The Leapster Learning Game System is an

educational Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Vari ...

handheld game console A handheld game console, or simply handheld console, is a small, portable self-contained video game console with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are smaller than home video game consoles and contain the cons ...

aimed at 5 to 10-11 year olds (

preschool A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary sch ...

fourth grade Fourth grade (also called grade four, equivalent to Year 5 in England and Wales, and Year 4 in Australia) is a year of Elementary education in some countries. In North America, the fourth grade is the fifth school year of elementary school. Stud ...

), made by

LeapFrog Enterprises LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. (commonly known as LeapFrog) is an educational entertainment and electronics company based in Emeryville, California. LeapFrog designs, develops, and markets technology-based learning products and related content for ...

. Its games teach the

alphabet An alphabet is a standardized set of basic written graphemes (called letters) that represent the phonemes of certain spoken languages. Not all writing systems represent language in this way; in a syllabary, each character represents a syll ...

phonics Phonics is a method for teaching people how to read and write an alphabetic language (such as English, Arabic or Russian). It is done by demonstrating the relationship between the sounds of the spoken language (phonemes), and the letters or g ...

, basic math ( addition, subtraction, multiplication,

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

), and art and animal facts to players. Along with a

directional pad A D-pad (short for directional pad or digital pad; officially referred to by Nintendo as a +Control Pad) is a flat, usually thumb-operated, often digital, four-way directional control with one button on each point, found on nearly all modern vi ...

, the system features a

touchscreen A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input ('touch panel') and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is ofte ...

with a stylus pen that enables young users to interact directly with the screen. LeapFrog released the Leapster2 handheld device as a successor to the Leapster in July 2008. The Leapster2 is essentially the previous system with an added

USB port Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...

and

SD card Secure Digital, officially abbreviated as SD, is a proprietary non-volatile flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA) for use in portable devices. The standard was introduced in August 1999 by joint efforts between SanDis ...

slot. These additions give the ability to play a downloaded full game or short game including the ability to log data on gameplay, such as what has been learned by the user or art created by the user. Downloadable games are not for sale. In June 2010, the Leapster Explorer was released, thus ending the original Leapster line. The games released since the Leapster2's release log user activity and will send this data to LeapFrog's "Learning Path" system, which tracks educational milestones completed. Completion of certain learning activity can allow online games to be accessed. In the case of art created on the device, the art can be further embellished online and printed with a printer accessible by the user's computer. Both the Leapster and Leapster L-MAX were retired in 2014 and the Leapster2 was retired in 2019.

History

Released on October 7, 2003, the Leapster has since undergone several revisions and remakes. The Leapster L-MAX, a version that has one extra feature (an A/V TV output, which allows the user to view and hear gameplay on their television) was released in 2004. The L-MAX console's size has decreased and the pen is now a wire instead of a thread. The Leapster TV, a screenless version with the same basic control layout in a console form, was released in 2005 and retired in 2007. The Leapster was the best-selling educational handheld game console in America and has sold about 4 million units and 12 million software cartridges since its inception, as of May 2007. It is regularly sold in nine countries directly, and in another 7 for teaching

English as a second language English as a second or foreign language is the use of English by speakers with different native languages. Language education for people learning English may be known as English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EFL ...

in schools.

Software

There are approximately 40 games available, and over 50 have been created. This is the largest library for any handheld designed exclusively for educational use. All games for the Leapster feature a "Hint" function along with a dedicated "Hint" button that will bring up audio or animated information on instructions given in the game.

LeapFrog Leapfrog is a children's game in which players vault over each other's stooped backs. History Games of this sort have been called by this name since at least the late sixteenth century.homebrew development; software is typically developed in-house or as work-for-hire.

Criticism

Dave Bauer stated that there is a "depressingly small library of software available for the Leapster ... but some more varied software would make it much more interesting for (my son) ... no platform that has ever been successful without third-party software. ... Besides that, a strong hobbyist platform would be amazing". Ian Bogost stated "the potential for improved educational game design is simply not going to come from inside the LeapFrog corporation".

Games licensed

*'' 1st Grade'' *'' 2nd Grade: Musical Menace'' *''Adibou: À la Recherche de Robilloc'' *''

Animal Genius ''Animal Genius'' is a puzzle video game released for Windows in 2003, the Leapster in 2006, and Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' ...

'' *''

The Backyardigans ''The Backyardigans'' is a computer-animated musical children's television series created by Janice Burgess. The series was written and recorded at Nickelodeon Animation Studio. It centers on five animal neighbors who imagine themselves on fantas ...

'' *'' The Batman: Multiply, Divide and Conquer'' *'' The Batman: Strength in Numbers'' *'' Bratz World: The Jet Set'' *''

Cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, people in ...

'' *'' Cars 2'' *''

Supercharged'' *'' Clifford the Big Red Dog: Reading'' *''Cosmic Math'' *'' Crayola: Art Adventure'' *''Creature Create'' *''Digging for Dinosaurs'' *'' The Disney•PIXAR Collection'' *''

Disney Fairies ''Disney Fairies'' is a Disney franchise created in 2005. The franchise is built around the character of Tinker Bell from Disney's 1953 animated film ''Peter Pan'', subsequently adopted as a mascot for the company. In addition to the fictional fa ...

'' *'' Disney Princess: Enchanted Learning'' *'' Disney Princess: Worlds of Enchantment'' *'' Dora the Explorer: Wildlife Rescue'' *'' Dora the Explorer: Camping Adventure'' *'' Dora the Explorer: Piñata Party'' *'' Finding Nemo'' *''

Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends ''Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends'' (also known as ''Foster's Home'', or simply ''Foster's'' for short) is an American animated television series created by Craig McCracken for Cartoon Network. It was produced by Cartoon Network Studios as ...

'' *''Get Puzzled!'' *'' Go, Diego, Go!: Animal Rescuer'' *'' I Spy: Challenger!'' *'' I Spy: Treasure Hunt'' *''

The Incredibles ''The Incredibles'' is a 2004 American computer-animated superhero film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Written and directed by Brad Bird, it stars the voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah ...

'' *''

Kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

'' *''Learning with Leap'' (cartridge-only game, built in on some Leapsters) *''Letter Factory'' *''Letters on the Loose'' *'' Letterpillar'' *''

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

'' *'' Math Baseball'' *'' Math Missions'' *''Mr. Pencil's Learn to Draw and Write'' *'' My Amusement Park'' *''

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

'' *'' Ni Hao, Kai-Lan: Beach Day'' *'' Noddy: Rainbow Adventures'' (UK only) *'' Number Raiders'' *'' Numbers on the Run: Counting on Zero'' *'' Outwit!'' *'' The Penguins of Madagascar: Race for 1st Place!'' *''Pet Pals'' *''Phonics: Lesson One'' *''

The Princess and the Frog ''The Princess and the Frog'' is a 2009 American animated musical fantasy romantic comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 49th Disney animated feature film, it is loosely based on the ...

'' *''

Ratatouille Ratatouille ( , ), oc, ratatolha , is a French Provençal dish of stewed vegetables which originated in Nice, and is sometimes referred to as ''ratatouille niçoise'' (). Recipes and cooking times differ widely, but common ingredients include ...

'' *'' Reading with Phonics: Mole's Huge Nose'' *'' Rock the World: A Reading Adventure'' *'' Schoolhouse Rock!: America Rock'' *'' Schoolhouse Rock!: Grammar Rock'' *'' Scooby-Doo!: Math Times Two'' *'' Scooby-Doo!: Spooky Snacks'' *''

Sonic X is a Japanese anime television series based on Sega's '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game series. Produced by TMS Entertainment under partnership with Sega and Sonic Team, and directed by Hajime Kamegaki, ''Sonic X'' initially ran for 52 ...

'' *'' Spider-Man: The Case of the Sinister Speller'' *'' SpongeBob SquarePants: Saves the Day'' *'' SpongeBob SquarePants: Through the Wormhole'' *'' Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Jedi Math'' *'' Star Wars: Jedi Reading'' *''

Tangled ''Tangled'' is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated musical adventure fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Loosely based on the German fairy tale ''Rapunzel'' in the collection of ...

'' *''

The Talking Words Factory ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' *'' Thomas & Friends: Calling All Engines!'' *'' Top-Secret Personal Beeswax: Share a Journal with Junie B.'' *''

Toy Story 3 ''Toy Story 3'' is a 2010 American computer-animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the third installment in the ''Toy Story'' series and the sequel to '' Toy Story 2'' (1999). It wa ...

'' *'' Up'' *''

WALL-E ''WALL-E'' (stylized with an interpunct as ''WALL·E'') is a 2008 American computer-animated science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed and co-written by Andrew Stanton, pro ...

'' *'' Wolverine and the X-Men'' *''

Word Chasers A word is a basic element of language that carries an semantics, objective or pragmatics, practical semantics, meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of w ...

Technical specifications

Hardware

* CPU: Custom ASIC containing an ARCTangent-A5 CPU, running at 96 MHz. * Memory: Original Leapster: 2 MB onboard

RAM Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * ...

, 256 bytes non-volatile. Leapster2: 16 MB RAM, 128 KB non-volatile storage * Media type: Cartridges of 4-16 MB with between 2 and 512 KB non-volatile storage. * Graphics: 4 MB ATI chip. * Audio: Proprietary hardware audio acceleration, which includes

MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and ...

playback and

CELP Code-excited linear prediction (CELP) is a linear predictive speech coding algorithm originally proposed by Manfred R. Schroeder and Bishnu S. Atal in 1985. At the time, it provided significantly better quality than existing low bit-rate algori ...

voice compression sampled at 8000 Hz. ** It retains the same sound source from the original

LeapPad LeapPad is a range of tablet computers developed for children. Various models of the LeapPad have been developed since 1999. Development history The device, resembling a talking book, took 3 years to develop and was introduced to the market in ...

from 1999. * Screen: 160x160

CSTN Pioneering passive-matrix STN LCD, Brown Boveri, Switzerland, 1984 A super-twisted nematic display (STN) is a type of monochrome passive-matrix liquid crystal display (LCD). History This type of LCD was invented at the Brown Boveri Research ...

with touchscreen. * Leapster2 only: USB 1.1 (client only) and full-sized SD slot. * Some Leapster2s have no SD slot and use onboard memory in place of it. All of the software content for the original Leapster was created with Macromedia Flash MX 2004; the device runs a version of

Adobe Flash Player Adobe Flash Player (known in Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Google Chrome as Shockwave Flash) is computer software for viewing multimedia contents, executing rich Internet applications, and streaming audio and video content created on the ...

ported to the Leapster, that is licensed to LeapFrog. Tom Prichard, Sr. Vice President of Marketing for Leapfrog, said that he believed using Flash allowed them to "bring the Leapster system to life more rapidly than we could have with any other development method".

References

External links

Official site
{{videogame-hardware-stub Handheld game consoles Children's educational video games Products introduced in 2003 Video games developed in the United States Sixth-generation video game consoles Products and services discontinued in 2019