brain training
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Majesco hops on 'brain training' bandwagon
If there's one thing we need more of, it's brain training games. Thankfully this holiday season Majesco will fill this niche void with Left Brain Right Brain for the Nintendo DS, a platform that seems like such a natural fit for this sort of game that it's simply amazing someone didn't think of it sooner. And then come out with a sequel.According to Majesco, the game will not only exercise your noodle, but also help improve manual dexterity while testing the neurological settlements on both sides of the brain's Mason-Dixon line through 15 games of speed, accuracy, association, recognition, memory and strategy. Left Brain Right Brain will also be played 'book-style,' as it forces players to 'rotate the DS' to exercise both their dominate and non-dominate hands, though this sounds to us like a better way to test how often the handheld can be dropped without breaking.[Via press release]
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.)
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!
Brain, Skin and now Face Training DS
Nintendo seems to be starting at the brain and slowly working outwards when it comes to training. Their latest Japanese training title translates roughly to Face Training, which has you training with the use of a new Nintendo DS camera. We don't know if the game recognizes when you are doing the proper facial expression and moves on from there or if you're just supposed to look at yourself in the screen to make sure you're doing it right.The game is hosted by Fumiko Inudo who is apparently a face expert like the disembodied head of Dr. Kawashima is a brain expert. The game was apparently co-developed by the creators of Fire Emblem and releases in Japan on August 2 with no US announcement made (yet?). We're still holding out for Dream Skincare to help us cover up years of Cheetos abuse.
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!
DS Daily: Please win (no, really)
Details on the new minigames in Brain Age 2 have surfaced, and we finally know the origin of this hilarious screenshot. Dr. Kawashima isn't simply encouraging you (like he would ever do that!); instead, it turns out that part of the game is that sometimes you need to win at Rock, Paper, Scissors ... and sometimes, you need to lose. We can't wait to see that screen. "Please lose!" Gee, thanks. Next you're probably going to tell me that I fail at life.So what's the point? Well, we do love to talk about that wacky Dr. Kawashima around here (we like it a lot), but we figure that within a matter of months, "Please win" is a phrase that will work its way into our everyday lexicon of silly game phrases ... which of course leads us to ask you in turn about some of your other favorite wacky moments and unforgettable dialogue in gaming.%Gallery-3436%
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.
Brain Age 2 boxart is BLUUUUUUUUUE
We don't necessarily make a post about the box design for every new game, but we pretty much had to for Brain Age 2, for the following reasons: It's a huge game We are too weak to resist the obvious joke (see title) hahahaha bluuuuuuuue We don't know if it's possible to be as excited about the return of Brain Age as the Japanese public continues to be, but we eagerly await the return of our teacher, friend and constant source of Photoshop inspiration, Dr. Ryuta Kawashima's Disembodied Polygonal Head.[Via GoNintendo]
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.
More Brain Training coming to Europe, maybe US
The evil floating head of Dr. Kawashima returns! Gamasutra reports that More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima: How Old Is Your Brain?, the sequel to Brain Age (known outside of the US as Brain Training), is coming to Europe this summer.The educational series has been a phenomenal success for Nintendo -- in Japan, the sequel sold over 400,000 in its first week of release. More Brain Training will cost €30/£19.99 (approx. US $41) at launch.There have been no plans announced for a US release, though Gamestop has listed Brain Age 2 as arriving August 1 for $19.99.
Hot Brain videos galore
PSP owners haven't had much of a chance to try the Brain Age fad. But no worries, Hot Brain should do just the trick. This brain training game, starring Fred Willard, is going to try and make you smarter by throwing tons of word and math puzzles at you. IGN has a video blowout of the title, showcasing tons of gameplay options from this mind-expanding collection of minigames.Check it out.
Genius DS wants to train your brain
With all this brain training going on, one wonders just how long before DS aficionados start racking up the patents and the Nobel Prizes. Maybe we're just not quite there yet. We need to train further. Well, don't despair, future genius inventors, there's yet another edutainment title on the horizon, and it's coming to stretch your gray matter. Genius DS - Equal Cards is slated for this summer, and seems to be primarily a math-influenced title, and the math puzzles use cards that must be sorted. Sounds riveting.
Browser-based brain training, PSP still innovating
PlayStation forum member AZ92 is currently hosting a series of Flash-based browser demos (in Japanese) of Sega's Brain Trainer Portable. The Brain Trainer series, which shares obvious similarities to DS's Brain Age game (it's even supervised by Dr. Kawashima), is actually based on Sega Toys's Nouryoku Trainer, a popular electronic device released in Japan back in October 2004. But never mind the game; it's the concept of a PSP Flash demo of a retail game that's the real innovation. Nice work.Use this link to play directly from your PSP.[Via PSP Fanboy]
Brain training on your internet browser
Did you know that the Nintendo DS isn't the only system that can train your brain? In Japan, Sega created their own mildly-successful edutainment games that required you to do math at the speed of light. AZ92 from the PlayStation forums is hosting a few Flash demos of the game, formatted for the PSP. You can use m.pspfanboy.com to play these short demos, directly from your PSP. Demo 1Demo 2Demo 3Demo 4 [Update 1: First server ran out of bandwidth. Updated links. Thanks, Crazy_Chris]!
Does brain training really work?
NPR's Morning Edition takes a look at competing theories on the effects of mental exercise on staving off dementia and mental degradation in old age. While the piece doesn't deal specifically with video games, the implications for brain training games like Brain Age and Mind Quiz and even puzzle and adventure games are pretty apparent. The results are decidedly mixed. One study of nearly 3,000 elderly people showed that a few hours of directed mental exercise could show effects up to five years later, but the improvement was rather modest for most volunteers. Another researcher cited in the NPR report thinks that building a "cognitive reserve" of mental skills before old age is more effective than taking up Sudoku in your autumn years. And then there's genetics, which may play a more important role in the proceedings than a simple crossword puzzle. The final takeaway? While games and puzzles might be a good way to keep your brain in shape, don't consider them a sure-fire way to prevent Alzheimer's disease. And whatever you do, don't get too frustrated while you play -- research suggests that's avoiding stress and depression can help you maintain good mental health.
Wired trains its brain
The January issue of Wired magazine includes a few short columns about writers trying to improve their abilities; Joshua Green's story about improving his brain functions relies on Nintendo's Brain Age game, a better diet, and more sleep. His non-scientific study left him with a brain age improvement from 44 to 34 after four weeks of work.Now that Brain Age has been out for a while, do you think it has sharpened your mind? Anecdotally, we like the game, but we think it just makes us better at Brain Age.
Brain training in schools
A grammar school in Melbourne, Australia is testing a program that involves encouraging children to play Nintendo. Where was that when we were in school, huh? Shenanigans! Teacher James Penson thought some of the 5th and 6th grade children could benefit from a fun way to practice math and memory skills, and so he cooked up the idea of using the ubiquitous Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training in the classroom. He contacted Nintendo and they sent 40 DS units to the school for the test program, which has been a resounding success. Penson said that the students were once reluctant to practice their time tables, but now they are beginning to see math as fun. And we have to admit, racing against your scores (and those of others) is way more fun than sitting in one of those hard plastic chairs picking at the years of snot stuck underneath the desk.[Via Go Nintendo]
A-ha! Experience screens released
I'll be honest, I haven't heard much of A-ha! Experience until I've seen these newly-released screens. It seems like the game may be the PSP's answer to the DS' Brain Training games. A-ha Experience is a collection of three types of mini-games: A-ha Change, A-ha Movie and A-ha Cut.A-ha Change challenges the player to quickly tell the difference between two pictures. A-ha Movie features what at first looks like a picture, but is actually a short video clip, and the player has to find what is moving within the video. Lastly, A-ha Cut challenges the player to watch several similar-looking video files and find what has changed.The game is supposed to challenge a player's "brain reaction where you figure out something that had eluded you in the past," according to an IGN preview. The chances of this game making to the States probably isn't very good, but because the game focuses on video and pictures, it will probably make for an excellent import title when it's released Nov. 30.[Via Gamespot/IGN]
