OSAKA (Kyodo) Nintendo Co. will release the U.S. version of its popular brain-teaser game April 17, company sources said Wednesday.
The software for the Nintendo DS portable console, titled in Japan "Improve your DS Brain Age," will be sold on the U.S. market under the name "BRAIN AGE: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day," the officials said.
The game is scheduled to hit store shelves in Europe in June, where it will be available in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Dutch versions.
The software challenges players with brain teasers. Gamers must make quick simple math calculations, take memory tests or read out short passages. The overseas versions also feature Sudoku numerical puzzles.
Nintendo introduced the software in Japan as a way of targeting middle-aged and elderly people. As of the end of March, Nintendo had shipped about 2 million units of the software in Japan and 1.9 million upgrades. The robust performance has led to an increase in sales of the Nintendo DS.
