Zany Brainy Pulls All Videogames

Upscale toy retailer Zany Brainy plans to pull video games off the shelves in its 170 stores, saying the industry is focusing on themes that are too violent for the company's young customers.

"Our typical customer has kids between the ages of 3 and 10, and we felt like there weren't a lot of titles that were geared toward children of that age," said Renee Hollinger, a spokeswoman for FAO Inc., which purchased FAO Schwarz and Zany Brainy earlier this year.

Zany Brainy, which stresses educational toys, had stocked only E-rated video games, which have content that is suitable for all ages. Video games make up only about 3 percent of Zany Brainy's sales, and the company said sales had not grown to reach company goals.

FAO's decision came after it decided against offering T-rated titles geared toward teens, which make up an increasingly large part of the market. The company said it expected to see game companies develop more titles for young children, but it never happened.

"We didn't carry any of the games with violence, and it seemed to us that those are the most popular games and the games that the industry was focusing on," Hollinger said.

For now, FAO will still sell video games at its eight FAO Schwarz stores because that chain has a customer base that includes young teens. Hollinger said FAO Schwarz also screens out violent games.

Zany Brainy will put the games on sale this week and expects to clear its shelves of the games by the end of the year. The chain will continue selling educational software.