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I don't have kids so I haven't looked into it, but I assumed there would be more games with educational value on iOS than Nintendo. Is curating your kid's apps

I don't have kids so I haven't looked into it, but I assumed there would be more games with educational value on iOS than Nintendo. Is curating your kid's apps to only allow such games an option?

astura 9y ago
What's the point though? The app store is 99% low quality garbage. Sure, you can spend your time and effort searching out the 4-5 high quality gems that may exist and configuring the ipad but it's 10x easier just to buy a Nintendo game and call it a day. Nintendo's first party games are almost always very fun, always high quality, ad free, and always(?) kid friendly. When you buy, for example, a Zelda, Mario, or Kirby title you know exactly what you are going to get. Not all entertainment needs to be "educational" and we are talking about entertainment here.
- oneeyedpigeon 9y ago
  The Switch offers digital downloads too, some of which are pretty low-quality (and the number of these will only increase this year).
- tlrobinson 9y ago
  Maybe "educational" isn't the right word, but as a kid I mostly played games that, in retrospect, had some sort of value beyond pure entertainment (Sim City, The Incredible Machine, etc) Surely there are blogger parents who do the work to find decent games for kids, educational or otherwise?
- thirdsun 9y ago
  You're exaggerating. Of course there's a lot of garbage and Apple could do a better job of curating and surfacing the highlights, though their recent app store redesign is a step in the right direction. However it's easy to find countless high quality, worthwhile and affordable games - from platform exclusives and indie hits to popular titles like Civ VI, 80 Days or The Witness.
fsloth 9y ago
"games with educational value" Unfortunately that's a near non-sequitur. For example a "math game" may actually be a crappy button smashing experience that's made to look "educational" in the store. Etc.
- Angostura 9y ago
  Having watched my kid build bizarre red-stone power contraptions in minecraft, picking up the basics of logic circuits along the way, I disagree.
  - fsloth 9y ago
    That's still no replacement for basic formal mathematics and linguistic skills, such as how to craft a good text. I value my kids learning the multiplication tables and understanding fundamental geometric concepts. Universe is built on math and the society is built on math and writing. I'm not denying Kerbal and Minecraft are stimulating for kids but no way can they replace the fundamentals. In the general sense. If we categorize kids time into 'education' and playtime ( both of which are important!) I would categorize minecraft and kerbal into the play section.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
- TeMPOraL 9y ago
  You know what's worse than what you describe? Educational games, i.e. schoolwork disguised (usually poorly) as a video game. No one is getting fooled by that. As for good games with educational value, I'd point to obvious examples like Kerbal Space Program (makes 12 years old learn the math behind rocketry and orbital dynamics), Minecraft (can make kids learn to program), Zachtronics games like SpaceChem or Shenzhen I/O, and ultimately any narrative-heavy game as a good way for kids from non-English-speaking countries to learn English.
  - PascLeRasc 9y ago
narrowtux 9y ago
You can disable the App Store in iOS as well, if I were a parent, I would choose a few good games but disable the App Store for my kid's devices.

I don't have kids so I haven't looked into it, but I assumed there would be more games with educational value on iOS than Nintendo. Is curating your kid's apps to only allow such games an option?

astura 9y ago

What's the point though? The app store is 99% low quality garbage. Sure, you can spend your time and effort searching out the 4-5 high quality gems that may exist and configuring the ipad but it's 10x easier just to buy a Nintendo game and call it a day. Nintendo's first party games are almost always very fun, always high quality, ad free, and always(?) kid friendly. When you buy, for example, a Zelda, Mario, or Kirby title you know exactly what you are going to get. Not all entertainment needs to be "educational" and we are talking about entertainment here.

oneeyedpigeon 9y ago
The Switch offers digital downloads too, some of which are pretty low-quality (and the number of these will only increase this year).
tlrobinson 9y ago
Maybe "educational" isn't the right word, but as a kid I mostly played games that, in retrospect, had some sort of value beyond pure entertainment (Sim City, The Incredible Machine, etc) Surely there are blogger parents who do the work to find decent games for kids, educational or otherwise?
thirdsun 9y ago
You're exaggerating. Of course there's a lot of garbage and Apple could do a better job of curating and surfacing the highlights, though their recent app store redesign is a step in the right direction. However it's easy to find countless high quality, worthwhile and affordable games - from platform exclusives and indie hits to popular titles like Civ VI, 80 Days or The Witness.

fsloth 9y ago

"games with educational value" Unfortunately that's a near non-sequitur. For example a "math game" may actually be a crappy button smashing experience that's made to look "educational" in the store. Etc.

Angostura 9y ago
Having watched my kid build bizarre red-stone power contraptions in minecraft, picking up the basics of logic circuits along the way, I disagree.
- fsloth 9y ago
  That's still no replacement for basic formal mathematics and linguistic skills, such as how to craft a good text. I value my kids learning the multiplication tables and understanding fundamental geometric concepts. Universe is built on math and the society is built on math and writing. I'm not denying Kerbal and Minecraft are stimulating for kids but no way can they replace the fundamentals. In the general sense. If we categorize kids time into 'education' and playtime ( both of which are important!) I would categorize minecraft and kerbal into the play section.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
TeMPOraL 9y ago
You know what's worse than what you describe? Educational games, i.e. schoolwork disguised (usually poorly) as a video game. No one is getting fooled by that. As for good games with educational value, I'd point to obvious examples like Kerbal Space Program (makes 12 years old learn the math behind rocketry and orbital dynamics), Minecraft (can make kids learn to program), Zachtronics games like SpaceChem or Shenzhen I/O, and ultimately any narrative-heavy game as a good way for kids from non-English-speaking countries to learn English.
- PascLeRasc 9y ago

narrowtux 9y ago

You can disable the App Store in iOS as well, if I were a parent, I would choose a few good games but disable the App Store for my kid's devices.