No doubt you're too occupied with charting your brain's age and calculating simple arithmetic with the quickness of a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick to read this post. That's OK, we'll forgive you and just post this blog here for when you encounter this most horrible issue while playing on your newly-acquired DS Lite. Seems the device doesn't recognize the word blue, a word that is so critical to success in the "game." Reader Sean even went so far as to knock upon the doors of Nintendo, demanding an answer to this most heinous issue. The response he received was:
Hi Sean,
Thanks for your e-mail. We appreciate your comments. The problem that you are describing is very likely because the Nintendo DS Lite is not designed for use in North America. That means that we have not tested it for use here. I will be sure to forward your e-mail along for further review, just in case.
So far, the redesigned Nintendo DS has only been released in Japan. Look for any further announcements on this product by checking the news section of our website at the following address:
www.nintendo.com/newsmain
Keep checking our website at www.nintendo.com for the latest on Nintendo games, systems, and promotions. And, while on our site, also check out the My Nintendo program. With this program, not only can you check on the status of a
subscription, part order or repair order, but you can also register your games and systems, and participate in the Nintendo Forums.
Nintendo of America Inc.
Lauren Taylor
The funny thing is, the "game" can hardly recognize when I say blue either, and that's on an original phat DS. Maybe it's my rough Philly accent, which makes me say "wooter" instead of "water."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
4-19-2006 @ 10:11PM
Adam said...
Why wouldn't they test the DS in english? What if I live in Japan and I speak English... isn't the DS supposed to have multilanguages (like you can convert it to English text)... I think Nintendo is just covering for a major F*** up
Reply
4-19-2006 @ 10:11PM
Jimmy said...
Oh man..."blue"...i've been to the many times have I downloaded the brain age demo and "blue" has always been a serious difficulty for my DS (phat) to recognize.
Reply
4-19-2006 @ 10:14PM
Thomas said...
On my DSlite, with the japanese version of Brain Age, even for japanese people, some words used for this game are hardly recognize. Is it because my friends speak with Kansai accent and the DS lite is for "Tokyo ben" ??!
Speak slowly and "quietly", it's the best way to be recognize.
Reply
4-19-2006 @ 10:26PM
Leo said...
I downloaded the demo at a DS Download Station and I think the game itself just sucks at recognizing the word "blue." If I still had the demo, I'd try saying "blue" in different ways to see what works best, but it definitely effed up my brain age.
Reply
4-19-2006 @ 10:54PM
willdaddy said...
I tried it on a download station on my fat DS and I thought my mic was broken, in the first test I was supposed to say 'blue' I sat there saying 'blue' into' my DS for a few minutes looking like a huge moron in Best Buy. How can something this simple nort work on pretty much any DS?
Reply
4-19-2006 @ 10:54PM
Shinn said...
I don't know about you but my DS Phat has recognized the word "blue" just fine. Well 95% of the time anyways
Reply
4-19-2006 @ 11:08PM
Rivithed said...
I had the same problem and thought it was me. Then my girlfriend tried it and had problems with it too. Yeah, we're all BLUE about it!
Reply
4-19-2006 @ 11:10PM
Rivithed said...
PS: Its not on a DS lite, but on a regular Nintendo DS
Reply
4-19-2006 @ 11:46PM
Oro said...
I have a DS Lite and Brain Age, and I've never had any trouble with the word "Blue". The only time that it doesn't get what I'm saying is when I stutter and say something like "Yell-BLACK!!" or "Re-BLUE!" when I realize I'm saying the word and not the color :p But otherwise, I haven't noticed anything with it not hearing the words. It seems like there's a significant number of people having trouble with the word "Blue", so maybe I'm in the minority.
Reply
4-19-2006 @ 11:46PM
Moogle said...
Try saying Broo, with a short rolled r. If it works, I will laugh and laugh and laugh.
Reply
4-19-2006 @ 11:47PM
nova said...
My DS Lite recognizes blue no problem. You just need to enunciate the "b" more than you would in normal conversation. Like "buhlue."
Reply
4-20-2006 @ 12:14AM
Nushio said...
Actually, I can pronounce "Blue" perfectly, my mom has trouble with "Yellow". I have trouble with "Black", and my dad has trouble with "Blue".
I guess its just a matter of speech? ;)
Reply
4-20-2006 @ 12:16AM
Probot said...
I want to see a video of this. I think it probably has more to do with how people pronounce the word "blue." I haven't played the game, but I don't think I'd have a problem if nova is correct, since that's the way I normally pronounce the word.
My only problem is the word "blue" sounds weird when I say it now. Everytime I read a Brain Age article, someone mentions the problem with blue and for the next 10 minutes, I repeat the word blue to hear how I pronounce it.
Reply
4-20-2006 @ 12:25AM
Ethan said...
I saw this problem immediately when my boss who has a Mexican accent could not get the word "blue" recognized. It only worked when I said it. They "Looo" sound it seems to get but if you kind of say "bluoo" or use soft vowels it will miss it.
Reply
4-20-2006 @ 12:34AM
designerwhite said...
(Try pronouncing it with a silent E.)
works fine on my phat - I'll still be getting a lite - perhaps the mic is calibrated to japanese voices. Hopefully ours will work dandy.
and yeah, this game is rad. worth it just for the sodoku.
Reply
4-20-2006 @ 12:34AM
cooper said...
I had to adjust the volume of the word "blue" to get it recognized. My friend and girlfriend also had trouble.
Reply
4-20-2006 @ 1:08AM
reef said...
I've never had this problem. Either there are a bunch of faulty Brain Age copies or people are not performing the excercises correctly (i.e. holding the DS far enough away, etc).
Reply
4-20-2006 @ 1:36AM
Tarek said...
Agreed. On my regular old DS, it doesn't recognize "blue" about 30% of the time.
Reply
4-20-2006 @ 1:45AM
G3K said...
It works fine with me on my Phat DS, but my girlfriend (who's from the Philly area!) always has to scream "BLUE" fifteen times for it to take. I smell a conspiracy.
Reply
4-20-2006 @ 3:46AM
ghosttoaster said...
I got the demo station verstion of brain training, and couldn't get it to recognized any color I shouted into the mic.
There's nothing more humiliating than shouting "Blue! Blue! Blue! Blue!" into your DS at the top of your lungs in the middle of a ebgames, filled with people buying 360 and PS2 games.
Reply