DS Lite gets some showing in Australian press

It's rare for Nintendo to hit the main stream media in Australia. Not really sure of the reasons, most likely they aren't a big territory for Nintendo and as a result don't get much in the way of marketing budget. For the release of the PSP for example the ads were thick and fast on Australian TV but the DS has mostly been represented by a sprinkling of ads during Saturday morning kids shows and most of those were centred around the Nintendogs release. It's good, however, that on the back of the release of the DS Lite (for which there has been precious little advertising) there has been an article make it's way into the Australian.

Nintendo aids brain

From:

By Simon Hayes

June 01, 2006

 

COMPUTER games in the hands of the elderly are shaping up as the latest weapons in the war against Alzheimer's.

Nintendo's Dr Kawashima's Brain Training game will hit the shelves in Australia on June 15 and has already created a stir among experts, who say cognitive stimulation could reduce the risk of Alzheimer's.

In Japan, retirees have flocked to shops to buy the game. It is the sort of publicity Nintendo - better known as the creator of Pokemon and Super Mario Bros - craves, given its attempts to reach an adult audience.

Brain Training includes word games, arithmetic tests and sudoku puzzles. A similar Sony game is also proving popular in Japan, but the company has not decided whether to sell it here.

Neurosurgeons - who have long recommended patients knit, do crosswords, play chess or even learn a foreign language - are enthusiastic about the game.

"I had a patient on Saturday and I said 'Look out for this game'," said Michael Woodward, director of aged and residential care for Melbourne private hospital group Austin Health. "I'd be happy to lend my copy out."

Professor Woodward, a leading authority on Alzheimer's, said three major studies over the past five years had shown an association between social, intellectual and physical health and a reduced risk of the disease.

"The program does indeed seem to link in with the areas of brain that can be affected by cognitive decline," he said.

"There is a sound scientific basis for this ... There is increasing evidence that keeping your mind active does seem to be a prevention for progressing towards Alzheimer's."

Professor Woodward said even those not showing signs of dementia should perform some "mental aerobics" every day.

Nintendo will give $1 from each copy of Brain Training sold to Alzheimer's Australia.

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This sort of news is also starting to get a foot hold in the Today Tonights and A Current Affairs as well. Hopefully with the awards won by the Wii at E3 and the Alzheimer's Australia donations the profile of Nintendo in Australia will begin to lift...

(end fanboy ramblings)