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!
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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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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 ...
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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
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Gaming could soon be part of the national curriculum if one academic researcher has his way. Scottish primary school teacher Derek Robertson, who set up Consolarium--the Scottish Centre for Games and Learning--has released results of his most recent study that shows so-called brain-training games have a positive impact both on behaviour and on learning when used in schools.

The study took place over three P6 school classes (children aged 10-11), where School A was given 30 Nintendo DS consoles and copies of Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training and used them for 15-20 minutes every morning. School B used Brain Gym--a program of physical activities that is marketed as improving learning abilities--for the same amount of time every day, whereas School C acted as a control group and did not have access to either.
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CanWest News Service (Canada) reports how Nintendo Wii and DS are helping seniors and retirees to stay physically and mentally healthy while bonding with their friends, children and grandchildren.

"Friday is bowling night at the Millennium Trail Manor retirement home, when up to 20 residents gather for some friendly competition on the (bowling) lanes... They're going to try boxing next. There's no risk of bruised knuckles or broken noses, though, because the residents play the sports on the Wii..."

"Dr. Sharon Cohen has incorporated Brain Age (DS) into treatment programs for patients with Alzheimer's and dementia at the Toronto Memory Clinic. The games really do offer mental callisthenics, she says..."
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EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND--A 'close to unanimous' jury, chosen by Edge magazine, yesterday awarded its annual innovation in gaming award to Nintendo. The EIEF06 Edge Award, presented by editor Margaret Robertson, was awarded to Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training (known as Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day in the United States) at a ceremony that closed out the first day of the Edinburgh fest.
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The latest craze to sweep the planet is Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day for the portable Nintendo DS.

Selling more than 4 million units worldwide, including 600,000 in the Americas, 3 million in Japan and 500,000 in Europe.

In general people either dislike the non-game, or they can tell you their brain age...
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Thursday 10 August 2006 Nintendo has achieved another significant DS success as Dr Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old is Your Brain? has managed to shift half a million copies in Europe. The DS game is comprised of a series of brain toning exercises devised by the renowned Japanese neuroscientist Dr Ryuta Kawashima. The idea is to spend 10 minutes a day energising the brain and soon you'll be as smart as Arnold Einstein. The promise of getting smarter has tempted 500,000 previously thick ...
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Thursday 6 July 2006 Nintendo has treated President George W Bush to a special 60th birthday gift this week. A DS Lite and a copy of Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day were waiting for the pres when he climbed out of bed on his anniversary morning, possibly in a world-saving effort by Nintendo to keep the planet's most powerful man as sharp up top as possible. While you amuse yourself with other suitable titles for the man with the big red button (Advance Wars: Dual Strike, ...
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