Brain Age Ships Four Million Units Worldwide

DS handheld creator Nintendo has announced that its Touch Generations-branded DS title, Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes has now sold more than four million units worldwide, including 600,000 in the Americas, three million in Japan and 500,000 in Europe. Brain Age is based on the research of Professor Ryuta Kawashima of Tohoku University in Japan, a neuroscientist who specializes in brain imaging. The game, which takes advantage of the various unique capabilities afforded by the Nintendo DS hardware, is purported to stimulate brain activity through a series of brain "exercises" ranging from simple arithmetic to reading aloud and counting syllables. The Western version of the game also includes sudoku number puzzles, which have become extremely popular features in newspapers around the country, and especially in Europe, adding to the game's relevance. Brain Age itself is the flagship title for Nintendo's Touch Generations label, used globally to differentiate the company's particularly 'mainstream'-oriented titles. The second title in the brain-training series, Big Brain Academy, launched in the Americas on June 5 and has sold more than 250,000 units in that territory, alone. Nintendo notes that both titles have helped to lay the foundation for its upcoming Wii console, which will feature a library of titles that include fun and accessible games that anyone can play. “Brain Age is so easy to pick up and play, regardless of your experience level,” commented George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. “You can play it for 10 minutes or an hour and keep yourself feeling sharp. As a baby boomer, it's like a treadmill for my mind.” Nintendo noted that Harrison himself has become an avid Brain Age player, and has achieved the game's high score, a “Brain Age” of 20.