Microsoft-funded reading edugame "ItzaBitza" launched today

I talked yesterday with Margaret Johnson, co-founder and CEO of Sabi, an edugaming startup funded and supported by Microsoft as part of their IP Ventures program. Today Sabi launched their first product, a reading game for ages 4-8 called ItzaBitza, the result of several years of research and development, predominantly with Dr. John Bransford, professor of education and psychology at the University of Washington and director of the National Science Foundation-funded Learning in Informal and Formal Environments (LIFE) Center.
Like other edugames, this is a program intended to be fun and engaging while it teaches, and can be used inside or outside the classroom. But, two things set it apart. First, the emphasis on conversational language to teach reading. Rather than hearing "The house is green," the game asks the student "Can you draw a house?" and so on. This emphasis also ties reading with immediate, concrete actions, building comprehension. Secondly, there is the game's "living ink" technology, which is a pretty impressive interactive capability. Once the student draws a house, the characters in the game interact with it, open the door and go inside, look out the windows, etc. It's a pretty unique capability in game design generally, not just in the educational vein. Watch the video below to see what I mean (you might have to wait for it to load, and double-click for full screen). The MSRP is $19.99, and it's available on CD or for download, from their site or Amazon.