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  • 2007 Serious Games Summit GDC: Jane McGonigal On ilovebees, ARGs This latest Serious Games Source feature covers a keynote by alternate reality game creator Jane McGonigal presented during the recent 2007 Serious Games Summit, during which she stated “I design games from the future,” and offered insight into the creation of Halo 2 ARG ilovebees.
  • Serious Game Engine Shootout In the march up to the Serious Games Shootout panel to take place in March during the Serious Games Summit in San Francisco, writer Richard Carey presents a comparative analysis of several prominent engines currently used for developing serious games, as well as quotes from the companies behind the technologies.
  • Playing with Fire: Enemy Dolls In this latest Playing with Fire feature, Powerful Robot Games' Gonzalo Frasca offers his unique insight into the perception of conflict in games, as well as in other media, and notes how looking at events through the eyes of the opposition could lead to better understanding.
Nintendo Gives President Bush A DS Lite, Brain Age For 60th[07.06.06]

To celebrate American president George Bush's 60th birthday, Nintendo this week sent the president a gift bag containing the company's recently released Nintendo DS Lite handheld and popular casual game Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day.

Brain Age is based on the research of Professor Ryuta Kawashima of Tohoku University in Japan, a neuroscientist who specializes in brain imaging. The software is purported to stimulate brain activity through a series of brain "exercises" ranging from simple arithmetic to reading aloud and counting syllables. The title has proven itslef to be a popular release in North America, as well as globally, with over six million copies having been sold among the game's three iterations in Japan.

The package was delivered in a gift bag, along with a letter, which is reprinted in its entity here:

Nintendo of America
4820 150th Ave. NE
Redmond, WA 98052
July 6, 2006

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Bush:

Happy Birthday!

Don't worry, turning 60 is an exciting milestone. As you know, you've joined millions of other baby boomers in an invigorating new decade of your life. And, like many boomers, you may be looking for ways to keep your mind sharp. That's where we come in.

Please accept our gift of a new Nintendo DS Lite system and a copy of Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day. You now join millions of people around the world who have fun challenging themselves with Brain Age. If you have never played a video game before, don't worry. Brain Age is part of our new Touch Generations brand, which includes games that are easy for people of any age - regardless of their video game experience - to pick up and start playing immediately.

It's obvious you don't have a lot of time to play games, which makes Brain Age such a great activity for you - just a few minutes a day with more than 15 daily training tests will help keep your mind sharp. Training tests include categories like math, reading and memorization. Try it for a few days and watch your score improve. Brain Age also comes with more than 100 sudoku puzzles - these could make your next long flight on Air Force One a bit more fun! (Perhaps copies of Brain Age for journalists joining you on your next flight would be a nice distraction!)

Have fun exploring Brain Age with your Nintendo DS Lite and be sure to let us know your brain age!
Have a tremendous birthday!

Sincerely,

Your Friends at Nintendo

By Jason Dobson
July 6, 2006 01:25:00 PM PT