Nintendo launches face training game
05-07-2007
by Emmet Ryan

Nintendo's creative department must be in overdrive as the Japanese console giant is poised to release software aimed at making users look younger.

The games package, called Otona no DS Kao Training, is being released along with a new camera for the Nintendo DS portable console. The camera video records a user's face as they play the game. The theory behind the game, which is based on a Japanese concept called 'facening', is that by doing certain facial exercises, you can make your skin more elastic and have a prettier face.

The new device presents an interesting challenge to potential users. The DS is a portable device but finding an appropriate setting to partake in face training exercises may prove difficult. Making weird and wacky faces whilst on a train or bus could potential help users to look younger but other passengers might not react too favourably.

Face training is just the latest in a series of left-field ideas from Nintendo. Actress Nicole Kidman recently became the face of the Nintendo DS game More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima: How Old Is Your Brain? Kidman appears in advertisements for the game which is aimed at stimulating the mind through a series of exercises and challenges. The most notable release in Nintendo's attempts to move away from the traditional concept of gaming was the release of the Wii console in 2006, which uses wand-like controllers.

The DS camera with Otona no DS Kao Training will go on sale in Japan on 2 August at a cost of JPY4,800 (EUR29). No plans on any potential Irish release have been announced.