Nintendo Confirms Brain Age For U.S. Release

Nintendo has officially confirmed the U.S. release of the first two titles in its Brain Training series for the Nintendo DS, to debut this April and May, following significant Japanese success for the series. The Brain Training series, inspired by the work of Professor Ryuta Kawashima, a prominent Japanese neuroscientist, has already proved a notable DS system-seller in Japan, with over a million units shipped of at least one of the games in the series. The series also shows continuing sales far above comparative titles, with many older consumers or non-gamers buying the handheld simply to play the game series, and Nintendo is clearly hoping to repeat this success in the West. Officially revealed is a April 17 release date for Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day (known as Brain Training in Japan), which presents players with a series of short mental brain-training challenges that incorporate word memorization, counting and reading. The Western versions of the series have also added sudoku number puzzles, which have become extremely popular features in newspapers around the country, and especially in Europe. In addition, second title Big Brain Academy will launch on May 30, and offers players 15 fun activities that test their brain powers in areas like logic, memory, math and analysis. Up to eight people can play with a single game card, and each activity takes less than a minute to complete. "Young or old, everyone looks for ways to get a mental edge," commented 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."