Actually, I'm pretty sure that my dad would be into the idea of Brain Age, mainly because he loves Sudoku, and does so-called 'Killer Sudoku' on his daily train commute into London.

My mum, on the other hand, enjoys a limited set of games (Puzzle Bobble!), and might be a bit overwhelmed by touchscreen complexity.

Not sure either of them would actually buy a DS on their own, though. Maybe I'll have to get it for them.

My mom would enjoy it until the exact moment she felt frustrated (for those playing along at home: the memorization portion) and then she'd put it down forever, refusing to ever pick it up again. She'd then insist on watching me play it.

I've discussed it with my parents (after extensively playing the copy that I got at GDC). They're definitely interested, though I think I'll let them try it on my DS before buying them a DS and the game.

In the end, they'll probably play it... After all, if you approach it correctly, it's not technically a game.

I personally find that the healthy competition of comparing scores and brain age with my girlfriend is fun!

My GF is buying a copy for her grandmother as a result of my GDC copy of Brain Age. She loves it.

I'm not sure my mom would go for it... it seems to require a more Ascetic personality than I or she have. I just can't imagine spending that much time studying my navel.

One thing to remember re its success in japan is that Dr Kawashima is well known there and has written best selling books on this topic which were already popular in that demographic. Without this I don't think we will see similar, breakout sales figures for Brain Age games in US / Europe for a while. Quite a challenge for Nintendo marketing to promote this effectively outside Japan IMO.

Ed

My parents are the perfect target for Brain Age given that they love games (just not electronic games).

What worry me most is that I was thinking in giving them one as a present but right now I really want it to myself. There is something very appealling to my hardcore gamer genes in doing simple fun thinking excercises!

My own father? I suspect not, unless he saw some friends of his doing it. If I get it though, I'll try to introduce it to him.

They might play it, but they would not buy a DS just to do so. I think that's the big problem with Nintendo's focus on casual gamers. They might enjoy something, but they're not going to purchase new hardware for it.

I'd look at it in the same way as the crappy, basic games that many people play on the computer. No matter how much time someone might spend playing Solitaire or Freecell they are not going to purchase a computer (even a computer that only costs around $100) just to play it.

The other issue with casual gamers is that they're just that, casual. They're the kind of people who might play a few rounds of a game at a friend's house and find it fun, but they won't feel compelled to play it again nor will they feel much urge to purchase a system. Casual gamers strike me as the type of people who amuse themselves with what's available.

Considering that this is also focusing on an older demographic I think they are even less likely to spend money on something like this as historically consumer electronics tend to trend towards a much younger demographic.

Perhaps Japanese consumers are simply more likely to put down the money for the hardware, but I think the chances of Americans paying ~$130-140 just to play Brain Age is very, very slim.

I'm an avid puzzle solver, and ever since "number place" puzzles (aka Sudoku) became popular, my mother and her math-phobic friend have been asking for tips and recommendations on the puzzles. When I ask why, they mention hearing about studies showing that the puzzles can help prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

I intend to get the game mainly to show it around, and I expect them to be very interested. I doubt that they will by a DS for it. However, my parents have both shown interest in the Revolution, and if there's a Brain Age line when the console launches, I think they may go for that.

My dad plays sudoko (paper) and is comfortable with video games (plays WoW, bf2 ect), so I thought he might like it. It was a bit too odd for him though. I think a standalone soduku game that got rid of the "brain coach", the MS-paper-clip-like talking head would be preferable. Also I found the character/digit recognition to be poor almost to the point of it being unplayable for him.