Brain Age for Nintendo Switch | Why Not in North America?

The Brain Age series is known primarily for the first game in the series, but it actually had multiple entries in the form of Brain Age 2 for the DS, Brain Age Express which was multiple games released as DSiWare, and Brain Age Concentration Training for the 3DS. But people in Japan and Europe also have Brain Age for Nintendo Switch, which released in very late 2019 in Japan and very early 2020 in Europe.

Thankfully the lack of region lock on the Nintendo Switch allows any Switch owner to play the game, and a European release also means that the game supports English as well. 

The Series

The Brain Age series has had its fair share of criticisms since the second game. It tends to reuse exercises from game to game, and it can result in even the Switch entry having many of the same brain training exercises as the original game roughly 15 years later. As a result of its repetitive nature, the series has seen decreasing sales since the first entry.

The Mystery

Nintendo never gave any indication that Brain Age for Nintendo Switch would or would not be released in North America, meaning it's pure speculation as to why it isn't available there. The easy explanation is that sales for the series might be lower in North America than Europe or Japan, and the website VGChartz supports that idea. The series has had limited success in North America after the first game's release, though it's worth noting that VGChartz is not the most credible source.

Another reason could come down to issues regarding misleading content. Brain Age as a series aims to improve people's cognitive functions, and the Switch game is no different. However there's been a fair amount of debate among the scientific community questioning the effectiveness of brain training games and applications. A study from the Stanford Center on Longevity claims that there isn't substantial evidence that brain training games reduce of reverse cognitive decline. While another source, Cognitive Training Data, isn't pleased with the testing that was done to reach those conclusions.

It's fair to say that the science behind these games' effectiveness is inconclusive, and no one wants to be misled on what a health related product offers. And there's already a precedent in terms of what happens when a brain training program makes misleading or unfounded claims.

In January of 2016, Lumos Labs, the company behind the brain training program Lumosity, had to pay $2 million due to deceptive advertising that claimed that the program could "stave off memory loss, dementia, and even Alzheimer's disease, but did not have the science to back up its claims."

It's fair to say that Brain Age doesn't have claims that go as far as preventing or reversing the same things that got Lumos Labs claims with Lumosity. However Brain Age does have claims about how its brain training exercises can improve the brain's functionality, which is a debated topic in the scientific community.

The Conclusion

What it is that's keeping Brain Age outside North America isn't fully known. It could be the result of poor sales, or it could be the possibility of legal action. It could be a mix of both, or it could be something we don't have any way of knowing is a factor. However it is an interesting question that a lot of people didn't even know exists.

Animal Crossing Globetrotter - Two Years Later

In April of 2018, a supposed leak was unleashed on the internet known as Animal Crossing Globetrotter. It received a decent amount of attention, much of which was skeptical. However it wasn't much later that the leak was confirmed to be a fake.

What I find interesting is that we just hit the two year anniversary of the "leak". Animal Crossing for the Switch is finally out, and now there's something to compare it to.

The most interesting picture show the player in front of The Roost. Funnily enough, The Roost is not currently in New Horizons, with many players expecting it to be patched into the game in a future update. However I think it's fair to say that this picture actually might look more credible now than it did two years ago. Aside from the clock being the same one used in Animal Crossing Plaza, this image captures the same artstyle New Horizons would end up using.

There's unfortunately not much to say regarding the fake leak, since it was confirmed fake. But I do think it's interesting that it captured a lot of the look New Horizons would later go for. This was made at a time when no visual elements for New Horizons had been shown.

If you want a piece of leak debunkery, I did release a post just over two years ago discussing why I thought the leak was most likely fake.

To the Moon | Review (Nintendo Switch)

To the Moon is a game released by Freebird games in 2011. The player controls two characters throughout the game who attempt to fulfill a dying man's wish to go to the moon. And despite that sounding like a spoiler, it's all revealed in the first ten minutes.

Animal Crossing New Horizons | What Does "In-Game Purchases" Mean?

2020 is looking like an absolutely packed year for video games. Half-Life Alyx, Cyberpunk, and The Last of Us Part 2 are shaping up to make the best game of the year a difficult choice to make. And despite that, the one I'm most excited for is Animal Crossing New Horizons.

However, things aren't as bright and cheery as they may seem. The Nintendo.com page for New Horizons used to show an age rating descriptor for "In-Game Purchases". However that particular descriptor is no longer present. The Animal Crossing website and the page on the official Nintendo eShop for the Switch never showed that descriptor. What does this mean?