JAKKS TV Games Motion: Gaming on a Budget

There’s no denying how much fun you can have with a Wii, PS3 or Xbox 360, but there’s also no denying how much one of those videogame consoles (not to mention its attendant games) will cost you. Hard as it may be for the gadget-obsessed (me included) among us to believe, there’s an entire cross-section of kids out there who’ll do just fine, thanks, with the occasional thrill of a basic game to play on their TV, and that’s exactly the niche JAKKS Pacific aims to fill with its latest TV Games Motion titles.

If you’ve spent any time in a toy aisle, you’re already familiar with JAKKS’ existing line of Plug It In & Play TV Games. Designed in fun, exaggerated, kid-appealing shapes, these controllers plug directly into your TV’s A/V inputs to offer a complete, bone-simple gaming experience without the expense of a console or cartridges. JAKKS’ TV Games Motion titles, however, also add basic motion technology to the experience, letting you control the action on-screen with waves and wiggles in your hands. Wii or Project Natal it ain’t, but if your kids haven’t been spoiled by experience with a “real” console, they won’t know the difference.

Heck, even if they do have that experience, your kids might not know the difference: I tested the Star Wars: Clone Wars TV Games Motion (pictured; $29.99 from Target) with my kids, ages 6 and 9, who already have an Xbox 360, PS2 and DS at their disposal, and they loved it. “It takes, like, 5 minutes to get used to the controls, but it’s really easy,” said my oldest, who adds that “you can be the back of a Republic Gunship or a Starfighter, and it’s awesome.” (Out of the mouths of babes, indeed.) No doubt it helps that both of my kids are already Star Wars-obsessed, but there’s still something to be said for a simpler, shoot-’em-up gaming experience — especially one that doesn’t cost you three figures and an extended-warranty payment.

Star Wars: Clone Wars is one of multiple TV Games Motion titles either available or in the pipeline from JAKKS Pacific:  Keep an eye out for Toy Story, SpongeBob SquarePants, Spider-Man, Disney Fairies, Power Rangers and more, all of which are available for a suggested retail price of $29.99 each.

For those of you looking for a bone-simple Rock Band experience without the added expense (a cost that cuts that much closer to home once your kids start to ignore the Rock Band instruments you paid $250 for), JAKKS has also introduced Sing Scene Pop (pictured; $29,99 from Target), a microphone with a full-on karaoke game built into it. (There’s also a country version.) Featuring songs from Rihanna, Alicia Keys, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift and more, the game lets you play pop star on a budget, hitting those notes to climb your way toward mega-stardom. Again, this is bare-bones technology we’re talking about, but if that’s all you’re looking to spend, your kids will be just as happy as if you’d forked over for the “real” thing.