Excellent news for serious games

.. for 'interactive education' (edutainment is dead, long live interactive education): the UN's food supply game is a hit! As reported by Joystiq, they've announced that over a million copies have been downloaded from their site (it's free to play).

Launched by the United Nations only six weeks ago, the first video game designed to teach children about global hunger has surpassed all expectations in the gaming world by reaching more than one million players in 40 countries.

Well done them! I'm so pleased: there's still a lot of concern about that edutainment, or playing to learn, is doomed or bad. It's not. If you try to fake kids out and stuff 'education' into a bad game, or vice versa, they (and everyone else) will see right through it. The key word in there is 'bad'. But making learning fun? Not only is it possible using game technology, it's also popular when done right.

UN Press release.