Kotaku is reporting that Capcom, publishers of such classic video game franchises as “Street Fighter,” “Mega Man” and “Resident Evil.” are teaming up with the publisher Gakken to produce an educational manga entitled “The Secrets of Video Games.” You can read the official press release here:
“Secrets of Video Games” will present answers to questions many children have about video games and the video game industry as a whole in an easy-to-understand comic book format. Gakken’s “Understanding” series is recommended by the Japanese PTA Association as educational comics that respond to children’s curiosity with a rich variety of content. This series of books is also highly regarded by teachers and often used as supplementary teaching materials within integrated studies in the Japanese classroom.
“Secrets of Video Games” will not only introduce video games to children, it will also include information on various game creator professions, the process of creating video games, interacting with video games, expert opinions on social issues such as the effects of video games on the brain, and the competitiveness of the Japanese video game industry from an economic perspective. All of this information will not only be useful for children, but also for educators and parents or guardians with its easy-to-understand format.
The company plans to distribute the book to 24,000 elementary schools and 2,700 libraries across Japan. Why can’t we get U.S. publishers to do something like this for American school kids? They need to learn about the video game industry too!
