BEENA

The Sega Pico, also known as the Kids Computer Pico, is an educational game console from Sega Toys. Marketed as "educational and entertaining", Pico has focused on educational video games for children ages 3 to 7. Pico was released in June 1993 in Japan and in November 1994 in North America and Europe, and later in China. It was replaced by the Advanced Pico Beena released in Japan in 2005. Although the Pico was sold consistently in Japan after the release of Beena, in North America and Europe the Pico was less successful and was discontinued in early 1998, later re-released by Majesco Entertainment. Releases for Pico were focused on education for children and included games supported by licensed animated character franchises, including Sega's own Sonic the Hedgehog series. General,

Running on the same hardware as the Sega Genesis, the Pico's physical form was designed to be similar to a laptop. The Pico comes with a stylus called the Magic Pen and a drawing pad. Game control for the system is done either with the Magic Pen like a mouse, or with the arrow buttons on the console. The Pico does not have a screen and instead must be connected to a monitor via a composite video output. Touching the pen to the tablet allows you to draw or move/animate the character on the screen.

The cartridges for the system were called "Storyware" and were shaped like picture books with a cartridge slot at the bottom. Pico changes the television display and the set of tasks the player must complete each time they turn the page. Sound, including voices and music, also accompanied each page. Games for Pico focus on education, including subjects such as music, counting, spelling, reading, matching, and coloring. The titles included licensed animated characters from various franchises such as The Lion King: Adventures at Pride Rock and Disney's A Year at Pooh Corner. Sega has also released games including their mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog, including Sonic Gameworld and Tails and the Music Maker.

According to Hideki Sato, former head of Sega console hardware R&D, the development of the Sega Pico was made possible by the company's past work on the MyCard cartridges designed for the SG-1000 as well as drawing tablets. The touch technology used in the tablet was developed for the 1987 World Derby arcade game, while the processor and graphics chip are from Genesis.

Priced at ¥13,440, the Pico was released in Japan in June 1993. In North America, Sega introduced the Pico at the 1994 American International Toy Fair demonstrating its drawing and display capabilities before its release in November. The console was advertised for approximately US$160, but was eventually released for US$139. Storyware cartridges retailed for $39.99 to $49.99. Pico's slogan was "A computer that thinks it's a toy". The Sega Pico has received several awards, including the National Parent Seal of Approval, the Platinum Printing Award, and a gold medal from the National Parent Publication Association Awards.

After the failure, Sega discontinued the Pico in North America in early 1998. Later, in August 1999, Majesco Entertainment's remake of Pico was released in North America for US$49.99, with Storyware games sold in the US. $19.99. The Pico would later be released in China in 2002 at a price of 690 yuan.

In early 1995, Sega of America reported that it had sold 400,000 units in North America. In 2000, Sega stated that the Pico had sold 2.5 million units. As of April 2005, 3.4 million Pico consoles and 11.2 million software cartridges have been sold worldwide, according to Sega. In 1995, Pico was featured in Dr. Toy and also listed by Child as one of the best PC games available. According to Joseph Shadkowski of The Washington Times, "Pico is powerful enough to be a serious learning tool that teaches counting, spelling, matching, problem solving, memory, logic, hand-eye coordination, and important basic computer skills." Former Sega of America Vice President of Product Development Joe Miller says

Advanced Pico Beena, also known as Beena or BeenaLite, is an educational console system aimed at young children marketed by Sega Toys and released in 2005 in Japan. It is the successor to the Pico, marketed on a "learn by playing" basis. According to Sega Toys, Advanced Pico Beena focuses on learning in a new social environment and is listed as their top-of-the-range product. Topics listed as educational for Beena include intellectual, moral, physical, dietary and safety education. The name of the console was chosen to sound like the first syllables of "Be Natural".

Compared to Pico, Beena adds several features. Beena can be played without a TV, and multiplayer is supported by the separately sold optional Magic Pen. The console also supports saving data. The playback time may be limited by the settings in the system. Some Beena games offer adaptive difficulty, which becomes harder to play depending on the player's skill level. Beena Lite, a more affordable version of the console, was released on July 17, 2008. As of 2010, Sega estimates that 4.1 million Beena consoles have been sold along with 20 million game cartridges.