{"id":101220,"date":"2019-10-03T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-10-03T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2019\/10\/talking_point_were_actually_quite_looking_forward_to_brain_training_on_switch"},"modified":"2019-10-03T17:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-10-03T17:00:00","slug":"talking-point-were-actually-quite-looking-forward-to-brain-training-on-switch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2019\/10\/03\/talking-point-were-actually-quite-looking-forward-to-brain-training-on-switch\/","title":{"rendered":"Talking Point: We&#8217;re Actually Quite Looking Forward To Brain Training On Switch"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/b1d65a2712b5e\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/b1d65a2712b5e\/small.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<figure class=\"picture strip\"><a title=\"MainHead\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/b1d65a2712b5e\/mainhead.original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/b1d65a2712b5e\/mainhead.900x.jpg\" alt=\"MainHead\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<p><em>Ah, Dr Kawashima.<\/em> It\u2019s been a while since we\u2019ve seen your endearingly polygonal face adorn our handheld screens, but seeing you again filled us with a warm fuzzy feeling that, if we\u2019re honest, caught us by surprise.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Tjtvl2-cpb8\">a Japanese trailer<\/a> released on Monday, the doctor will be on call again this December when <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/train_your_brain_nintendo_switch_training_for_adults\">Train Your Brain: Nintendo Switch Training for Adults<\/a><\/strong> comes to Switch in Nintendo&#8217;s homeland. That\u2019s what it\u2019s called in the east, anyhow \u2013 there\u2019s been no announcement for the west just yet and the series has a history of unwieldy, alternate names in different territories. In North America the original game went by the name <strong>Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!<\/strong>, whereas UK gamers knew the breakout DS hit as <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/ds\/dr_kawashimas_brain_training_how_old_is_your_brain\">Dr. Kawashima\u2019s Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Whatever you care to call it, it was an <em>enormously<\/em> successful piece of software which caught on with a mainstream audience and was a huge factor in the success of Nintendo DS. It might not have placed on our (or, more accurately, <em>your<\/em>) <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2019\/08\/feature_best_nintendo_ds_games\">best Nintendo DS games list<\/a>, but Brain Training and the other Touch Generations games formed a huge part of the DS\u2019 cross-demographic appeal. Worldwide sales of 19.01 million units puts it at number four in the table of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendo.co.jp\/ir\/en\/finance\/software\/ds.html\">best-selling DS games<\/a>, behind only <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/ds\/new_super_mario_bros\">New Super Mario Bros.<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/ds\/nintendogs\">Nintendogs<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/ds\/mario_kart_ds\">Mario Kart DS<\/a><\/strong> (and perhaps surprisingly, ahead of any of the DS Pok\u00e9mon games). Its sequel sits in seventh place, too.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"col\"><a title=\"Gestures\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/4b60824dd18eb\/gestures.original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/static.nintendolife.com\/blank.gif\" data-original=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/4b60824dd18eb\/gestures.original.png\" alt=\"Gestures\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"col\"><a title=\"Tuppance A Bag\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/50d6f71fec1b3\/tuppance-a-bag.original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/static.nintendolife.com\/blank.gif\" data-original=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/50d6f71fec1b3\/tuppance-a-bag.original.png\" alt=\"Tuppance A Bag\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>For anyone more likely to tackle the crossword in the paper than World 1-1 in New Super Mario Bros., Brain Training was a gateway to the Touch Generation series (which included games as varied as <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/ds\/hotel_dusk_room_215\">Hotel Dusk: Room 215<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/ds\/picross_ds\">Picross DS<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/ds\/tetris_ds\">Tetris DS<\/a><\/strong>). In conjunction with those, it made gaming relatable to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=zjyB7l8w8Ws\">a whole new audience<\/a>. Holding the console like a book and using the stylus removed any ounce of fear for people who found even the Wii Remote too intimidating. After all, everyone\u2019s read a book at some point in their lives (despite the occasional online interaction that suggests otherwise)!<\/p>\n<p>Brain Training&#8217;s value as a tool for keeping your mind sharp was part of its mainstream appeal, and while it&#8217;s questionable if it&#8217;s any better than a good conversation or any other light mental activity, it certainly does no harm and its gamified brainteasers were interactive. The game also piggy-backed on the Sudoku craze with a selection of those puzzles added for good measure. Lowering your estimated brain age was a fun daily challenge with a sufficiently low barrier to entry and a little family-friendly rivalry never did any harm, either.<\/p>\n<p>The last time we saw Dr Kawashima in Europe <em>actually<\/em> wasn\u2019t that long ago. While North America enjoyed <strong>Brain Age: Concentration Training<\/strong> in 2013 &#8211; just a year after its Japanese debut &#8211; the 3DS entry in the series arrived <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=IzRoSoIP8Nw\">comically late<\/a> in the UK in July 2017. No, that is <em>not<\/em> a typo \u2013 the game released on 3DS <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2017\/04\/dr_kawashimas_devilish_brain_training_finally_arrives_on_3ds_in_europe_on_28th_july\">four months after the Switch launched<\/a>. We know NHS waiting times aren\u2019t great, but five years waiting for the retitled <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/3ds\/brain_age_concentration_training\">Dr Kawashima&#8217;s Devilish Brain Training: Can you stay focused?<\/a><\/strong> is taking the mickey, no?<\/p>\n<figure class=\"picture strip\"><a title=\"Devil Doctor\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/5f4b7a8f4bef7\/devil-doctor.original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/static.nintendolife.com\/blank.gif\" data-original=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/5f4b7a8f4bef7\/devil-doctor.900x.jpg\" alt=\"Devil Doctor\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<p>The initial trailer for the upcoming Switch entry (another <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=6_jnLSUquR8\">longer introduction video<\/a> has also been published &#8211; you&#8217;ll find it at the bottom of the page) starts off with what we assume to be a mother and son playing Rock, Paper, Scissors against the computer using the right Joy-Con\u2019s IR camera. They then go on to do simple calculations using fingers to provide the numbers rather than writing them via the touchscreen (coincidentally, very recently we looked back at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2019\/09\/feature_digging_through_nintendo_patents?page=2\">the gesture recognition patent Nintendo filed<\/a> detailing exactly this application of the IR sensor). We assume this is an optional input method in addition to the familiar stylus input shown later in the trailer (yes, the game will come <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2019\/09\/a_standalone_nintendo_switch_stylus_is_launching_this_december_in_japan\">bundled with a stylus<\/a> which will also be available as a standalone purchase).<\/p>\n<p>The trailer goes on to show a competitive race to count the number of objects you see on screen before your partner does, followed by a semaphore-style activity where you try to remember a sequence of flag movements. It then cuts to an older woman writing Kanji and completing the rudimentary sums we all remember from the original DS game, all using a stylus and holding the Switch vertically (with Joy-Con attached, too). Finally, we get some glimpses of other games with an emphasis on the communal, social benefits of the software before granny picks up her gym bag and pops out for her weekly squash meet.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendo.co.jp\/switch\/as3ma\/traning\/index.html\">Japanese website for the game<\/a> goes into much more detail of what to expect and drills down on the same mental benefits used to sell the previous entries in the series. There&#8217;ll be box counting, reading aloud, online tournaments (assuming you have a Nintendo Switch Online subscription), optional emails sent to your inbox which record your family&#8217;s brain training progress, plus a host of other activities including playing piano and a <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/gameboy\/dr_mario\">Dr. Mario<\/a><\/strong>-style pill-drop game.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"col\"><a title=\"I am not a robot\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/b024a348f5c88\/i-am-not-a-robot.original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/static.nintendolife.com\/blank.gif\" data-original=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/b024a348f5c88\/i-am-not-a-robot.original.jpg\" alt=\"I am not a robot\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"col\"><a title=\"Sudoku\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/646b224f16dde\/sudoku.original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/static.nintendolife.com\/blank.gif\" data-original=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/646b224f16dde\/sudoku.original.jpg\" alt=\"Sudoku\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"col\"><a title=\"Chopsticks\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/7e292d05d6301\/chopsticks.original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/static.nintendolife.com\/blank.gif\" data-original=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/7e292d05d6301\/chopsticks.original.jpg\" alt=\"Chopsticks\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"col\"><a title=\"Dr Kawashima\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/4c75f035f9f4a\/dr-kawashima.original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/static.nintendolife.com\/blank.gif\" data-original=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/4c75f035f9f4a\/dr-kawashima.original.jpg\" alt=\"Dr Kawashima\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>What\u2019s interesting is that the <em>very first<\/em> feature shown in the reveal trailer immediately excludes Switch Lite owners \u2013 that version of Switch doesn\u2019t feature an IR sensor. You\u2019ll obviously be able to throw your finger shapes on that system with an additional Joy-Con controller connected, but this game is another to join the list of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2019\/10\/guide_which_switch_games_dont_work_with_nintendo_switch_lite\">games that don\u2019t work 100% with Switch Lite<\/a> out of the box.<\/p>\n<p>The game is arguably aiming at a different crowd, though. All told, Brain Training on Switch looks to be targeting exactly the same demographic as the original games. Switch Lite is going in one direction, with a focus on younger gamers looking to replace their 2DS or 3DS. <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/ring_fit_adventure\">Ring Fit Adventure<\/a><\/strong> points towards another group, one closer to the Brain Training crowd, although perhaps with more get-up-and-go (squash granny excepted). Add in Dr Kawashima\u2019s particular brand of sedate brainteasing and Nintendo really have the entire market tied up. With cross-generational pleasers like <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/animal_crossing_new_horizons\">Animal Crossing<\/a><\/strong> on the (new) horizon, in addition to the broad appeal of software already available, it\u2019s hard to deny that Switch is shaping up to improve upon even Wii\u2019s intimidating legacy of inclusion. We\u2019ve said it before and we\u2019ll say it again; <em>everyone<\/em> is invited to your rooftop Switch party, whether you\u2019re hardcore gamer or hardcore granny.<\/p>\n<p>The miraculous \u2018Switcharoo\u2019 Nintendo has pulled following the Wii U era still impresses us even as the console enters its third holiday season. Where the Wii cast its net very wide at launch, Switch started out with a laser focus on gamers and how games fit into their modern lifestyles and has steadily expanded from there to encompass an ever-growing audience. The company has created a system to excite a broad spectrum of people and with games like this and Ring Fit Adventure, it&#8217;s comfortable enough that the &#8216;gamers&#8217; are satisfied to bring back the broader stuff.<\/p>\n<p>And, frankly, after having a good break and getting our fill of traditional games, we\u2019re actually genuinely excited to book an appointment with Dr Kawashima again! Our minds could always do with a sharpening and the trailer looks fun. Let\u2019s just hope we don\u2019t have to wait quite so long for a house call this time.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"object object-youtube\">\n<div class=\"youtube\">[youtube https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=6_jnLSUquR8?rel=0&amp;hd=1&amp;showinfo=0&amp;modestbranding=0&amp;autohide=1&#038;w=900&#038;h=507]<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p><em>How are your memories of Brain Age holding up? And how did it not break into the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2019\/08\/feature_best_nintendo_ds_games\">Top 50 Nintendo DS games list<\/a> (yet)? Feel free to scribble your answer into the box below and let us know if you\u2019re looking forward to scheduling an examination on your Switch. Don\u2019t worry; we assure the strictest Doctor-Patient-Internet confidentiality&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ah, Dr Kawashima. It\u2019s been a while since we\u2019ve seen your endearingly polygonal face adorn our handheld screens, but seeing you again filled us with a warm fuzzy feeling that, if we\u2019re honest, caught us by surprise. Yes, according to a Japanese trailer released on Monday, the doctor will be on call again this December [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101220"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101220\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}