Touch! Generations [lower-alpha 1] is a brand created by Nintendo to denote video games on the Nintendo DS and Wii that are intended to appeal to a broader audience (mainly adults and the elderly) than the traditional gamer. Nintendo initially conceived the brand alongside the DS in Japan as a response to the country's faster population aging rate compared to Western regions, seeking to attract audiences outside its traditional target market of young hardcore gamers to supplement its player base. [1] [2] Titles under the brand were first introduced in Japan from April to June 2005, with the initial lineup consisting of titles such as Electroplankton , [3] Nintendogs , Brain Age , Rakubiki Jiten DS, [4] and Big Brain Academy . [5] [6]
Big Brain Academy and Magnetica were the first games in North America to release under the Touch! Generations brand, with both releasing on June 5, 2006; they were followed up by Sudoku Gridmaster on June 26. [7] In addition, several previously released games were retroactively designated with the brand. [2] Meanwhile, the brand was introduced in Europe on June 9 with the release of Brain Age, which was renamed Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain?. [8] The games designated with the Touch! Generations label varied between regions. [9] [10]
Titles under the Touch! Generations brand have generally been commercially successful, with those under specific series receiving particular attention; as of March 31, 2023, titles under the Nintendogs and Brain Age series for the Nintendo DS have sold for a combined total of 57.85 million units, while the Wii has titles in its eponymous series represent six of its top ten best-selling games with a combined total of 197.21 million units. [11] [12] The brand's popularity was most notable in Japan, where it was credited with invoking a significant push among developers in the country to create non-traditional titles for the Nintendo DS, with 220 such titles developed out of 810 total by May 2008. [13] Furthermore, a soundtrack album with music from games within and outside the brand was made available in Japan on audio CD starting on September 4, 2008, as a Club Nintendo reward for 400 points. [14]
Nintendo retired the brand with the launch of the Nintendo 3DS in 2011, six years after its introduction. [15] Despite this, some games that were introduced under the brand continue to receive follow-up entries on the contemporary and future Nintendo consoles.
The video games published under the Touch! Generations brand for the Nintendo DS vary between countries. Organized alphabetically by title:
Title | Original release date | ||
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Japan | North America | PAL region | |
100 Classic Book Collection | October 7, 2007 | June 15, 2010 | EU December 26, 2008 [16] AU January 22, 2009 |
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1000 Cooking Recipes from Elle à Table | — | — | EU July 2, 2010 |
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Active Health with Carol Vorderman | — | — | EU August 7, 2009 |
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America's Test Kitchen: Let's Get Cooking | — | March 28, 2010 [19] | — |
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Art Academy | June 19, 2010 | October 25, 2010 | EU August 6, 2010 AU September 23, 2010 |
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Big Brain Academy | June 30, 2005 | June 5, 2006 | AU July 5, 2006 EU July 7, 2006 |
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Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! | May 19, 2005 | April 16, 2006 | EU June 9, 2006 AU June 16, 2006 |
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Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day! | December 29, 2005 | August 20, 2007 | EU June 29, 2007 AU July 5, 2007 |
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Clubhouse Games | April 19, 2007 | October 9, 2006 | EU September 29, 2006 AU October 26, 2006 |
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Cooking Guide: Can't Decide What to Eat? | December 4, 2008 | November 24, 2008 | EU June 20, 2008 AU July 3, 2008 |
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Crosswords DS | — | May 5, 2008 | AU June 12, 2008 EU December 18, 2009 |
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Daredemo Asobi Taizen [lower-alpha 9] | November 3, 2005 | — | — |
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DS Bimoji Training [lower-alpha 10] | March 13, 2008 | — | — |
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DS Uranai Seikatsu [lower-alpha 11] | January 15, 2009 | — | — |
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Electroplankton [lower-alpha 12] | April 7, 2005 | January 9, 2006 | EU July 7, 2006 |
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Elite Beat Agents | — | November 6, 2006 | AU May 3, 2007 EU July 13, 2007 |
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English Training: Have Fun Improving Your Skills! | January 26, 2006 | — | EU October 27, 2006 |
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Face Training: Facial exercises to strengthen and relax from Fumiko Inudo | August 7, 2007 | — | EU September 23, 2010 |
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Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day | May 31, 2007 | October 15, 2007 | EU November 23, 2007 AU January 17, 2008 |
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Ganbaru Watashi no Kakei Diary [lower-alpha 16] | July 12, 2007 | — | — |
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Hotel Dusk: Room 215 | January 25, 2007 | January 22, 2007 | AU February 22, 2007 EU April 13, 2007 |
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Kanji Sonomama Rakubiki Jiten DS [lower-alpha 18] | April 13, 2006 | — | — |
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Kanshū Nippon Jōshikiryoku Kentei Kyōkai: Imasara Hito ni wa Kikenai Otona no Jōshikiryoku Training DS [lower-alpha 19] | October 26, 2006 | — | — |
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Kenkō Ōen Recipe 1000: DS Kondate Zenshū [lower-alpha 20] | December 7, 2006 | — | — |
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Kotoba no Puzzle: Mojipittan DS [lower-alpha 21] | March 15, 2007 | — | — |
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Magnetica | March 2, 2006 | June 5, 2006 | EU January 6, 2007 |
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Make 10: A Journey of Numbers | October 10, 2007 | — | AU September 4, 2008 EU September 26, 2008 |
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Master of Illusion | November 16, 2006 | November 26, 2007 | AU December 13, 2007 EU March 14, 2008 [24] |
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Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir | — | September 8, 2008 | AU October 16, 2008 EU February 6, 2009 |
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Nihon Keizai Shinbunsha Kanshū: Shiranai Mamade wa Son o Suru Mono ya Okane no Shikumi DS [lower-alpha 25] | August 27, 2009 | — | — |
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Nintendogs | April 21, 2005 | August 22, 2005 | AU September 22, 2005 EU October 7, 2005 |
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Personal Trainer: Walking | November 1, 2008 | May 25, 2009 | EU June 5, 2009 |
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Picross 3D | March 12, 2009 | May 3, 2010 | EU March 5, 2010 |
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Picross DS [lower-alpha 28] | January 25, 2007 | July 30, 2007 | EU May 11, 2007 AU June 7, 2007 |
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Planet Puzzle League | April 26, 2007 [25] | June 4, 2007 [26] | EU June 29, 2007 [27] |
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Practise English! | March 29, 2007 | — | EU October 26, 2007 |
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Professor Kageyama's Maths Training: The Hundred Cell Calculation Method | January 13, 2007 [28] | January 12, 2009 | AU February 7, 2008 EU February 8, 2008 |
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Rakubiki Jiten DS [lower-alpha 32] [29] | June 16, 2005 | — | — |
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Rhythm Heaven | July 31, 2008 | April 5, 2009 | EU May 1, 2009 [30] AU June 4, 2009 |
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Shaberu! DS Oryōri Navi [lower-alpha 34] | July 20, 2006 | — | — |
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Sudoku Gridmaster | March 23, 2006 | June 26, 2006 | EU October 27, 2006 AU February 22, 2007 |
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Tabi no Yubisashi Kaiwachō DS [lower-alpha 35] | April 20, 2006 (Thai, Chūgoku and Kankoku) April 27, 2006 (America and Deutsch) | — | — |
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Tetris DS [lower-alpha 36] | April 27, 2006 | March 20, 2006 | AU April 13, 2006 EU April 21, 2006 |
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Touch de Tanoshimu Hyakunin Isshu: DS Shigureden [lower-alpha 37] | December 14, 2006 | — | — |
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True Swing Golf | November 10, 2005 | January 23, 2006 | November 25, 2005 |
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The video games published under the Touch! Generations brand for the Wii vary between countries. Organized alphabetically by title:
Title | Original release date | ||
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Japan | North America | PAL region | |
Another Code: R – A Journey into Lost Memories | February 5, 2009 | — | EU June 26, 2009 [31] |
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Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree | April 26, 2007 | June 11, 2007 | EU July 20, 2007 AU November 8, 2007 |
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Endless Ocean | August 2, 2007 | January 21, 2008 [32] | EU November 9, 2007 [33] AU January 17, 2008 |
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Endless Ocean 2: Adventures of the Deep | September 17, 2009 | February 22, 2010 | EU February 5, 2010 AU February 25, 2010 |
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Minna no Jōshikiryoku TV [lower-alpha 42] | March 6, 2008 | — | — |
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Wii Chess | September 30, 2008 | — | EU January 18, 2008 |
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Wii Fit | December 1, 2007 [34] | May 21, 2008 | EU April 25, 2008 [35] AU May 8, 2008 |
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Wii Fit Plus | October 1, 2009 [37] | October 4, 2009 [38] | AU October 15, 2009 [39] EU October 30, 2009 [40] |
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Wii Music | October 16, 2008 [41] | October 20, 2008 [42] | AU November 13, 2008 [43] EU November 14, 2008 [44] |
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Wii Party | July 8, 2010 | October 3, 2010 | AU October 7, 2010 EU October 8, 2010 |
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Wii Play | December 2, 2006 | February 12, 2007 | AU December 7, 2006 EU December 8, 2006 |
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Wii Sports | December 2, 2006 | November 19, 2006 | AU December 7, 2006 EU December 8, 2006 |
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Wii Sports Resort | June 25, 2009 [45] | July 26, 2009 [46] | AU July 23, 2009 EU July 24, 2009 [47] |
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Kotoba no Puzzle: Mojipittan is a series of Japanese word puzzle video games developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, formerly Namco. The series began in arcades with Kotoba no Puzzle: Mojipittan in 2001, and has seen multiple sequels for several platforms, including the Game Boy Advance, PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS. Gameplay is similar to Scrabble — players are tasked with using Hiragana to form words on a board by placing down pieces marked with Hiragana characters.
True Swing Golf is a golf video game by long-time golf game creators T&E Soft, published by Nintendo and released for the Nintendo DS handheld video game system.
Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!, known as Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain? in PAL regions, is an edutainment puzzle video game. It was developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. Nintendo has stated that it is an entertainment product inspired by Tohoku University professor Ryuta Kawashima's work in the neurosciences.
Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day!, known as More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima: How Old Is Your Brain? in PAL regions, is an edutainment puzzle game and the sequel to Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! (2005). It was developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. Before the game begins, the player must perform a Brain Age Check to determine their brain age, which ranges from 20 to 80, to determine approximately their brain's responsiveness. A brain age of 20, the lowest age that the player can achieve, indicates that the player's brain is as responsive as that of an average 20-year-old. After the player is told their initial brain age, they can complete a series of minigames to help improve their brain's responsiveness, after which they can run Brain Age Check again to determine their updated brain age.
Touch! Generations is a brand created by Nintendo to denote games on the Nintendo DS and Wii that are intended to appeal to a broader audience than the traditional gamer. Nintendo originally introduced the brand in Japan in April 2005; it was subsequently introduced in North America and Europe in June 2006. Nintendo retired the brand with the launch of the Nintendo 3DS in 2011, six years after its introduction. Despite this, some games that were introduced under the brand continue to receive follow-up entries on the contemporary and future Nintendo consoles.
Taiko no Tatsujin is a video game series created by Namco. In the games, players simulate playing a taiko drum in time with music. The series has released games for the arcade and for console and mobile platforms including PlayStation 2, Advanced Pico Beena, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Microsoft Windows, iOS, Android and Japanese feature phones.
Puzzle Series is a series of puzzle video games by Hudson Soft.
Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day is a Touch! Generations puzzle video game developed by Namco Bandai and Nintendo SPD and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It was released in Japan on May 31, 2007 as Miru Chikara wo Jissen de Kitaeru: DS Medikara Training and released in North America on October 15.
Professor Kageyama's Maths Training: The Hundred Cell Calculation Method is a puzzle video game published by Nintendo and developed by Jupiter for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It was first released in Japan, then later in Europe and Australasia. It was released in North America as Personal Trainer: Math on January 12, 2009 and also in South Korea in 2009. The game is part of both the Touch! Generations and Personal Trainer series. The game received mixed reviews, with common criticisms cited for the game's difficulty in recognizing some numbers and for not being very entertaining to play. At GameRankings, it holds an average review score of 65%.
Brain Age Express are three educational puzzle video games developed by Nintendo for the Nintendo DSi's DSiWare download service. They are the third series of games in the Brain Age series, and are repackaged versions of both Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! and Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day! games, featuring both old and new puzzles.
Brain Age, known as Dr Kawashima's Brain Training in PAL regions, is a series of video games developed and published by Nintendo, based on the work of Ryuta Kawashima.
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games is a 2009 sports and party game developed by Sega. Like its predecessor, it was published by Nintendo for Japan and Korea and by Sega in the Western world. The game is officially licensed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) through exclusive license International Sports Multimedia. The game is the third official crossover title to feature characters from both Mario and Sonic's respective universes, the first and second being the game's predecessor Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games and Super Smash Bros. Brawl respectively. It was released on the Wii and the Nintendo DS in October 2009, and is the first official video game of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
Tomodachi Collection,, is a social simulation video game for the Nintendo DS, released exclusively in Japan on June 18, 2009. A sequel, Tomodachi Life, was released for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan on April 18, 2013, and in North America and Europe on June 6, 2014.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team are a matched pair of Pokémon video games for the Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance, respectively. The games were developed by Chunsoft and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo. Red Rescue Team was the last Pokémon game released for the Game Boy Advance. The two versions are mostly identical, with Blue Rescue Team taking advantage of the dual-screen features and increased graphical and sound capabilities of the Nintendo DS. The game has six Pokémon exclusive to each version.
Brain Age: Concentration Training,JPN known in Europe and Australia as Dr Kawashima's Devilish Brain Training: Can you stay focused?, is an educational puzzle video game developed and published by Nintendo. It is the fourth major entry in the Brain Age series and the first made specifically for the Nintendo 3DS. It was released in Japan on July 28, 2012, in North America on February 10, 2013, and in South Korea on September 5, 2013. It later came to Europe on July 28, 2017, and Australia on July 29, 2017, five years apart from the initial release. Dr. Kawashima presents the game's purpose as being to counter prevalent subpar concentration skills onset by social media and other aspects of modern life.
Dr Kawashima's Brain Training for Nintendo Switch is an edutainment puzzle video game developed by Nintendo and indieszero and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the fifth entry in the Brain Age puzzle video game series, based on the research of neuroscientist Ryuta Kawashima, whose avatar guides the player through the game. It was released on December 27, 2019 in Japan, January 3, 2020 in Europe and Australia, and July 1, 2020 in South Korea. The game was not released in North America.
Iwata:But we decided that, whereas before we had established a Touch! Generations brand, created special corners in shops and used a special logo, the company has decided not to use this brand name for Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo today announced that the new Wii Fit Plus game will launch in North America on Oct. 4