In 2006, Nintendo kicked off a marketing campaign directed at parents home during the daytime. While I was initially skeptical whether or not the campaign would yield results, I came home one day to discover that my mother had bought herself a shiny new Nintendo DS. Though my parents had loved games like Ms. Pac-Man back in the day, this was the first time my mother had really expressed an interest in buying a game for herself. The game that got her to take the plunge? Brain Age, a casual title designed to keep the brain active. My mom wasn’t alone; the title sold quite well to casual audiences, blazing a path for future titles such as Wii Sports and Wii Fit. It’s been quite some time since the Brain Age franchise received a new entry, but Nintendo has announced a new game slated for Japan!
Like its predecessors, players turn the unit vertically to play. The DS version made significant use of the stylus, so players will be happy to know that the new game will come with a (long overdue) stylus for Switch! The new iteration of Brain Age will also include a number of new features to take advantage of the upgraded hardware, including a two-player mode, online play, and games that use the IR sensors in the Joy-Con controllers. The Home icon on the Switch unit will even light up to remind players to do their daily training!
Time will tell if this version of Brain Age will have the same cultural impact as the original game. After all, Brain Age released before the explosion of mobile gaming, and plenty of apps on iOS and Android have delivered similar experiences, since. The title will release in Japan December 27. The bundle with the stylus will be available for 3,480 yen, or about $32 American. Buyers can also purchase the title digitally with the stylus sold separately.
Source: Nintendo Everything