The young – and young at heart – among residents moving into the sprawling Pinnacle@Duxton residential complex at Tanjong Pagar will be among the first in Singapore to enjoy a special kind of high-tech playground. It is one that melds electronic with physical gameplay. Armed with blinking lights, movable props and game controllers with animated LED screens, it combines electronic gameplay, team sports, interactivity and good old playground action into one package. In one of its four games, called Rocky, players balance on a wobbly base and win by reacting to the game-controller’s instruction to tilt the platter by throwing their weight around. What’s more, this e-playground will always be up-to-date with the latest gameplay, since its software can upgraded over-the-air from servers operated by its designers, Kompan, in Denmark. Singapore-based playground builder Playpoint, which is installing the e-playground by year-end, believes that its first such installation here will kickstart a new trend and become a hit with even older children and adults. “Usually, children from eight-nine years old onwards will find playgrounds childish and stop playing on them. The e-playground is designed to draw them back,” said Jason Sim, managing director of Playpoint and one of the company’s three founders. “Like arcade games, it allows people to come back again and again.” This facility, which is also touted to be environmentally-friendly as it consumes the equivalent power of only a car headlight, should also appeal to parents as they might find it easier to get their computer game-loving children outdoors for some exercise. Mr Sim expects its e-playground venture to chip in for around 10 per cent of the Playpoint’s overall sales in two-three years’ time. The company will be targeting “parks that want to attract people”. Founded in 2001 by three friends Jason Sim, Wayne Chua and Charles Tay, Playpoint raked in sales of $6 million for its last financial year, installing playgrounds across the region including some 100 in Singapore. One of its most prominent projects is the $1.5 million Rainforest Kidzworld hub at the Singapore Zoo. But Mr Sim observed that the market for playgrounds in Singapore could be getting saturated. He estimated there are over 5,000 playgrounds around the island. The electronic realm could yet represent a key growth prong for play