brain age
Latest
Nintendo Channel: New week, new demos
Will the line-up of DS demos available on the Wii's Nintendo Channel change every week? We're not sure, but it's starting to look like it; at least, some of the demos available have been rotated out in favor of fresh meat. If you were looking for something that was previously available, it might just be gone. Lesson? Download quickly rather than putting it off, because the demo you want may just disappear!Peek past the break for the current list of available demos -- you may be surprised at what you'll find!
Germany: Give Mom some smarts this Mother's Day
Flower service Fleurop in Germany is suggesting something other than the usual bouquet and pleasant card for your mom this Mother's Day. It would seem they're teaming up with Nintendo to suggest your mom get some good old Brain Training in. And buy some flowers, of course.For 199 Euros, customers can get a nice floral arrangement with a DS Lite and Brain Training. Sadly, we have no idea what DS Lite model consumers will be getting in this bundle.
Why Crisis Core is on PSP, not DS
Square Enix is a firm supporter of both handhelds, with a number of great titles available on both Sony PSP and Nintendo DS. However, why was (arguably) their biggest game developed exclusively for PSP, instead of the more-popular DS? Pocket Gamer talked to producer Hideki Imaizumi and executive producer Yoshinori Kitase about exactly that: "Yes, there are a lot of DSs out there - but does that mean that our products sell in relation to that? That our sales grow with how many DSs or PSPs there are out there? It's not really the case." The PSP seemed appropriate for a number a reasons, one being the more adult age group the PSP seems to attract: "the demographic was higher teens to young adults as opposed to small children. The PSP seemed closer to that demographic than DS in general. So we feel we really made the right choice." As a joke, he added "We'll make a DS game called Brain Age: Final Fantasy for DS [laughs]." To be honest, we wouldn't mind trying that out.
Japan snaps up 100,000,000 DS games
In what is yet another statistical landmark for the DS in its homeland, the data gatherers at Media Create have revealed that Japanese consumers have purchased their 100,000,000th Nintendo DS game.* Considering the handheld itself hit the twenty million mark only last November, we calculate that to be ... a pretty good attachment rate! In total, 922 titles have appeared in the region, 21 of which have been million-sellers. Hit the break for the top ten best-selling games to date. * Rumors that the 100,000,000th game sold was Bangai-O Spirits are yet to be verified, and are suspected to have originated at popular Nintendo DS blog "DS Fanboy."
DS Daily: A new take on the expanded audience
I've never considered buying a Korg synthesizer before. I don't know how to play a keyboard! I don't know what all those knobs and wires do! I would be totally useless with one. But when the Korg DS-10 card was revealed yesterday, I was suddenly filled with desire to own a synthesizer. Of course I need one of those, I thought -- I've always wanted one.It's sort of a reversal of the expanded audience idea. While Nintendo intends to have this kind of stuff on the DS to bring people in who traditionally don't like games, I find myself as a gamer drawn to stuff that I wouldn't really want unless it were released on a game console. I know I'm not the only person who decided it was very important to keep my brain active right around the time Brain Age came out.The very nature of something being on the DS makes it more interesting to me. Anyone else feel the same way?
Brain fitness software market is very fit
Say what you will about Nintendo, they know how to create new market segments. Case in point, the SmartBrains "State of the Brain Fitness Software Market 2008 report" which cites the Nintendo's Brain Age games as a key driver in growing the brain fitness software market to a $225 million industry, up 125% since 2005.Though Brain Age games dominate the $80 million consumer segment of the market, the game has also been a key inspiration to the 20 companies that create similar brain training tools for everything from sports teams to the military. The various brain training products have been used in over 400 elder care facilities and five successful randomized clinical trials. One product even gained FDA approval for use in stroke rehabilitation. We just hope those stroke patients don't have an accent.[Via BoingBoing]
Blizzard takes third in comprehensive best developer of 2007 list
What do you get when you take Game Developer magazine, Game Developer Research division, Gamasutra and combine their various developer information gathering efforts? Well, you get an all-encompassing list of the top 50 best developers of 2007 that takes not only weekly sales and ratings into account, but an anonymous survey on developer reputation fielded by Gamasutra itself. The survey asked community members to score game developers on overall reputation and direct interaction working for or with said developer, where they had actually done such.The list puts Blizzard at third for Burning Crusade, just under Infinity Ward at second for Call of Duty 4 and Nintendo Kyoto (Brain Age, Wii Play) at first. It's an interesting method of rating developers, since they have to of had a game released the previous year to be eligible -- yet rankings also depend on developer reputation, which is a longterm concept. We weren't surprised to see Blizzard sitting pretty high on the list, beating out a lot of other developers responsible for some pretty great titles last year. (sorry, Valve)There is a nagging question in the back of our minds, however: Which carries more weight in determining placement on the list -- sales or reputation?
The DS Life: Sleep Mode
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/The_DS_Life_Sleep_Mode'; The DS Life is a weekly feature in which we scour the known world for narrative images of Nintendo's handheld and handheld gamers. If you have a photo and a story to match it with, send both to thedslife at dsfanboy dot com.Like many other three-year-old boys, Kristopher divides his playtime among toy cars, toy trains, and toy things with buttons and lights. When his dad's iPhone isn't available for him to appraise with his tiny, curious fingers, he flips open his Nintendo DS Lite, a hand-me-down from his mother (she now owns a newer edition/color). Of course, we don't expect to entertain you with just photos of some kid and his DS -- no, we have something much more hilarious planned for you! Jump past the post break and into Kris's crib!
Plato to school kids with new learning games for PSP
Despite a handful of 'me too' cash grabs for Sony's portable, exercising gray matter has been the domain of the Nintendo DS. However, Plato Learning, an e-learning company based out of Minnesota, has hatched a plan to bring educational games to the PSP beginning sometime in April. The games, part of the company's existing Achieve Now line of educational products, will be targeted at helping elementary and middle school students "meet high academic standards and improve academic proficiency" in areas such as language, reading, and math. The project could potentially bring as many as 57 different educational titles to the PSP, but will the games give players an inferiority complex by telling them they think with an addled brain of someone twice their age? For now, this too remains Nintendo's exclusive domain. [Via PSP Fanboy]
Cosplay in Minutes a Day!
Here's a cheap, easy costume you can whip up for your next Halloween/convention/boxart-head meetup -- dress up as Dr. Kawashima's disembodied head! Here's all you need: some white posterboard a pair of scissors a sharpie marker a pair of glasses an aging Asian man Flickr user ClockworkGrue spotted this character last weekend at WonderCon 2008. Girls must have swooned over it, as there are lipstick kiss marks all around the Brain Age mascot. Why else do you think he goes around calling himself LL Cool K (Ladies Love Cool Kawashima)? Step past the break for more video game related costumers spotted at Wondercon 2008.
A 'new' bundle for the UK
Nintendo is releasing a brand new DS Lite bundle containing ... the white DS Lite and the first Brain Training game. It couldn't be worse timing, with the BBC in the midst of attempting to manufacture controversy over the two-year-old game, because now it's going to be a new product and thus even more made-up-newsworthy. But for people who aren't convinced the game is discriminatory, and would like to give the DS a try, this £119.99 bundle is an option --a n option packed in a very clinical-looking box. If the DS supply continues to be as constrained as it is, it may be the only option!The bundle will be out on the 15th, ready to help you learn and keep your brain young and maybe play a game or something if you're into video games.
News recycling: Brain Age doesn't like your accent
Bringing an old story back to the forefront with a new angle, BBC show Watchdog reports that Michelle Livesey of Manchester can't get Brain Training (Brain Age in the States) to recognize her saying "yellow" -- she's apparently not saying it "posh" enough. Although Watchdog added a new dimension with Brain Training's inability to recognize yellow, the original problem color blue is also in the mix. The issue is all in the accents.According to Nintendo, on page 47 of the Brain Training manual it gives hints on how to use the voice recognition properly. Suggestion number four is: "Pronounce each word as clearly as possible, and try to avoid using strong dialects or accents." Just check out Nicole Kidman saying scissors in a Nintendo ad to see how things could go wrong with accents. Nintendo claims it has been continually monitoring the voice recognition efficiency in its software since the game launched in June '06. We believe them, just as long as we don't have to say the color blue, or yellow if we're from Manchester.
BBC's Watchdog keeping an eye on 2006
The BBC's Watchdog consumer report program has discovered a shocking issue with Brain Training: apparently there are some problems with the voice recognition! The game doesn't always understand you when you say "blue" or "yellow!" Have you guys heard about this?What you may not have heard about is that this is now being interpreted as discrimination against people with certain regional dialects. "I'm going, 'yeller' and everyone's saying to me you need to be a bit posher. You need to say, 'yellow' and as soon as I did, it picked it up," reported Michelle Livesey. Host Nicky Campbell then suggested that the game was discriminatory against people with Northern and Scottish accents. Nintendo responded to the report with a statement explaining that they recognize the issue, and that voice recognition in the Stroop test is only a small, optional part of the game.Yet again we find ourselves taken aback by the mainstream media's treatment of gaming. Had Livesey done even the most casual of Googling, she would have learned that the Brain Training voice issue is the "Take my wife, please" of DS game jokes (meaning it's ancient). It's not enough that they presented a well-known problem with a two-year-old game as news, but they seem to have attempted to ignite some sort of controversy over it, without actually doing any research or knowing what they were talking about. People across the United States have the same problem, but to our knowledge nobody accused Nintendo of discriminating against most Americans. We're just going to choose to believe, without having heard the program, that Campbell's comment was facetious in nature. For our sanity.[Via CVG]
Brain Training creator refuses millions in royalties
The Brain Training series of DS games has been incredibly profitable all across the globe, with 17 million titles sold worldwide. But Dr. Kawashima -- the floating head mascot and brilliant mind behind the series -- doesn't care about the money. In fact, he has refused to take any royalties from the games at all, proudly boasting that "not a single yen has gone in my pocket."The series' DS royalties alone are over 2.4 billion yen -- about 22 million dollars USD -- half of which Kawashima is entitled to (the other half going to Tohoku University, his employer). Rather than taking the money, Kawashima is content to support his family of four with his own wages, which are around $100,000 USD.A self-declared workaholic, Dr. Kawashima has dedicated his life to his research into the aging of human brain, which was the genesis of the Brain Training games. We're happy you like your job so much, but don't you think your wife and four sons could benefit from a bit of that brain money?
Dr. Kawashima too busy being in games to play them or take money for them
Here's something completely novel: a college professor who is obsessed with his work. Usually Ph.Ds are the kinds of people who can keep sensible hours and leave their work behind at the end of the day -- not the kind of people who ignore everything for research. Not at all.Dr. Ryuta Kawashima, whose theories about brain exercise (along with his head) make up the basis of Brain Age, isn't that into video games himself -- not even the ones he's literally in. "To hear this may put you off -- but my hobby is work," adding that even if he had time for things like exercise, he would prefer to use the time for research.His obsession with his own research continues into his family finances. While Kawashima is entitled to split royalties from the game 50/50 with his employer, Tohoku University, Kawashima has not taken any of the money. Instead, he is in the process of building two state-of-the-art laboratories for the university's Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer. "Everyone in my family is mad at me but I tell them that if they want money, go out and earn it." And it's hard to argue that he's being selfish when the money is going to cancer research. That's got to be hard for the family to argue.
Brain Training rocked the UK in '07
A list of the top fifty best-selling games in the UK last year has surfaced, and the DS snagged six of the spots, though you may be somewhat surprised by what made it. Of course, considering that there are a lot more regular folks than there are "hardcore gamers" (and even the hardest of the hard like a little break now and again), you may not be that surprised after all.The original brain game, Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training, took the number two spot as the second best-selling title overall, and the sequel, More Brain Training, slid in at number five. Considering that Big Brain Academy turned up at number 37 (along with its console cousin at number 24), there must be a lot of healthy and exercised brains trundling around Dear Old Blighty these days. The other games that turned up were New Super Mario Bros., at number 13, Cooking Mama just above it in twelfth place, and way down near the bottom, Pokémon Diamond turned up at number 44. Perhaps our friends in the UK have already caught them all.
Sony president compliments Nintendo
We're normally used to insults, jabs, and cat fights when it comes to Sony and Nintendo talking about each other, so it's always refreshing to hear compliments instead. David Reeves, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, recently had some nice things to say about the company's competitor. When talking about how the industry has grown in the past year, he gives Nintendo due credit.Reeves states that, thanks to many Nintendo games (like Brain Age, for example), the video games market has expanded to include more female gamers and families. which in turn has been good for the industry. It's certainly hard to argue that Nintendo has brought in many new gamers, but it's still nice for SCEE to give Nintendo props. [Via GoNintendo]
December NPD: Apparently people shop for nonessential items in December
It's the weirdest thing. Right around November and December of every year, sales of luxury and entertainment items go way up. December of 2007 was no exception for our favorite entertainment item. How much of an exception was it not? How about 2.47 million units in one month alone? 2007 was already a fantastic year for the DS, with 8.5 million systems sold. But considering the constant chart-topping success of the DS, it's pretty remarkable that fully one-third of the year's total DS units sold were sold last month.Let's look at some little arrows to help put the numbers in perspective. DS Lite: 2.47m 940K (61%) Wii: 1.35m 369K (38%) Xbox 360: 1.26m 490K (64%) PS2: 1.1m 604K (122%) PSP: 1.06m 493K (87%) PS3: 797K 331 (71%) Head past the break for the December software charts, where we welcome an old friend back to the chart. We've also got the 2007 totals posted, which are, of course, DS-eriffic in the hardware section.
FIFA, Brain Training best selling UK games in 2007
EA Sports football (or "soccer" for the US audience) title FIFA 08 was the best-selling video game in the United Kingdom last year according to Chart-Track (via GamesIndustry.biz). The game reportedly sold 25% percent more than its closest rival, Dr Kawashima's Brain Training. Perhaps surprisingly, Microsoft's flagship Halo 3 came in sixth place with only half of FIFA 08's sales. Both FIFA 08 and Halo 3 were released in late September within days of each other. It should be noted that FIFA 08 was a multiplatform title available on six different consoles and the PC. Top ten list after the break.
Scientists scold celebrities for promoting Brain Age
Charitable organization Sense About Science has published its report on celebrities endorsing "scientific mumbo jumbo" that is of debatable merit. While diet pills and skin care lotions are obvious targets, the report (PDF file) also criticized Nicole Kidman and Patrick Stewart, among others, for endorsing Brain Age 2 (also known as More Brain Training in Europe).Kidman, who also did a commercial for the game, was quoted as saying, "I've quickly found that training my brain is a great way to keep my mind feeling young." Not so, according to Dr. Jason Braithwaite, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Birmingham. Said Braithwaite, "While practice at any task should lead to some form of improvement for that specific task, it is not clear that this improvement reflects anything other than a basic learned process for that specific task."The Brain Training games have been developed by Ryuta Kawashima, a neuroscientist and professor at Tohoku University in Japan. So which neuroscientist should we trust? That is, of course, debatable, but we'd wager that pushing yourself to do quick math calculations is a fairly healthy recreation. Not seen: a floating, polygonal head of Dr. Braithwaite.[Update: video fixed]
