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Brain Training used to defeat dementia
According to a BBC report, Nintendo's hugely popular Brain Training titles are invading Japanese classrooms in an effort to help the older population get their minds in motion and running swiftly from encroaching dementia. How effective Dr. Kawashima's unnervingly polite floating head is at preventing or combating the condition (of which hallucination is a symptom) still hasn't been conclusively established, but for some people, keeping their minds active is enough.After demonstrating how to turn on the Nintendo DS and how to insert a game cartridge, the teacher has his elderly students engage in several different activities, not all of which are limited to Brain Training's repertoire of challenges. A golf game is used to train hand-eye coordination which, thanks to the DS' intuitive control scheme, seems to be quite easy to grasp. "It's not difficult to learn how to play them," says Atsuo Umetsu, one of the teachers. "After all I learnt, so everyone can do it." Though one of the students admits that she joined the class in order to better compete with her gamer sons, most are joining in the hopes of doing everything they can to avoid mental problems in a society where a large percentage of the population is older. Dr. Takao Suzuki, an expert when it comes to elderly affairs, points out that "nobody wants to get dementia so even if there is a very small possibility that it might work, most elderly people will want to do something in order to prevent dementia." And it's not just Nintendo that's reaching out to an older generation -- Namco has set up a day-care center allowing older people to bash drums and clobber cartoon crocodiles to their heart's content. Is this the key to defeating dementia? We don't know, but it sure sounds like fun, doesn't it?[Thanks Jon!]
Japanese software chart, 22-28 May: Mario madness
Giving his competitors a veritable butt-stomp, Mario finds himself at the very top of the Japanese software sales chart this week -- nearly 900,000 people donned their rose-colored glasses and marched out of a store with a copy of the portly plumber's retro adventure. [DS] New Super Mario Bros. [DS] Brain Training 2 [DS] Brain Training for Adults [PSP] Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Portable [DS] Tetris DS [PS2] Kimikiss [PS2] World Soccer Winning Eleven 10 [DS] English Training [DS] Animal Crossing: Wild World [PS2] Jikkyou Powerful Major League
Nintendo losing their Touch (Generations)?
If Nintendo's desires are realized, it won't be too long before the image of Grandpa hunching furiously over his DS Lite and murderously screaming "Blue" joins that of the bespectacled nerd in the ranks of uninformed gamer stereotypes. In an effort to reach out to those who would normally shy away from electronic devices and their confusing beeps and boops, several forthcoming and readily available DS games have recently been shoved under the Touch Generations banner. The range highlights Nintendo's popular "non-games", titles that are meant to be approachable by any person, regardless of their previous gaming experience.In North America, games like Nintendogs, Brain Age and Sudoku Gridmaster seem to gravitate towards the label quite naturally, but it seems that the selection differs significantly from that of other regions. Anthropomorphic neighbour sim, Animal Crossing: Wild World, slots right in with Electroplankton in Europe, but the choices of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and Trauma Center: Under the Knife seem to fit in less comfortably. The latter two titles are far more traditional, with linear stories, clear conditions for success and failure and, in the case of Trauma Center especially, a more pronounced difficulty level that requires intricate stylus strokes--lest your patient's internal organs become reduced to a bloody mush (technical term). In other words, all the stuff that the mythical casual gamer doesn't want.The Japanese selection is almost the exact opposite, filled with English trainers, dictionaries and travel guidebooks. If you looked up "game" in one of those dictionaries, you'd likely find a description far removed from most of these titles. It raises an interesting question, then: What constitutes a game that, according to Nintendo's mantra, anyone can pick up and play? Is it a game that almost exclusively relies on intuitive touch screen controls? Or is it something with simplistic gameplay mechanics? Perhaps it's not even a game at all. Nintendo's pretty clear about the kind of people they're chasing with the DS and the Wii, but things seem less vivid when it comes to matching specific games with specific audiences. With games being such unique and often personal experiences, it's doubtful that the line between hardcore and casual will ever become especially obvious.
Upcoming DS games dated [Update 1]
No doubt attempting to organize the masses of people who constantly barge into stores at random intervals and demand games that aren't due for release in months, Nintendo has sent out a handy "release list" thing. If we understand this correctly, it's supposed to tell you on which day some of their major DS games will be set loose upon the public. That's Nintendo for you--always innovating.June 5: Big Brain Academy™June 5: Magnetica™June 11: Nintendo DS™ Lite (although that depends on where you're shopping)June 26: Sudoku GridmasterAug. 28: Star Fox DSSept. 18: Pokémon® Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue TeamSept. 25: Mario vs. Donkey Kong™ 2: March of the MinisOct. 9: Clubhouse Games™Oct. 30: Children of ManaSadly, it looks like the new Kirby game and Yoshi's Island 2 will only be released during or after the cheerfully explosive holiday season. Don't let that stop you from demanding it from the store clerk next week.[Update: To clear up any confusion - this list encompasses Nintendo titles only.]
Nintendo to Touch Generations
Nintendo of America have announced that as of June, they'll be rebranding many of their DS "non-games" under the Touch Generations label. As the name suggests, this move supports Nintendo's continuing desire to expand the gaming demographic and to reach out to those who are under the impression that gaming's all about shooting space pirates and smashing blocks with your head. Currently available games to fall under the brand are Brain Age, Nintendogs, Tetris DS and True Swing Golf. These will be followed by Big Brain Academy, Magnetica and Sudoku Gridmaster later in the year. If all goes according to Nintendo's plan, it won't be long before Grandma and Grandpa start swinging canes because someone forgot to feed the little Nintendoggy. [Thanks AssemblyLineHuman!]
Nintendo urges Australia to train brains
When they're not busy putting shrimp on the barbie or rolling their eyes at annoying stereotypes, Australians are enjoying gaming just as much as the rest of us are. In particular, they'll get to enjoy the DS Lite before most of America, with the system already launching down under on Thursday, 1 June. It seems that the system will also include a demo version of Brain Training (as it's called in Japan) in the box, something we hope is repeated for the US Lite launch. Let's hope they have better luck saying "BLUE!" than the rest of the world did. [Via 4cr]
Brain Training doesn't help old brains after all
For those of us hoping to clutch onto a DS and listen to the sage advice of Brain Age's Dr. Floaty Head (his real name's so hard to remember these days) in order to lessen the rate of our inevitable mental decline, a recent article in the Wall Street Journal's science journal is sure to come as bad news. According to a recent study, constant mental exercise does nothing to slow down the rate of cognitive decline. Timothy Salthouse of the University of Virginia notes that "there is no convincing empirical evidence that mental activity slows the rate of cognitive decline," a message that stands somewhat opposed to Nintendo's Brain Age campaign. "The research I reviewed is just not consistent with the idea that engaging in mentally stimulating activities as you age prevents or slows cognitive decline." While the rate of mental erosion is labeled as constant by the study, it suggests that the minds that remain sharp are merely dropping from a higher point. The higher you start, the longer it takes you to hit bottom. The mental usefulness of the innocent crossword puzzle also comes under attack assault fire, with Salthouse concluding that there is no evidence that habitual puzzle players experience "a slower rate of age-related decline in reasoning." What's a five-letter word for bummer? Still, the article points out (perhaps obviously so) that the greatest benefit of games like Brain Age is that the constant training improves an adult's ability to perform the given task well. One thing's for sure--we'll soon be glorified experts at saying "Blue!" [Thanks Vlad! Linked article requires membership to access.]
Japanese sales charts, April 9-16: Brains, brains, brains
The sales figures are in for Japan, ranking games of all formats for the week ending April 16. It's a very different picture to charts elsewhere, with brain-training games dominating the top spots (as they have done for weeks), two baseball games at 9 and 10, and the PS2 and DS running rampant. In fact, for anyone out there hoping, there are no Xbox or Xbox 360 titles in the top 50 at all.The ten bestselling games in Japan for the week ending April 16:1. Brain Age 2 (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju Kanshuu: Motto Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS) [DS]2. Brain Age: Train your Brain in Minutes a Day (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju no Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS Training) [DS]3. Animal Crossing: Wild World [DS]4. Legend of Starfy 4 [DS]5. Guilty Gear XX Slash [PS2]6. DS English Training [DS]7. Pokémon Ranger [DS]8. Final Fantasy XII [PS2]9. Pro Yakyu Netsu Star 2006 [PS2]10. Pro Yakyu Spirit 3 [PS2]
Some Doctor: Brain Age is good, but don't get fat
According to an article over at Gamasutra, Nintendo is adding some more marketing push to Brain Age: Train your Brain in Minutes a Day in the form of Dr. Elizabeth Zelinski, dean and executive director of Leonard Davis School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California. Her smarty-pants opinion on Brain Age:"Nintendo's Brain Age should be just one element of an active lifestyle that includes mental stimulation, exercise and a good diet. Brain Age is a great way for people to keep challenging themselves."That's right. You could train yourself on Brain Age for hours a day until you become a hyper-intelligent supergenius, but if you don't exercise and eat healthily, you'll become an obese hyper-intelligent supergenius. And as anyone will tell you, that's the worst kind.
Brain Maiming: New Sudoku game
Nintendo sends word regarding a matter of gray importance: Sudoku. Not to be confused with the murderous little Japanese girl that crawls out of the television on a weekly basis (that would be Sadako), the puzzle game has addicted many with its gentle massaging of that most intelligent and squishy of organs, the brain. With 400 different puzzles (all selected by the original creators of Sudoku), however, Sudoku Gridmaster is likely to be less of a massage and more of a brutal mashing. Not content with sticking some Sudoku puzzles in the upcoming Brain Age, Nintendo is releasing a stand-alone title featuring four difficulty settings and input via the touch screen. If you're keen on subjecting your brain to that sort of thing, make a mental note of Sudoku Gridmaster's June 26 release date.
GDC: Notes on (and in) Brain Age
Nintendo gave away copies of their upcoming DS title, Brain Age, following Satoru Iwata's keynote Thursday morning. Included in the special GDC edition* was the above note, urging all of us to be ambassadors, if you will, of Nintendo's ideology of inclusive gaming. Having only been back in Philly for a half day now, my girlfriend has already logged a couple hours training her brain: math puzzles, drawing, reading aloud, and--of course--sudoku. The goal is to achieve the ideal "brain age" of 20; I began at 30 (not far from my real age of 26), my girlfriend encountered a slightly steeper learning (not being a lifelong gaming-nerd) giving her an unrepresentative brain age of 74. After retrying the test, she achieved the more accurate score of 34. I plan on continuing my daily training in Brain Age, charting my progress, competing with my girlfriend, and reporting it all here. First impressions: Nintendo has another hit on their hands.*see below for the specially embossed package. Actually, it's really just a sticker. Brain Age is due to be released April 17th at the discount price of $20.
Video games used for therapy
Using NASA technology and video games, the Smart BrainGames system uses neurofeedback to target the symptoms of brain injuries, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and learning difficulties. This heartwarming story of a nine-year-old's recovery, partly involving the system, might mean we'll see more of this sort of treatment in future. At $584 for the system plus up to $2500 for expert supervision, however, it's not to be used lightly.Video games are being used medically in a variety of situations, but doctors don't recommend jumping on the bandwagon just yet. Games like Brain Training have a better chance of making their way on to prescriptions than expensive neurofeedback systems, but as an alternative to established therapies (covered by health insurance), video game-based therapy is still an odd-looking outsider for now.[Via Clickable Culture]
America: Nintendo will make you smarter
Nintendo have officially announced that the Brain Training series is coming to the North American DS under the wordy moniker, Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day. Though it doesn't specify exactly how many minutes a day, we feel that it's probably safe to assume that if you own a DS, you can't possibly be that dumb. As for Gizmondo owners, well...Ah, but we jest! We know that everyone enjoys a bit of mental gymnastics, be it word conundrums or tricky mathematical enigmas. Brain Age looks to provide just that via an easy interface and the guiding hand of Japanese mad neuroscientist, Professor Ryuta Kawashima (his work inspired the game). Our dear friend, The Reggie, also chimes in to point out that Brain Age is like a trip to the gym for that squishy thing inside your skull."Our brain-training series, led by Brain Age, builds on the popularity of word and number puzzles and acts as a treadmill for the mind."Brain Age hits on 17 April and is followed shortly by Big Brain Academy, which releases on 30 May. The latter title is the second one in the Brain Training series, offering some more cerebral challenges and even multiplayer capability. The Brain Training games have already sold more than a million copies each in Japan and we expect it to do just as well on this side of the pond. We'd be stupid not to buy it.[Via Joystiq, thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Dr. Mario to Neurology please
It's a widely known fact that when you construct a puzzle game, you absolutely must use falling blocks. There's just no getting around this convention, as falling blocks tap directly into the power of human instinct, subconsciously demanding that our brains rearrange them in ways that would yield the greatest score. And then Dr. Mario came along and replaced the blocks with pills, truly illustrating the fact that we pitiful humans are simply addicted to moving falling items about so that they fit perfectly in here, over there and oh if I can just swivel this one in time it'll slot right in there.So, we can all agree that Dr. Mario is an essential part of life. But where's the DS version? It seems that the answer can be found in the latest Brain Training title to be released in Japan. According to 4 Color Rebellion, Dr. Mario appears (after a fashion) as a secret mini-game. Looks pretty cool, but we're a bit confused about the way you have to hold the DS to play it. But then, we were also confused by an airplane just the other day. It's made of metal! How does it stay in the air like that?[Via 4cr]
