Sony, Microsoft and most big game publishers continue to aim squarely at the traditional "gamer" demographic of boys 18-35 with games that involve shooting, driving, and a healthy dose of "T&A"....

Nintendo, on the other hand, seems to have avoided that kind of marketing myopia and has come out of left field with something that I think is a stunning departure, games for the "grey market." I mean, surely if a game came out that claimed to help your brain be more youthful you would have the undivided attention of the baby boomers, and probably their kids as well. Well enter "Brain Age", and yes it's a video game. In fact it's a game for the Nintendo DS (Dual Screen) handheld, and with tag lines like:

"For decades Nintendo has been exercising your thumbs. Now they're going to exercise your mind"

"Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day"

Nintendo is essentially turning market perception on its head, positioning the video game as positive "mental exercise," as opposed to the common perception of it being a pointless, mind-numbing activity. Not only does the game act as a diagnostic tool, by testing your "brain age," but as a training tool to help lower your brain age, the idea being that a younger brain age is better for your mental health.

As was mentioned in the excellent escapist article the gaming community treated the Nintendo DS (dual screen with a stylus) as a bit of a joke. The graphics were sub par to competing systems, and the interface was kind of clunky and the two screens.... well, it didn't fit the handheld gaming mold. But with a game like Brain Age, suddenly the Nintendo DS could become a household name with baby boomers that might not have even heard of Nintendo before. Talk about Word of Mouth -- if it starts to gain traction in the 50+ market as a way to stave off something as awful as Alzheimer's, people like me are going to be buying Nintendo DS's for their parents.

(screenshot from the Brain Age site, not your average gamers)

(I'm not super keen on the "do you remember what you had for dinner 2 nights ago" line on their Web site, for me it just smacks of the "i've fallen and I can't get up" approach to marketing, but that's just my gut feeling.)

In a flyer I read today about Brain Age, mention was made of a game called "Big Brain Academy" which could be aimed at the parents of young children (originally called Brain Flex I think, but the addition of the word "academy" sure aims to create position this tool as making you or your kids "smarter"). Another switch, parents trying to get their kids to play more video games.

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