Nintendo offers aging Canadian population new way to exercise their brains

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In the wake of recent census
figures revealing a rapidly aging Canadian population, Nintendo today launched
the latest version of its award-winning mental workout software, Brain Age 2:
More Training in Minutes a Day. Brain Age 2 is a series of 15 new activities
designed to help people exercise their brains. It challenges players in areas
like math, memorization and music on the portable Nintendo DS game system, and
it couldn’t come at a better time.

With the fastest growing
segment of the Canadian population aged 55-64, it’s no surprise brain fitness
is on the minds of many Canadians. Almost half (48 per cent) of Canadians are
worried about their alertness deteriorating with age, according to a Decima
Research survey commissioned by Nintendo of Canada. In fact, the tail-end baby
boomers – those aged 45-49 – were the most worried of any age group.

"As Canada’s population
continues to age, mental fitness becomes an acute issue," said Dr. Sharon
Cohen, Director, Toronto Memory Program and Assistant
Professor, University of Toronto. "A combination of sound nutrition, regular
physical activity, social interaction and frequent exercising of the mind are
all important to maintaining overall good health. Brain Age 2 can be one component
of that health regimen."

Several patients at Dr.
Cohen’s Toronto Memory Program, including 74 year-old Sidney Cohen (no relation),
have been using the original brain-training software Brain Age: Train Your Brain
in Minutes a Day for more than a year. "The Brain Age exercises are now
a part of my routine to help me stay in better shape, starting with my brain,"
said Mr. Cohen. "It’s motivating for me that while I may be in my seventies,
my ‘Brain Age’ is actually 68."

No matter what
age, Canadians can benefit from having better memories. The Decima/Nintendo
survey also revealed:

– Nearly three in four
Canadians (72 per cent) sometimes have trouble remembering someone’s name
after having met them only briefly or some time ago

– Two-thirds of Canadians
can’t recall all their computer-based passwords, including the ones automatically
saved for them

– Nearly one in four
(24 per cent) admit they can’t add or subtract dollars and cents as quickly
as they used to

– Ten per cent of Canadians
confessed to "referring to a partner by the wrong name in an intimate
situation."

"Canadians are not
immune to ‘brain lapses’," said Ron Bertram, vice president and general
manager, Nintendo of Canada. "Luckily, the Decima/Nintendo survey discovered
that more Canadians felt exercising their mind was actually more important than
exercising their bodies, so mental fitness is recognized as important. With
Brain Age 2, any age group, even seniors, can easily pick up and play and train
their brain."

Played on Nintendo DS,
Brain Age 2 is designed for the "non-gamer," with simple-to-use voice
commands and a touch-sensitive screen for writing answers. Players take a series
of tests and receive a score that shows how "old" their brain is.
With daily training over weeks and months, players strive to improve their mental
acuity and lower their "DS Brain Age". Among the new games are a voice-controlled
Rock, Paper, Scissors, several memory and math games, word scrambles and 100
new Sudoku puzzles. Based on the theories of neuroscientist Dr. Ryuta Kawashima,
Brain Age 2 has already sold more than 5.33-million copies in Japan. The Brain
Age series, like other titles such as Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree for Wii,
continues Nintendo’s goal of making video gaming fun, easy to play and available
for everyone from 5 to 95.

About the survey

The survey was carried
out on behalf of Nintendo of Canada by Decima Research (July 19 – 22, 2007)
as part of a Decima Televox National Telephone Omnibus survey. Decima Research
questioned 1,007 randomly selected Canadian adults more than 18 years of age.
With a sample size of 1,000, the survey data is accurate +/- 3.1%, 19 times
out of 20.

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