Knowledge Adventure
Encyclopedia
Knowledge Adventure, Inc. is a maker of educational software
including the Adiboo
and JumpStart
series of grade-based and subject-based titles, such as My First Encyclopedia. It was established in the late 1980s in Los Angeles, then later merged with another large education software firm, Davidson & Associates
during the late 1990s. Davidson & Associates is well-known with its line-up of Math Blaster related games, as well as developing educational software for Fisher-Price
, plus it is well-known with its purchase of Blizzard Entertainment
in the mid 1990s, the maker of Warcraft
, StarCraft
and Diablo.
Until 1994, KA (their slogan in the early years is "Have fun, Get smart" and their current slogan is "Discover.Learn. Excel") had created DOS games, including Space Adventure, Imax's Speed, Undersea Adventure
(often bundled on the same CD-ROM), 3D Dinosaur Adventure, Kid's Zoo: A Baby Animal Adventure, and 3D Body Adventure.
After the merger with Davidson & Associates, Knowledge Adventure was owned by various firms throughout several corporate mergers. Its last owner was Vivendi Universal Games
, as a part of its Vivendi Games
division. During that time, Knowledge Adventure released many branded games such as Dr. Brain
, Barbie
, Jurassic Park III
, Captain Kangaroo
, Curious George
and American Idol
.
In late 2004, Vivendi sold Knowledge Adventure to a group of investors interested in taking a more active management strategy, and in developing new educational software. The company has since released new products under both the Jumpstart and Math Blaster brands.
In 2008 Knowledge Adventure Inc. was criticized for 'cramware' in their games. For some of the extra content made with the games, a subscription was required.
Educational software
Educational software is computer software, the primary purpose of which is teaching or self-learning.-Early History, 1940s - 1970s:The use of computer hardware and software in education and training dates to the early 1940s, when American researchers developed flight simulators which used analog...
including the Adiboo
Adiboo
Adiboo is a series of Windows, Macintosh and PlayStation educational software packages for young children. It was developed by Knowledge Adventure and each package stars the cartoon character Adiboo and his friends...
and JumpStart
JumpStart
JumpStart is an educational media franchise for children, consisting mostly of educational games, produced by Knowledge Adventure. The series is distributed as Jump Ahead in the United Kingdom...
series of grade-based and subject-based titles, such as My First Encyclopedia. It was established in the late 1980s in Los Angeles, then later merged with another large education software firm, Davidson & Associates
Davidson & Associates
Davidson & Associates was an educational software company headquartered in Torrance, California. It was best known for the Blaster series, including Math Blaster and Reading Blaster...
during the late 1990s. Davidson & Associates is well-known with its line-up of Math Blaster related games, as well as developing educational software for Fisher-Price
Fisher-Price
Fisher-Price is a company that produces toys for infants and children, headquartered in East Aurora, New York. Fisher-Price has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Mattel since 1993.-History:...
, plus it is well-known with its purchase of Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher founded on February 8, 1991 under the name Silicon & Synapse by three graduates of UCLA, Michael Morhaime, Allen Adham and Frank Pearce and currently owned by French company Activision Blizzard...
in the mid 1990s, the maker of Warcraft
Warcraft
Warcraft: Orcs & Humans is a real-time strategy game , developed by Blizzard Entertainment and published by Blizzard and Interplay Entertainment. The MS-DOS version was released in November 1994 and the Macintosh version in late 1996. Sales were fairly high, reviewers were mostly impressed, and the...
, StarCraft
StarCraft
StarCraft is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. The first game of the StarCraft series was released for Microsoft Windows on 31 March 1998. With more than 11 million copies sold worldwide as of February 2009, it is one of the best-selling...
and Diablo.
Until 1994, KA (their slogan in the early years is "Have fun, Get smart" and their current slogan is "Discover.Learn. Excel") had created DOS games, including Space Adventure, Imax's Speed, Undersea Adventure
Undersea Adventure
Undersea Adventure is an educational software program developed by Knowledge Adventure, released in 1994 and included along with IBM Aptiva PCs. It came packaged with a pair of 3D glasses. It was also bundled released with Space Adventure, Imax's Speed and Knowledge Adventure Demo of the...
(often bundled on the same CD-ROM), 3D Dinosaur Adventure, Kid's Zoo: A Baby Animal Adventure, and 3D Body Adventure.
After the merger with Davidson & Associates, Knowledge Adventure was owned by various firms throughout several corporate mergers. Its last owner was Vivendi Universal Games
Vivendi Games
Vivendi Games, formerly known as Vivendi Universal Games, was the holdings company for Sierra Entertainment and Blizzard Entertainment. Vivendi Games was founded as Vivendi Universal Games after Vivendi bought Universal Studios in the early 2000s...
, as a part of its Vivendi Games
Vivendi Games
Vivendi Games, formerly known as Vivendi Universal Games, was the holdings company for Sierra Entertainment and Blizzard Entertainment. Vivendi Games was founded as Vivendi Universal Games after Vivendi bought Universal Studios in the early 2000s...
division. During that time, Knowledge Adventure released many branded games such as Dr. Brain
Dr. Brain
Dr. Brain is a series of educational games made by Sierra On-Line in the 1990s. The objective of each game is solving a series of puzzles in order to proceed further into the game. The series was later picked up by Knowledge Adventure who turned it into a more action-oriented game.The original two...
, Barbie
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy-company Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration....
, Jurassic Park III
Jurassic Park III: Dino Defender
Jurassic Park III: Dino Defender, or just Dino Defender is a 2001 side-scrolling video game as franchise to the movie Jurassic Park III. The player is depicted as a person in a bio-mechanical suit hired by Jurassic Park to bring power back to the electrified fences and capture all the free-roaming...
, Captain Kangaroo
Captain Kangaroo
Captain Kangaroo is a children's television series which aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for nearly 30 years, from October 3, 1955 until December 8, 1984, making it the longest-running children's television program of its day...
, Curious George
Curious George (video game)
Curious George is a video game published by Namco Bandai Games, and developed by Monkey Bar Games, a division of Vicious Cycle Software. The game was also published under Universal Pictures because of Universal Studio's work on the animated movie. It was released for the Nintendo GameCube, Game...
and American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
.
In late 2004, Vivendi sold Knowledge Adventure to a group of investors interested in taking a more active management strategy, and in developing new educational software. The company has since released new products under both the Jumpstart and Math Blaster brands.
In 2008 Knowledge Adventure Inc. was criticized for 'cramware' in their games. For some of the extra content made with the games, a subscription was required.