The games, available for download using "DSi Points", which are not to be confused with Wii Points, are as follows. Warning: Brace yourself for Violent Excitement:

Ugoku Memo Pad (Moving Memo Pad) (Free)
Tori to Mame (Birds and Beans) (200 points)
Kami Hikouki (Paper Airplane) (200 points)
Chotto Magic Taizen (Shaffuru game, Funny Face, Osoroshii suuji (A Little Bit of Magic Taizen: Shuffle Card Tricks, Funny Face, and Scary Numbers) (200 points)
Art Style Aquario (500 points)
Art Style Decode (500 points)
Chotto Dr. Mario (A Little Bit of Dr. Mario) (500 points)
Utsusu! Made in Wario (500 points)
Chotto Asobi Taizen: Otegaru Trump (A Little Bit of Asobi Taizen: A couple of card games) (500 points)
Chotto DSi Brain Training: Written (Not going to type out the full title) 800 points
Chotto DSi Brain Training: Math 800 points

Three things to note:

1. It looks like this list actually only contains eleven games. The Magic Trick games are, in fact, sold for 200 points each and count as three games.

2. On the Famitsu infosplurge page, they're very careful to, most likely at Nintendo's request, not devalue the DSi brand, in that the point value for every game is listed in "DSi Points", not just in "points", as I've done here.

3. "Chotto" is Japanese for "a little bit".

Moving right along, the first of the two Brain Training games will apparently make use of the DSi's camera.

The Made in Wario game, as per the Made in Wario team's track record, will use one very specific control method — in this case, the DSi camera. Screenshots seem to indicate that winning each micro-game requires you to pose in a specific way. Like, for example, with your fingers in the big cartoon nose.

"Chotto Dr. Mario" seems to be exactly what it says it is: a little bit of Dr. Mario. A "little bit" of Dr. Mario tends to be more than enough for some people. Why exactly this game is a "little bit" of Dr. Mario and not, I don't know, a whole bunch of Dr. Mario is kind of mysterious to me. There's not a whole lot to Dr. Mario. You drop the pills and you kill the viruses. According to the description on Famitsu, you can enjoy the original endless mode and a VS mode against a computer opponent. Maybe they'll release a two-player wireless VS mode for 500 more points at a later date.

"Art Style Decode" is a puzzle game where, instead of puzzling over colored objects or charismatic kittens, you've got numbers. "Art Style Aquario" is a puzzle game in which you manipulate colored cubes and receive points.

Then we've got the two other "Chotto" games — both of them being kind of shameless. They literally are just a "little bit" of previously released games. One contains just the card games from "Asobi Taizen", which was a budget-priced first-party title with such board game classics as chess and checkers. The other "Chotto" title is from Bandai-Namco, and contains three "magic tricks" from their epic failure "Magic Encyclopedia", which was released at the peak of the Brain Training craze several years ago, and presumed to include a pack of cards in the box. The game's price soon plummeted to, well, cheaper than this DSi pay-per-demo, because Bandai-Namco apparently underestimated gamers' ability to learn card tricks from, you know, a book, or YouTube, or something.

"Moving Memo Pad", on the other hand, looks kind of nice. Maybe because it's free? It lets you draw little notes and can write dates and appointments in your little calendar.

This leaves "Bird and Beans" and "Paper Airplane", the former of which is a touch-screen-controlled game in which you shoot a bird's tongue at falling beans, and the latter of which seems like a Ski-Free clone in which you control a paper airplane fluttering to earth, dodging obstacles. You can even play two-player VS on one DS, with one player using the D-pad and the other using the face buttons. I'd play that! If someone would drop a DSi in my lap, that is.

Nintendo, if you're reading this, send me a DSi. I need to assess the possibility that Paper Airplane is GOTY 2008.

You can see the thrilling screenshots at Famitsu's site.

[via Famitsu]

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]

Brain Training dominates 2008 in Europe [GI.biz]

More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima [TVG, via Go Nintendo]

Reuters has an interesting story up about MindHabits Trainer, a game developed by researchers at McGill University in Montreal which is meant to cut down on your stress, increase your confidence and make you a happier person.

The very simple game get you to look at a series of pictures and click on the faces that are smiling, avoiding the frowners. By doing this five to ten minutes a day the game has shown to help people feel less stressed and have higher self esteem.

I played around with the game this morning and find it very interesting. There are actually four different games, all of which are about getting you to accentuate the positive in your mind. I could totally see something like this hitting the DS. It seems like a perfect fit.

Online game smiles seen vanquishing the blues [ZDnet, thanks to my big bro Drew]

He said: "The results of this small-scale Dr Kawashima project have shown how a targeted and managed use of such a game can help to enhance pupil numeracy skills and classroom behaviour."

There was also a noticeable impact on behaviour and levels of concentration throughout the school day, with the children becoming more self-confident.

Mr [Derek] Robertson [who designed the study], a former teacher and university lecturer, said: "It had a real calming effect on children in the class.

"In fact I have never before seen such gains across the board."

With all the chatter about the use of games in schools, it's nice to see a concrete (if small) study conducted on easy applications of gaming within the bounds of education. The researchers are hoping to do bigger studies in the future to have a better and more statistically significant sample to pull from.

Daily computer game boosts maths [BBC, thanks James T!]

AN AMBIDEXTROUS CHALLENGE HITS THE NINTENDO DS AS MAJESCO ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES 'LEFT BRAIN RIGHT BRAIN'

EDISON, NJ, October 9th, 2007 - Majesco Entertainment Company (NASDAQ: COOL), an innovative provider of video games and digital entertainment products for the mass market, today announced Left Brain Right Brain for the Nintendo DS™. Left Brain Right Brain is the first game that lets players hone their mental skills while improving the dexterity of both hands.

"Left Brain Right Brain offers a fresh twist to the brain game genre by integrating gameplay that develops manual dexterity as well as mental agility," said Ken Gold, vice president of Marketing, Majesco. "Whether you're a 'righty' or 'lefty,' the game's challenging drills will ultimately help each hand keep pace with your brain."

Left Brain Right Brain includes 15 different games based on speed, accuracy, association, recognition, memory and strategy. The book-style play requires players to rotate the DS to develop hand-eye coordination with their dominant and non-dominant hands. Five difficulty levels per activity, four single player game modes, DS download play and wireless multiplayer against a friend round out the game's feature set.

Left Brain Right Brain will be available this holiday for a suggested retail price of $19.99. For additional information, please visit www.majescoentertainment.com.

NINTENDO'S POPULAR BRAIN AGE 2 POPS UP IN UNLIKELY PLACES

People Everywhere Find the Brain-Training Game Engaging

REDMOND, Wash., Sept. 27, 2007 - Hair salons, RV shows and shopping malls might not be the first places you think of when it's time to exercise your brain. But that's exactly where Nintendo is showing off the brain-training abilities of its new Brain Age™ 2: More Training in Minutes a Day program for Nintendo DS™.

"Many different people are sampling and playing Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day, including some people you might not expect to be trying video games," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "The title draws people in with its engaging game play, so this summer we're giving all kinds of people a chance to energize and sharpen their brains while demonstrating that everyone's a gamer."

Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day contains a collection of 15 fun, challenging exercises to get users' brains pumping. Tasks in memory, math, reading and even music challenge users to complete them as quickly - and as accurately - as possible. Combined, global sales of Brain Age™: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day and Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day already have topped 14 million and still are increasing. Between now and January, Nintendo will showcase Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day in a variety of expected - and some unexpected - locations:

* A 50-City Mall Experience: Between now and Jan. 8, Brain Age 2 will be part of a 50-city nationwide mall game-play experience. Visitors can train their brains and check out all the latest Nintendo games. To find a location near you, visit http://wii.nintendo.com/malltour_07.jsp.

* Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk Events: As part of this nationwide event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer's care, support and research, Nintendo is sponsoring booths at Memory Walk events in Chicago, Austin, New York, Washington and Los Angeles. Participants and visitors can sample Brain Age 2 and learn how to keep their minds active.

* A Hair Salon (yes, a hair salon): In honor of National Self-Improvement Month, Nintendo has sent Nintendo DS systems and copies of Brain Age 2 to the new Nelson J Salon in Beverly Hills, Calif. During September, visitors to the salon will have the chance to freshen up the insides of their heads while stylists coif their tresses.

* Nintendo Street Team Appearances: Members of the Nintendo Street Team will fan out across the country to show off Brain Age 2 at a variety of major landmarks and expanded-audience events like home shows and fitness expos, including the Atlanta Home Show (Sept. 28-30) and the Long Island Fall Home Show (Sept. 28-30).

Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day is rated E for Everyone. For more information about Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day, visit www.BrainAge.com.

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 420 million hardware units globally, and has created industry icons like Mario™, Donkey Kong®, Metroid®, Zelda™ and Pokémon®. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, visit the company's Web site at www.nintendo.com.

You know, someday, I'd love to meet the corporate voodoo strategists over at Sony, because whatever they are bubbling over in their pot, a sip from the ladle is obviously enough to blow your mind clearly right out of your head.

Need proof? Just check this amazing quote from Sony VP Jack Tretton:

[Nintendo and their DS] are appealing to the same audience that Game Boy has always appealed to. And if you look at the adoption rate of the DS over the first 17 months, not only does it trail the PSP but it also trails their other platforms ... They're potentially losing some of their core audience and they're not really expanding beyond that, and we think we're expanding into a completely new audience as we did with PlayStation ... we'll dip down to the younger consumer eventually, and we'll ultimately appeal to that vastly Earth wide audience we carved out with the original PlayStation.

Got that? Nintendo's DS is a dud. The PSP is actually trouncing it, not in market share, but in "adoption rate", which presumably means people who never have bought a console before. Brain Training? What's that? Eventually, Sony's handheld hegemony will extend all over this pitiful blue orb that you humans call "Earth." Florian Eckhardt

Interview: SCEA's Jack Tretton - Part 1 [Gamedaily.biz]

Brain Training is a crock. Seriously. No, we love it, but anyone who thinks this is shooting up their IQ is sadly mistaken. Go out sometime. Find a group of real intellectuals. They will be the ones at the far side of the bar, exhaling plumes of meerschaum smoke through their nostrils into the ponderous bellies of extravagant brandy goblets. Interrupt their conversation about Sartre's existentialist manifesto to show them how well you can draw a Koala Bear. They won't laugh at you openly, because they will be intellectuals and therefore fear having their asses kicked; but neither will they invite you to sit down and hand you an ascot. You will be shunned as a barbarian.

But while Brain Training is a scam, I really like the idea of the next game in the series: Common Sense Training for Adults. Because let's face it, this is something that can be improved in almost everyone. Exercises could include the "Do I look fat in this dress?" girlfriend test. The correct answer is, of course, an emphatic "NO!" screamed at the top of your lungs into the DS mike; but that simple common sense primer could single-handedly cure spontaneous eunuchization world wide. Florian Eckhardt

Nintendo's Social Training Game [Next Generation]

This is so exciting! I'm going to head downtown tonight and see how old my brain is! Check the official site for a DS Download Station store near you.

Share the DS love! [Official Nintendo Site]

Just kidding, I love my Wavebird!

Mental Typewriter and Game Controller Becomes a Reality

Shigeru Miyamoto talks Nintendogs, Animal Cross, Brain Training, New Super Mario Bros. (worst name for a game ever) and anything else you want in a web chat with the legend over on Webchats.TV.

Although the site calls it a webchat, it sounds like you actually have to submit your questions ahead of time through the webpage. The chat will be available to check out on March 17 from 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

It's hard to tell if he will be taking any live questions.

Join the Spielberg of the videogames industry—Shigery Miyamoto [Webchats.tv]

You'll appear even smarter when you quote the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience which "shows [that] the elderly lose the ability to power up brain regions, such as the frontal lobe, needed to focus on a task", an area that video game experience helps develop.

Or drop this reference from the Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, which states that "video gamers consistently outperform their non-playing peers in a series of tricky mental tests".

That oughta shut 'em up!

Better living through video games?

Next week, according to a Times piece, Nintendo will unveil their new "Keep Evolving" marketing strategy. At the center of the piece's look at the "Keep Evolving" marketing strategy is Brain Training a game that is a series of puzzles and questions and quizzes. Back at the Nintendo Game Summit a group of us spent stupid amounts of time huddled around Brain Flex and ended up talking about the teaser with Perrin Kaplan, who was wondering how do you market a title like Brain Flex. This "Keep Evolving" strategy might be what Nintendo came up with. Brain Training or whatever it ends up being called in the U.S. is one of the games I simply can't wait for in 2006.

Grey Matters as Games Maker Seeks New Targets [Times Online]
Between Rounds of Kart Kaplan Queries Journos

With brain games like Adult DS Training racking up major sales, the salacious sex knock-offs were bound to pop up. With a title that sounds like massage parlor, Lucky Star Moe Drill makes players do a series of math problems and memory exercises as schoolgirls and maids give blow-by-blow descriptions. The evidence that the proper "brain games" actually make you smarter seems questionable, but I can say a 100 percent, without a doubt, playing this game makes you dumb as shit.

Screens after the jump.

See More Pervy Screens Here [Official Site]

In between fierce rounds of Mario Kart DS at Seattle s Chop House, Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan came over to our table and had a seat. After asking what we were most impressed with from the summit (Brain Flex), she wanted to know how to market a game like that (a portable IQ test, more or less). How do you market a game to adults, when the DS in America still chiefly appeals to youth? Should Brain Flex ads appear in Good Housekeeping? Kaplan herself said she didn t plan to buy time on MTV for the game - she s right, the hardcore know about it already and will pick up the brain teasing title and its sibling Brain Training. So, readers, how do you reach an older set for these two games? Send lockbox DS kits to retirement homes? Send those same kits to corporate America and hope to pique their interest?

Games Industry reports that Nintendo's DS will soon have the abilityt o recognize handwriting. Technology from the Zi Corporation will allow "natural handwriting recognition previously only available to PDA and smartphone users," Milos Djokovic said in a press release. What does this mean, though? Better picto chat? More of the Brain Training (see image) games coming out?

New Deal Brings Handwriting Abilities to the DS [Games Industry]

The next wave of brave new non-game DS titles have been unveiled in Japan at a recent conference put on by Nintendo. The games sound pretty interesting and include a Japanese to English follow up to the Korean dictionary with the best game name ever (Touch Dic):

Daredemo Asobi Taikai
A collection of 42 popular board games and table games that can be played with up to 8 players using wireless, including download play.
3 November / 3800 yen

Motto Nou wo Kitaeru Otona no DS Training
A sequel of Prof.Kawashima's Adult DS Training, with a new selection of training exercises, including kanji drawing tests.
29 December / 2800 yen

Eigo zuke
English language training software based on popular computer software with the same name. It isn't just a straight port, and makes the most of DS's features, including microphone and touch screen.
January 2006 / 3800 yen

The conference also touched on the upcoming roll-out of Nintendo s WiFi Connection in Japan. The country will see four ways to access the free online play service: Nintendo access points at more than 1,000 game stores, one of 3,000 Freespot access points, WiFi USB adaptor or a WiFi router.

The only two WiFi Nintendo games announced for this year are Mario Kart DS and something called Oide yo Doubutsu no Mori.

DS Conference Autumn 2005 [Game Science]