Brain Age 2

Burlingame, Calif. - Brain Age was all the rage in 2006. The collection of mini-games designed to stimulate your prefrontal cortex--in other words, stave off mental aging--was advertised in mainstream publications and coveted by the masses. The title, which convinced parents and other non-game-playing elders to seek out the Nintendo DS handheld console, is often credited with kick-starting the Nintendo revolution that expanded videogames beyond the core Halo or World of Warcraft audience.

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.

DZ: This week marks the 100th week the original Brain Training has been in the UK charts. In fact, we don't think the game has ever left the charts since its launch back in June 16th 2006, so it seems all those Chris Tarrant, Nicole Kidman and Jean-Luc Picard filled adverts really did work! Latest sales figures from late 2007 back cite that the game has sold 11.71 million copies worldwide since its initial release in Japan back in May 19th 2005.

Dr. Ryuta Kawashima, the man behind the popular Brain Age games for the DS, is a pretty strange dude. He refuses to accept any of the $11 million in royalties he's entitled from his involvement in the games, and he doesn't even really like videogames in the first place. All he wants to do in life is work. What a nutjob! While it certainly is admirable that the good doctor is so obsessed with his work (he studies brains - big surprise), you'd think there would be some room left for fun. Well, you'd be wrong. Dr. Kawashima lists work as his only hobby. He doesn't even play his own games, and limits his kids to a mere 1 hour of videogame playtime per week. Per week!

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

11 Jan, 2008 Brain training is big business. Since Dr Kawashima popularised the concept amongst the masses with Brain Age/Brain Training for Nintendo DS, we've been overwhelmed with games dedicated to head-sponge workouts. But do brain training games actually work? Of course, we're not smart enough to answer that question, so we were pleased to find that it's a topic covered in the January issue of New Scientist magazine. The feature contains plenty of neuroscientist debate on the matter and

A report today from Jesse Divnich at the simExchange says Nintendo has turned casual games and gamers into the primary forces driving the videogame industry. Using data from the holiday 2007 shopping season, the firm said that one factor in the industry's growth has been a larger-than-expected next-generation adoption rate among casual gamers. (GameDaily, 01/09/08)

According to VG Chartz, here are the top 10 European software titles - with individual platforms, publishers, and units sold - for the week ending November 24th: 1. Brain Training (DS, Nintendo): 187,803 2. Assassins Creed (XB360, Ubisoft): 178,543 3. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, Nintendo): 177,393 4. Need for Speed: ProStreet (PS2, EA): 149,927 5. High School Musical: Sing It! (PS2, Disney): 144,745 6. Assassins Creed (PS3, Ubisoft): 134,650 7. Mass Effect (XB360, Microsoft): 129,598 8. More Brain Training (DS, Nintendo): 128,614 9. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS2, Konami): 124,674 10. Nintendogs (DS, Nintendo): 120,237

The official NPD numbers are in for September, and the Xbox 360 swept, even beating out the Nintendo Wii for that month. We think it has something to do with Halo 3. Here are the hard Numbers, from industry analysts at the NPD Group: Hardware Xbox 360: 527,800 Wii: 501,000 Nintendo DS: 495,800 PlayStation Portable: 284,500 PlayStation 2: 215,000 Playstation 3: 119,400 Game Boy Advance: 75,000

Visitors to the AARP Life at 50+ National Event & Expo Sept. 6-8 in Boston try their hands at Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day, made exclusively for the portable Nintendo DS. Nintendo will be showing Brain Age 2 at a variety of upcoming events across the country, including a 50-city Mall Experience, Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk Events and expanded-audience events like home shows and fitness expos. Vivian Czornoba of Los Angeles plays Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day while her hair dries at the new Nelson J Salon in Beverly Hills, Calif.