Here we have a system from Mattel (of Intellivision fame) marketed towards the 8-12 age group. The idea here is to combine video games with card collecting. Thus each game has various characters that can be only be activated by scanning a certain card. There are also cards that increase a character's attributes or stats, strength, speed, etc. The idea is gold from a marketing standpoint and I'm surprised no one tried it earlier.
The system itself, well.. perhaps you should read this first hand account of it's performance before you go out and buy one. From the videos posted on the official site the system specs seem to be of at least 32-bit capability, although none of the games thus far show any polygons or 3D gameplay. They so far look to be 2D fighters and platformers (not that there's anything wrong with that.)
System currently retails for $59.95, with games at $19.95 and booster card packs at $9.95, although something tells me you should be able to find them a lot cheaper soon.
