NintendoWorldReport has four pages of details from the presentation of Nintendo's Takeshi Shimada at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2007. Shimada presented "Rethinking the Development Timeline: The Reason Brain Age Was Developed So Efficiently" to explain how it's possible that a game can be developed in only three months. Here's our summary of the event.

Interesting insight for gamers. This isn't just for developers. We share this info with you, our readers, because this is interesting stuff for gamers, too. You invest in a Wii or DS (or plan to buy one), so why not take a quick look at what lessons Nintendo developers are sharing with other first-party and third-party game developers?

Lesson #1: Invest in technologies before you need them. When the Brain Age project started, the developers realized that they needed handwriting recognition and voice recognition tools. Fortunately, it turns out that Shimada's middleware team had already been scouring the market for possible handwriting and voice tools around the DS launch.

The lesson: even though it's not obvious which games will need which development tools, a development team has to be willing to invest in technology and to "mature" or develop that technology. Because you already have the tools in place, you can work faster. And the "maturing" of the technology benefits the gaming industry as a whole!

Lesson #2: Game developers need to have massive sharing of vision. A big portion of game development is "simple" management: leadership, scheduling, communication, and planning. A significant portion of Shimada's presentation looked at how different teams worked quickly on various tasks and sent in their results to the other teams. For example, for handwriting recognition for Brain Age, they needed as much test data as possible, so they created software to collect and analyze a large quantity of writing samples from DS touch screens, and this in turn led to the next step: making the handwriting software fast and able to recognize sloppy writing.

Future development tools for the Nintendo Wii. Shimada also talked a little bit about four Wii development tools for first-party and third-party game developers:

• NintendoWare, a tool developed by Nintendo and HAL that emulates Wii hardware on the PC. This way artists and developers can test what they're doing instead of loading the code onto a Wii development kit.
• Fur-shading middleware. The need for this kind of tool is pretty self-evident: fur is not always an easy texture to incorporate into a game.
• Predictive input. Basically, the game guesses what you're about to input based on your prior motion. This should make the intuitive use of the Wii controllers (Wiimote and Nunchuk) even more intuitive (many games, like first-person-shooters, would benefit from this).
  
• Text-to-speech. Just a little something they're exploring for the Wii.

Don't you find it annoying that most give away promos you're eligible to join, tend to give items you can already afford in the first place? For example, if you can afford to travel via airline a lot, then you can probably already afford a DS lite.

This is what Southwest Airlines and Nintendo are doing at the moment. They're rewarding some of their most-traveled flyers. Fifty of Southwest's Rapid Rewards Members have been mailed a Nintendo DS Lite and a copy of Brain Age.

Rapid Rewards Members who have collectively flown more than 79.2 million miles, spent more than 132,854 hours in the air, and represent more than 600 years of membership are the folks who will get the sweet Nintendo swag mailed to them.

We now wonder what Tyler Durden will have to say about all these? At least the game packaged with the give away seems age appropriate.

How'd you like playing Red Steel with your grandpa? We're sure many of you are going to say "duh?" but there must be that one time that your grandpa asked you to play gin rummy with him. And we think it's only fair to return the favor. It's not like playing with a grayhead is so bad! Nintendo had this in mind when they brought the Wii at an annual AARP-sponsored event called Life@50+ in Anaheim, California. Believe it or not, more than 20,000 non-hardcore fifty-ish folks attended the said event.

We sure hope Nintendo doesn't intend to market the Wii just for the old folks, but it's a great thing that they actually target a wide range of users that are not just into Splinter Cell: Double Agent or GT Pro Series (although it would be cool if old-timers can try their hand on these games). Nintendo includes a small library of games that are family-friendly enough so they're confident the Wii is going to get the thumbs-up from the senior fans.

Nintendo made a splash with the DS' Brain Age, as they say it's perfect for improving brain functions. We couldn't agree more.

Heads up, people. Thomper over at NeoGaf has just spotted a Brain Age spin-off for the PC. Now, we're pretty sure that Nintendo didn't put this version up, so most definitely, this is a fake. Although, the packaging does look like the original one, it has a Dutch description below that says, "Train your brain while having fun! Answer as many questions as you can in a short period of time." And where did he spot this? Over at the Bart Smit folder. Bart Smit is the biggest Dutch toy/gamestore chain, he says.

Well, it doesn't really come as a surprise that some whacked-up company would dare imitate blatantly Nintendo's game. After all, it really is popular, and, well, just maybe, they want to "help out" in spreading the game via PC. But still, that's outright piracy right there. It's sad, really. Then again, we guess that's the price you have to pay for fame.

Check out the images below for comparison. Those are the original Nintendo Brain Age titles. That one up there, that's the fake.

Buy: [Brain Age for the DS]

Enterbrain, the publishers of popular Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu, has revealed the best selling games in Japan this year and guess what format they play on? That's right: DS. DS has sold the most consoles in the first half of the fiscal year, which runs from March 27 to September 24. Mario was one of the original adventure platformers and is a big seller just about everywhere, and during the first half of the fiscal year, New Super Mario Bros. for the DS managed to sell 3.09 million units!

The Japanese weren't satisfied with just one DS title, though. The popular Brain Age sequel, Motto Nou wo Kitaeru took second place, with 1.53 million copies sold in the given period. DS titles didn't take up the whole list though, with a PS2 game, Winning Eleven 10, selling 1.04 million units.

Then it goes straight back to DS titles, with the original Brain Age at number four selling 900,000 units, followed by Animal Crossing DS (870,000), Tetris DS (840,000), Final Fantasy III(730,000), the English language training program Eigo Zuke (670,000), the digital cookbook Shaberu DS Rori Navi (500,000), and Tamagotchi Puchi Puchi Omisecchi(500,000 units).

With three DS titles nominated for Game Of the Year in the Golden Joystick awards as well, it appears that 2006 is shaping up to be the year of the DS. But the release of PS3 and Wii in November should shake things up a little before Christmas. I wonder if New Super Mario Bros can hold onto the number one spot during this period? What do you think? Ssound off your comments!

Can we learn stuff from playing games? Sure we can, but for games to become a mode for teaching actual skills (or for teaching to seem more like a fun game), there's got to be more than bells and whistles. An IGN analysis talks about the potential of videogames to teach, mentioning both its strong points and its shortcomings in this day and age.

While "edutainment" videogames such as the Carmen Sandiego series have been out for a while now, they've gotten more and more boring when placed beside heavy hitters like action games and RPGs. In both cases, however, the same rules that get kids to learn apply:

1. Videogames are almost always instant motivators, driving kids to do their best to beat the game.
2. There's nothing like videogames to teach you how to follow instructions. A game will teach you basics before making you tackle tough stuff (Why else do you kill boars in WoW before you can take on dragons, right?)
3. Games make you read and understand things you normally wouldn't think about. How else can you get deep into a world simulation like Civilization IV unless you were quite literate and good at understanding the written word?
4. It's "safe." Only in games can you learn through trial and error without the feeling of being punished for messing up, unless you corrupt your save files. Definitely good for self-esteem and for practicing skills.
   
5. There's nothing more rewarding than that feeling of pushing yourself to the limit for something you find worthwhile and succeeding.
   

"The spectacular rise of the video game juggernaut is not hard to understand when you see the creativity, educational value, and fun the vast majority of games offer to gamers of every age," said the Honorable Cliff Stearns in a meeting with the Committee on Energy and Commerce. The opportunities now lie in making learning through play an affordable concept. For now, at least, while we can't make games part of the ways in which we learn stuff in school, teachers may want to think of how they can make their lessons feel more like videogames, with all the pleasures and successes it can bring. Besides, Brain Age can only take us so far, right?

What about you? What aspects of gaming might you want added to make you and other students more receptive to being taught in school? Do you have any ideas on making gaming fun and educational, or on making an educational game that people actually want to play? Comment with your ideas here! Just remember that any incentive of the Leisure Suit Larry nature will probably get deleted... that's too kinky for our tastes.

Nintendo held their Brain Age tournament at Nintendo World today and they've found a winner! Barbara St. Hilaire, also known as Old Grandma Hardcore, took the prize. Barbara is a 70 year old grandmother of 13 who's been playing video games since 1975! Her prize? 2 DS Lites and 10 games! Looks like her grandchildren might be getting more than candy next time she pays a visit!

"I'm amazed I won! I didn't think I was that good," said Barbara. "I play with my 13 grandkids and they are all gamers. It's a lot of fun."

I wonder what kind of crazy competition Nintendo will think up for next year? The Wii will needs it own killer app among our senior citizens! Then again, Barbara is still a regular gamer. Her current goal is to beat God Mode in God of War!

In the latest Japanese sales charts that Media Create has compiled which are dated from August 28 to September 3, the Nintendo DS Lite has come out at the top, thanks to the release of its black version in Japan. It has sold a whopping eight times more than its close competitor, the Sony PSP. This is a huge thing since the number of units sold last week have almost doubled.

The number of PS2 units sold include both the "original" and the "slim" types, while the numbers in parenthesis are the total number of units that have been sold since the release of that particular title or console.

Hardware

• Nintendo DS Lite - 228,939 (4,196,826)
• PlayStation Portable - 27,499 (3,939,299)
• PlayStation 2 - 22,703 (19,684,767)
• Game Boy Advance SP - 2,751 (5,884,378)
• Game Boy Micro - 1,791 (535,040)
• Xbox 360 - 1,250 (140,493)
• GameCube - 855 (4,157,561)
• Nintendo DS - 320 (6,577,480)
• Game Boy Advance - 22 (8,822,676)
• Xbox - 0 (475,522)

DS Total - 10,774,306
GBA Total - 15,242,094

Moving on to the games themselves, the sales for Final Fantasy III have dropped, not because people didn't want it anymore (it DID completely sell out on its release day, afterall), but because at the moment, the limelight is shining on a non-Nintendo game, Phantasy Star. Ninty fans can still breathe easy, though, since the top ten is till dominated by Nintendo games.

Software

• PS2 - Phantasy Star Universe - Sega - 120,202 (NEW)
• NDS - New Super Mario Bros. - Nintendo - 72,763 (2,974,027)
• NDS - Brain Age 2 - Nintendo - 46,662 (3,119,857)
• NDS - Final Fantasy III - Square Enix - 45,949 (549,001)
• NDS - Freshly Picked Tingle's Rose Colored Rupee Land - Nintendo - 45,496 (NEW)
• NDS - Cooking Navi - Nintendo - 35,689 (419,733)
• NDS - Mario Hoops 3 on 3 - Square Enix - 34,001 (267,763)
• NDS - Animal Crossing: Wild World - Nintendo - 32,605 (3,181,735)
• GBA - Rythm Tengoku - Nintendo - 28,361 (123,432)
• NDS - Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop 2 - Namco Bandai - 27,540 (458,474)

From August 21 to 27, the Nintendo DS dominated MediaCreate's Japan game console sales chart moving 163,274 units within a week. This brings the total DS Lite units sold to almost 4 million. PSP is a distant second (21, 829) while the Xbox 360 was at No. 6 (1,197). The "other" DS sold 410 units putting it at No. 8.

On the games title chart, Final Fantasy III for DS went straight to the top on its first week of release selling more than half a million copies. The only other new release, Rune Factory, landed at No. 3 with 42,210 copies sold. All games in the Top Ten are DS titles.

Note: The number in parenthesis is the total units sold since the system/game was originally released.

Game Consoles:

1. Nintendo DS Lite - 163,274 (3,967,887)
2. PlayStation Portable - 29,945 (3,911,800)
3. PlayStation 2 - 21,829 (19,662,064)
4. Game Boy Advance SP - 2,719 (5,881,627)
5. Game Boy Micro - 1,819 (533,249)
6. Xbox 360 - 1,197 (139,243)
7. GameCube - 837 (4,156,706)
8. Nintendo DS - 410 (6,577,160)
9. Game Boy Advance - 14 (8,822,654)
10. Xbox - 12 (475,522)

Game Titles:

1. Final Fantasy III - 503,051 (NEW)
2. NEW Super Mario Bros. - 65,556 (2,901,264)
3. Rune Factory -  42,210 (NEW)
4. Brain Age 2  -  41,784 (3,073,195)
5. Cooking Navi - 37,326 (384,045)
6. Tamagotchi 2 - 30,504 (430,934)
7. Mario Basketball 3-on-3 - 30,355 (233,762)
8. Animal Crossing Wild World - 30,023 (3,149,130)
9. Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day - 22,866 (2,736,150)
10. English Training - 17,465 (1,401,669)

Nintendo will be celebrating Grandparents' Day by having a unique event on September 9th. Grandparents can join in a Brain Age: Train Your Age in Minutes a Day tournament at the Nintendo World Store. The winner will walk off with the title "Coolest Grandparent of the Year" as well as two DS Lites and ten DS games to share among their family!

Not only that, but grandparents will also receive a "Spoil Your Grandchildren" discount of 10% off everything in the store! Gaming stations with Brain Age, Nintendogs, and True Swing Golf will be available for people to demo as well. If you're around New York City, be sure to stop by between noon and 5:00 PM!