BrainAge
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Nintendo appeals to retired folk
Venturing outside the typical boundaries of a platform launch campaign, Nintendo found itself brushing shoulders with the American Academy of Audiology, Lighthouse International and the Southwest Lawn Bowls Association at Life@50+, an annual AARP-sponsored gathering for elder Americans.AARP's director of national events Bruce Sanders explained that technology is becoming a marked attraction at Life@50+ events, with 18 tech companies on display this year; up from just 10 in 2004. Still, Nintendo looked to struggle when promoting Wii and Brain Training to a demographic that was raised on card and parlor games. That's okay with us. We aren't prepared for the day when grandma owns our asses in Smash Bros.See also:Japanese doctors recommend Brain Training for seniorsBrain Training used to defeat dementiaNintendo doing the elderly (and you) a solid
Searching for an XBLA Brain Age rip-off
Rip-offs of the Nintendo DS hit Brain Age are starting to show up for the PC, which leads to the question, where's our rip-off for Xbox Live Arcade? It doesn't have to be as blatantly purloined as the shameless example pictured at right -- an homage, extrapolation, etc will do just fine. Besides, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and XBLA could use a killer app for senior citizens.
Where Brain Age stops being cool
This is exactly how you communicate fun -- slap a brain into a snow globe! Instant good times! Maybe, perhaps, if the Spanish Inquisition and organ removal are among your hobbies. How many different inflections of gross can we pack into one "ugh" here?Chris Kohler of GameLife got this one from Nintendo and we have to wonder if it wasn't some sort of booby prize. If this was a winner, we'll stay in the losing category. Oh, it does advertise the game, at least ... but it's like marketing from bizarro world.
Nintendo DS brings home the BAFTAs
Though they were both nominated in multiple categories, Brain Age (aka Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old is Your Brain?) and Electroplankton each picked up a single award in yesterday's British Academy of Film and Television Awards. Electroplankton was acknowledged for audio achievement (color us unsuprised at that one) and Brain Age was named the most innovative of the year's titles by the British organization. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter for the Xbox 360 picked up the nod for game of the year, beating out Brain Age. Trauma Center and New Super Mario Bros. were both nominated as well, but picked up no awards. We're pretty sure that's probably a crime against humanity, but just this once, we'll let it slide.[Thanks, elbono!]
Brain Age creator leaves DS development for PSP, DS fanboys cry [Update 1]
If you can't beat them, take from them. Although the old saying may not go exactly like that, it's what Sony has done as they managed to woo Dr. Kawashima, the creator of the DS' immensely popular Brain Age games to join the PSP team. In addition to coming to the PSP, the game is getting a name change to Mind Quiz, which is developed by Sega and published by Ubisoft. Mind Quiz challenges player's (you guessed it!) minds with math, reflexes and memory mini-games that end with the player receiving their "brain age" score. Currently, Mind Quiz is scheduled to go on sale throughout Europe in November.Seeing as I don't own a Nintendo DS, I've never played these games before, but they have interested me. However, after I get to play Mind Quiz, I won't tell you all my brain age score out of fear of public humiliation.[Update 1: Clarified a sentence that was a bit confusing.][Via Joystiq]
Dr. Kawashima defects to PSP, 'Brain Age' becomes 'Mind Quiz'
The DS's beloved mascot is moving on. The ever-jovial Dr. Kawashima is taking his "brain age" circus and heading for greener pastures, hoping to score big-time on the ungrazed PSP platform.As Brain Trainer, the title has been burning up the sales charts in Japan, and now Ubisoft will deploy Sega's newly tagged Mind Quiz across Europe in November. Overseen by Dr. Kawashima, players will test their calculation abilities, reflexes, and memory in a series of bland mini-games, culminating in a "brain age" score.Nevermind that it's Brain Age without the touch screen, blazing through simple arithmetic is just ... So. Much. Fun! (And we hear it makes you smarter.)
University of Texas: games might slow aging process [update 1]
The University of Texas (go Longhorns) is designing games and researching their effect on older players, according to Yahoo! News. The University of Virginia (go Cavaliers) questions the Texas goal of maintaining mental and physical agility with games. The image of older gamers flailing around with touch-sensitive gloves and VR helmets is our favorite detail of the $13-million project. The future has never been so retro. Mihai Nadin, the professor who heads the research says, "This is not a marketing opportunity but a social responsibility."But we think it should be a social responsibility and a marketing opportunity. After all, the article makes the obligatory Brain Age reference, citing sales of roughly seven million total copies. Those weren't just given away. Publishers of casual games have already been selling to this older demographic; we don't think it'll take long for other games to reach an older audience.Dr. Nadin followed up with us about this post. He wanted to make sure readers understand that the University of Virginia study wasn't a response to his research with the University of Texas. The Virginia study was unrelated, although its subject of mind-maintenance through aging is relevant, which is why we mentioned it.Dr. Nadin further stressed the social responsibility of finding ways to extend mental and physical abilities -- the cost of assisted living strains individuals and government programs. But he also said that people don't need to choose social responsibility over commerce; they can go together. We were raising the point that any business -- especially franchise-driven videogames -- follows the money. We hope he's right, and publishers find a niche in games-as-therapy.[Update 1: Added last two paragraphs.]
Brain Age math challenge exploit
We're pretty sure that at least one of you have solved the 10 math problems exercise in Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day. We aren't sure, however, that some of you have done it in 8 or less seconds. Considering this individual is exploiting the system a tad through the use of chicken scratch writing, we can't give him much credit. OK, maybe we're just jealous...As always, video is embedded into the post after the break.
DS gets some love from BAFTA
It's the first time the U.K.'s gaming awards have been in their own spotlight (instead of relaxing in the shadow of the film and television awards), and the Nintendo DS has snared some of the attention. We would expect nothing less. Electroplankton and Brain Age both picked up nominations in multiple categories, and they'll be butting heads (brains?) when it comes to which game is Britain's choice for the most innovative of the year. Trauma Center got a nod as well in the simulation category. We're not sure the other nominees are even worth mentioning next to that one. Too bad there isn't a category for games that make you sweat, 'cause they're just that damned hard at times. Trauma Center has always made us idly wish for a third hand, but we love it like ice cream. Can't say we agree with everything they're doing across the pond, though -- they've got New Super Mario Bros. tagged as a children's game. Oh well. I guess we should all put it down and step away slowly. The winners will be announced on October 5. Check back for confetti and poppers when the DS snags some awards.
Old Grandma Hardcore is Nintendo's Grandparent of the Year
Who could have anticipated that they'd be sending a 70 year-old ringer into Nintendo's Coolest Grandparent of the Year competition, huh? Barbara St. Hilaire, better known to the gaming community as Old Grandma Hardcore, took the top honors in the contest, held on Grandparents' Day at the Nintendo World Store in New York. Contestants battled in Brain Age, and OGH took home two DS Lites and ten new games after vanquishing the competition. Since she already owns both a Phat and a DS Lite, we wonder if she'll pass the booty on to one or two of her 13 grandchildren. From her blog, OGH certainly seems like the coolest grandparent around, so we approve. In fact, we'd like to steal her to be the official DS Fanboy Grandma, but we're afraid she'd kill every time we break out Mario Kart.
Snakes on a Plane star promotes PSP
The gripping story of ophidiophobia in the sky has propelled Snakes on a Plane star Kenan Thompson into the spotlight. Throughout most of the film, he's seen playing the PSP. But what game has him so engrossed? An interview at Yahoo reveals all: "I was playing NBA Street Showdown on the PSP during filming. I was playing it a whole lot and I was getting really good at it." The PSP was not included in Kenan's contract: "I had to give it back after we finished filming, but I had my own, so I wasn't tripping." Kenan thinks the PSP's one of the best handhelds around, due to its multiple capabilities: "You put it in your car and it turns into an MP3 player. It's crazy." Of course, more amazing than the PSP being in Snakes on a Plane is knowing that Samuel L. Jackson plays the system as well: "Sam Jackson loves video games. I think I might have caught him playing my PSP a couple of times on set. He's a cool dude like that." Awesome!Read the rest of the interview to find out more on a potential sequel to the movie (Lizards on the Backs of Llamas on a Boat) and what he thinks about the DS and the Brain Age games ("I felt stupid the first time I played it").
Brain Age wins an Edge award
Brain Age has been a success since its release, trying to get people back on their feet in fast thinking. A game where wisdom doesn't exactly come with age, Brain Age recently took home an award from Edge Magazine for innovative gameplay and the "willingness to aim higher and try something new." David Yarton, General Manager for the UK branch of Nintendo, put it rather well when he said: "In the past, people said that Nintendo was staid and conservative, but we've shown that we're heading in a different direction from others in the industry with fresh and original ideas. Only Nintendo could make arithmetic fun." With all the recognition Brain Age received, we wonder what other wonderful things will come out of Nintendo to try and reach such a wide variety of people. Soon, our great grandmothers will be screaming colors at their Nintendo DS. [Via DS Mania]
Brain Age bestowed Edge award, beats out Guitar Hero, others
Nintendo's Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! has received Edge magazine's 'Edge Award,' which recognizes games that show "the willingness to aim higher and try something new." Brain Age beat out cult hits like Guitar Hero (PS2) & Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan (DS), along with Amped 3 (Xbox 360), Dragon Quest VIII (PS2), Electroplankton (DS), Indigo Prophecy (PC/PS2/Xbox), and Killer 7 (GameCube). "Only Nintendo could make arithmetic fun," remarked Nintendo UK general manager David Yarnton upon accepting the award.Edge also presented an award to InfoSpace's Dirty Sanchez for best mobile game.
Nintendo gifts birthday boy Bush with DS Lite, Brain Age
Just like you're not supposed to tug on Superman's cape, it's probably not the best idea to send the most powerful man in the world a gag gift on his birthday, so we've got to give props to our good friends at Nintendo for risking an ugly international incident to break President Bush off with a DS Lite in honor of his sixtieth -- and bundling in a copy of Brain Age to presumably help ward off his impending dementia. According to our sources inside the White House, after muttering under his breath about how "this doesn't work like my iPod," Mr. Bush decided to move onto more important matters like national security and regift the console to his Scottish Terrier Barney -- who was able to have a game of Nintendogs up and running within minutes. [Via Joystiq]
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!]
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.
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 Age owners flaunt their art [update 1]
One part of the popular DS game Brain Age is the drawing mini-game where players are required to draw a picture of, to name a few examples, Mona Lisa, Henry VIII or a bulldozer entirely from memory. As the above examples demonstrate, results may vary! Check out the Flickr pool of Brain Age drawings and don't forget to add your own "creations".[Via Wonderland]Update: I misspelled "Brain" in the title. What? It's early!
Competitive Brain Age: Joystiq pwns
At the Nintendo booth, people have been constantly queueing for Brain Age. Calculating by yourself is fun, but it doesn't come close to the competitive thrill of remembering your times tables faster than the next guy.We're proud to say we won our tournament, coming in with the respectable (for day three of E3) time of 28 seconds. Interestingly, the runner-up (with a very close time) was also a girl, with the two guys taking over twice as long to finish -- draw what conclusions you will from that.
Japanese sales charts, April 17-23: Hello, Mother
Several new releases are sitting pretty in the Japanese charts this week, with newcomers holding the top three spots. Mother 3, described by Famitsu as the "Most Wanted" game in Japan back in March, unsurprisingly rocketed to the top with over 200,000 sales; a spinoff from the popular Dragon Quest VIII is in at number two, after selling 127,500 copies.The ten bestselling games in Japan for the week ending April 23:1. Mother 3 [GBA]2. Dragon Quest: Shounen Yangus no Fushigi na Daibouken [PS2] 3. Final Fantasy XI: Aht Urhgan no Hihou [PS2]4. Brain Age 2 (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju Kanshuu: Motto Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS) [DS]5. Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai [PSP]6. Okami [PS2]7. Brain Age: Train your Brain in Minutes a Day (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju no Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS Training) [DS]8. Animal Crossing: Wild World [DS]9. DS English Training [DS]10. Pokémon Ranger [DS] The corresponding hardware sales (cumulative sales for 2006 in brackets):
