Mattel's hanging its hopes on kids making their own fun with its Ucreate brand. Ucreate Music turns your tweens into amateur djs while Ucreate Games gets them started on creating their own gaming empire.
The Ucreate Music can record samples, mix and match loops and use an assortment of rifts, instruments, runs and backbeats to create new music tracks. Creations can be shared with friends on Ucreate Music's website. Unless you count holding the recording mic near a speaker, there seems to be no way to actually mix current pop songs on this. Probably a good thing—the less your six-year-old knows about the RIAA the better. It'll be available for $40 in Fall.
Ucreate Games is kind of an amalgation between a tablet and rudimentary videogame making software. Kids draw their designs on the tablet and then use a library of game components, sound effects and what not to turn them into their own games. The package includes a drawing table, folding camera, USB connection, software, dry erase drawing supplies and a game template booklet. Also out in Fall, but for $60.