"Some people might think that, given the huge sales of the Brain Training series, there can't possibly be anyone out there who hasn't played it, but that's not true at all", says Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. "Compared to the number of consoles sold, the amount of software sold doesn't even come close."

New DSiWare title Little Bit of Brain Training offers new players bite-sized bursts of brain training and chance to laugh like a maniac. What's more, the game offers seasoned players a tweaked version for those who are especially adept at boasting their gray matter age.

Brain Age developers found that players tended to stop playing once their brain age hit the sweet spot of 20 years old, and thus, have added a new character who appears and gives players harder tasks. Nintendo's current task? Make sure everyone who owns a DS plays Brain Age. The end.

Iwata Asks - Volume 6 [Nintendo via Siliconera]

DSi Brain Age makes use of the camera and even has users make funny faces. Why? Because stuff like that makes you smarter. Duh.

The DSiWare take on Brain Age covers humanities and science and is priced at 800 DSi Points.

The Osaka Board of Education signed off on the measure, according to Japanator, potentially restoring my faith in public education systems. Students will use "education software" to further their school studies; and by "education software," I assume they mean Brain Age and not Cooking Mama.

The DS's appearance in Japanese classrooms is nothing new. Back in 2006, Kyoto Prefecture's Yawata City had students spend the first ten minutes of class, studying vocab on their Nintendo portables. As of 2009, the prefecture was still using the DS for study.

I can't imagine taxpayers are too happy about this, especially if their kids don't go to these schools. Or they don't even have any kids. But then, Nintendo makes up a pretty serious part of Japan's economy; it could pay off.

Maybe every DS taxes buy for a school child will be 100 yen Nintendo puts toward making games that don't suck.

「ＤＳソフト補助金は反射的利益」　橋下知事 [Sankei via Japanator via Destructoid]

While Nintendo does not claim the game can reverse the effects of aging, the game's instruction booklet states, "Training can help consolidate memory and creativity and may hopefully help develop a resistance against decline in later life."

Consumer site Which? asked a panel of scientists to examine the game to see if it met the minimum standards by which quality research is judged and checked to see if it had been reviewed by a experts and published in an academic journal.

The Which? scientists dismissed the game's self-improvement aspect: "There is no evidence that using this product will have any functional impact on your life whatsoever." But it sure is fun.

Still, what's next, pundits telling us that Wii Fit doesn't work?

Oh. Wait. Never mind, carry on, carry on!

Brain trainers' claims strain credibility [Which? via PC Advisor] [Pic]

What's more, the game apparently made memory worse.

The research had a sample of ten year-old children split into four groups: The first two groups did a seven-week DS memory course, the third group did puzzles with pencil and paper, while the fourth group just went to school as regular. Before and after started each program, the groups did logic tests.

The results? The DS control group did not do significantly better — save for a 19 percent increase in math. (However, the pencil-and-paper group also had the same increase in math, and the just-go-to-school group had a 18 percent increase in math.) However, the pencil-and-paper group showed a 33 percent increase in memorization, while the DS groups did 17 percent worse. The kid who just went to school showed a 20 percent increase.

According to Alain Lieury, professor of cognitive psychology at the University of Rennes, "The Nintendo DS is a technological jewel. As a game it's fine, but it is charlatanism to claim that it is a scientific test... There were few positive effects and they were weak. Dr Kawashima is one of a long list of dream merchants."

Professor Lieury is publishing his findings in a new book, Stimulate Your Neurones, which is out this month.

Nintendo brain-trainer 'no better than pencil and paper' [Times Online]

Researches say that during the nine-week study they found improvements in students' concentration and behavior, with students completing standardized test faster than those who hadn't trained on the Nintendo DS game.

Man, these Scottish kids don't know how good they got it. In elementary school, I was part of a research group that monitored the effects of having one's lunch money stolen everyday before class began. And look what happened to me. :(

Computer game boosts maths scores [BBC]

Perhaps British folks keep losing their copies of Brain Age and keep buying replacements? Perhaps they're just crazy for brain games? Perhaps.

Sales Figures [Chart Track via Eurogamer]

For those, who haven't seen the Japanese box art for the original Brain Age and its sequel, click here and here.

NDS「脳トレ」のパロディAVが登場！ [Hatimaki]

I think we'd gotten to a point where videogames were something that everyone could no longer enjoy. As a designer, I'm always focusing on what is fun — ideas that people can enjoy. For me, I'm trying to entertain as many people as I can, creating games that the widest number of people can enjoy. Of course, that being said, we do have the existing teams at Nintendo working on the kinds of products we've always made over the years. The Zelda team is forming again to work on new games! But to me, it's about finding these new interactive experiences and bringing them to people.

Portal Brain Age 2 Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass BioShock Puzzle Quest Rock Band Super Mario Galaxy Wii Sports The Witcher WoW: Burning Crusade

And now that the industry has become so successful at creating high quality, more polished sequels, will any of these titles really be in play a decade from now?

The Future Of Videogames [Forbes via WiiWii]

"We envision future cars will be able to monitor brain and emotional activity to back up elderly drivers," said Kawashima, a Tohoku University scientist who worked on Nintendo Co.'s best-selling "Brain Age" games _ and whose smiling image is the guide in the series.

While I am all for promoting driving safety, I just don't know about helping the elderly drive longer. I respect the elderly. I have some of the elderly in my family. I just think there is a certain point where you have to resign yourself that you can no longer safely operate a vehicle. I know Kawashima's heart is in the right place, but age happens.

Kawashima hopes to extend the technology towards all ages of drivers in the future.

"Ultimately, we hope to develop cars that stimulate brain activity, so that driving itself becomes a form of brain training," Kawashima said.

Toyota and brain-game professor to develop cars for the elderly [The Sydney Morning Herald via Gizmodo]

The better you get at it, the faster it goes, and the more you want to try it.

In humans, exercise improves what scientists call "executive function," the set of abilities that allows you to select behavior that's appropriate to the situation, inhibit inappropriate behavior and focus on the job at hand in spite of distractions. Executive function includes basic functions like processing speed, response speed and working memory, the type used to remember a house number while walking from the car to a party.

More impressive? That some 25% of DS owners in the UK have purchased the original Brain Age, known as Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain? over there. Another half-million have snapped up the sequel, all but confirming that Dr. Josef Rich's Dental Training will be a massive success when it's released next year.

UK DS sales hit 4 million [Gamespot]

It's fairly simple to follow the laws of effective marketing in Greece, at least as demonstrated by this recent promo event for Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day. Four of these faux nurses pounded sand at a Greek beach in the name of lowering the native brain age. The results were of course, extremely sexy and satisfyingly smart.

Η Nintendo εξορμα στις παραλίες... [Nintendo of Greece, thanks Agapitos!]

58 Across: Nintendo game with exercises for mental acuity.
Answer: Brain Age

Now that says something about Nintendo's drive into popular culture.

Alba, currently starring in the new Fantastic Four and probably best known for her work as Some Girl With A Fantastic Ass in Into The Blue, explains of her Nintendo sales domination contribution:

I had my DS on the set of Fantastic Four and I bought it for my entire cast when we wrapped. I guess I just felt bad because between takes they'd be chatting and we were in the Fantasticar and I'd always have my iPod and my DS with me. It was like fingernail-biting, gripping moments in the movie and then, "Cut!" I'd pick up my DS and try to beat my 82 age in Brain Age. I'd try to memorize all of those damn words.

Sure she may have a brain age of 82, but I'm sure you're mostly interested in the fact that Jessica Alba knows what the hell a DS is. Should help ground your masturbatory fantasies involving Jessica and a heated Mario Kart DS battle with high (sexy) stakes. Michael McWhertor

Celebrity Byte: Exclusive Interview With Jessica Alba [Yahoo!]

New exercises will keep everyone in Europe throwing DS's against the wall and pressing the start button frantically as they see their age of their brain falling futher and further away from them. New tests include calculating correct change as well as trying to follow sheet music by playing the piano.

More Brain Training from Dr. Kawashima: How Old is Your Brain will launch in Europe on 29th June 2007. Kim Phu

PRESS RELEASE
The Multi Million Selling Brain Training Series Continues With All New Exercises!

More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima: How Old Is Your Brain? launches in Europe on Nintendo DS

16th May 2007. Training your brain became a worldwide activity following the launch of Dr Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain? in Europe last summer. This continued into 2007 and now over 10 million people globally are currently including it in their daily lives. But, as with any exercise, continual training is required to help stay active and now you can keep on training your brain with the second instalment in the Brain Training franchise, More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima: How Old Is Your Brain? Featuring all new exercises and DS Brain Age Checks, this is set to challenge even the most trained brains as it launches across Europe on 29th June 2007.

Dr Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain? has been enjoyed by people of all ages, including those who would not normally be associated with video games. Inspired by the research of renowned Japanese neuroscientist Dr Kawashima, this original title and the soon to launch More Brain Training are designed to help stimulate your brain and challenge memory, math and perception skills. Users can train their brain by exercising for just a few minutes each day, whether on the go or when relaxing.

More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima: How Old Is Your Brain? uses the same format as its predecessor. Held like a book, you are invited to use the unique and intuitive touch screen and microphone features of the Nintendo DS as you take 5 - 10 minutes a day to help your brain stay active with challenging new exercises. All exercises contained in the software are based on easy to execute mathematical, cognitive and language-based tasks. The DS Brain Age Check measures the speed and accuracy with which you perform simple tasks to establish your DS Brain Age. Once this is established you will be set a regime to help stimulate your brain. The DS Brain Age Check allows you to see your progress on the inbuilt calendar.

The DS Brain Age Checks take on a new form in this title as you're tested on three randomly selected exercises including old school classic Rock, Paper, Scissors which asks you to name the position to either win or lose against the object shown, Memorising 5x5 which sees you remembering the position of numbers on screen and Speedy Symbols which challenges your memory of symbols associated with specific numbers.

More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima: How Old Is Your Brain? features fun new training exercises including Correct Change which challenges you on an everyday day task - to work out the right amount of money to hand back after a transaction as quickly as possible, Missing Symbols, a twist on the classic '20 calculations' test, and Masterpiece Recital which invites you to follow a music sheet shown on one screen and touch the corresponding piano keys on the touch screen. As your daily training continues, additional new exercises are unlocked, opening up a variety of new activities with varying levels of difficulty.

With More Brain Training you can also play with your family and friends. Using a single game card, two to sixteen players can participate in four different exercises together. Challenge each other to Word Scramble, Memorise 5x5 or Correct Change to see who reigns in the worlds of math, memory and perception. Three to sixteen players can also compete in a picture quiz to test each others artistic skills, where players score the other drawings to find a winner.

Making a welcome return to this new title is the popular numbers game, sudoku. Featuring three difficulty levels from Basic to Intermediate to Advanced, there are over a hundred puzzles to keep you occupied!

More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima: How Old Is Your Brain? launches across Europe on 29th June 2007 at the estimated retail price of around 30 ( 19.99 in the UK).

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For more information please contact the Nintendo Press Office On 0207 307 3103

About Nintendo
The worldwide innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii , Nintendo DS , Game Boy Advance and Nintendo GameCube systems. Since 1983, Nintendo has sold nearly 2.4 billion video games and more than 409 million hardware units globally, and has created industry icons like Mario , Donkey Kong , Metroid , Zelda and Pok mon . As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of Europe, based in Grossostheim, Germany, was established in 1990 and serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in Europe.