Educational technology firm LeapFrog is launching a games console aimed at children, promising an emphasis on learning and physical activity alongside gaming.
The LeapTV will go on sale in October, aimed at 3-8 year-olds. LeapFrog says it will have more than 100 games and videos available at launch, with plans to sell physical game cartridges as well as digital downloads.
The new device, which will cost £119.99 in the UK, will compete with consoles like Sony's PlayStation 4, Microsoft's Xbox One and Nintendo's Wii-U, but also with tablets from Apple, Samsung, Amazon and other manufacturers, which are increasingly popular with children.
LeapFrog makes tablets too – its LeapPad device is in its third incarnation – but the LeapTV represents an ambitious expansion of its business.
The new console will ship with a motion-sensing controller that doubles as an LED pointer, as well as a Kinect-style motion-sensing camera to detect children's movements while playing.
LeapFrog has not yet announced details of the developers and brands who'll be making games for the LeapTV.
Brands including Disney, Ben 10, Barbie, Turbo, Moshi Monsters, Sesame Street and Transformers have released learning games for its tablets, while its catalogue of educational videos includes material from Discovery, Disney, Peppa Pig, Sesame Street and Thomas & Friends.
"It is shocking that less than one percent of the tens of thousands of video game titles are rated appropriate for children under the age of six years," said Dr. Jody Sherman LeVos, director of LeapFrog's learning team, in a statement.
"We know that young children want to experience new ways to play through technology earlier than ever, but parents quickly discover that there are very few solutions that are developmentally appropriate or educational for young children."
The LeapTV's launch will follow the release of LeapBand, LeapFrog's new activity-tracking device for children in August. Inspired by Fitbit and other adult fitness-trackers, the device aims to encourage children to be more active by translating their steps into points to be spent on a virtual pet.
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