I got this from John Passfield's (Director of Development and co-owner of Krome Studios) cartoon site, and I thought it's a pretty nice story to post. It's about Ty, the Tasmanian Tiger..
"Having really enjoyed the time I've spent watching and occasionally helping with Ty the Tasmanian Tiger to date, I feel like my friend's daughter is not the only one who's learned something from the experience. Sure, without me, she might never have made it past the sharks or reached the top of the mountain without getting crushed by boulders, but watching her work her way through the early levels of the game, often laughing out loud, has reminded me that many of the games I choose not to play for any length of time are not necessarily bad, but are perhaps not really intended for my consumption in the first place.I now fully intend to look back through my game collection sometime soon and make a point of spending a little time with some of the colorful platformers that I've previously dismissed in favor of the likes of Splinter Cell, Red Faction II, and the never-too-far-from-my-PS2 Rez"
I think John hits the nail right on the head when he says that all games aren't always just for the 20+ male. It makes those 'too safe' and 'lack of innovation' criticisms in some reviews rather redundant, really. Maybe reviewers should give more merit and emphasis to the fun factor rather than whizbang features, technological feats, and engine specs. Oh, who am I kidding. ;)
On another related 'kids dig Ty' story - I looked into my referral logs for Sumea one day and found that someone, most likely under 10 as well, had searched google for "How to draw Ty Tasmanian Tiger" (of which Sumea was listed as a result). Steve Stamatiadis should write up a tutorial :) More on the previous story here.