By Alex Chisholm

This year’s honorees represent a diverse sampling of the cream of the crop. Just ask our kid testers, who - for the third year running - helped us play our way through the annual avalanche of fun and games that piled up in NAPPA’s offices. Our kid testers have become savvy consumers and were quick to share which games they thought were really pushing the potential of what technology can do versus those games that simply didn’t measure up. They want games that let them use controllers to navigate play spaces and tackle challenges in ways that computers, handhelds and other consoles don’t. Active play is a big preference.

Of all the interesting products to come out this year, the most incredible thing to note is the sheer number of new titles for Wii. After two years of fans wanting more games to play on Nintendo’s revolutionary console, companies have finally delivered.

Another significant development this year is the explosion in diversity of online game and community sites for kids. The past few years have been dominated by the likes of Club Penguin and Webkinz, but now we’re starting to see a much wider variety of sophisticated and highly engaging sites that appeal to kids with different interests and skill levels. From fashion to car racing, and book publishing to early elementary science education, there’s something out there for all kinds of kids. Among this year’s winners, we’ve tried to feature a broad set of sites that appeal to families with a variety of interests and may be off the beaten track. In addition to growth in engaging and safe sites for kids, we’ve also noted an increase in resources and tools for parents trying to educate their kids and themselves about responsible online behaviors.

Read Alex’s response to the oft-asked question, “Are video games bad for kids?”