brain age
Latest
Toyota turns to Brain Age professor to help elderly drivers
Toyota's already taken a number of measures to improve the driving of the general population, but it now looks to be taking specific aim at elderly drivers, and it's enlisted the help of a familiar, polygonal face in its efforts. As the AFP reports, Professor Ryuta Kawashima of Brain Age fame is beginning a study in conjunction with Toyota with the goal of creating a vehicle that keeps elderly drivers alert while their driving, which they say could be put into use sometime between 2015 and 2020. That vehicle will apparently be equipped with various devices that "watch the driver's brain activity, automatic nerve reflexes, attentiveness and other mental and physical conditions," according to Kawashima, with it able alert drivers at the slightest sign of danger (not unlike similar systems we've seen aimed at sleepy drivers). We'll just have to wait and see if that'll also involve having drivers shout "red, blue, blue!" at stop lights or not.
Dr. Kawashima goes mobile with Namco Bandai brain game
Floating head doctor Ryuta Kawashima has once again been called upon to lend his expertise and disembodied features to a brain training game, this time for mobile phones. CVG reports that Namco Bandai's Brain Coach with Dr. Kawashima will use a "scientifically proven series of fun brain training challenges" to exercise and activate several parts of your brain, most likely the ones that shut down whn u rite a txt msg to ur palz. Brain Coach has only been announced for Japan so far, but given the popular trend kicked off by Nintendo's Brain Training and its intelligent ilk (almost all of it featuring Kawashima), it's unlikely to stay there for very long. Kawashima's constant presence in the genre practically makes him the mental Madden.
Dr. Kawashima to ... cell phones?
Millions of DS users have found themselves charmed by Dr. Kawashima. Afterall, he's not bad looking for bodiless head, and he's a doctor. Mom would be so pleased!It seems, though, that the popular handheld is not enough to keep the good doctor satisfied, since later this month he'll be debuting on European cell phones (or mobiles, as they call them in those parts). The Brain Age ripoff game, called Brain Coach with Dr. Kawashima, will be licensed by Namco Bandai (not Nintendo), and will use daily exercises to track your level of brain aptitude. That sounds familiar ...And to think, we actually believed his sweet, encouraging words as we struggled with our math equations! When all this time he was just looking for younger, slimmer handhelds to play with. We thought you were different, Dr. Kawashima, but you just had to go and break our hearts.
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.
DS Daily: 20
Did you ever make it? We mean the optimal score in Brain Age, of course. Tragically, the lowest this blogger ever hit was the low-to-mid twenties, but surely that comes from being a drooling, Castlevania-obsessed blogging type (and also, apparently, old-brained). Did you get all the way down to twenty? Did you pump your fists in the air and cheer? That can be embarrassing when you happen to be in public. Or are you more like me, sad and pathetic, staring through the glass at all the younger, smarter, better people? It's okay. It's not too bad here on the outside.
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!
What we're thankful for: DS edition
We asked you to tell us what you were thankful for yesterday for our three-pack giveaway, so it's only right that we commemorate this turkey holiday with our own shout-outs! Eric: I am thankful for those blue shells that helped me win so many races against people who're much better at Mario Kart than me. Alisha: I am thankful for whips ... I mean, awesome, portable dual-screen Castlevania games. With whips. Because whips are awesome. David: I'm thankful for having a portable device I can turn on to ignore people in front of me I don't want to talk to. Tetris music drowns out all. JC: I'm thankful for Brain Age, because photoshopped Brain Age screenshots are a well that will never run dry. Candace: I'm thankful for the crew of Ouendan, without whom we would have long ago succumbed to a giant rat, meteor collision, and alien attack. I'm NOT thankful, however, for the habit it's given me of yelling out "Ouendan!!!" during job interviews when they don't go well. Chris: I'm thankful for every last one of those life-saving straight tetraminoes that got me out of a pickle. And for Animal Crossing, and its ability to drag me away from the gray, depressing mundanities of my real life on a daily basis. *Sniff* Also, it teaches me about dinosaurs and stuff. Last, but never least, we have to thank you, kind reader. Coming here everyday to see what we're rambling on about, you've been a pal and a confidante. What we're trying to say is, thank you for being a friend.
Game sales by region: who printed which demonimation of money?
We know that Nintendo's games are awesome and all, but we can't help but feel that their constant monopoly on DS game sales must make compiling sales lists dull. "Nintendo ... Nintendo ... another Nintendo." In North America., all five of the top five DS games sold this week are first-party; only one in the UK comes from another publisher. If we had an impish sense of humor (check) and access to near-unlimited funds (dang) we'd go buy 50,000 copies or so of something like Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations just to mess with the charts. As it stands, in NA and the UK, the big winners are both Brain Ages and Phantom Hourglass. And, we suppose, the people who bought those and can feel like they're on the victorious team.In Japan, a detective game from Tecmo sits at the top spot, followed by Final Fantasy Tactics A2. This report conflicts with the report yesterday that had FFTA2 at the top-- maybe DS Nishimura Kyotaro Suspense sells better on Amazon (from whence the results for this study are tallied) than other retailers. Check after the break for the full top-five lists!
Updated multi-region release lists, software sales
For a lot of us, this updated list of current and forthcoming "primary" Nintendo releases doesn't offer much, but for European gamers, there's a lot to speculate on. We keep seeing this DS Novel pop up, but what exactly is it? When it's shown up before on lists, there was also a "temporary title" tag attached, but no longer, though other titles on the list are tagged as such. Is it settled? Is it just the e-book reader? Literature-themed nongame? Sounds like it might be worth importing for litgeeks in the rest of the world. If you know something we poor Americans don't, please clue us in!In other news, Nintendogs continues to lead the pack among DS titles in sales, with Pokémon and New Super Mario Bros. lagging a little behind. Unsurprisingly, the phenomenal Brain Age duo keeps churning out the dollars as well.To see the full list of releases, check after the jump.
DS Daily: The benefits of brain training
A recent study in Scotland showed a vast improvement when kids supplemented their regular studies with a little dose of Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training. Looks like it really does work, at least when in a controlled environment. Of course, this is not the first time we've seen a little Brain Age used in schools, and we doubt it will be the last. However, it sets us up for what could be a good discussion this morning. First, do you think schools in the US will make the leap to trying out Brain Age? Second, do you feel that it helps you?
DS Daily: DS, daily
You may notice a little bit more swagger in our writing style-- it's the confidence that comes from having a youthful, energetic brain. Yes, we've been playing Brain Age 2, tapping on piano keys and unscrambling words and remembering big groups of numbers with the best of them.One thing that bothers us a bit about Brain Age and its sequel is the daily-play design. Sometimes we like that we can fit a satisfying gaming experience into just a few minutes, but sometimes we have two hours to kill playing games, and we want to play Brain Age. While you can train all you want, you can only make so much "progress" in one day, due to artificial constraints. If one can even be said to make progress in a nontraditional game like Brain Age, that is.What about you? Do you like it when games feed you pre-measured portions of game time? Or do you really hate running out of stuff to do?
Today's most beautiful video: Face Training
Ever since we heard about it, we've been waiting to see Face Training in action. The DS muscle control game program just launched in Japan, and three commercials show it off. We're amazed.A camera connects to the GBA slot, and the DS perches on a stand, pointing the lens at the player user. Face Training then seems to monitor and rate your ability to smile. Aside from physical therapy, we're not sure where the market is for this game application. Maybe Japan has more of a need to practice eyebrow movements than we ever realized. See the trailers after the break. (Or for an even longer look, visit the game's Japanese site.)
Crimson / black DS Lite for sale in America?
Alright kids, no more complaining that Canada gets all the good stuff. 'Course, all of us North Americans still have a bone to pick with Japan and South Korea, but that's another story for another day. Apparently, the crimson / black DS Lite that snuck up on us last week at Future Shop has made its way south to the US of A -- or at least, it had. According to DSFanboy, GameStop had the specially colored bundle (which included Brain Age 2 but sadly omitted the carrying case) listed on it's website for $149.99, but now it seems that the item has been yanked. Keep your eyes peeled Americans, it ought to pop back up in due time.[Via DSFanboy]
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!
DS Daily: Brain Training Training
With Brain Age 2 on the way, we thought we'd start helping everyone limber up mentally, in the most meta way we could think of. Let's come up with new Brain Age challenges! They may increase bloodflow to the prefrontal cortex, or they may not-- we have no idea! We'll get you started with some examples: You have two minutes to write as many jokes as you can about Dr. Kawashima's mama! Calculate Nintendo's profits based on a given number of Brain Age sales! How well can you remember the lyrics to Kris Kross's Sprite jingle?
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: Machismo
Ever lie about what you're playing? Say, for instance, you're playing Pokemon, which is widely regarded among the non-gaming population (and certain contingents of the gaming population) as for babies, and you, as a non-baby, are asked what's in your DS by a friend. Do you say something distinctly un-baby-like, like Brain Age or the tough-sounding Tank Beat? Or do you stay true to yourself and happily announce that you're training your new Wurmple? Are there other situations in which you consider lying? If, for example, you are playing Brain Age and you're accosted by a gamer friend who hasn't joined the non-game revolution? Or if some bloggers survey their audience and you're playing something that you don't think is appropriately cool?
Train your brain in public
Imagine an alternate universe in which arcades not only exist, but are still stocked with new games. Now imagine that one of the biggest and most impressive-looking units in the place is a brain training game. As you may have guessed, it's not an alternate universe! You know, because the coverage on this site is limited to just the one universe.Minna de Kitaeru Zenno Training is an arcade brain training game released in late 2006 by Bandai Namco, created under the supervision of the smartest disembodied head we know, Dr. Ryuta Kawashima. Much like Brain Age, it uses a touch screen to present simple mathematical and logical tasks. But unlike Brain Age, Zenno Training is on a huge screen in the middle of a game center.It's quite amazing how popular brain training has become! We wonder if Bandai Namco expects people to go back to the arcade every day for training. That would be so diabolical!
Conjecture Countdown: 8 days to go
Even with a diminished E3, there's no controlling the wave of rumors that hit the Internet every year before the show. Why fight it? From now until E3 hits, we'll be posting one piece of wild speculation every day. Some may be patently ridiculous, and others just might turn out to be true. Even some of the ridiculous ones might turn out to be true! Rest assured, everything will be totally made-up and unfounded. Except, of course, when we speak about all the ass Reggie is going to kick. That part? Totally true.Rumor: The third Train Your Brain installment, Brain Age: With a Vengeance, will be announced for a late 2007 release. To keep the non-game series fresh, this third episode will come packed with popular gimmicks like customizable outfits, alternate endings, and a new, sinister villain -- Dark Dr. Kawashima!
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.
