While I work away in my office, I almost always have the television on as a bit of background noise, usually tuned to The History Channel or Discovery Channel. While I was chugging away on a project today, slightly irritated at a commercial break, when I heard the words 'video game companies' calmly mentioned and my ears perk up. "What's a low-rent, infomercial-esque ad like this have to do with video games?" I wondered.
Ahh, Brain Age.
Yes, The Science Channel is stumping for Nintendo's upcoming brain training game, and the spots have been running on Discovery & The Science Channel recently (not to mention available at BrainAge.com). I'm not so sure how must credence they'll receive for having the pitch delivered from the Discoveries This Week set but the ad may still be effective, if for no other reason than for its Sudoku mention.
I'm also pretty surprised to see the ads on TV before it's actually available in stores, even if it's only a matter of days until they'll be on the shelves, if for no other reason than to keep from confusing people since there's absolutely no release date mentioned in the actual ad or on the Brain Age website.
The site is pretty slick though, with a nice primer on how to use the DS as well as some informal (if not slightly embarrassing) videos showcasing people's initial brain training session. It's worth a look, if for no reason other than to see what you'll look and sound like while playing it.
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#1 DrJones Apr 17, 2006 07:41am
I saw an informercial last night for this. Interesting, I guess. All the more reason for me to buy a DS.
#2 Benedict Apr 17, 2006 09:10am
You are such a pompous ass.
--edit--
And that's MY job.
#3 w3a2 Apr 18, 2006 02:26am
how basic is the start point of this?
for instant, this sounds like another good reason to get my son a DS for christmas, but would a 5yo get that much benefit from a 'game' such as this?
#4 Glenn Turner Apr 18, 2006 02:35am
Based purely on the demo videos, I'd guess he'd get something out of it, however I can't say for sure. From what I've read, it's supposed to more or less jog elder's memories and get them thinking in ways they haven't since school. I'd suspect that Brain Age would be more like a flashcard program for your kid (especially considering the basic math puzzles one of the vids had, although that might be a bit much for a five year old), but again, I haven't tried it yet.
I'm going to be picking up the title this week (*crosses fingers*) and passing it around to as wide a variety of folks that I can (which, considering it's Easter weekend for this household, will be quite a range), and then report on their experiences. I'll have a bit more of an educated guess then :wink:
#5 w3a2 Apr 18, 2006 07:59pm
G. Turner
cool. i'd be happy to hear what younger kids think. my son is displaying some slightly geekish tendancies (of his own accord, he figured out that 2 lots of 10 equals 20, and therefore, 4 lots of 5 equals 20 and 4 4s is 16.), not to mention an obsessoin with all things Mario, so we were going to get a GBA for him for his birthday, but i'm thinking of holding off a bit and putting it to a DS with a few games - this would make a perfect addition
#6 Chibitofu Apr 18, 2006 08:25pm
I picked up the game today. Fun but doesn't give very much to do on the first day. Bit disappointed in its sudoku selection. It seems to only have a hundred puzzles which is a shame as that seems an unusually small selection. The occasional moment where it misreads your writing does get irritating but nothing really big outside of it being oddly unreceptive of the word blue.
#7 hobbie Apr 20, 2006 02:46am
Dude, I have the same problems. It will NOT recognize my A/a, not will it hear my 'blue' as that word until the third or fourth try. :/
#8 Max Walrus Apr 20, 2006 03:09pm
I don't understand why anyone is drawn to this game. Because it had an infomercial? To me, that indicates that it sucks. "As seen on TV" has never been a phrase that's impressed me.
#9 eibboh Apr 24, 2006 12:37am
I haven't seen the tv ads, and I've been waiting for this game for months.
:/
#10 DrJones Apr 24, 2006 07:33am
The Gamestop by my house has like 60 copies. I don't think locating a copy will be an issue.