From the makers of Gas Attack, a pinball machine that teaches about flatulence, comes Urine the video game.

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I've seen plenty of edumacational games and I'm always delighted to explore how they surreptitiously teach people as they play a game. But this is the first time I've played a edu-pinball game.

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A few weeks ago, designer Brice Morrison talked about how a game designer outgrew games; since kicking off a flurry of discussion, he's returned to GameSetWatch with some in-depth answers to common questions and a challenge.

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Parents take heed! Does your teen want a Nintendo DS for Christmas, but you worry about it distracting them from their schoolwork? Aspyr Media and the test prep wizards at Kaplan have your solution with futureU SAT Prep for the DS. First announced back in April, the 'game' is now hitting stores, just in time for Christmas. It might not be the console edutainment Crecente craves, but it'll do in a pinch.

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So last month I picked a pet peeve to harp on and on and on about. I wanted to know why it is we don't see more educational video games for this next-generation of consoles. Why no awesome Math Blasters or Reader Rabbits or Typing of the Deads for the Playstation 3, Wii or Xbox 360. One thing I learned is that there are a few of those out there, but I still wanted to hear from the three console holders on the top. So I emailed Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony to see their take on number of prepared questions. All of which lead to my final question: Why not give away an educational game on your console?

Hit the jump to read the answers from Denise Kaigler, Nintendo of America's vice president of Corporate Affairs; John Koller, director of hardware marketing, SCEA; and XNA General Manager Boyd Multerer.

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It's a bit of a nostalgic day today at Kotaku (or maybe I've just done a poor job of getting out of the historian mindset this weekend), but a post over at Educational Games Research brought back memories of childhood and elementary school — Oregon Trail, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego (I vaguely remember a PBS television show that we were required to watch once a week), typing teachers (though we used PAWS in the 3rd grade, not the Mavis Beacon mentioned). Ah, memories:

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Edutainment. Man, I hate that word. But the concept, the concept I love.

Unfortunately the business of making education fun hasn't had much luck making its way to the console as of late. Just last month I was bemoaning the lack of educational games on the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii over a dinner with a bunch of developers.

Just about everyone at the table had a reason why educational games not only would never make their way to the next-gen consoles, but shouldn't. They are, one person hinted, the touch of death for developers.

But at least one developer doesn't buy that.

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Things are really looking up for parents who want to buy their children video games for Christmas but don't necessarily want to buy them games they'll enjoy, as venerable PC edutainment software creator Knowledge Adventure partners with Majesco in order to bring their properties to the console and handheld market. "This partnership is part of our strategic vision to transition the company from educational software to a multi-faceted kid's entertainment company," said Knowledge Adventure president & CEO David Lord. "Expanding our product footprint into this new category will enable us to create a market for future products--including our leading JumpStart® brand--on console and handheld platforms and capitalise on the increasing popularity of these platforms." The first product of this union will be Math Blaster in the Prime Adventure for the DS, introducing the 21-year-old franchise to a whole new audience. Do you smell that? That's the smell of children's tears on Christmas morning. It's intoxicating!

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I mentioned the Games, Learning & Society Conference in Madison, Wisconsin back when a call for papers was put out. Michael Abbott of the Brainy Gamer has some interesting notes on the conference, which was held this past Thursday and Friday. The wrap up of the keynote speech, delivered by James Gee of Arizona State University, is an interesting meditation on the role of games (and not just 'edutainment') in education:

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Electronic Arts is hopping on the Nintendo DS learning tool train with the announcement of two new games for the handheld based on the educational card series Brain Quest. The two titles, one focusing on years three and four and the other on five/six, will translate the cards into a series of questions based around a light story mode, with more than 6,000 questions per game.

"Brain Quest is EA Casual Entertainment's first educational game and we are thrilled to bring this beloved brand into the videogame space," said Robert Nashak, VP of Casual Studios, EA Casual Entertainment. "By adapting the series to the DS, we are able to reach today's tech savvy children and provide them with an educational experience that is interactive, engaging, and fun."

EA's creation of educational DS titles could be a very good sign, indicating that U.S. publishers are beginning to get a grasp of the true potential of the handheld, much like Japan already has. That, or they just want some more of that delicious parent money. Mmmm.

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