Brain Age creator leaves DS development for PSP, DS fanboys cry [Update 1]
by Chris Powell 
{ Oct 4th 2006 at 12:00PM }
If you can't beat them, take from them.
Although the old saying may not go exactly like that, it's what Sony has done as they managed to woo Dr. Kawashima, the creator of the DS' immensely popular Brain Age games to join the PSP team.
In addition to coming to the PSP, the game is getting a name change to Mind Quiz, which is developed by Sega and published by Ubisoft. Mind Quiz challenges player's (you guessed it!) minds with math, reflexes and memory mini-games that end with the player receiving their "brain age" score. Currently, Mind Quiz is scheduled to go on sale throughout Europe in November.
Seeing as I don't own a Nintendo DS, I've never played these games before, but they have interested me. However, after I get to play Mind Quiz, I won't tell you all my brain age score out of fear of public humiliation.
[Update 1: Clarified a sentence that was a bit confusing.]
[Via Joystiq]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
anonymous @ Oct 4th 2006 12:14PM
Great news! Now PSP will have Brain games on it.
Joel @ Oct 4th 2006 12:42PM
HA! TAKE THAT DS FANBOYS!
Give me Stars or Give me Death! @ Oct 4th 2006 12:48PM
This is so awesome. The thing I love most about the PSP is that nobody wants to make it more like the DS at all.
Joel @ Oct 5th 2006 7:00AM
yes, and in nintendo.joystiq.com they don't report when ppl leave their team ;)
GranAvatar_ofMe @ Oct 4th 2006 12:56PM
Now lets hear it from the DS fanboys"it was teh touch screen that make the game fun otherwise is a pain in the ass" OH wait thats from kotaku lol,Kotaku sucks ass.
Yet Ds fanboys think nintendo invented brain age and pet sims.yeah they are dumb.
Also notice that Brain age is an old game that appeared in devices like the tetris ones you see on radioshack or airports years ago before it appear on the ds.
Anyway i think the interface its preety dull and i have played all this stuff before on activity books of 3$ that included test way more challenging than those and way more superior to any crappy ds game.
pixelator @ Oct 4th 2006 1:20PM
I didn't read that as SONY having 'taken' this game, but rather Sega with Ubisoft.
And look! There's Stars making his morning troll rounds. That's right, all the Sony and their fans want is for the PSP to be JUST like the DS. Keep telling yourself that.
On topic, I think the 'game' looks incredibly dull, like the DS version. Why not just sell a mini chalkboard and some nifty math homework? But hey, it sells. Nevermind the stack of Brain games about two feet high in the used section of my local EB Games.
Tony @ Oct 4th 2006 1:20PM
Shouldn't the answer to the question be 4?
Am I right? Anyone? I have a feeling my Brain Age is going to be sucky!
GranAvatar_ofMe @ Oct 4th 2006 1:38PM
To Number 6,your grammar is so bad,it killed Superman.I hope you are happy.
But i agree ,the interface looks dull,i mean PSP can generate graphics that looks as good as the ps2,whassup with that Sega,ubisoft?.
Theres too many good PSP games coming out and this one looks dull,if they only worked on the freaking interface i think this game could have a chance in the market tricking children making them think they were buying a game not more homework making their parents happy.
But with that interface wow,if i were a kid again the last thing i would like to think on is school,specially after it.
if the ds version did a good job on something was on disguising math as a fun thing.
Give me Stars or Give me Death! @ Oct 4th 2006 2:08PM
Whoa, we're calling it "the Sony" now, huh? Alright. You're probably right though, I'm sure "the Sony" had nothing to do with it. I'm equally certain that you know very little about the corporate world or business in general, but that's okay. And Brain Age is dull, especially if simple arithmetic is beyond you. Have fun with San Andreas Stories and Liberty City Stories Stories, not to be confused with Liberty City Stories or anything original. Maybe you could play them in "true HD" in the "4th dimension". Keep swilling whatever "the Sony" is giving you.
Nicholas Swenson @ Oct 4th 2006 2:34PM
Um, no. Dr. Kawashima did not create Brain Age, he wrote the book that Brain Age is based off of. Additionally, the games aren't even new - one of them is from 2005 (IIRC), and the other came out August 2006. Tell Joystiq to get its news right - Kawashima is not a Nintendo employee, he's a writer who attached his image to this game to help boost sales. Make sure you fix this.
Frexy @ Oct 4th 2006 4:47PM
I'm shocked to see that much rivality in some of the posts here...
Ok, I love the DS, I love Brain Age (and Brain Acadamy for that matter), and yes, I don't own a PSP and never will, but that doesn't mean they can give it a shot. Although I think it won't ever be the same as playing the game with a stylus/voice input =/
Multiple choice, yey?!
Zach @ Oct 4th 2006 5:13PM
To Number 6, The answer is 8!
I gotta agree with number 11 here, good luck to sony, but I just dont think the game will be the same with multiple choice rather than touch screen and microphone.
Shane @ Oct 4th 2006 9:35PM
If they wanted to they could put in voice support, just not make the game rely on it unless they bundle a mic.
The above screen looks very dull. The idea that the game is based on is dull and with so many good games coming out it can't afford to be dull.
vR @ Oct 4th 2006 11:06PM
To address some of these points separately...
Yes, the touch screen had nothing to do with the appeal of Brain Age... part of the appeal was the tacked-on Sudoku that was oh-so-trendy when Brain Age was released. I, like most of my friends, thought the charm of Brain Age wore off rather quickly. I sold that and Big Brain Academy a week later.
Thanks for the history and fact-checking, guys. That'll learn 'em!
Voice support? That was the worst part of Brain Age... unless you typically pronounce the word "blue" like "broo".
Someone is shocked to see rivality (LOVELY word) amongst PSP and DS users? What internet firewall have you been hiding behind? It's actually quite entertaining. It's the rare person over 18 that takes the flaming seriously, so sit back and enjoy the show, or feel free to take a cheap shot of your own! Our ongoing not-so-celebrity deathmatch is between our very own fanboy extraordinaire pixelator (*cheers* *scattered boos*) and King Troll with a pretty good sense of humor (hey, shoot me) Give me Stars or Give me Death! (*hiss* *blam!*).
I'm on the fence, personally, but it definitely makes the site more interesting (sorry, Mr. Yoon).
pixelator @ Oct 5th 2006 12:12AM
*belch*
...How does that improve my standings? :D
vR, I don't take this goofery seriously. Sure, there's a degree of irritation with the fanboy mentality of trolls, but there's also a high degree of amusement in prodding them into making utter and complete fools of themselves.
That, and let's just say that game collection pic winner on Joystiq/Engadget would have to take out a loan to beat the pic I could take (I'd have to use a fisheye lens). I'd seriously wager that I have more Nintendo products in my pad than most Gamestops. It's just that I find the apologists and religiously fervent Nintendo advocates to be far more strident and full of righteous fury than they have any reason or right to be. After reading blog after blod slagging Sony on Joystiq, the odd Sony kid yelping 'Whee suzzorxxzz!!1' is almost charming by comparison.
So once more, honest, I'm not any more invested in Sony than I am Nintendo, Sega, Microsoft, Coleco, Mattel, Atari or any other corporation. They're all just companies - and we're just the end gamers. We get to eat what the shovel at us and there are reasons to hate or love them all.
Except Jay Miner - he rocked.
Give me Stars or Give me Death! @ Oct 5th 2006 1:30AM
I love my fights with pixelator. I hope this doesn't end our fighting in the future as I think he is definitely one of the most intelligent people on the forum and a worthy adversary. The fun IS in the prodding and I could give a shit about Microsoft, Nintendo or Sony (just kidding Nintendo, I love you SO much). Anyways, the point is that yeah, there is "rivality", but I hope everyone really knows that it's mostly a joke.
alienclay @ Oct 5th 2006 2:32AM
so what happens if you get a star?
Frexy @ Oct 5th 2006 6:50AM
Hehe, vR, I was 'shocked' (also a big word for something like this) to see this rivality (there, used it again!) without any reason to give any of those comments O_o
Just as if they're taking out of the blue, which, I think, they are... if you read some of the above posts ...
But then again, this is how all these flame wars start, most of all, because someone thinks he/she should break down a system hoping someone would react to it... which practically always happens ^^;
Then again, I may call myself an N-fan(boy - if you like), but I do like hearing other opinions and other WELL REASONED comments =)
I ignore the rest.
Well, except for this one, because these really caught my eye ^^; (And if I'm correct, some posts got deleted too..)
I'll stop my ranting
I'd like to see that version in action though, wonder how'll it compute the final scores ^^; I mean, with multiple choice, the probability of choosing the right answer is a lot higher than 'open' answers.
Hence, the calculation on the end will be different.
It's also a good thing they've listed some other (it's not possible to do the DS test on the PSP) tests, I wonder how I would score on those...
In the end, let's hope this adds to the intelligence of gamers, so flame wars won't be needed ^^;
Nicholas Swenson @ Oct 5th 2006 2:27PM
Assuredly, the touch screen was a big part of Brain Age's appeal. I haven't played Brain Age, but it's the accessibility that people like, alongside the Sudoku. What I have played is Big Brain Academy, and the touch screen allows me to play must faster than I could with face buttons, and I can do a lot more with the touch screen, including stuff that I couldn't do without the touch screen.
zeroshift @ Oct 14th 2006 9:40AM
this will be a good step for the psp, i look forward to seeing the way it would be on it.
pixelator @ Oct 5th 2006 4:18PM
I have to agree - the touchscreen is a big part of this. I see a new Sudoku handheld standalone LCD just popped up in Target and Amazon, and IT uses a stylus.
The fact is, some games (not all) do well with touchscreen input. Puzzlers like Bejeweled, Scrabble, etc. all are improved with such an interface. I could easily see Sudoku and other aspects of Brain Age improved by tapping the stylus.
It'll be interesting to see how they work the interface here, but it already seems to be lacking the same 'pick up and play' friendly UI of Brain Age DS.