Ubisoft Announces First “Kids Game” for Wii

Well, that didn’t take long. With Nintendo’s lingering “kiddie” image and the Wii’s simple and intuitive control scheme it was only a matter of time before someone prepped the first kid-centric game.

Ubisoft announced Cosmic Family on Tuesday for a worldwide release in mid-2007. From announcement to global release in less than six months? The Wii is definitely easy to develop for. As for the game itself the press release makes no mistake about its target audience.

“Cosmic Family is a great title for young Wii players and their families, with simple point-and-click controls that will be easy to learn and provide the freedom to navigate wherever players choose to go,” said Tony Key, vice president of marketing at Ubisoft. “Families will enjoy playing this game together, as it unfolds more like an interactive adventure than a traditional video game.”

Ubisoft isn’t just dredging up the “edutainment” genre here. Cosmic Family promises 15 minigames to help develop children’s memory, hand-eye coordination, creativity and imagination. Piloting a rocketship, drawing your own colorful images, customizing rooms, brusing a monster’s teeth, playing dress up, and growing plants are just a few of the promised diversions.

Enticing to kids for sure, but how interested will dad be in playing dress up? If Ubisoft and the Wii can pull that off then it deserves to be the top console.