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Nintendo's 'Brain Age' Testing Game Software to Enter U.S., Europe

Posted on: Wednesday, 5 April 2006, 12:00 CDT

By Kyodo News International, Tokyo

Apr. 5--OSAKA -- Nintendo Co. will release the American and European versions of its popular game software that the Japanese maker says assesses players' "brain age," company sources said Wednesday.

The software for the Nintendo DS portable console, known in Japan as "Improve your DS Brain Age," will be released on the U.S. market on April 17 under the name "BRAIN AGE: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day," the officials said.

In Europe, the game title is expected to arrive in June, translated into six different languages -- English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Dutch.

The software challenges players with brain teasers. Gamers must make quick simple mathematic calculations, take memory tests or read out short passages. The overseas versions also feature Sudoku numerical puzzles.

Nintendo introduced the software in Japan as a way of targeting middle-aged or elderly people in the country's graying society, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said earlier.

As of the end of March, Nintendo had shipped a total of about 2 million sets of the software in Japan and 1.9 million sets of its upgraded version. The robust performances have led to an increase in sales of the Nintendo DS.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Kyodo News International, Tokyo

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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NTDOF, NTDOY, 7974,

Source: Kyodo News International, Tokyo

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