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Why Robin Makes Batman Better Man, Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training has sold a lot of copies. So has its sequel. Millions. Tens of millions. Which has made Nintendo a lot of money. But what about Dr. Kawashima himself? The guy’s entitled to his share of the royalties, and so far those royalties amount to $US 22 million (of which he’s entitled to half and his employer, Tohoku University, the other half). So what’s he doing with all that cash? Living the high life? Partying with rappers, wearing alligator-skin boots and fishing dead hookers out his mansion’s swimming pool? Nope. He’s turned all $US 11 million down. Not a single yen has gone in my pocket. Everyone in my family is mad at me but I tell them that if they want money, go out and earn it.
I’m not a Doctor, but if a game with my face on it entitled me to $US 11 million, I’d sure as shit take the $US 11 million. ‘Brain training’ Dr Kawashima has no time for games [AFP, via Go Nintendo]
Nicole Kidman’s a liar! Or so says science. And not Dr. Kawashima’s dodgy Nintendo science, either, British cognitive neuroscience. As part of a feature on the Telegraph’s website debunking celebrity endorsements, Brit neuroscientist Dr Jason Braithwaite takes issue with Nicole Kidman’s endorsement of Brain Training for the Nintendo DS. While Kidman gushes: I have quickly found that training my brain [with Nintendo's Dr Kawashima's Brain Training computer game]is a great way to keep my mind feeling young.
Braithwaite poops her party with There is no conclusive evidence showing that the continued use of these devices is linked to any measurable and general improvements in cognition. Practice at any task should lead to some form of improvement for that specific task.
So…Brain Training might be Nintendo’s very own patented snake oil. Does it really matter? So long as old folks are having fun playing it, who gives two shakes of a lamb’s tail about the hard science behind it. Gwyneth Paltrow among criticised celebrities [Telegraph, thanks Mick!]
Professor Ryuta Kawashima is the master of brain training. Having trained the brains of millions of gamers, he has now taken the next logical step – training the brains of Toyotas. Toyota and Kawashima are currently together on various technologies to help older drivers drive safely. Technologies such as intelligent systems that monitor a driver’s behavior in order to curb dangerous behavior, such as sudden increases or decreases in speed, falling asleep at the wheel, or getting in the car in the first place. “We envision future cars will be able to monitor brain and emotional activity to back up elderly drivers,” said Kawashima, a Tohoku University scientist who worked on Nintendo Co.’s best-selling “Brain Age” games _ and whose smiling image is the guide in the series.
While I am all for promoting driving safety, I just don’t know about helping the elderly drive longer. I respect the elderly. I have some of the elderly in my family. I just think there is a certain point where you have to resign yourself that you can no longer safely operate a vehicle. I know Kawashima’s heart is in the right place, but age happens.
Dr. Kawashima has been very, very good to Nintendo. With his polygonal mug offering the kind of sanguine advice that’s as useful for housewives as it is old folks, the Brain Training DS games have sold about a billion and one games over the past few years. Which explains why Namco Bandai would want to get hold of the good doctor’s licence for their upcoming mobile phone game Brain Coach with Dr Kawashima. A Namco Bandai Europe rep: The formula of this application has already proven successful by establishing a base of millions of Nintendo DS players worldwide, and with Dr Kawashima’s approval we are pleased to bring this official mobile game to the larger mass of mobile phone users.
So it’s a complete rip-off of the DS game, then. Just for phones! And even more people have one of those than a DS. All signs point to many, many sales.
Or at least a better at math – so says a small study conducted with primary school students in the Scottish city of Dundee. The wee kidlets were divided into three groups of 30 for the ten week study: one group played More Brain Training every morning for 15 minutes prior to lessons; another group used “Brain Gym”, which is a series of physical exercises designed to stimulate brain activity; and the final group did nothing. Based on the math test given at the beginning and end of the project, the researchers found the Brain Training group made gains across the board, while neither of the other two groups showed such gains. And there were more benefits to some quality time with the DS in the morning:
He said: “The results of this small-scale Dr Kawashima project have shown how a targeted and managed use of such a game can help to enhance pupil numeracy skills and classroom behaviour.”
There was also a noticeable impact on behaviour and levels of concentration throughout the school day, with the children becoming more self-confident.
Mr [Derek]Robertson [who designed the study] , a former teacher and university lecturer, said: “It had a real calming effect on children in the class.
“In fact I have never before seen such gains across the board.”
With all the chatter about the use of games in schools, it’s nice to see a concrete (if small) study conducted on easy applications of gaming within the bounds of education. The researchers are hoping to do bigger studies in the future to have a better and more statistically significant sample to pull from.
Daily computer game boosts maths [BBC, thanks James T!]
With over 14 million units sold, the Nintendo DS is the best-selling games console in European history. With sales of More Brain Training from Dr. Kawashima: How Old Is Your Brain verging on the one million mark and The Phantom Hourglass just around the corner, Nintendo is looking to boost those handheld sales by introducing a brand-new colour to the DS stable. Come October 12th, European gamers will be able to choose between black, white, pink, or silver when they head down the shops to pick up a new handheld. Mind you I see no mention of a metallic finish, so I’m not sure why they just don’t call it grey other than the fact that silver sounds much more attractive. While I’m not sure how long the colour will stay a Euro exclusive, the DS isn’t region specific, so importing is always a possibility if you’re a big fan of gray.
So Sega have a new brain training game on the way. While I’m sure it’ll be a hit with the brain training set, it’s name’s could do with some work. In its native native tongue it reads äº¬éƒ½å¤§å¦ é˜¿è¾»å“²æ¬¡æ•™æŽˆç›£ä¿®è²¡å›£æ³•äººæ—¥æœ¬æ¼¢å—能力検定å”会å”力漢å—トレーナー ãƒãƒ¼ã‚¿ãƒ–ル, which translates roughly to Kyoto University’s Professor Atsuji Tetsuji Foundation’s Japanese Kanji Ability Official Certification (in collaboration with) The Kanji Association Trainer Portable. Not so catchy! Then again, they’re just following precedent.
