The Learning Company was acquired by Mattel and its glamorous CEO Jill Barad for $3.5 billion. Mattel wanted to do Barbie on the Oregon Trail and other spin-offs. But almost instantly, it was clear a mistake had been made. The Learning Company owned all of the most successful titles in children’s educational software—Oregon Trail, Where in the World is Carmen San Diego? and Reader Rabbit—but had shed many of its most talented programmers. “They created a nice balance sheet,” says Boe. “In reality they ended up with boxes of aging software.”