(CBS) - Video games have always been designed with kids in mind, but these days, the target age group is getting younger and younger.
At this year's electronic entertainment expo -- or e3 held annually in Los Angeles -- game and console manufacturers made no secret of designing games for kids...young kids.
Experts say it's a trend that's been developing for years, but now the hardware technology has evolved for even easier game-play.
Section Editor of the UK GameSpot, Jane Douglas says, "It's extremely accessible because they've taken away the controller. Because you haven't got anything in your hands, there are no buttons to learn. The idea is there is no barrier to entry and that very young kids can be playing."
Besides sesame street, game developers are also tapping into other, well-known kid-friendly franchises for their titles.
Douglas says, "There's that recognition and I imagine especially among young gamers, that recognition from the movies, the TV, the toys that they love in video games...that's only going to do well."
CNET Senior Editor Scott Stein says, "It's "sort of like candy, but you want to make sure you don't overuse that too much."
As a parent, stein is skeptical and cautious about his son's gaming exposure - but he acknowledges that parenting styles need to adapt with the technology.
"We may be at an age where these types of games and interactions do get learned at a younger age and we as parents have to learn to integrate that better."
Gaming manufacturers are hoping to capture the imagination of little ones, and perhaps, even the parents.
