The DS title Big Brain Academy made a surprise comeback on the Nintendo Switch at the end of last year and it seems physical sales of the game are quite healthy.
According to the head of GamesIndustry.biz, Christopher Dring, it's become quite the sleeper hit for Nintendo - with strong physical sales across Europe. In fact, it's apparently outselling games like the Grand Theft Auto Trilogy and Forza Horizon 5, and that's without digital sales.
"Big Brain Academy: Brain vs Brain is proving to be a little sleeper hit for Nintendo. It's sold well across Europe since its release in November. Even without digital sales (Nintendo doesn't share), it's still sold more than the GTA Trilogy and Forza Horizon 5"
If you've not tried out this game on the Nintendo Switch yet, there's a free demo of the game you can download from the eShop. You can also read our Nintendo Life review, we thought it was great - awarding it eight out of ten stars.
Have you contributed to physical sales of Big Brain Academy on the Nintendo Switch? Drop a comment down below.
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![Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain [Digital Code]](https://images.nintendolife.com/products/18380/100x100.jpg?v=09b70250eab8e41e513234b4d81f7708)
[source twitter.com, via gonintendo.com]
Comments (21)
Very fun family/party game for both young children and older relatives who are not super good with games. I can't say I've played it much by myself or outside of a family holiday visit, but it was still very worth the price for some wholesome and interesting and occasionally surprisingly rowdy fun. The game is simple and there isn't a huge amount of different content, but it does what it is trying to do very well.
It certainly deserves to outperform GTA trilogy.
I asked my nephew to get me this game physically when he went to the USA to get his covid-19 vaccine, I playee a little bit and loved it. It may not be a game I go back frequently, but when I do I know I'm gonna have a wholesome time with it, just like with Kirby and the Forgotten Land.
The Switch physical version of GTA Trilogy set the bar very low, outselling that shouldn't be a problem for any sleeper hit of 2022.
@HammerGalladeBro GTA The Trilogy is such a sad case. It should’ve been a slam dunk since they were remastering three of the most beloved 6th generation games for modern platforms. Instead, it became another example of how far Rockstar has fallen.
Educational games will be always appealing a lot of peoples.
Honestly really fun party game, glad one of Nintendo’s smaller IPs is selling well!
I love this game, I can see why it is doing so well. I hope we get more games like this on the Switch.
I bought it at launch, but it was absolutely dirt-cheap the other week, at only AU$24, which is about US$17.
Frankly, AU$50 is a touch overpriced for the amount of content in the package, but I also thoroughly enjoyed my time with it (I'm guessing that I've clocked in over 10 hours so far), and I haven't even had an opportunity to play it with friends yet. Either way, I'm glad to see more of Nintendo's more casual IP make it to the Switch, and with physical releases to boot.
And GTA Trilogy deserved to flop with such crappy/rushed ports, glitched messes on the cartridge that require massive downloads, and Rockstar of all companies having the audacity to be miserly and deliberately omit Vice City from the cartridge. Absolutely pathetic showing for a company that made BILLIONS in the opening weekend of GTA V's release, which went on to dominate the charts for another eight years! Worse is that it's still close to full-price in Australia. I'll consider grabbing it for around AU$30 (and even that is far, far more than what Rockstar deserves for their contemptible behaviour).
Got this day 1. Great exercise for the kids. Played a little and enjoyed it.
@HammerGalladeBro Ah yes, but it’s not just outsold GTA Trilogy on Switch. It’s outsold GTA Trilogy in total… every platform
Forza Horizon 5 has low sales, because is included in Gamepass, almost every xbox user has Gamepass.
I sat some family members down at New Year's to play the demo. After we played for a half hour or so I said: "So what do you think guys? The full game is only $40 CAD".
The response from one of them was: "$40?? Maybe $4..."
And that was that. Then we played Smash until the wee hours and had a lot more fun.
I downloaded the demo but keep forgetting to try it. I've never played a Big Brain Academy game. Not sure if it'd be my cup of tea, though. I'd rather they just release Brain Age here in the states (which I'll purchase, play twice for the novelty and never touch it again because I'm irresponsible with my money). I know there's like some kind of legal issue about false advertising or something, and I could probably make a European account to purchase it, but that would require effort...blechk.
Not really the best comparison, GTA trilogy was a trainwreck for awhile (maybe it still is?) and FH5 is on Game Pass so a load of people would skip buying it because they can already play it with Game Pass until 2025.
But it is still neat that Big Brain Academy is doing well.
The GTA Trilogy runs very nicely on Switch now since the updates FYI
@Not_Soos : You could import Brain Training from virtually anywhere. There appears to be only one version internationally, so you’ll get English support in any case.
Plus, it’s been on sale for dirt cheap, so it might actually be cheaper to import a physical copy than to download it via the eShop.
BTW for people in UK, Big Brain Academy is currently only £17.99 in John Lewis! https://www.johnlewis.com/big-brain-academy-brain-vs-brain-switch/p5910242
Well, enough said already. I also like Brain Academy, even though I think, they were a bit lazy and could have added a bit more content. Most mini games are from the Wii game. And I miss this party mode from the Wii game.
@Silly_G I'm a big dummy--it never even occurred to me I could buy it physically on like eBay or somewhere. Although, while I generally prefer physical copies for the sake of resale and saving storage, Brain Age is one of those quick-burst games that'd be nice to just pick up and play without having to put the cartridge in every time. I don't see myself manually going through the trouble of rummaging through my game drawer for something I'm only gonna play for like 10 minutes at a time very often. Maybe I can purchase a digital code online somewhere...hmm... You've given me a lot to think about. Appreciate the advice!
I really enjoy how Nintendo has these smaller pickup & play titles. Really don't see this with Sony or Microsoft
It's a good one to play with family as you can compete with your kids but using different difficulty levels to suit each player's abilities.
Really fun game. Glad others are enjoying it
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