That seems pretty unlikely, really.

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A sequal to a training game sold less in the basically flooded market of training games? Say it ain't so!

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....He used a knock-off brain training game sequel as his example. If that particular market bursts I don't really care that much. In fact, I'd be delighted.

I don't mind GOOD brain games. I have Brain Age and actually enjoy it a good bit; its the crap ones that developers flood the market with in order to make a quick buck that drive me insane. So I won't be disappointed if casual gamers start to realize what crap they are and stop buying them.

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I doubt this.. because he only used one example... Yeah.. the brain age game isn't really a game, but a casual thing. I didn't get it, not because the bubble was bursting.. but because I already have the first one.. It's like getting a new TV when you don't need it.

It wasn't a 'game' ...just excercise. But the rest of the games are doing well.

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More than three years now of constant nay-saying. "It's just a fad! Things are going to start going downhill any month now! The end is near, really! ...Stop having fun!"

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I highly doubt this:

"Brain training games popular in Germany and Spain

Posted By: Shrygue

via Games Industry


Nintendo's DS brain training games remain popular in Germany and Spain, with both the original and the follow-up title appearing on the top ten charts.

According to data released by Media-Control GfK International, the second DS title - known as Brain Age 2 in the US and UK - was the most popular game in Germany and Spain for the week ending January 20 .

The original game was number four in both countries, with the Wii's Big Brain Academy charting at number two in Spain.

Nintendo games took up half of the German top ten chart, with four PC games and a single PS2 game. In Spain, Nintendo games accounted for six of the top ten, with the PlayStation 3 managing to place three titles on the chart.

The complete charts for the week ending January 20 are"


SO WHAT ?

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well I think PaRappa the Rapper's bubble has burst

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*cough* I never saw PaRappa the Rapper printing money, and I know waaaaay too many DS fanatics who are anxiously awaiting new games to believe the DS has burst.

Yeah, knock-off brain training games, sure. We've got Brain Age, Brain Age 2, Big Brain Academy, Maths Training......I'm sorry but we only need so much brain training.

However, there are endless possibilities for good games in the DS and I don't see their bubble popping any time soon.

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It's not the software bubble, it's the talent bubble that's burst. The DS has all the potential in the world, but the lazy game-making I consistently see in DS titles tells me that not enough money is being spent outside Nintendo on quality people with truly brilliant ideas.

The DS is a veritable mystery box of possibilities in the right hands. As a casual gamer, I have never stayed so consistently in love with a game system as I have with my DS. Why? Because there are so many different ways to use it. Playing Geometry Wars is a completely different interactive experience from Phantom Hourglass, Ninja Gaiden, or Hotel Dusk. On any other game system (Wii excluded), you always interact with the machine in the same way, through the same controller. But with touchscreen, button, and voice controls, plus limitless add-on possibilities (tilt, GPS, etc.), the DS is a chameleon.

The problem is not the DS. The problem is mediocre developers approach the DS without really understanding the controls, and produce games that play like they're broken or unfinished. A bad game on the DS quickly turns the controls against you.

In a couple years, the DS will need a facelift, but the interactive possibilities of the device have barely been exhausted as of yet.

That's my $4.62 (adjusted for inflation)

Games that cost upward of

to justify their exorbitant price tags. More money

* For honest folks who buy their games, you have to also be unusually good at product research to not end up paying a lot of money for a game that stinks.

* Minigames are overrated. That's not to say they're not great, but they've been given undue importance by Nintendo and through them, their competitors. Every DS needs a good collection of minigames. No DS needs comp after comp of rehashed minigames.

*

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That's cute. He thinks he knows things.

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A training game flopped? That's the best news I've heard all day. My faith in humanity is restored. Now if only the rest of them would....

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There are 13 training games available now on the DS or coming soon (according to gamerankings.com) with the word "brain" in them. I don't see it as a problem, as there are still plenty of great games coming out (including some of these brain games themselves), but it is a little crazy I suppose. Still, what's the alternative if the bubble did burst? PSP? Own that too, so I'm set.

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This is the same guy that thought releasing a game on the iPod would be a good idea.

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As a grandfather whose grandchildren (5 and 8) both got DSs for Christmas, I must say that I am very disappointed with the selection of educational games for kids on the DS. They love the machine and it is a technical marvel. Why in hell can't someone develop a variety of software that helps them learn to read, add, and more complex tasks? This is an age that kids are excited to learn and they might as well learn something while playing on the DS, right?

If promoted well, it would sell in huge quantities to parents and grandparents.

I work in sales to K12 in the US and would be happy to talk with publishers.

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Well I can see how he'd be hurt, personally.. He pioneered possibly the first rhythm game I've heard of... Sure he sold 3 million copies, but that was back in 1998 and every sequel pulled ... less... Um Jammer Lammy was even better than parappa, then there was Parappa the Rapper 2 which was a waste of a dvd .... it was 1/2 the size of Um Jammer Lammy and had no replayability basically.

when ddr came about stealing the idea basically I couldn't help but think he got mad, as i would too. When redoctane, the guy that made pads for the stolen idea stole his other idea, um jammer lammy, I would assume his lid opened up even more..

Now there's all sorts of great rhythm games like Rhythm Tengoku and Oendan/EBA/Ouendan2, Pinky Street: Kira Kira Dance Night/Prequel, and even a taiko no tatsujin ds - touch de dokodon, a drum game we've heard about here with an aspiring sequel. My guess is he has some kinda contract with sony, when Nintendo has become the melting pot for rhythm games great and small.

he emphasises this grief by talking about a market he knows nothing about:
Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! (11.71 million)
Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day! (9.84 million)
Big Brain Academy (4.61 million)
Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree (2 million)

He's right that the sequels are selling less, but i'd expect more from the d00d that brought my hero parappa to life

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