Console devs need to prepare for new generation of kid gamers, says consultant

In Gamasutra's latest feature, kids game consultant Carla Engelbrecht Fisher believes many young gamers who've been raised on free-to-play and mobile titles will eventually move to console titles -- and developers need to be prepared for that shift. Fisher, president and founder of children's game design firm No Crusts Interactive, notes that when the next generation of console hardware emerges, console game developers had better understand the transformation that has taken place and what sort of games are in demand. "Consoles will intrinsically offer something that handhelds can't -- for instance, the idea of 'co-play,'" she says. "The one thing consoles do amazingly well is to allow parents and children to play together, like in the Xbox 360 title Once Upon A Monster." "Having a four-person family sit around and have fun together isn't something that can be done as easily on an iPad or on networked phones. There's a real need for fostering that kind of experience." The full feature, which goes more in-depth on what's happening in kids' games today, is live now on Gamasutra.