Topic: Am I the only one?

Am I the only one that uses the DS (or DSi) more for edutainment then entertainment?

I mean, I have a nice collection of games, but mostly I am on My Japanese Coach, 100 Classic Book Collection and My Cooking Coach, and of the DSi download service I am mostly playing the two brain training downloads.

For me, opening gaming consoles up to more practical applications is the best thing the DS has done. I love it. Can't wait for Flipnote Studio.

Are you the only one? I guess so.

lol i dont have any brain games cuz im smart enough . but im sure many other people do that too

I hope the irony of that isn't missed by anyone

Seriously though, the DSi is great for games, but the edutainment and productivity stuff on it is really useful too - I surprise my partner with the rate my Japanese is improving thanks to Japanese coach (she's Japanese)

Please do not worry; Nintendo is trying to be for EVERYONE, so you are doing exactly what Nintendo wants.
...I sounded all 1984.

I thought about getting My Japanese Coach as well as maybe the 100 Classic Book Collection but I just don't know if I'll like either on my DSi. I love classic books but I like to buy vintage worn copies.

As for the Japanese, I read the reviews online and someone said the stroke order is incorrect on some of the symbols. What does your partner think of the program?

I find it endlessly convenient to have those 100 books on a tiny little cartridge. I have hard copies of most of the books too, but they’re heavy to lug around... and most of my reading is done while travelling.

As for the Japanese coach.. I don’t know about the writing. My partner hasn’t looked at the software herself, but my spoken Japanese has definately improved leaps and bounds (it helps that I have someone to practice on) - but I wouldn't rely on it as a sole source of education, any more than a CD/ textbook.

I have Brain Age 2. I got it for Christmas. If only they had 100 Book Colection in the US. That would be awesome. I want to get the Jappaneese language game.

I'm pretty sure you're the only one here, but there's tons of people who use their DSs solely for brain training and self improvement. Mostly they're soccer moms and old people, but I digress.

I've actually thought about picking up some of those programs. Personal Trainer: Cooking (since I've been interested in taking up cooking), My Japanese coach (Wanted to learn Japanese since I was in middle school), and Brain Age (pretty sure my IQ dropped a couple points from all the VG forums and mindless TV, plus I get Sudoku puzzles!).

I think it's great that the DS appeals to "non"-gamers. I must admit I prefer "entertainment" titles more because I've been gaming since NES. Mostly in a casual way, though, I'm definitely not hardcore about it.

You're not the only one. I am pretty addicted to the 100 Classic Books right now. Been staying up way too late reading the last few nights. It's nice because I can read without having an extra light on. The other non-game game I'm on every day is Walk With Me.

I've not played any of the brain training games ... though I'd like to try them. I don't know which one is best to start with.

I think its great to see the hardware expand into different realms and I think Im one of the hardcore ones that really tick off some of the casual gamers unintentionally. I just wish for all the casual/nongames that were released by Nintendo they would support it with 1st party Nintendo games. Such as for every Brain, Cooking, Card game we get a 2D Mario, Zelda, etc. I know its never goin to happen. This months sales on DSiWare had the two best hardcore titles fall completely off the charts. Im afraid us hardcore are starting to become a minority pretty quickly. As long as you guys keep support with the casueal nongames it means we hardcore guys will get a great game to trickle down every now and then. So I say to you guys keep on buyin them cause Im not goin to be I say that being serious too not sarcastic.

Which book are you reading? I'm wandering through the Count of Monte Cristo, and loving it.

Is Walk with Me any good?

I just finished reading The Secret Garden, and now I'm reading Little Lord Fauntleroy - both by Frances Hodgson Burnett. They're probably considered to be kid's stories, but ones I never read as a kid.
And I really like Walk with Me. It's quite clever the way it works, and it is encouraging me to go out and walk more just to get my step count up for the day. The activity meter flashes red if you've not met your target, and turns green when you have. And it's neat how the software works when the information is sent back to the DS and you can look over the days activities.

Regarding the books.I love the idea of it but the selection thats included in 100 classics are not really my type of books. I would love it though, if Nintendo struck a deal with book publishers to release new novels as downloads.Would any one else like this function? You could also release Anime,songs,tv guides ...the list is endless. I think Nintendo is missing a trick not doing this.I mean there are tons of people who only use a DS for stuff like this. This would in turn make Nintendo a s****oad of cash which means they can make more proper games for me!!!
I also think they should make a sat nav accessory for the DS too.

The 100 Classic Book Collection books are all public domain - Nintendo didn't have to pay royalties to publish them. There's a lot on there that I'll probably never read. Like all the Shakespeare is in play format, which wouldn't be all that fun to read. But there are a lot of stories on there that I've always meant to read, but never have gotten around to. And because I do a lot of commuting to and from work, it's nice having a book easily at hand instead of carrying around a dog-eared paperback.

Does anyone know if the 100 Classic Book Collection books are abridged or unabridged versions?

They're unabridged ..... I wouldn't have bought them if they were abridged. Here's a list of the books on the cartridge.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100_Classic_Book_Collection

The Wikipedia list is wrong if The Count of Monte Cristo is on it, or are the UK and AUS versions different? I wouldn't want to import the wrong one... I loves me some Alexandre Dumas. :3

Just checked ... The Count of Monte Cristo is on the UK version. Sorry I don't know about the other version ... in fact, I didn't realise it wasn't released in the US!
However ... I'm checking a copy of the book's chapters against the DS version's chapters .... it does seem like not all of the story is there. We had that problem when buying the book. It seems that not every copy of the book published has all the chapters. Something about when the original version was publish it was REALLY long, so the next time it was released, a whole lot of book was cut out. For years people thought those were the complete versions of the book. It wasn't until many years later that it was again released in it's entirety.
The paperback version is 1243 pages long, including the introduction, but not the footnotes. :-b Too much!! Sounds like he needed a good editor.