Nintendo might be on to something when it launched educational brain games after another for the Wii and DS. Experts are saying that game-based learning is an efficient method in teaching children about subjects that would normally be boring or uninteresting to them.

Scotland has embraced this method of teaching and has around 27 local authorities using game-based learning. Teachers are said to use games such as Mario and Sonic at the Olympics, Wii Sports, and Guitar Hero to teach various personal skills and at the same time motivate their students.

Some use Nintendogs to teach kids about being responsible pet owners. Mario and Sonic at the Olympics might be a sport game but a teacher from Dundee used it as a way to introduce the solar system to her students. Teams were named after the planets and would compete against each other every day before the formal lessons.

Then there’s the traditional brain game such as Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training for the DS. Teachers would let their students play it for 20 minutes each day. It was seen that the students’ math grade have a 10% improvement.

With this I’m changing my opinion on Nintendo’s decision on giving us casual games. I’ll be more supportive of casual games from now on. It was selfish on my part to make Nintendo come up with more games for hardcore gamers when Nintendo is just thinking about the welfare of the youth. Casual games made up majority of my formative years and the youth of today should have a chance playing them.