that RPG they talk about in USAtoday is a pretty cool idea, but apparently the game has no 3d graphics or anything, at all. It's entirely window/text based stuff, with lots of statistics. (The game lets kids experience the lives of statistically-based people from around the world.)
So without any cool graphics, I don't think it's gonna be a big hit with the kids :-P If only the Sims people over at Maxis teamed up with these folks, then we'd have a product. Instead of a house, you have a hut. Instead of going to the mall, you go to a small market. Instead of working at an office, you raise some chickens. Instead of going out on a "hot date", your parents recommend dates for you :-P haha