Have you ever played Brain Age? I haven't but have to check it out:
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gMwDe1ovbiILhtf3JKM2Ez79rGvA
Ryuta Kawashima, the scientist behind the smash-hit "brain training" games on Nintendo DS portable consoles, turned down the chance to become a millionaire, saying he'd rather work for a living.
The self-confessed workaholic -- who says he has no time for games, even his own -- is instead busy at his job, trying to come up with new inventions aimed at Japan's growing elderly population.
"Not a single yen has gone in my pocket," said the soft-spoken 48-year-old professor with round-rim glasses.
"Everyone in my family is mad at me but I tell them that if they want money, go out and earn it."
His brain-training software, which incorporates quizzes and other simple mental stimulation, is credited with introducing a new demographic to video-game machines as older people try to prevent senility.
Royalties from the brain training software for the Nintendo DS alone have reached 2.4 billion yen (22 million dollars), with 17 million titles sold worldwide since its debut in Japan in May 2005.
Under the rules of his employer, state-funded Tohoku University, Kawashima could take up to half the proceeds with the rest going to the school.
But Kawashima, married to a high-school classmate with four sons, is happy to live on his annual salary of around 11 million yen (100,000 dollars).
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Actually, it looks like he turned down half of the 22 millions, but it is still a nice sum....
He is also a sadist:
"Despite developing software for Nintendo, Kawashima banned his four sons, now aged 14 to 22, from playing video-games on weekdays, with only one hour allowed at weekends, and once destroyed a disc when they broke the rules."
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gMwDe1ovbiILhtf3JKM2Ez79rGvA
Ryuta Kawashima, the scientist behind the smash-hit "brain training" games on Nintendo DS portable consoles, turned down the chance to become a millionaire, saying he'd rather work for a living.
The self-confessed workaholic -- who says he has no time for games, even his own -- is instead busy at his job, trying to come up with new inventions aimed at Japan's growing elderly population.
"Not a single yen has gone in my pocket," said the soft-spoken 48-year-old professor with round-rim glasses.
"Everyone in my family is mad at me but I tell them that if they want money, go out and earn it."
His brain-training software, which incorporates quizzes and other simple mental stimulation, is credited with introducing a new demographic to video-game machines as older people try to prevent senility.
Royalties from the brain training software for the Nintendo DS alone have reached 2.4 billion yen (22 million dollars), with 17 million titles sold worldwide since its debut in Japan in May 2005.
Under the rules of his employer, state-funded Tohoku University, Kawashima could take up to half the proceeds with the rest going to the school.
But Kawashima, married to a high-school classmate with four sons, is happy to live on his annual salary of around 11 million yen (100,000 dollars).
---------------------
Actually, it looks like he turned down half of the 22 millions, but it is still a nice sum....
He is also a sadist:
"Despite developing software for Nintendo, Kawashima banned his four sons, now aged 14 to 22, from playing video-games on weekdays, with only one hour allowed at weekends, and once destroyed a disc when they broke the rules."
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