Video game publisher UFO Interactive Games Inc., known for shoot-’em-up titles like “Raiden III,” now has its sights set on a different type of gamer: preschoolers.

But while many games for toddlers are played on computer, which parents are likely to have around the house, Pomona-based UFO went a riskier route. Its “Smart Kids” games can only be played on Nintendo Co.’s hand-held Nintendo DS.

This means the company is gambling that customers already have a Nintendo DS in the house, or that parents are willing to invest in one as a prerequisite to buying UFO’s video games.

“You have to market to parents who may not necessarily have thought of or wanted to purchase a video game system for their children,” said David Riley, director and video game analyst at the NPD Group in New York. “It’s all about the marketing in this.”

UFO executives acknowledged they took a calculated risk by releasing games for Nintendo DS. They said they see their “Smart Kids” series filling a niche market of video game-savvy parents.

“A lot of young parents, especially from this generation, have grown up with video games and know you can be educated and learn skills from video games,” said Chong Ahn, the company’s senior product manager and producer.

UFO released its first “Smart Kids” video games, aimed at children as young as 3, last year. The games sold a modest 120,000 units at about $20 each. Its next line in the series will hit store shelves in October, and have already won a seal of approval from the National Parenting Center.

Preschoolers use the games to fill in a virtual coloring book, play connect the dots or make music with an on-screen piano. That’s a stark contrast with the “Raiden” games, in which a player battles swarms of alien spaceships bent on conquering Earth.

Ahn acknowledged “Smarts Kids” is a departure from UFO’s usual fare. “Our vision was to create something that’s a video game that has a positive impact on younger children,” he said.

If UFO can overcome the marketing challenge, its “Smart Kids” games could tap into a growing preschooler market and reap a huge payoff in brand loyalty, said Jesse Divnich, director of analytical services at Electronic Entertainment Design and Research in San Diego.

“Kids typically do stay loyal to the brands they grew up on, and UFO could establish brand loyalty at a very, very young age,” Divnich said.