让老人大脑的“灰质细胞”玩游戏

　　据英国《每日电讯》3月18日报道，这款游戏机是由日本东京的一些神经科学家为任天堂数字游戏公司开发的，游戏设计包括许多与数学、语言、记忆以及智商有关的迷题。游戏者须在一定时间内完成游戏任务，游戏动作有时还包括大声阅读和画画等。

　　报道说，“大脑训练”游戏机目前在日本老年人中广受欢迎，在日本上市不到一年时间已售出140万部，甚至让越来越多的女性顾客和年龄更老些的顾客也“爱上了”游戏机。

　　“愉悦而无意义”的游戏开始流行

　　与单纯的射击、赛跑和体育类型的游戏相比，目前的电脑游戏公司越来越注重开发一些非竞争性的、有时甚至是“愉悦而无意义”的电子游戏，包括电子宠物、电子植物以及外科手术中心（可进行视频手术游戏）等。

　　任天堂娱乐公司负责人宫本茂说，这款“大脑训练”可以让一些原以为自己不适合玩游戏的人爱上它。他说，玩游戏和不玩游戏的人有很大的区别，对于一些不玩游戏的人来说，电子游戏是和他们不相关的东西，他们认为所有的游戏肯定都太难了。“而我们想要消除这一障碍。它非常简单，是一种不同寻常的经历”。

　　A video game that is said to help the older generationsharpentheir minds and delay the onset of dementia is abouttolaunched.

　　Backed by a 2 million advertising campaign, Dr KawashimasBrainTraining is the first video game to be aimed at theover-45s.

　　Designed by a Tokyo neuroscientist for Nintendos DShandheldgames console, it includes dozens of mathematical,language, memoryand IQ-style puzzles.

　　Players must race against the clock to complete the task,whichalso include reading aloud and drawing.

　　The game is already a huge hit among Japanese pensioners andispart of a drive to increase the appeal of video games to womenandolder customers.

　　Instead of churning out the usual mix of shooting, racingandsports games, computer games companies are increasinglyproducingnon-competitive and occasionally charmingly pointlessvideo gameexperiences.

　　They include Nintendogs, where the tive is to raise acyber-puppy;Electroplankton, where the goal is to encourage fishto make music;and Trauma Centre: Under the Knife, where playerscarry out virtualoperations.

　　Shigeru Miyamoto, the head of Nintendos entertainmentdivision,said Brain Training would reach those who previouslyassumedcomputer games were not for them.

　　There are big lines between those who play video games andthosewho do not, he said. For those who dont, video gamesareirrelevant. They think all video games must be too difficult.Wewant to remove that barrier. Its very simple. There are dozensofdifferent questions. Its a very unusual experience.

　　Brain Training has sold more than 1.4 million copies sinceitsJapanese launch just under a year ago. It arrives in Britaininmid-May.

　　The female market is also crucial for computer gamescompanies.Its virtual puppy game Nintendogs was a big hit amongteenage girlsand women in their 20s.

　　Animal Crossing is typical of the new generation of games.Thereis no point, no purpose and no competition. Players simplyamblearound the virtual world talking to other visitors,postingletters, selling and buying and decorating their home. Thegameexists in real time and the user experiences the changingseasons.Its been called slow life, said Mr Miyamoto. The mainpurposeis to communicate with other people.

　　It is not just the content of games that is changing to appealtoolder and female gamers. The design of the DS, which uses atouchsensitive screen and stylus, means people dont have to learnhowto use a push button keypad.

　　Nintendos new home entertainment console, the Revolution -duelater this year - takes it one step further with awirelessjoystick.