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Let's Yoga: Let's market games!
In our final look at Konami's Let's Yoga, we thought we'd spend some time discussing training games like this in general, as well as their reception in the U.S. In many parts of the world, training games are big, but not so much in the U.S. beyond Brain Age and its sequel. If we had to guess, we would say that part of that is due to marketing.Can you walk into your local Best Buy and pick up Let's Yoga? Can you order it from Amazon? Sure. But how many people know it exists ... and of those few, how many might actually buy a copy? Let's assume that most gamers don't have the benefit of the DS Fanboy yogathon to let them know that this training game (like another we checked out) may actually be worth their while. Without that knowledge, how many gamers might show any interest in such a title? Probably not very many, even among those actually fascinated by yoga. %Gallery-6931%
Let's Yoga vs. Yoga DVD
Our yogathon is winding down, but there are a few important things yet to cover, such as ... can Let's Yoga compete with a yoga DVD? Exercise DVDs are a huge market -- could a game possibly one-up that industry? We went through a step-by-step comparison of the features of Konami's trainer and a beginner yoga DVD available at a big box retailer. Yoga for Beginners with Patricia Walden comes with a thick booklet detailing all the included poses, as well as guidelines for creating your own workout. In order to use the DVD with them, you'll have to do a lot of fast-forwarding and rewinding; for all intents and purposes, the DVD only includes one lesson. You've already seen what Let's Yoga can do, if you've been following our yogathon, but we've got a chart comparing some of the features of the two after the break.%Gallery-6931%
Let's Yoga: Tackling Krishna
The relative ease of the Naga class in Let's Yoga was apparently a cruel joke meant to make yoga seem easy. After three lessons in the next step, the Krishna class, it is clear that yoga is not easy, not at all. The Master's Lesson quickly moved from "This isn't so bad!" to "OMG whaaaat?" in the space of a few sessions. Ever looked at yoga poses and thought some looked hard? You were right. But after completing over half of the Krishna class, it got a little easier, and I'm willing to concede that maybe the exercises weren't quite as face-rockingly hard as they seemed at first. They were, however, a huge leap forward from the Naga class.%Gallery-6931%
Let's Yoga: DIY workouts
Four days in and the first course is complete! The Naga class in Let's Yoga wrapped up with a simple review of the poses learned throughout, so instead of focusing on that, today we'll be exploring the extras available in Konami's training title. There are loads of options available beyond the basic lessons, including the ability to design your own workout. After a look ahead at the beginning of the Krishna class, I must say that playing with the options looks a lot easier than what's in store, lesson-wise ... there are rough times in my future.%Gallery-6931%
Let's Yoga: Twice the fun
As promised, today we're covering two lessons in our continuing yogathon. Lessons three and four combined for nineteen minutes of yoga (and many glorious minutes spent breathing and relaxing in Shavasana), and at this point, not only is it really starting to feel like a workout (albeit a more relaxed one), but I can get a little further in certain poses than before. Something's working here with Let's Yoga!%Gallery-6931%
Let's Yoga: Mat recommended
My second day with Let's Yoga taught me two things: forget what the game says! Sure, maybe you don't need any sort of a mat, but it really does make things easier, because carpet is rough (suddenly glad I don't have hardwood), and definitely remember the breathing, because it helps tremendously Overall, day two with the DS yoga trainer was a resounding success. There are still certain poses with which I have some trouble (but hey, it's only day two), but I can already see definite progress, and that's exciting. But let's start with the basics. Lesson two of the Naga class began with an explanation of just what yoga is, and it's useful knowledge that I'll pass on here. According to Let's Yoga, the term "yoga" itself basically means "to bind." This doens't mean it's binding you up; instead, it's about melding -- or binding, if you will -- the mind and body into one strong unit. The poses are known as Asanas, or "positions of the body." I'll typically refer to them here by their English names, because they're easier to remember and also easier to spell. There is one exception, however, though I'll get to that later.%Gallery-6931%
Let's Yoga: We did!
I've always wanted to try yoga. I've bought mats and cubes and even a DVD, and once I went so far as to sign up for a class I never attended. There's just never been time, and these days, I have even fewer moments to spare for something that seemed so esoteric. However, when Konami first announced their yoga trainer for the DS, I got excited. Maybe this time I would be able to put some effort into it; after all, DS training is fun and mostly effective, right? Then I had a baby, and everything changed. I despaired at ever having time to do anything again. Between juggling work and the tiny boy, as well as other hobbies and family obligations (and, hey, gaming), finding ten minutes a day to sleep is a challenge, much less ten minutes to focus on any sort of workout. But with the long-overdue release of Let's Yoga in the U.S., I was determined to try. %Gallery-6931%
Oz needs better cooks, so Nintendo sends Cooking Navi to the rescue
It looks like we have some good news for Australians who need some help in the kitchen. Shaberu! Cooking Navi, the DS guide to preparing tasty food, is heading down under, according to a recent filing with the Australian Classification Board. The game will be called Cooking Guide: Can't Decide What to Eat?, and will hopefully be available in the country soon. But, the way Europe is still waiting, we're not sure you should be holding your breath down there.
Should non-games receive non-coverage?
Alex Kierkegaard at Insomnia wrote an interesting, if angry and Nintendo-unfriendly, opinion piece about non-games. Specifically, he states that gaming magazines and sites shouldn't spend their time and space covering non-game material just because it happens to be made for a platform that is primarily game-based.The basic idea is that applications are going to sell highly as part of their nature (he cites things like Microsoft Office as "non-game" competitors to PC games that would top the sales charts if charted), and that people who read enthusiast media about games want to read about games. Sales charts, especially in Japan, will get filled up with non-game material, pushing game coverage out. It's not that training games and non-games are stupid, necessarily (though that does come up!), but just that they aren't games.It's an interesting idea to separate console non-game coverage from game coverage, and there's possibly a space out there for a site to do it. But right now, there isn't, and the people who care to read about things like Okashi Navi are gamers. For our own part, we're a DS blog, which means that anything on, about, or relating to the DS is fair game, not just games. And we would never dream of depriving you of Duke Saraie's tights.[Via GameSetWatch]
Cooking Navi almost ready for consumption in Europe?
Finally. After forever (or one year, depending on your calendar), there appears to be some progress toward the promised European release of Cooking Navi. The German USK ratings board database now contains an entry for a Nintendo-published game called Kochkurs: was wollen wir heute kochen? The name, which is (appropriately) quite a mouthful, translates to Cooking Course: What do we want to cook today? We find it quite likely that this is the German name for the game that was known as Shaberu! DS O-Ryouri Navi in Japan.Now all that needs to happen is for Nintendo to make a for-real announcement, then release the thing. Then release the thing outside Germany, sell a lot, and therefore convince Nintendo of America to release it. That's ... actually a lot of steps. [Via NeoGAF]
Taking training to a fashionable new level
First, you had to learn to walk. Now Japanese training games are taking things to a new level -- they're teaching you how to dress. That's right, folks. Now you can relive your earliest formative years, all thanks to the DS. We're also looking forward to future titles like Solid Food Training, Don't Throw The Cheerios Training, and We Don't Use That Word Ever, Even Though Mommy Does Training.Epic chuckles aside, Mitame Kara Yomikaeru ~ Otona No Kikonashi Training isn't really about figuring out how to work the zipper or which shoe goes on which foot, but rather focuses on dressing for success. The title focuses on fashion, coordinating parts of the outfit, and something about rubbing and rivals that we didn't pursue too deeply. Sometimes it's better just to raise an eyebrow at the automatic Japanese translations and move on.
Maths Training packed with ... math
Listen, we know you might have expected llamas or butts or something in Professor Kageyama's Maths Training, but the recent screens that surfaced indicate that it's gonna be full of math. Numbers. And, apparently, lots of lightning-bolt-squiggle-four-three-two hybrids or something, because we don't know what is going on in this shot. We can only surmise that someone needs Handwriting Training, or that this is an early stealth advertisement for such a title. Also, there's some Hundred Cell Calculation Methodizing going on, but we'd rather focus on the simpler, funnier side, because all those numbers make our eyeballs go curiously melty.If you happen to really like math, click on through to the other side to see more number-packed screens.
Wii gamers need more common sense
If you were hoping to get a crack at Otona No Joushikiryoku Training DS, well, too bad. That's one DS training game that isn't yet on board for an English-language release, but it does seem to be headed toward the Wii ... at least, in Japan. The non-game focuses not on common sense as we often colloquially use the phrase, but more on "general knowledge." For example, in the above screen, players are asked to locate the Caribbean Sea. From some of the other screens (handily included in our gallery below), we can see that the title focuses on a variety of skills and knowledges that are useful, from tying a tie to cultural information. Perhaps the Wii title will have a better chance of crossing the globe, considering the ever-expanding casual market, but for now, we'll have to settle for a little free translation training from the kanji-heavy screens.The Wii version heads out to Japan in March. %Gallery-14007%
Professor Kageyama's Maths Training uses a familiar formula
You'll all be familiar with Dr. Kawashima by now, right? Angular, disembodied head, constructed entirely from polygons? Can't miss him. Oh, hai Dr. Kawashima!Anyway, the video above introduces us to his arch-rival in the rapidly expanding world of Nintendo non-games. Round of face and blue of hair, math genius Dr. Kageyama may look like a slightly different proposition to Dr. Kawashima, but his reassuring words and friendly tone makes one think of the Brain Training doc, and that in turn makes us want to relearn all of that long division we forgot in our late teens. Or until we get bored of doing so after, like, three minutes. Math ain't our thang, see. We am writers.Any of you European folk plan to get your math on when Professor Kageyama's Maths Training launches next month?[Via Go Nintendo]
People of Europe to receive improved faces in Q2?
Remember Otona no DS Kao Training? Non-game. Free camera. Facening. Well, the folks at French site JeuxActu are just absolutely goshdarn convinced that Intelligent Systems' face training non-game is packing its bags and heading to Europe during Q2 this year.As Nintendo has yet to pass official comment on this, we're cautiously treating this as rumor for now, but the incessant popularity of training games in Europe makes us think there could be some truth in the speculation. If it does turn out to be correct, it also means Europeans will be getting that rather dinky camera add-on. As well as having totally awesome faces.
Learn kanji, math, and breakdancing with Masu x Masu 2
With the trickle of DS training games from Japan well on the way to becoming an avalanche, it was always likely that publishers would push their products in increasingly novel ways. At least, that can be the only explanation behind this lovably bonkers advert for Shogakukan's kanji and math trainer Masu x Masu 2.We haven't the faintest idea about how the creators linked breakdancing with kanji and math, but we do know this: we now very strongly believe that more games should be advertised with breakdancing. Don your helmet and windmill your way past the post break for a second trailer.
Japanese release of Wii Fit met by loooong queues
We may still lack solid numerical data when it comes to Japanese sales of Wii Fit, but all the early signs have been pointing to Nintendo scoring another major non-game hit.The scene to the right, for example, shows a queue of soon-to-be Wii Fit owners, patiently lining up in Akihibara. As the pictures after the jump and at the link below illustrate, this is far from a one-off; Wii Fit is shaping up to be big, in a way that poor old Super Mario Galaxy wasn't.Barring shortages of the Balance Board, or another miraculous performance from Dragon Quest IV (not that that should be completely ruled out), expect Wii Fit to be hogging top spot in Japan next week.
Square Enix creates the most boring training game ever
The latest DS Style program from Square Enix is, well, square. They've managed to reach profound new levels of non-game-ness with this one, whose name translates roughly to Pass the LEC Level 3 Bookkeeping Exam By Studying Seriously. That's right, it's Bookkeeping Training.But not just any Bookkeeping Training. This program is designed in cooperation with Legal Mind, an education firm that focuses on professional certification, to help students pass the Level 3 Bookkeeping exam. In addition to a DS translation of Legal Mind's 10-day lecture course, the game includes exclusive DS-based interactive activities, which promise to be less fun than video games, but more fun than just taking a bookkeeping exam preparation course.
Une semaine avec My French Coach: Day Seven
Notre semaine avec Ubisoft's My French Coach est arrivée, malheureusement, à la fin. That is to say, in properly worded and conjugated English (because I'm sure the French was terrible ... or it was before commenter Rodac helpfully corrected it!), our week with the recently released French language trainer has, unfortunately, come to an end. After seven days of working with the title, it's time to not only recap today's lessons, but speak on the worth of the title as a whole.If I were someone else, I would probably include a clip of Boyz II Men's "End of the Road" here, but instead you'll have to suffice with the shedding of one lone, tragic tear. It has been a very interesting sort of "review," and one that is well suited for a training game. I can even speak as to why, after lessons each day, that first sentence was so likely to be terrible.
Une semaine avec My French Coach: Day Six
All week long, we've been taking on Ubisoft's My French Coach in an effort to find out whether or not it's possible to learn (or at least supplement) a language with a DS game. If you missed the overview on day one, you might want to back up a little. If not, then let's get moving with day six of our language training.With only one more day to go in this diary after today's entry, I must say that I will be sad to see this wind down. However, the time with the training title has been so useful that I think I'll continue it, though perhaps a little less publically; after all, I really do struggle with French, though I find it a fascinating language. It's nice to find a resource that isn't based solely on spoken language, but is rather a blend of different styles. I know a lot of people who benefit from audio-based language training via CDs, and I am not one of them, alas. Being able to see and interact with things in My French Coach, however, has been dead useful.
