Beyond showing of the new Zelda for the 64 (which looked brimming with 3D goodness), Nintendo's big ace in the hole was their nabbing of the Pokemon license. For those of you not keeping careful tabs on Japanese kid's cartoons (a remarkably small number among true game geeks), this is the single most popular item in the lives of the pre-briefcased Japanese set. Japanese children, both boys and girls, set their lives around the show, which in the US is best known for going a little too far down the Animé scale, flashing one strobe too many and sending some hundreds of kids to the hospital. (Hey, only the strong survive TV in Japan.)

To the kids, the Pokemon (stands for Pocket Monsters) is a treasure trove of new characters, each a fantasy pet/companion that would be so cool to have in real life. In merchandising, it's getting expressed in collectible Beanie like toys, cards, and Gameboy carts with some abilty to train and trade the monsters. And, of course, it's being touted as the ultimate Tamagochi[sp?] replacement. It sports Gameboy like controllers, games you can play with your monster, and one feature that's either very cool or extremely disturbing -- depending on how deep you look --a motion sensor.

Now what could be so evil about a motion sensor? The theory is that your Pokemon knows what you're doing, and reacts to it. If you're walking down the street with it attached using the little beeper like hip-clip (we clearly need to train kids to be more comfortable with those little digital leashes they'll have to wear the rest of their adult lives...), Pokemon knows you're walking and does a little digital trot with you. And best of all, when you exercise, it builds up little energy treats you can give to your little monster to make him or her bigger and stronger. For once a video game is training kids to exercise, something objectively positive in the universe.

Nintendo is pleased and proud of themselves. The company that for so many years has guiltily taken lots of money for creating a nation of thumb-powerful couch slugs has now created a cause and effect that quite literally conditions kids to get in condition. Chew on that one, Cap'n Kangaroo! It's a brilliant idea. I'm sure their fertile minds are coming up with all sorts of extensions to this benevolent Pavlovization. Lets give the teacher a special treat dispenser, so that when the kids do their homework, they can charge the little beast up. Mom and Dad buy the Parent's Edition Gameboy to reward good behavior. ("Do what we say, and the little monster will grow up to be big and strong.") Or, better yet, build the behavior watchers straight into the game. Most parents use the same rules anyway. The pocket monster is happiest when you're in bed by 8. The pocket monster gets sad when its little mike picks up too much noise in the house. The little monster is happiest when you watch the Pokemon show every day. The Pokemon likes to read the wrappers on certain foods. The Pokemon likes certain political candidates....

Ok, the last bit starts to get a bit paranoid, but I can't help it when I think about young kids toys being used so aggressively to condition them. It feels like an extremely dangerous trend, paved with that most convenient of rationalizations, the best of intentions. My grandfather was a toyman, I love toys to my soul. But I love them as that, toys. Let the kids minds play with them, not the other way around.

-B

Unemployed with a Theater Degree from Brandeis back in 1984, Ben Calica [calica@viewpoint.com] has been making a living in the computer and gaming business in various incarnations since then, Including: Founding Editor of New Media Magazine, First Toys Editor for Wired, one of the few single boys to write for Parents Magazine. Product Manager for the multimedia authoring system, SuperCard, Director of Production for CyberFlix; (design credits on Lunicus, Creepy Castle, and conceptual design for Skull Cracker) Product Manger for the ill-fated modem for the Sega Genesis, the Edge, for AT&T [which, by the way, we decided stood for All Tiny Testi---maybe I'd better tell that another time]; Worked for NeXT long enough to get into real good argument with Steve Jobs; And recently was the guy behind Apple Game Sprockets...

Spends a lot of free time now lecturing on multi-player/virtual world stuff. For a day job he works as Director of Product Development for ThinkFish, an artistic rendering company that recently merged with Viewpoint Datalabs. He could show you the secret desktop software he's working on, but then he'd have to kill you.