'Brain Training' Games Aren't All They're Cracked Up to be

Ouch.

who cares?

Did any "Brain Age" series game claim it would stave off dementia or Alzheimer's? The Dr. Rich didn't claim that Lumosity (or any "brain training" software) doesn't improve mental processes, in any way.

While not promising to improve physical health or reverse the effects of ageing, consistent critical thinking and memorization (which "brain training" programs require (at least Nintendo's)) certainly does improve mental processes. It's not (necessarily) a placebo effect. Dr. Ryuta Kawashima has empirically demonstrated this: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/ryuta-kawashima-the-devil-who-cracked-the-dementia-code-8633489.html

You need science to back up your ads? Guess lots of people might be in trouble.

Brain Age was the reason I bought a Nintendo DS Lite back in the day. If nothing else, it gave me a lot of confidence in my college classes that year (made straight A's both semesters). Also, being able to quickly do simple math in my head is a handy skill to have. I did Brain Age: Devilish Training and Lumosity and they each filled me with confidence in my cognitive abilities. A placebo effect? Maybe, but it made me feel better.

I certainly felt a mite sharper when I was playing Big Brain Academy for a few minutes every morning. I'm quite sure that was all in my head, though.

Good thing Nintendo went that route. Personally, I think brain age was great for its time. It was part of the Touch Generations; for the casual gamer. Sad thing is that Nintendo relied on that crowd this generation (hence 3DS and Wii U). But all that crowd (and $$$) went to smartphones and tablets

Headline seemed kinda misleading. Basically Nintendo did nothing wrong, it's common sense that pushing yourself mentally keeps you sharper. Luminosity is certainly in the wrong here, so why create a headline the sheds doubt on Nintendo's practices in selling the game?

For example i have a great aunt that broke her hip and had to be put on bed rest in a hospital on painkillers for a couple weeks, despite no apparent mental issues she never regained her full cognitive abilities after healing her hip. My Great Grandmother lamented her sisters demise by insisting this kind of thing was a common occurrence amongst the elderly in her assisted living community. My wife's Grandmothers Alzheimer's considerably worsened after her eyesight was impaired to the degree that reading became impossible. Her other grandmother became depressed after being diagnosed with Dementia and her illness rapidly worsened more so that expected after she failed to continue doing much of anything. In fact in both cases doctors suggested to the two ladies that they be sure to challenge themselves mentally to help stave off the progression of the diseases.

Mental exercise keeps you sharp, it's likely near impossible to prove for a variety of reasons, but common sense makes it a rather obvious and accepted train of thought to the typical person.

@Kevlar44 or, more succinctly, "use it or lose it".

@idork99 They aimed the Wii U for the hardcore gamer.

@Minotaurgamer I care.

It improved the heck out of my math, reactive and recall memory.... big time. The reading aloud exercises were also helpful, not that the games are needed for any of it that though.

I mostly enjoyed those versions of Sudoku.

So does it actually work or is it a placebo effect?

You couldn't pay me to play Brain Age now, but man do I have good memories playing it on my DS.

It's all about the gameplay. And the gameplay was alright. I didn't get Brain Age 2 because I was worried about my brain; I just wanted that type of game.

Its all in your head.

@Kevlar44 Yeah, I found the title to be misleading, too. At first, I thought this was Nintendo taking the heat and having to pay $2 million.

@JusticeColde I have a feeling it does work, but only because people think it works. The source article mentioned something about how cognitive capacity is biologically centered.

At least for me "IT WORKS"

@Kevlar44 @Not_Soos
Same, the title made it seem like Nintendo/Brain Age were the ones in trouble

@sevex If you're promising to cure or prevent terrible conditions such as Alzheimer's of course you need to back it up scientifically. Would you want me to advertise a medicine with me just making it all up?

@KeeperBvK But you're already doing just that Dr. Mario!

@MitchVogel Ahhhh, science. Just because one scientist says something is true or isn't true doesn't mean such. Truth is scientists are always arguing about what is fact and what isn't. That's pretty much how they operate. For example if you click the source article's source article you can find that while there is one scientist who thinks it's all absurd. There is another scientist who believe the games can improve your brains functions and help with disease, he just wants it to be officially tested by the Federal Drug Administration.

Brain Age and Brain Training already hit the fan back in 2009, when stories starting running about how Nintendo lied about the health benefits of Brain Age/ Training.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1156103/Brain-training-games-like-Nintendo-DS-dont-stave-dementia-alzheimers.html

I can't remember if Nintendo was forced to do something about it.

I wouldn't be surprised if the questions regarding these games is why Devilish Brain Training still isn't (and most likely won't be) released in Europe. The EU can be quite whiny after all.

The Nintendo games basically just said "see this? this is your brain on brain training, it's really active!" but they never said that would benefit you, like by stopping dementia. So, yeah, if Lumosity ever said something like that, they were making a medical claim of efficacy and that's something which can get you in major trouble.

This reminds me that the 3DS Dr. Kawashima game never made it the UK and that makes me sad.

@Priceless_Spork I agree, brain me such sharper it is now from time playing game on Wii Academy Big Brain. Who know where be I without?

Paying for games to make you think so good no good? Oh uh....

Well technically there have been studies on older people that don't play Sudoku or Crossword Puzzles and those that regularly play them and it showed that the ones that did had brains that functioned faster, were able to recall things easier and didn't have any problems remembering things or solving problems in their minds while the others struggled more.

I think simple exercises are always important for the mind.

@Minotaurgamer Quite a lot of people. Why do you have time to read articles you don't care about and post meaningless comments should be the real question.

On topic I always kind of knew this could be the case, but to be honest I do still believe around the time I was playing the game daily, that I felt a bit sharper and had improved concentration. Not evidence by a long shot but even doing a page of sums every day would help keep your mind active so I do believe this helped somewhat.

@mjc0961 at least your comment had reasoning though. Now you put it like that I see what you mean actually, even though I don't quite agree as this was interesting to me. His comment was a drive-by insult with nothing worthwhile to say though lol.

Redbull didn't gave me any wings, I believe it is scientifically proven that human can't grow wings. How did Redbull got away with it?

Yeah, I never for one second bought the numbers the game threw around about your age, and how it maybe improved when you played the game for a bit. I always just linked the improvement with simply getting better at playing the mini-games, which happens when you practice and repeat any activity. But, I'm sure it is a bit of a workout for the old noggin regardless, as are most games and general activities to be honest. Still, they were/are entertaining and fun games, and that's all I really care about at the end of the day.

Pff , bahaha! The very first day I saw that lumo ad thing on tv, I knew it was a scam. Or at least, were doing nothing better than anyone could do on their own and just play Super Mario Bros.
I do believe though, in reasonable amount, that a plain simple videogame can help maintain the brain. Any games for that matter..

The only thing I ever got from Brain Age was a major case of rage quitting.

“... they do not actually improve mental performance"

If Tetris does, why these games shouldn't?

what you should be saying is that "they do not prove that they actually improve mental health" but they might?, in either case there isn't enough scientific proof on the subject.

I don't know if it makes you smarter or improves your chance of fending off memory loss; but what I do know is that those games, along with Big Brain Academy were a lot of fun. We still play Big Brain Academy Wii Degree to this day. It's an awesome party game. We also will break out the Brain Age games for the DS from time to time. But we never bought the one for the 3DS.

Kinda indifferent

@chiefeagle02 That's a placebo effect. It "works" cause you believe in it.

Playing Brain Training for a few hours a day definitely made me better at playing Brain Training. Good science.

@KeeperBvK Yeah I spose you've got a point.

In regard to non-physical improvements, it also seems difficult to pin any mental exercises as beneficial only when the practitioner believes them to be so, as that accusation doesn't account for any and all of the people who unknowingly and passively benefited from the exercises' alleged benefits. The placebo effect, on the other hand, is applicable for some cases involving subjects who actively believed in the alleged benefits of these exercises, yet much of the research on this appears to come from using subjects who were not intending to benefit in such ways from exercises like these.

@TheEAB Well, if nothing else, the Sudoku on Brain Age was a lot of fun.

@KodyDawg Bceause I thought they will talk about the brain age games. not about a mobile app that has NOTHING to do with Nintendo.

Between this BS article and the "an analyst THINKS that MAYBE the NX will be released this year...no sources or facts just somebody's speculation from nowhere" of today makes me lose respect about this place. I know news have been slow but SERIOUSLY?!

@PorllM As I said because thsi article is about a non-nintendo game and makes it look like. Is a shame-less click-baiting article.

@Priceless_Spork No, maybe Kid Icarus can advertise for Redbull.

Emphasis in brackets: [ ]
"While the games are no doubt entertaining and require different thought processes than your average video game, they [do not actually improve] mental performance."

A nitpick, but as it may help for future article creation, I'd say a more correct statement would be "it has [not been scientifically proven] to improve mental performance" as opposed to stating that it (100%) does not improve mental performance.

The fradulent advertising was more based on a claim that brain games [will] prevent specific things (memory loss, dementia, and Alzheimer's disease) from occurring, which is a more serious claim than doing this may/will help improve brain function / mental performance. For all we know, brain games could prevent said mental deterioration or improve mental performance, but the fradulent part was claiming that it does, when the proof is inconclusive / uncertain / not proven currently scientifically one way or another in an adequate measure / form.

Per my experience, I've played a little Brain Age, Brain Age Academy, Brain Challenge, and while it may not scientifically be proven to make me smarter, practicing thinking logically and with a time limit doesn't hurt. Prior to getting my first job, part of the interview process involved completing logic questions on a test in a time limit. I think I did very well on it (I got the job). For a time I spent some time playing said Brain games prior to going to bed, which sometimes helped me sleep because it made me mentally tired (similar to working out physically, but for the brain). May be a good thing to try again / test out someday.

The headline of this article (as someone else mentioned) is a bit confusing, as the mention of Brain Training and a picture of the Brain Age game makes it seem like Nintendo was the one who had the false advertising (particularly for those skimming the site and not reading articles in their entirety).