| Adibou | |
| Platforms: | PlayStation PlayStation 2 Macintosh Windows Atari ST DOS Wii |
| Developer: | Coktel Vision Coktel SAS Neko Entertainment |
| Publisher: | Coktel Vision Knowledge Adventure Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Havas Interactive International Vivendi Universal Interactive Publishing International Vivendi Universal Games International Mindscape Ubisoft Wiloki |
| Genre: | Educational adventure |
| First Release Version: | Adibou (English: AJ's World of Discovery) |
| First Release Date: | 1991 |
| Latest Release Version: | Adibou: La Chanson d'Adibou (English: Adiboo: The Song of Adiboo) |
| Latest Release Date: | 2022 |
Adibou (English: Adiboo) is an educational video gaming series first developed by Coktel Vision in the 1990s. The franchise expanded into comic books, music and television series (such as Adiboo Adventure (2009)[1]). Titles in the series follow Adiboo, a young alien who teaches children about a variety of topics including nature, maths, and language. Most stories are set in the world of Celesta.
The series is divided into different categories based on target market: Adi for 10-14 year-olds, Adibou for 4-7 year-olds, and Adiboud'chou for 18 months-3 year-olds,[2] and characters have different names in different regions. The name Adibou is derived from the French acronym ADI meaning Accompagnement Didacticiel Intelligent (English: Intelligent Accompaniment Tutorial). Adibou games are now supported by ScummVM's "Gob" engine.[3] [4]
The series was created by Roland Oskian, CEO of Coktel Vision and the brains behind the original Adibou concept as well as coordinator of the game's development; Manuelle Mauger, who managed the development of the content; Arnaud Delrue, responsible for the game's technical development; and Joseph Kluytmans, who was responsible for the visual quality of the universe. The games were designed specifically to be applicable within a classroom context.
In October 2005, Coktel Studio was sold by Vivendi Universal Games International to French publisher Mindscape which itself closed in 2011.[5] [6] More than a dozen titles were published until 2009 when the series went dormant.[7]
Following the closure of Mindscape, the IP rights to Adibou were sold to Ubisoft, and in 2020, French company Wiloki, an educational start-up founded by the children of Adibou creator Roland Oskian, partnered with Ubisoft to revive the character. In May 2022, Wiloki released a brand new title titled Adibou: La Chanson d'Adibou for browser, iOS and Android under their partnership with Ubisoft.[8]
The new version of the game is now available in French, English and German.
This list is far from complete; there were dozens of titles in the series, some more documented than others.
| Title | Year | Platform/s | Developer/s | Details | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adibou (English: AJ's World of Discovery) | 1991 | Atari ST, DOS | Coktel Vision | Minigames for children including jigsaw puzzles, maths lessons, English lessons, racing, and drawing. | [9] |
| Adiboo: Magical Playland | 1996 | Windows | Coktel Vision | Teaching lessons in reading and singing, Adiboo fights an evil "monster-blob". | [10] |
| Adibou: Discover Music, Melody & Rhyme | 2000 | Macintosh, Windows | Knowledge Adventure | Minigames about music. | [11] |
| Adiboo: Discover Nature, Animals & Planets | 2000 | Macintosh, Windows | Knowledge Adventure | Minigames about nature, animals, and planets. | [12] |
| Adiboo: Discover Mazes, Numbers & Puzzles | 2000 | Macintosh, Windows | Knowledge Adventure | Minigames about maths and puzzle-solving. | [13] |
| Adibou Présente la Magie | 2000 | Macintosh, Windows | Coktel Vision | Minigames for children including rock paper scissors and lessons in magic tricks. | [14] |
| Adibou & Le Secret de Paziral (English: Adiboo & Paziral's Secret) | 2003 | PlayStation, Windows | Vivendi Universal Games, Neko Entertainment, Coktel Vision | 3D action adventure in which Adiboo must save the people of Tonies Island from the evil Paziral. Varied gameplay includes racing and platforming. | [15] |
| Adibou & Les Voleurs d'Energie (English: Adiboo and the Energy Thieves/The Energy Thieves) | 2004 | PlayStation 2, Windows | Coktel Vision | Adiboo discovers that robots are stealing resources from Celesta to power a massive drill and he sets out to stop them. The game alternates between the 3D third-person hub world of Adiboo's home, platforming, vehicle chase sequences, and boss battles. There are also several minigames in the hub world. Gameplay is simple and Adiboo frequently breaks the fourth wall to inform and assist the player. | [16] |
| Dis-moi ADI: Français - Maths CE2 | 2005 | Macintosh, Windows | Coktel SAS | Lessons for children in maths and French. | [17] |
| Adibou et les Saisons Magiques (English: Adiboo and the Magical Seasons) | 2009 | Wii | Mindscape SA | Garden-themed minigames that teach children about plants, insects, and the seasons. | [18] |
| Adibou: L'app Pour Apprendre et S'amuser de 4 à 7 ans (English: Adibou: The App To Learn and Have Fun For 4 to 7 Years Old) | 2022 | iOS, Android, Browsers (Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Safari) | Wiloki | First new entry in the series since 2009. |
An animated series, Adibou: Aventure dans le corps humain (Adiboo Adventure), aired on French channels France 5 and TiJi, each of the 40 episodes usually lasting around 5 minutes.
Referring to AJ's World of Discovery, Feibel felt there were better run and jump games available[19] whereas Jeuxvideo argued that Adibou games were a good option for children but were too short.[20] The Argus praised the series for its music but criticised its "daft" title.[21] PC Mag praised Adiboo: Discover Nature, Animals & Planets for offering educational content and "hours of entertainment".[22]
By 1997, the series had sold over 1.5 million copies.[23] Today, the series is inactive and little in-depth information exists online apart from a few Let's Play series and articles.