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The DS self-improvement craze has once again spurred Nintendo to sponsor the Handheld Learning Conference 2008.
The event, which takes place in London between October 13th and 15th, is aimed at anyone who works in learning, media and consumer electronics to discuss how learning can be enhanced by the usage of portable devices – including Nintendo’s DS.
Nintendo has seen a huge amount of success with it’s self-developed DS learning tools such as Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training, but has also created a thriving ecosystem for other developers to profit from the craze. Although the West has seen a similar boom in DS educational software, it’s in Japan that the range has been spread furthest, with big name developers involved too – Square Enix has produced a DS guide to the wines of the world, while Konami’s Kojima Productions has produced two games that teach players how to play the stock market.
As part of Nintendo’s sponsorship of the event, delegates registering before July 31st will receive a free DS and unspecified ‘game cartridge’, which attendees are encouraged to bring to the conference for ‘interactive participation’.
“We are proud to be supporting this important event once again and look forward to hearing from the some of the world’s leading thinkers in the field of learning," said Darren Gorton, business development director for Nintendo.
"With over 70 million DS units in peoples hands we are genuinely interested in the positive impact that they can have for self-improvement and collaborative learning.”
Graham Brown-Martin, founder of Handheld Learning, added: “We are delighted to receive such confident support both from government agencies and industry alike. The provision of the Nintendo DS handheld is far from a gimmick as we are encouraging delegates to do the kind of things during the event that are often not allowed in classrooms throughout the world despite the power and possibilities of such devices.”
More information about the event can be found at the official website.
