nicole kidman
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Hulu announces two new Marvel shows including 'Ghost Rider'
Under an expanded deal with Marvel (which is under the wing of its majority owner Disney), Hulu has announced Ghost Rider and Helstrom shows, both of which are set to debut next year. They join other Marvel series including Runaways and several upcoming animated shows on the platform.
DS Daily: Marketing the product
You know, we were thinking about the celebrity DS endorsement put on by Nintendo over at "I Play For Me" and we wondered how effective such marketing actually is? Everyone and their grandmother has at least 4 DS Lites and 4 copies of Brain Age and Brain Age 2 to accompany their handhelds, so what could this accomplish? Does the thing even need to be advertised, even on the web?Then again, we thought that perhaps thinking about advertising is a wasted effort. If you're anything like us, you're too busy playing with one of your DS Lites to watch television. So let's switch gears.If you were in charge of creating an advertising campaign for the DS, what would it be like? Would you sell out and have a commercial starring Chuck Norris? Would you travel to a small, mid-west town and hand out bundles to all the folk residing within?
Brain Training celebrates 100th week in UK charts
Every Saturday, we document sales charts from the UK and other European countries, and every week, there's one game that appears in the UK top ten without fail: Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training. The sheer longevity of Brain Training's stay in the charts is genuinely exceptional, with this week marking the game's 100th consecutive week in the British charts.Since its June 2006 release, us Brits have seen the likes of Chris Tarrant (in happier times), Nicole Kidman and Patrick Stewart shilling Nintendo's mind-honing software, but we're curious: has it worked? Well, decide for yourselves.
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]
Doctor argues benefits of Brain Training, probably has a brain age of 63
Nicole Kidman's endorsement of Nintendo's software for the DS has one doctor in particular crying "humbug." Dr. Jason Braithwaite, a cognitive neuroscientist (maybe after playing enough Brain Age, we'll figure out what that is exactly), seems to be of the mind that using the non-game exhibits "no conclusive evidence showing that the continued use of these devices is linked to any measurable and general improvements in cognition." This all stems from him seeing one of Kidman's adverts, where she states "I have quickly found that training my brain [with Nintendo's Dr Kawashima's Brain Training computer game] is a great way to keep my mind feeling young""Practice at any task should lead to some form of improvement for that specific task," he adds. But, we wonder if that applies here. Sure, individual tasks in repetition will undoubtedly cause one to improve at completing them, but the exercises in Nintendo's title are varied and the whole goal of the game isn't to sit there for hours on end, practicing individual exercises. The daily training, along with the sudoku, and other items that make up the whole package come together to bring forth the improvement felt by the user. These are small sections of the user's day devoted to the working the brain, when the time could otherwise be used to waste brain power by watching TV or, if it were us and we were afforded spare time in our day, sleep.%Gallery-3436%
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!
From Face Training and yoga to the world
We couldn't help but giggle when we saw this article on "facial yoga" that described it as the hot new craze. It's certainly not new to us DS hipsters; after all, we've already got a game dedicated to stretching and firming our faces, and since the practice is apparently the latest it-exercise (despite being around for years, much like regular yoga), it seems likely that Otona no DS Kao Training may sweep in on the heels of Let's Yoga and hit the United States.Of course, then the real question becomes: will Nintendo (and others, like Konami, the company behind Let's Yoga) start to change the way they advertise the DS in the United States? We can't help but wonder if it seems unlikely; after all, we still have no official "face" for Brain Age beyond our favorite disembodied head, and it's rare that we see advertisements for our favorite piece of hardware on the scale that we see those for the Wii.
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.
Nicole Kidman enjoys Nintendo products*
Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman has joined the ranks of the brain-trained. The star of Practical Magic, Batman Forever, and Days of Thunder has agreed to become the official face of More Brain Training (well, the other official face) in a series of print and television advertisements to be shown across Europe. "I love the concept that Nintendo is reaching out to new audiences with their self improvement products like Brain Training," Kidman said. "Most importantly, I've quickly found that training my brain is a great way to keep my mind young." Maybe now Nintendo and Brain Age will finally be able to achieve some success.*For money.
Australian software chart, Sept. 25 - Oct. 1: BMX Bandit edition
Australia has given the world some really great things like Steve Irwin, kangaroos, Nicole Kidman and her first film - BMX Bandits, which just so happens to be one of my favorite childhood movies. So in honor of Steve, Nicole, BMX Bandits and kangaroos the world over, I bring you the Australian software chart.Top 10 games 1. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team (DS) 2. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team (GBA) 3. Kingdom Hearts 2 (PS2) 4. FIFA 2007 (PS2) 5. Lego Star Wars II (PS2) 6. AFL Premiership 2006 (PS2) 7. Test Drive Unlimited (Xbox 360) 8. SingStar Anthems bundle (PS2) 9. Tekken Dark Resurrection (PSP) 10. Saints Row (Xbox 360)It's nice to see a Tekken in the top 10 since PSP games haven't necessarily been tearing things up in Japan. However, it's clear that even the mighty Aussies have fallen victim to the disease that is Pokemon. Is no one safe?
