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Another Week in Europe
Featuring charts from across the region, Another Week in Europe documents the buying habits and quirky tastes of a whole continent of DS lovers.After a gray, unrelenting winter (for most of us in the unglamorous northern bits, anyway), the clocks went forward for Europe earlier this week, which we suppose means we're now fully immersed in spring (hence the daffodils, you see -- we really think long and hard about those pictures). Fittingly, the European sales charts are full of the joys of spring themselves!Wait, no, hold on, we're lying again. Must stop lying. In reality, they're still pretty much unchanged from last week, with the one notable exception being Magic Made Fun (known as Master of Illusion in the U.S.) which debuted on the continent this week, where it reached 8th in Germany, and 7th in Spain -- we expected a little more from this sorcery sim, considering its catch-all appeal. Anyhow, here's to April, when Assassin's Creed, Draglade, and The World Ends With You should arrive to help shake things up. Make the jump for this week's charts.
Blondes battle brunettes in Brain Training
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Busty_blondes_battle_brunettes_in_Brain_Training'; Determined to settle the blondes versus brunettes debate once and for all, UK tabloid The Sun gathered ten of its Page 3 girls -- topless models featured on the daily newspaper's third page -- and had the golden-topped ladies compete against their dark-haired opposites in a series of More Brain Training puzzles. As you can expect from a classy publication like The Sun, the resulting article is filled with comically descriptive bits of text like, "Both sides were chest desperate to come out on top." In its praise for the blonde with the lowest and best individual Brain Age, the paper reported, "Sam proved it's not just her 30Fs that has her out in front and was crowned the overall winner."As a group, though, the brunettes took the team prize with an overall better Brain Age. Brunette Peta remarked, "Even before the brain training, I knew the brunettes would win. It doesn't take a genius to work that out." You can ogle more photos of Peta and the other Page 3 girls testing their wits past the post break. Sadly, redheads, a crowd favorite at the Fanboy offices, were nowhere to be seen.
More Brain Training ads in the wild
Looks like Nicole Kidman's European campaign for More Brain Training is still going strong -- at least, in the city of Dordrecht in South Holland. Even through the reflection of the train station on the glass, her concentration is clear ... but hey, she's got to get that brain age down somehow. Head over to Flickr to see Arjan in't Veld's full-sized picture, and feel free to let us know when you start seeing Patrick Stewart pop up everywhere on behalf of the DS. There can never be enough Patrick Stewart!
DS releases for the week of July 16th
We hate to break it to you -- but if you're in the U.S., there are no new DS games this week. And here we were all coasting on a post-E3 high, too, stuffed with news and excitement. Sigh. Guess we'll just have to ogle the releases around the world, then. Collect your oglin' glasses and hit the jump!
E307: Brain Age 2 is looking better all the time
It looks like the second round of Brain Age will have a lot more to offer, and that's without even considering the unlockable Dr. Mario! We've updated our gallery with new screenshots that include images from a change-making game (a very helpful skill to practice) and a pretty dubious drawing of New York that's still better than anything we could manage (but somehow reminds us of Pictochat ... ). And don't forget to check out the trailer after the jump!%Gallery-3436%
DS Daily: Who should it be?
We can't stop thinking about who should do commercials for the Brain Age sequel in the U.S., and we think we've happened upon the perfect sponsor. Go forth, Nintendo, and get Mr. T. He can scare people smarter. Think you can come up with someone better? Let's just see you try!On a serious note -- hey, we can be serious sometimes! -- what about Jessica Alba? She apparently actually plays DS. Wouldn't that be a refreshing change in celebrity campaigns?
Former Olympian joins Nicole Kidman in promoting Brain Age 2
When we think Brain Age 2, we think swimming*. Well, maybe not so much, but for Australians, former Olympian Kieren Perkins is probably a great choice as the face of Brain Age 2. Perkins, who medaled in three consecutive Olympic Games, will be promoting the game (along with his wife, Symantha) in an expansive media campaign. So we've got Nicole Kidman in the U.K., Kieren Perkins in Australia ... will we have a designated celebrity for Brain Age 2 here in the U.S.?*We do not recommend swimming and playing Brain Age 2 at the same time, for, y'know, obvious reasons.
Nicole Kidman in Nintendo's latest marketing campaign
Although questions have certainly been circulating around Nintendo's marketing department (in America, at least), it looks like decisions are still going forward in the potentially dwindling sect. Rather than going after a president or famed talk show host, the Big N has somehow landed Nicole Kidman herself to be the next face of the company in an upcoming advertising campaign. The spots, which are set to air "sometime this week," feature Kidman testing her mental aptitude with the DS game More Brain Training, and Nintendo is hoping the superstar's "universal appeal will help to extend Nintendo's success beyond its traditional young, male audience." And all this time we've blamed the nursing homes for the Wii shortages.
NMS: Brain Age 2 confirmation and impressions
The mocking head of Dr. Kawashima is officially a go -- he will be back to taunt you a second time. Joystiq's own man on the scene got a chance for a little hands-on (brains-on?) action with the good doctor at this week's Nintendo Media Summit. There's really not a lot to "fix" when it comes to Brain Age, except perhaps some of the more famous glitches, and that seems to be where a lot of the improvements focused. And there's an exciting extra: an unlockable, fully playable version of the original NES Dr. Mario! Hear that? It's the sound of thousands of retro-lovers squealing in delight.We will definitely admit that we're excited to give the sequel a chance ourselves, but mostly, we're looking forward to another few years of Photoshop fodder. The head of Dr. Kawashima is filled with comedy, and the above screenshot is just about the best thing we've ever seen in a video game.
DS Daily: Does YOUR brain need more training?
From the look of an AP photo from the Nintendo Media Summit, the US is going to be getting a little more face time with Dr. Kawashima after all. We're sure no one is surprised. We find this whole thing rather alarming, honestly. Didn't we get trained? Did our training fail, or is it just that we have more brain than the first game could handle? All jokes aside, are you going to go in for round two?
Non-Japanese brains need more training
Just when you thought you were free from the mocking head of Dr. Kawashima (or could at least pick it up cheaply), he's back for another round with More Brain Training. The sequel has been officially confirmed for Europe and will release in late June. There's been no official word yet on a U.S. release, but it's been showing up on retail lists for August, so we expect confirmation any time. Nintendo of America better start their marketing campaign now, or else they may face the wrath of Iwata again, and no one wants to see that happen.
