Nintendo Wants Your Brain

The Japanese often bring us strange and wacky game ideas, but since the introduction of the Nintendo DS things just continue to get even weirder. First we had the cute Nintendogs, then the inspiring Electroplankton, now Nintendo want to control our brains.

Brain Age aka Brain Training is a new title sweeping Japan, from Dec 26th to January 1st, "Brain Training 2" sold 414,556 copies. During that period, the Nintendo DS moved 390,181 units. That's more units sold than every other hardware system that week — combined. Wow.

But what the hell is it? It's not that complicated, its a series of mini brain tests, you know the kind, suduko and such other problem solving exercises. You'll hold the DS on its side, with the left screen giving you a task, the right screen you draw the answer.

Whats interesting is the reason behind all these tests.

"Brain Age (known as Brain Training in Japan) was inspired by the work of Professor Ryuta Kawashima, a prominent Japanese neuroscientist. His studies evaluated the effect of performing reading and mathematical exercises to help stimulate the brain.

"Young or old, everyone looks for ways to get a mental edge," says Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of sales & marketing. "Our brain-training series, led by Brain Age, builds on the popularity of word and number puzzles and acts as a treadmill for the mind."

Whats that Nintendo? Playing your games will make me clever? Sold. It's refreshing to see all these new creative titles being release worldwide by Nintendo, lets only hope Revolution has its own successful "creative" titles.