People buying Nintendo DS consoles to give their grey matter a workout with brain training games are wasting their money, a new study shows.

Titles such as Brain Training, More Brain Training and Big Brain Academy, which cost $50 on top of the $200 DS handheld, are no better than a pen and paper at stimulating memory and improving brain power, a study of 10-year-old children by the University of Rennes in France has found.

Nintendo claims in its advertising for the games - which in Britain feature Nicole Kidman - that they "stimulate your brain and give it the workout it needs" to improve blood flow and "practical intelligence".

It also claims the games can improve memory and keep your mind young, reinforced by the fact that players are given a "brain age" when completing the tests, which lowers as performance improves.

In Australia, Nintendo furthered the perception that the games boost memory by announcing it would donate $1 to Alzheimer's Australia for every copy of Brain Training sold.

Market watcher GfK said Brain Training was the seventh best-selling console game in Australia last year, with more than 140,000 units sold.

But the study of 67 10-year-olds found that homework, reading, playing puzzles such as Sudoku and board games such as Scrabble were just as good as, if not better than, the brain training games.
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NextGen Player writes:

"Every man has a list of health problems they hope don't happen to them during their lifetime. Male-pattern baldness, myopia and impotence come to mind. Well, after seeing Nintendo's new 'Build Your Brain' ad campaign I am officially adding shrunken head syndrome to my list.

The ad on the right is one of many that have been appearing around Toronto in the past two weeks. Each ad contains two people (generally 40-something couples), with one person having an abnormally tiny head. Yes folks, this is what happens if you don't have your daily dose of Brain Age.

The ad reads:"

More after the jump.
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GamesIndustry.biz writes: "Brain Training titles for the Nintendo DS are continuing to dominate software charts in Europe throughout 2008 so far, proving the long-tail viability of the games and backing up Satoru Iwata's E3 press conference comments.

According to information released by Media Control GfK International, Brain Training titles took the number one placing in charts listing the top-sellers for the first six months of 2008 across a host of countries."
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Wii

Wii Sports - 17,850,000
Wii Play - 9,230,000
Super Mario Galaxy - 5,190,000
Mario Party 8 - 4,350,000
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - 4,300,000
Super Paper Mario - 2,160,000
Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree - 2,000,000
Mario Strikers Charged - 1,650,000
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - 1,140,000
Link's Crossbow Training - 1,070,000
Wii Fit - 1,050,000

Nintendo DS

Nintendogs - 17,790,000
Pokemon Diamond & Pearl - 14,170,000
New Super Mario Bros. - 13,140,000
Brain Age - 11,710,000
Brain Age 2 - 9,840,000
Mario Kart DS - 9,670,000
Animal Crossing Wild World - 9,200,000
Super Mario 64 DS - 5,780,000
Big Brain Academy - 4,610,000
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass - 3,820,000
Pokemon Ranger - 2,610,000
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time & Explorers of Darkness - 1,540,000
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The Simpsons Game for PlayStation 2 has finally managed to take out the top spot in the Australian game charts -- seven weeks after its initial release -- according to data trackers GfK Australia. The DS version of the game also made it into the top 10, taking out the seventh spot.

Super Mario Galaxy for the Nintendo Wii -- last week's number one -- fell down to number two during the week of December 10-December 16. Drawn to Life for the Nintendo DS has reappeared in the overall charts at number three after a brief hiatus. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for the Xbox 360 climbed up from the previous week to number five, while Activision's other chart topper -- Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock -- is nowhere to be seen. Halo 3 for the 360 has reappeared at number nine, while Nintendo's Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree bundle ended the week at number 10.
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The 40-year-old Australian has been chosen to front Nintendo's advert campaign for its 'brain training' techniques.

She declares herself a fan.
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Some noticeable releases this week include Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer on just about every platform. Tenchu Z sneaks up on Xbox 360, while your brain doesn't get a summer vacation with the release of Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree for Nintendo Wii and PQ 2 on the Sony PSP.

Check out the latest list of new video game releases (USA) for the week of 6/12/2007 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 (PS3), Nintendo Wii, Sony PS2, PSP, Nintendo DS, and PC (USA)! As always, release dates are subject to change.
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Nintendo on Tuesday announced that the brain teaser Big Brain Academy will test Nintendo DS owners with a series of wacky mental exercises.
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By now, most of us have tried our hands, er, heads, at the daily puzzles of Brain Age. Its simple logic riddles tickled your mind, always offering feedback and letting you know how good or bad you've been performing over the weeks. Here comes the second round of gray gaming, but Big Brain Academy is leaning more towards younger minds. Instead of reading aloud or counting syllables, you'll be matching shapes and directing a hungry dog to his bone. All of Big Brain 's activities take place in ... » Read More