Costco Connection - October 2006

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KEN BROMAN

Brain games offer a smart

alternative to shoot-’em-ups

By Charles Bermant

IMAGINE THIS SCENARIO: A guy is sitting in the living room, reading the paper. His son is upstairs playing a video game while his wife is in the kitchen wrapped up in a round of electronic Sudoku. She finishes the puzzle at the same time her son completes the last brain teaser of identifying how many cubes are in a stack. And they both let out a loud, simultaneous “Yesssssss!”

Video games are evolving as game makers come out with alternatives to the violent and complicated products that have defined the industry. Most people who consider themselves “gamers” will still crave dazzling graphics and a need for astounding dexterity to go from one level to the next. But “casual” games, as they are christened, are more about showing brainpower than aggression.

“When you accomplish a goal it is not at someone else’s expense,” says industry analyst Rob Enderle of the emerging category. “These games keep your mind sharp and can increase your mental acuity.”

Loosely defined, casual games are mentally based exercises that test levels of competence rather than competitive strengths. They are nonviolent, easy to use and skewed toward an older audience than the standard 18- to 35-year-old white male gamer demographic.

Players are embracing games that ask them to match random numbers or shapes and don’t blow anything apart when they get a wrong answer. The games often have a

The Costco Connection Costco warehouses and costco.com feature two brain-challenging games from Nintendo: Big Brain Academy and Brain Age, as well as Sudoku video games and players.

frame of reference to what a person already knows. And they’re easy to start and play.

“With a lot of video games you need to spend 20 or 30 minutes figuring out how it works,” says Seattle Times reporter Kim Peterson, who covers—and plays—video games. “You can pick these up and start playing right away. You have a challenge and work to beat your own score without killing anybody. This appeals to a lot of people.”

“These games

keep your mind

sharp and can

increase your

mental acuity.

—Rob Enderle

^Consider ^the ^popularity ^{of Sudo}”^{ku, a}logic puzzle using number sequences. Game developers have entered the Sudoku market with video games and devices for electronic play. Sudoku books are published with magazine frequency, while those who prefer a computer-based format can take advantage of numerous free online sites.

Like Pong or Tetris, Sudoku can be profoundly addicting to people who claim to dislike video games—except it doesn't require spry physical response or hand-eye coordination. You only need to concentrate

long enough to play one game. And another. And yet another. OK, just one more.

Such obsession isn’t a prerequisite. The self-paced nature allows the completion of one game in 10 minutes or 10 days. And because there are no flashing lights, people play as therapy. You could wake up in the middle of the night worried and restless, then play a few rounds of Sudoku—it’s instant relaxation.

For others, the games are stimulating. This is supported by game journalist John Bardinelli, who says that when he plays a few games of Sudoku in the early afternoon “I end up feeling just a little bit sharper for the rest of the day.”

Supporters say that casual games do more than keep us amused. A RealNetworks survey this spring reported that three-quarters of parents whose children play casual games have observed an educational benefit.

Matt Atwood, public relations manager at Nintendo, says casual games have cross-gen-erational appeal. “With some games, kids show them to their mothers and get no reaction,” he says. “But with games like Sudoku, we’ve heard of cases where once kids show Mom the game they don’t see their game device for a very long time.”

Even so, the casual game’s ability to sharpen one’s wits or deepen one’s knowledge pool is secondary to what matters most. “The consumer doesn’t want products to help them become smarter,” says Michael Goodman, a senior analyst with the Yankee Group. “These are games. They need to be fun.” C