Perhaps we're just cynics, but we're not at all surprised that this list of the 100 top-selling games in the U.S. and Europe isn't filled with more good games. We understand that not everyone has the tastes of the DS Fanboy staff (as much as we try toramitdownyourthroat), but some of these are just crazy.
Of course, some easy picks like Pokemon Diamond & Pearl and Brain Age 2 populate the list, but where is the love for some other great DS games? Phantom Hourglass at the 23rd spot? For shame. 1.2 million copies of High School Musical: Makin' the Cut sold and Drawn to Life only selling 820,000 copies? For shame.
In all, it's an interesting list that you should take a look at.
Best Buy is having a sale on all of their video games priced at $19.99, allowing those looking to stock up on titles to snag two games for the sum of $30. And, looking over the list of titles that qualify, there's quite a bit of fun to be had.
Sales data for the year have come in regarding the UK and Nintendo's brain-empowering software on the DS ranked pretty darn high on the list. Both Dr Kawashima's Brain Training and More Brain Training from Dr. Kawashima were on the list, with the first title only being beaten by FIFA 08. You folks in the UK really love your soccer football, eh?
Nicole Kidman's endorsement of Nintendo's software for the DS has one doctor in particular crying "humbug." Dr. Jason Braithwaite, a cognitive neuroscientist (maybe after playing enough Brain Age, we'll figure out what that is exactly), seems to be of the mind that using the non-game exhibits "no conclusive evidence showing that the continued use of these devices is linked to any measurable and general improvements in cognition." This all stems from him seeing one of Kidman's adverts, where she states "I have quickly found that training my brain [with Nintendo's Dr Kawashima's Brain Training computer game] is a great way to keep my mind feeling young"
"Practice at any task should lead to some form of improvement for that specific task," he adds. But, we wonder if that applies here. Sure, individual tasks in repetition will undoubtedly cause one to improve at completing them, but the exercises in Nintendo's title are varied and the whole goal of the game isn't to sit there for hours on end, practicing individual exercises. The daily training, along with the sudoku, and other items that make up the whole package come together to bring forth the improvement felt by the user. These are small sections of the user's day devoted to the working the brain, when the time could otherwise be used to waste brain power by watching TV or, if it were us and we were afforded spare time in our day, sleep.
Well, not all of it. This is more about the highlights, the big news of the year. The kind of stuff that we should look back to and highlight as being memorable in 2007. It's been one hell of a year; a roller coaster ride of hits and misses. So, grab your admission ticket, buckle yourself in and join us for this look back at the news of 2007.
Remember how we were telling you just last night that the black and red DS Lite is on sale now on its own, without the bundled copy of Brain Age 2? Well, if you're like us (see: tall, dark and handsome), you're already setting aside those precious monies to pick up the new DS Lite model. Well, if you decide to pick it up from Target, you can get it for a whole $10 cheaper.
It may not be the biggest sale on the planet, but we can all appreciate a few saved bucks.
Nintendo issued out a statement today, confirming rumors that the black and red DS Lite that came bundled with Brain Age 2 would be sold without the title, as a stand alone unit. It is currently available in stores right now with the appropriate price tag of $129.99. Color us super jazzed.
Anyone else planning on picking this beauty up with us?
It looks like NoA is taking steps to increase not only the popularity of Brain Age 2, but the DS as a whole. After an aggressive ad campaign, Brain Age 2 is taking Dr. Kawashima's show on the road. But will it work? Brain training is a worldwide phenomenon, but less popular in the U.S. with a nontraditional gaming audience -- and so is the DS, despite dominating sales on a regular basis. We'd still like to see Nintendo expand on this with some of the other "nongames" in the DS lineup, if only to ensure a wider audience and greater interest in the handheld, but hey, everything has to start somewhere. Do you think a mall tour and a salon presence will help shed a little more light on the DS and Brain Age in the U.S.?
Nintendo is ramping up the advertising campaign for Brain Age 2, taking care to make sure more people know about the title than those who just watch TV. First attack takes form in mall tours, where the game will be on showcase at over 50 different malls in the United States. To check where and when you can get your hands on it at a demo station, hit up this page here.
Next, Nintendo will be sponsoring several different Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk events, making sure that participants can try the title out. Also, Nintendo is apparently taking over a hair salon in Beverly Hills, CA. While patrons wait to get their hair done, they can shape up their mind by trying the title out.
All in all, looks like a pretty aggressive campaign.
Of course, we've all seen the store displays saying it was releasing in October, but when exactly? Rumor has it, the thing will be on sale soon. So, if you're one of the folks who held off even though it was bundled with a fine title (see: us), you should be able to get your hands on one soon enough.
Word hits via Toys R Us' website that the unit will be available on its own for purchase come October 3rd. This is merely a rumor at this point, but it isn't stopping us from crossing our fingers, closing our eyes tight and whispering "pleaseohpleaseohpleaseohplease." And, since the thing is going to Japan without a bundle on October 4th, we're willing to believe.
You may notice a little bit more swagger in our writing style-- it's the confidence that comes from having a youthful, energetic brain. Yes, we've been playing Brain Age 2, tapping on piano keys and unscrambling words and remembering big groups of numbers with the best of them.
One thing that bothers us a bit about Brain Age and its sequel is the daily-play design. Sometimes we like that we can fit a satisfying gaming experience into just a few minutes, but sometimes we have two hours to kill playing games, and we want to play Brain Age. While you can train all you want, you can only make so much "progress" in one day, due to artificial constraints. If one can even be said to make progress in a nontraditional game like Brain Age, that is.
What about you? Do you like it when games feed you pre-measured portions of game time? Or do you really hate running out of stuff to do?
Okay, so the number of DS (and Wii) systems sold in August was smaller than the number sold in July. That's okay! Everything else sold fewer units this month, too, except the Xbox 360-- and 106,000 fewer of those sold than did DS Lites. As long as everyone did worse than Nintendo, we're still happy, because we're bitter, horrible people!
Thanks, everyone who didn't buy one of the other systems, for making up for the people who didn't buy a DS this month! It's just not as much fun if we're not on the winning team.
Nintendo Wii: 403K
Nintendo DS: 383K
Microsoft Xbox 360: 277K
Sony PS2: 202K
Sony PSP: 151K
Sony PS3: 131K
The DS didn't fare as well in software sales this month, with the first DS game on the list (Brain Age 2) coming in at #13. We've provided the top 20 here so you could see some DS games on the list.
1. Madden NFL 08 (Xbox 360)
2. Madden NFL 08 (PlayStation 2)
3. BioShock (Xbox 360)
4. Madden NFL 08 (PlayStation 3)
5. Wii Play (Wii)
6. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii)
7. Mario Strikers: Charged (Wii)
8. Guitar Hero 2 Bundle (PlayStation 2)
9. Mario Party 8 (Wii)
10. Guitar Hero Encore (PlayStation 2)
11. Madden NFL 08 (Xbox)
12. Madden NFL 08 (Wii)
13. Brain Age 2 (DS)
14. Two Worlds (Xbox 360)
15. Pokemon Diamond (DS)
16. High School Musical: Makin' The Cut (DS)
17. Guitar Hero 2 Bundle (Xbox 360)
18. Madden NFL 08 (PSP)
19. Pokemon Pearl (DS)
20. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 (Xbox 360)
We couldn't help but giggle when we saw this article on "facial yoga" that described it as the hot new craze. It's certainly not new to us DS hipsters; after all, we've already got a game dedicated to stretching and firming our faces, and since the practice is apparently the latest it-exercise (despite being around for years, much like regular yoga), it seems likely that Otona no DS Kao Training may sweep in on the heels of Let's Yoga and hit the United States.
Of course, then the real question becomes: will Nintendo (and others, like Konami, the company behind Let's Yoga) start to change the way they advertise the DS in the United States? We can't help but wonder if it seems unlikely; after all, we still have no official "face" for Brain Age beyond our favorite disembodied head, and it's rare that we see advertisements for our favorite piece of hardware on the scale that we see those for the Wii.
Thinking about the recent Brain Age 2bundle and all the bundles that haunted the Wii launch has us thinking about the idea in general. In theory, we're not against it; one-game bundles aren't so bad, especially if you already want the game, or bundles that allow buyers to choose a combination of titles that suit them. But for the most part, it seems bundles are designed to make people spend money on things they don't want or need in order to pick up a desired piece of hardware, which is definitely something we're against on principle. How do you feel about bundles? Have there been a few that you didn't mind over the years, or do you avoid them on principle?
When we first received our package from Nintendo containing Brain Age 2, we were anxious to see how this game would distinguish itself from the original. Then, we realized we were insane and that Brain Age 2 would probably be the exact same thing as the first title, only with boxart of a different color.
Sales data for the year have come in regarding the UK and Nintendo's brain-empowering software on the DS ranked pretty darn high on the list. Both Dr Kawashima's Brain Training and More Brain Training from Dr. Kawashima were on the list, with the first title only being beaten by FIFA 08. You folks in the UK really love your 
Nicole Kidman's endorsement of Nintendo's software for the DS has one doctor in particular crying "humbug." Dr. Jason Braithwaite, a cognitive neuroscientist (maybe after playing enough Brain Age, we'll figure out what that is exactly), seems to be of the mind that using the non-game exhibits "no conclusive evidence showing that the continued use of these devices is linked to any measurable and general improvements in cognition." This all stems from him seeing one of Kidman's adverts, where she states "I have quickly found that training my brain [with Nintendo's Dr Kawashima's Brain Training computer game] is a great way to keep my mind feeling young"
Nintendo is ramping up the advertising campaign for Brain Age 2, taking care to make sure more people know about the title than those who just watch TV. First attack takes form in mall tours, where the game will be on showcase at over 50 different malls in the United States. To check where and when you can get your hands on it at a demo station, hit up this page here.
You may notice a little bit more swagger in our writing style-- it's the confidence that comes from having a youthful, energetic brain. Yes, we've been playing Brain Age 2, tapping on piano keys and unscrambling words 
Okay, so the number of DS (and Wii) systems sold in August was smaller than the number sold in July. That's okay! Everything else sold fewer units this month, too, except the Xbox 360-- and 106,000 fewer of those sold than did DS Lites. As long as everyone did worse than Nintendo, we're still happy, because we're bitter, horrible people!
