Digital Kids & Connected Digital Play

What is digital play? Are Moms and Dads looking for a more meaningful form of connected play to share with their kids?

Who is connecting analog and digital play using transmedia storytelling methods?

Talking Katsuma Moshi Monster

"More than half of children own a toy based on a virtual world." -Dubit Research

Kids registering to play in virtual worlds has increased from 179m in 2009 to 320m in Q2 2011. Virtual worlds engage kids in connected play through connected toys and community building which in turn fuels purchases of virtual goods and connected toys. That's quite a profitable transmedia loop.

KZero calls this the golden triangle.


“Today’s kids are platform agnostic and don’t care where their favourite stories and characters come from. It used to be the case that books or TV shows launched characters and toys, but now online entertainment is proving just as important.” 
-Peter Robinson, head of Dubit research


The Golden Triangle

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Do publishers have a transmedia strategy for connecting their merchandise to paper & digital books?
You don't have to be Stardoll, Moshi Monsters or Legos to enhance the user experience & increase immersion through great connected storytelling.

Some companies are creating connected play through apps or what is known as "AppCessories."

Mattel will broaden "the appeal of its classic brands such as Fisher-Price and Barbie as well as Monster High through its APPTIVITY line."
You can read "Toymakers Gear Up For A Year Of The Appcessory" by Dhanya Skariachan/Reuters here.

So tell me again, why are publishers disillusioned with apps?
Have you read "The Book App Is Dead. Again." by Sam Missingham? Find it here.