A story in the Mainichi Daily News, covering Brain Age's unheard-of popularity amongst Japan's elderly, makes reference to hospitals putting DS units with the game in waiting rooms and patient wards.
"We've made ten Nintendo DS's available and they're almost always rented out," said Atsuko Uchida, an administrator at Kyoto's Uchida Hospital, which runs a "memory loss clinic" for patients suffering dementia.
Doctors at the hospital even recommend elderly people purchase the console to stimulate their brains regularly at home, and watch patients playing the game as an informal method of diagnosis, Uchida said.
"The game won't cure dementia. But it's a good form of stimulation — especially for old people living alone," said Dr. Takeshi Kihara, a neuropsychiatrist at the clinic.
Brain Age is set for a US release on April 17, followed by sister title Big Brain Academy on May 30.