Brain Age will be priced to move

by Ross Miller { Feb 2nd 2006 at 4:00PM }

When Nintendo announced that Brain Age and Big Brain Academy would be released in the US later this year, many Joystiq readers were hesitant to call this move another success for the DS. Citing the differences in culture, GlitchCog opined that "the average American over 45 years old won't buy this because in their eyes video games are rotting the minds of the youth."

Nintendo will have a hard time selling educational software, but if Nintendogs is any indication, they are up for the challenge. In what is likely an effort to alleviate some of that hesitation, Nintendo will be releasing the Brain training titles at the bargain price of $20. If they can convince adults that $150 (DS console Brain Age) is a good deal, mark this up as another successful venture for the House of Mario. If not? Well, it's not like the DS has been hurting for sales lately...

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

portnoy @ Feb 2nd 2006 4:10PM

I will be buying both of these titles at or near release. At this price, they are very attractive and who couldn't use a little exercise for their brain now and again. This is perfect for a portable system like the DS. I think they will do very well here.

bd @ Feb 2nd 2006 4:24PM

ditto

DCSimian @ Feb 2nd 2006 4:25PM

20 bucks? I'm sold.

It'll be great for the train commutes to and from work...plus, I've just recently caught the Sudoku bug...*twitch*

DCSimian @ Feb 2nd 2006 4:31PM

20 bucks? I'm sold.

It'll be great for the train commutes to and from work...plus, I've just recently caught the Sudoku bug...*twitch*

thenotoriousBEN @ Feb 2nd 2006 4:39PM

The possiblity of a US launch of Brain Training along with the addictiveness of Wario Ware convinced my 49-year old mother to buy a DS for herself this month. She hasn't played video games since the Atari 5200 days. I think these games will indeed sell well, especially at that price.

Jeff @ Feb 2nd 2006 4:40PM

I think one thing some people over on this side of the Pacific don't seem to realize is that these games are *fun*. They're not just about doing a bunch of math problems. It's not like the Japanese are all a bunch of bookworms; they wouldn't be buying these games if they weren't fun.

I think Nintendo's just schooling the entire industry on what sorts of games people want in a handheld. (Pun half-intended.) They're the only manufacturer that really gets it, and that only comes from their almost 30 years of experience in handheld gaming. I don't know if this series will be as popular here as it is in Japan, but I'll be buying them at a $20 price point, and I have a feeling a good number of others will as well.

isuma @ Feb 2nd 2006 4:43PM

The costs make sense ... these arent graphic intensive games with high production values. Thus, everyone should still make a fair bit of change. This is what Nintendo had in mind when they talked about easy programming for the DS and revolution ... easy to make games that move.

LunarDuality @ Feb 2nd 2006 4:46PM

That's great...I'm with you guys (portnoy, DCSimian). Now if they'll just tell me when the DS lite will hit US shores, and how much!

Princess Zelda @ Feb 2nd 2006 4:53PM

$20 I'll buy it.
I remember seeing the Japanese comercials for this game. People sitting around restaurants competing with each other to get the right answer first. I can just imagine people in the US playing this while sitting around in coffee shops.

Cool, up to 16 players. Oh, I could have fun with this!

Sagan @ Feb 2nd 2006 4:57PM

Didn't Nintendo face the same problem with the Brain Training games in Japan? I heard, that the game initially sold badly, but when word of mouth spread the sales picked up. I don't expect anything else from America. They would need some REALLY good marketing to get the game to the target audience. So don't make quick assumptions if initial sales are disappointing.

GlitchCog @ Feb 2nd 2006 5:07PM

I don't think this low price will help. Nintendo is going after a completely new audience comprised of people who don't already have a DS. So a more accurate way to show the price drop is that it has gone from $185 to $170, which is not that impressive. But it certainly won't hurt their chances of actually getting old people to buy Nintendo games. I'll be quite impressed if they do manage to break into the baby boomer market.

Paul @ Feb 2nd 2006 5:07PM

I see this game has some form of writing recognition. So what if you have atrocious penmanship, as I do?

BlackYoshi @ Feb 2nd 2006 5:10PM

Not really interested. I'd rather just save the 20 bucks for a game I'd have more fun with. Its not that I don't like learning, its just that this isn't really interesting learning. Its writing stuff out and some basic math.

portnoy @ Feb 2nd 2006 5:11PM

"I see this game has some form of writing recognition. So what if you have atrocious penmanship, as I do?"

I see this game has some form of intellect recognition. So what if you are an idiot like, like I am?

Heheh. Better practice up baby!
;)

Matthew @ Feb 2nd 2006 5:19PM

Sagan, no, the Brain Training games didn't sell bad in the beginning. In fact, I don't think the brain training games have left the top 10 since it was first released. But anyway, during the time the first game was released, the Japanese market was in a bit of a slump. The best-selling game would usually sell like 40-50 thousand copies a week. So, I wouldn't say the training sales were bad since it was always in the top 10. Of course, now, it's literally a phenomenon. Just to update on the software sales; as of January 29, Brain Training 2, a relatively new release, has already sold over a million copies. The opening week for the new English Training has already sold more than 200,000 copies. It's really quite unbelievable.

Tony @ Feb 2nd 2006 5:28PM

I'll get it for the Sudoku. Anyone know if it will come with a set number of puzzles or will generate them automatically?
Wow, Sudoku, Electroplankton, and Mario Kart. Time to buy a DS.

Paul @ Feb 2nd 2006 5:33PM

Yes, but people with high intellects often have very bad penmanship.

Hey Glitchcog, you got your prices all wrong. A DS is like, $130 new. So that would be $150 if you added this. Though I suppose with an average 7% sales tax that would be about $160.

portnoy @ Feb 2nd 2006 6:07PM

"Yes, but people with high intellects often have very bad penmanship."

Dude. Humor. Please look it up.

I was joking that the previous poster really didnt have it that bad, as he simply has bad penmanship, while I am, in fact, an idiot! Meaning I would rather have bad penmanship than be an idiot.

Oh, nevermind, I'm an idiot.