Gadgetry For the Mind | Nintendo DS - How Old Is Your Brain
There has been a significant attempt on the part of electronics companies recently to produce products that can improve your brain functions. All of the products hope to train the brain when you are young and retain it when you are older.
One of the most popular and one that has received a great deal of attention in the press recently is Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain? on the Nintendo DS. This game utilises the DS’ innovative control system to work out your brain’s age via a number of brain training puzzles. Then through practice you can try to work that brain age down.
The DS game has achieved great success in Japan where it was created with the purpose of trying to draw in an older market to the handheld console. Dr Kawashima is a leading brain expert in Japan after studying at the Tohuku University School of Medicine. Mr Satoru Iwata, Nintendo’s President, sought Dr Kawashima’s involvement after a member of Nintendo’s board of directors said that he knew no one his age that played games.
Games include “Syllable Count” which gets you to count the syllables in well-known phrases, “Head Count” which gets you to count people as they enter and exit a house and “Calculation” which gets you to perform simple math problems quickly. Also included in the UK version is a whole host of Suduko puzzles which will keep you entertained for hours on end.
Nintendo are not the only ones who are producing brain improvement software and gadgets. The Brain Trainer by Flair is another product designed to give your brain a mental workout. It claims that just three minutes workout everyday is all that is needed. It is also based on the work of Dr Kawashima and unlike the DS game that requires a Nintendo DS (bought for just under £100) this gadget retails for a little under £40. Though of course if you are without a Nintendo DS you can always borrow/steal a young relatives.
There is a great deal more mind enhancing products coming out onto the market, mostly as software for various handhelds, mobile phones and the PC. Dr Kawashima’s DS game has already spawned two sequels in Japan which will probably hit the UK market in the next year.
References for this posting: http://news.bbc.co.uk
