.Smile targeted at older children: it lacks the typical game controller features, otherwise the design is more similar to a playboard. This control consists of a slider mode, two switches (one for power and the other changing the board between standalone play mode and console control mode), 7 buttons (5 shape buttons, "fun" button, small Exit button), and a connected ball roller to the sensor. The controller itself has speakers coming into play during standalone mode (where it serves as a play board that plays music, speech and sound when interacting with). The controller communicates with the console through infrared signaling. The console itself is somewhat unusual in design, having only an on-off switch and permanently attached cables carrying composite video and monaural audio signals via two RCA connectors. It runs four AA batteries or DC 6V power supply (sold separately). The console has cartridge slots as well as indents to hold four additional cartridges for storage. Also, turning off the controller will also turn off the console if the console is turned on at that time. Designed for children ages 9-36 months.
Area protection status
The console range of V.Smile does not seem to be locked regionally. While the console itself comes in NTSC and the PAL and BIOS versions on the console seem to be region-specific (differentiated from the speech samples played on the screen after the VTech logo when the console starts with no cartridge inserted), games purchased from the NTSC Region can play on the PAL system and otherwise. Observations show that both V.Smile and V.Smile Infant Development System use different boot methods: V.Smile and V.Smile Pocket variants seem to be booting into their own BIOS, then running the software on the cartridges. The V.Smile Baby appears to boot from the default BIOS when the cartridge from the same region is inserted or when there is no cartridge in the system but appears to boot from different BIOS when the cartridge from different region is inserted. It is currently unknown whether the extra BIOS is in the cartridge or in the console itself.
Criticism
Research by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) shows that Vtech's V.Smile Baby product, marketed for the age of nine months to three years, does not meet the claim that it helps with early childhood development or education by the way whatever, stating that children ages 0 to 2 years do not understand what is going on on TV screens.
On 17 October 2011 the AAP Board on Communications and the media released a report titled Media Usage by Younger Children of 2 Years concluded that "media education rewards for children younger than two years remain proven despite the fact that three-quarters of the best-selling baby videos make educational claims explicit or implicit, "and further found that watching the media by children under 2 years of age can have a negative effect on language development.
Game criticism and video technology also quickly discounted Vtech's product line, including V.Smile (ages 3-6), V.Smile Baby (age 9m-3), V.Flash (age 6-36), V.Smile Saku (age 3-8), and V.Reader, citing the lack of professionally developed games, since the Vtech console has no major third-party video game publishers other than Disney Interactive.
Critics also stated that V.Smile proved the idea that special electronic needs for children are artificial, as products like the main console (Xbox, PlayStation, Wii), tablets (iPad, Android), and computers (PC, Mac) have various devices soft education and children. Furthermore, such devices offer the flexibility that allows children to grow with them, not overcome them.
See also
References
External links
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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