Brain Age for Nintendo DS Sets New Record

Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day for the portable Nintendo DS is the latest craze to sweep the planet. Selling more than 4 million units worldwide, including 600,000 in the Americas, 3 million in Japan and 500,000 in Europe, the top-selling title redefines how millions of people now think about video gaming.

Brain Age first took Japan by storm with its edition that includes a series of math and memory puzzles designed to keep the mind agile. Even after selling 3 million copies in the 15 months since launch, Japanese sales are not showing any signs of slowing. The title was launched in the Americas and Europe this year and maintains a similar trend of steady weekly sales.

Around the world, game players, baby boomers and seniors are intent on keeping their minds sharp by making Brain Age part of their daily routine. For many of them, Brain Age is the first video game they’ve ever played, showing Nintendo’s efforts to expand the audience of players is highly successful.

“Brain Age is so easy to pick up and play, regardless of your experience level,” says George Harrison, Nintendo of America’s senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications, whose “Brain Age” has improved to age 20 (the best score you can achieve). “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.”

Brain Age is a cornerstone of Nintendo’s new Touch Generations brand, which helps gaming newcomers identify which titles might be appropriate for them. The second title in the brain-training series, Big Brain Academy, launched in the Americas on June 5 and already has sold more than one quarter million units. Both titles have helped to lay the foundation for Nintendo’s upcoming Wii console, which the company says will include “fun, simple games that everyone in the family will want to try.”