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[mrkgoo]

So what is his involvement? Is he a developer? Or did Nintendo simply take his theories, ideas and exercises and have him endorse their product? Whose idea was Brian Training as DS software - his or Nintendo's?

I was looking some stuff up and came across this:

http://mentalhealth.about.com/cs/familyresources/a/videojap.htm

In it, Dr. Kawashima seems pretty anti-videogames interms of it's benefits for brain activity.

Professor Kawashima is quoted by The Observer as saying "There is a problem we will have with a new generation of children - who play computer games - that we have never seen before. The implications are very serious for an increasingly violent society and these students will be doing more and more bad things if they are playing games and not doing other things like reading aloud or learning arithmetic." He appears convinced that children who play computer and video games excessively will not develop their frontal lobes and may be more prone to act more violently as they grow up. His research findings bolster earlier findings that violent video games contribute to violent behavior.

Ok...did some more research. Seems like he was approached by Nintendo - Damage control? Anyway, he seems kind out of touch with it all, as he's not a gamer.

http://uriel22.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=5936506&publicUserId=5547116

I am a researcher of basic neuroscience. Therefore, creation of such videogames cannot to be my lifework. So I am not too happy with the fact that many people play DS training. I just want to show how effective for
industries to cooperate with neuroscience research.

Thoughts on Kawahima, and his training theories?

 

[HeadsUpSevenUp]

Nintendo used him?

This is all true though, gotta put your kids in Karate and Sports and stuff, can't just give em a gameboy and leave them in their room

 

[the-iek]

i read that this anti-videogames interview never happened, it's a fake interview, although all internet pages still use it ~_?

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

Ok...did some more research. Seems like he was approached by Nintendo

If I recall Iwata's GDC speech, Nintendo's CFO was getting into the Brain Training books and suggested it as a game.


The non-native English use by Kawashima in the 1Up blog reads strangely. You get seeming contradictions like "DS training system is effective for brain activation and easy to continue." and "So I am not too happy with the fact that many people pay DS training."

 

[mrkgoo]

i read that this anti-videogames interview never happened, it's a fake interview, although all internet pages still use it ~_?

SO what's fake...what I read, or what you read? ;p

If I recall Iwata's GDC speech, Nintendo's CFO was getting into the Brain Training books and suggested it as a game.


The non-native English use by Kawashima in the 1Up blog reads strangely. You get seeming contradictions like "DS training system is effective for brain activation and easy to continue." and "So I am not too happy with the fact that many people pay DS training."

Yeah, I was suspicious of the broken English too (you would at least edit it to post). But the other news story seems real enough.

Maybe.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

That about.com article mostly sources this Observer article. However, from that blog we get Kawashima saying

One extremely important point that I must tell you is that I never want to study effects of videogames on children's brain activity. I just measured brain activity of ADULTS during videogame playing by brain imaging techniques, and say nothing on the effect on development of brain and its functions. I learned description on the interview with the Observer contains a lot of misunderstandings and shortcomings, when I have got thousands of threatening letters from gamers.

So it's hard to say which parts are accurate, considering the entire article is about what Kawashima says he wasn't studying. Did they take his research on adults, miscategorize it as being done on children, and extrapolate from that effects on developing minds?