BBC Claims Nintendo's Brain Training Hates Regional Accents
Cue sensationalist 'consumer' report...
That guardian of consumer culture, the BBC's Watchdog team, has been standing up for our rights once again. This time, we're being protected from Dr Kawashima's Brain Training and its alleged inability to recognise UK regional accents.
Tragically, Manchester-based Michelle Livesey got a DS for Christmas but found, once she hit a part of Brain Training that uses the DS's microphone, the game could not recognise her lilting Mancunian accent. "I'm saying blue! Blue! Blue! And it's saying no, even though it was blue", she said.
The BBC report then stated, "Michelle was amazed to discover how many of her colleagues who'd bought a Nintendo DS, were having exactly the same problem".
The report continued, "And it wasn't just work colleagues who were struggling, it was their children too. Children like Laura Dickenson, who said, "You get annoyed so you just start shouting at it, but it doesn't make it any better".
After much spending of license-payers' money by Watchdog presenter Nicky Campbell, impersonator/impressionist, Rory Bremner, is brought in. After trying a few vocal impersonations on the game, concludes, "If you want it to work, talk like (UK sports 'reporter') Des Lynham".
Up here at SPOnG there's nothing we like more than a story that shows up the flaws of the big-bad platform holders. We also appreciate the BBC as the unbiased, people's network. But, looking at the report, neither is true.
Being based up in Yorkshire as we are, we've not yet come across this apparent regionalist bias. We've tried to fox our DS with various dialects, as have hundreds of thousands of other Northerners since the handheld launched in March 2005.
Nintendo told Watchdog, “We are continually monitoring the efficiency of their software for voice recognition to ensure that it picks up a range of accents”. The company added that it has only had a few complaints and apologised for any inconvenience.
The BBC's report is also based on false premises - see the coverage below:
If you were disappointed to find that your copy of Brain Training wouldn't recognise any one of the scores of regional variations to the English language, give us your horror story in the Forum.
You can see the BBC's own video and report right here.
Tragically, Manchester-based Michelle Livesey got a DS for Christmas but found, once she hit a part of Brain Training that uses the DS's microphone, the game could not recognise her lilting Mancunian accent. "I'm saying blue! Blue! Blue! And it's saying no, even though it was blue", she said.
The BBC report then stated, "Michelle was amazed to discover how many of her colleagues who'd bought a Nintendo DS, were having exactly the same problem".
The report continued, "And it wasn't just work colleagues who were struggling, it was their children too. Children like Laura Dickenson, who said, "You get annoyed so you just start shouting at it, but it doesn't make it any better".
After much spending of license-payers' money by Watchdog presenter Nicky Campbell, impersonator/impressionist, Rory Bremner, is brought in. After trying a few vocal impersonations on the game, concludes, "If you want it to work, talk like (UK sports 'reporter') Des Lynham".
Up here at SPOnG there's nothing we like more than a story that shows up the flaws of the big-bad platform holders. We also appreciate the BBC as the unbiased, people's network. But, looking at the report, neither is true.
Being based up in Yorkshire as we are, we've not yet come across this apparent regionalist bias. We've tried to fox our DS with various dialects, as have hundreds of thousands of other Northerners since the handheld launched in March 2005.
Nintendo told Watchdog, “We are continually monitoring the efficiency of their software for voice recognition to ensure that it picks up a range of accents”. The company added that it has only had a few complaints and apologised for any inconvenience.
The BBC's report is also based on false premises - see the coverage below:
If you were disappointed to find that your copy of Brain Training wouldn't recognise any one of the scores of regional variations to the English language, give us your horror story in the Forum.
You can see the BBC's own video and report right here.
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Comments
RIPRAW 5 Feb 2008 13:40
1/3
I'm pretty sure that wasn't their conclusion but I can't be asked to watch it again (partly because Campbell kept saying "The DS Nintendo").
I'm sure they concluded that it wasn't an accent that affected it but the the pitch of your voice - women were told to use a deeper voice like that of a man.
I'm sure they concluded that it wasn't an accent that affected it but the the pitch of your voice - women were told to use a deeper voice like that of a man.
deleted 5 Feb 2008 20:37
2/3
Michelle Livesey wrote:
"I'm saying blue! Blue! Blue! And it's saying no, even though it was blue", she said.
Yeah she could see the word blue and even though it was in yellow, or red or black and couldnt understand why it said her brain age was 75?
daz 5 Feb 2008 22:03
3/3
I bought brain age played it non stop for a few weeks, haven't touched it since, get VERY BORING, VERY QUICKLY, (probably breaks the light speed barrier)