Nintendo didn't appear on the show but left a message saying it had been monitoring the voice recognition efficiency in its software since the game's launch in June 2006. And that its customer services department has received only a very small number of calls from people with accents who have been affected.
The firm also said it would like to apologise, and pointed out that Northerners should follow the advice given in the game manual. Page 47, in case you were wondering: - Pronounce each word as clearly as possible, and try to avoid using strong dialects or accents
Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training has come under fire on BBC's Watchdog program for failing to recognise accents from the North.
Deemed important enough to take up a five-minute slot on Monday night's show, Nintendo and its DS game, Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training, were under the spotlight of presenter Nicky Campbell. Campbell went as far as saying that Brain Training "clearly discriminated against" certain accents, especially Northern and Scottish.
Additional interesting snippet : He's not too keen on his sons spending hours playing games either. They're banned from going near the things on weekdays, and only get one hour at weekends. Kawashima once destroyed a game disc when they broke the rules.
"What is scary about games is that you can kill as many hours as you want," he said. "I don't think playing games is bad in itself but it makes children unable to do what they should do such as study and communication with the family."
I fear for my son and his 5 hours minimum at school day gaming schedule :)
17 million Brain Training games sold worldwide, resulting in JPY 2.4 billion (GBP 11 million) royalties, 50% of which COULD be Kawashima's share. But he said his annual salary of JPY 11 million (GBP 50,000) is plenty enough to live on.
"Not a single yen has gone in my pocket. Everyone in my family is mad at me but I tell them that if they want money, go out and earn it," he revealed.
@ReyBrujo, It seems my guess was more accurate than yours, as Nintendo itself reported that 2.8m copies of this game were sold in Europe by the end of 2007.
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*wonders if he's the only limey that posts*