Getting back in touch with Touch! Generations on DS

Before Nintendo unveiled the DS, if we had predicted that two of the most successful games of 2006 would be about mental arithmetic and raising virtual dogs, we would have been laughed all the way to the dark side of the internet.

There's no denying Nintendo's inclusive DS titles are triumphs of modern game design. The synergy between casual software such as Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training and the unique DS hardware has succeeded in making educational and other such sedate titles fun for nearly everyone. It's hard to imagine a game like Brain Training would have enjoyed such success had it been hosted by a meat-and-potatoes buttons and D-pad set up.

Even the Chris Tarrant-headed TV advert marks a break from typical games advertising. The Touch! Generations banner is the marketing masterstroke, acting as the glue that binds all the elements together.

Without such astute branding, Nintendo's line of casual and educational games would be a disparate collection of fun oddities, their messages of inclusive gaming reduced to a fleeting soundbite of games industry speak.

Since launching last year, the Touch! Generations brand has quietly started to envelop a broader remit of games. A visit to the Touch! Generations website reveals that alongside the official posterboys is a section entitled 'Related Products' listing the likes of Harvest Moon DS, Hotel Dusk: Room 215 and the hugely popular Phoenix Wright series of games.

Although these titles don't bear the official Touch! Generations trademark, they show that Nintendo is keen to extend the halo effect to a more diverse collection of games.

We asked Nintendo UK's head of PR Robert Saunders to shed some light on the future of gaming's least likely success story.

Pocket Gamer: The Touch! Generations brand has also enveloped older franchises such as Tetris. Will we see other established franchises promoted under the Touch! Generations brand in future? Robert Saunders: Nintendogs, Brain Training and Big Brain Academy have already established themselves as huge franchises less than a year since launching in the UK. Rather than looking at older games to bring into the range, we are very much focused on creating new, interesting and innovative titles for the portfolio. We currently have no plans to bring anymore of what you call 'older franchises' into the Touch! Generations range. The main reason for bringing Tetris into the range was the fact that it is a classic game that has broad appeal. So far Touch! Generations titles have done a great job of enticing new demographics to gaming. Are there plans to broaden the horizons of hardcore gamers with Touch! Generations titles tailored specifically to them? Saunders: The whole concept of Touch! Generations is that it is a range of software that can appeal to anyone – from the non-gamer right the way through to the hardcore gamer, so to tailor a Touch! Generations title is to defeat the very point they are created for. Do you see Touch! Generations titles as a gateway for non-typical gamers (older gamers, girl gamers) to eventually take an interest in more traditional titles like Mario or Metroid?

We've certainly seen people dipping their toe in the gaming water with many Touch! Generations titles like Brain Training and 42 All-Time Classics, and then using them as a stepping stone into other titles such as Animal Crossing: Wild World and New Super Mario Bros. It's great because these people clearly thought gaming wasn't for them, but by introducing them to different and accessible games they realise that it's actually a lot of fun. They are now starting to purchase more and more titles.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Or rather was the DS designed with Touch! Generation titles in mind from the beginning or did the Touch! Generations brand evolve as a result of the hardware choices Nintendo made?

Each was designed with the other in mind. The DS interface was created to be as accessible to as wide a range of people as possible and with that in mind, what is now the Touch! Generations range of software was designed to appeal to people who are put off by confusing and demanding button combos. Simply put, if you can pick up a pen or a pencil then you can play Nintendo DS. It's important for us to create games that not only appeal to the core gamer but to produce interesting and innovative software titles that help us expand the video game market and industry as a whole.

What will be the Brain Training-like smash hit of 2007?

To be honest, it will most likely be Brain Training – the unique nature of the software means that it sells well all year round and all the Touch! Generations software continues to perform well week-on-week. I can't say too much right now but keep your eyes and ears peeled as we're always looking to update and expand the Touch! Generations range in the most interesting and unique way possible.

Finally, what is your favourite Touch! Generations title?

Personally, I'm a huge fan of Electroplankton. It's just so different to anything that has gone before it and it really does show not only the public but also other developers how we can really stretch the limits and broaden exactly what we define as a video game. Aside from that I also find it great fun and very relaxing.

Thanks, Rob.

As soon as any new Touch! Generations titles are announced – the next to be released will be Picross DS on May 11th – you'll be able to read about them right here on Pocket Gamer.