Dr. Ryuta Kawashima, the smiling face you see in your* Brain Age* games, has turned down his share of royalties from the game, which amounts to about $11 million.
The rules of Kawashima's employer, Tohoku University, state that Kawashima is entitled to half the royalties generated by the games' sales --currently in the neighborhood of $22 million-- but Kawashima says he's happy with just his yearly salary of about $100,000.
"Everyone in my family is mad at me but I tell them that if they want money, go out and earn it," says Kawashima.
Instead of keeping the money for himself, Kawashima has used his royalties to fund his research, building a lab at the university's Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer. Another lab is set to be completed by March.
Despite starring in one of the most successful games of recent memory, Kawashima himself doesn't play, preferring to spend his time working. His children aren't allowed to play videogames during the week, and can only play for an hour on the weekend.
"What is scary about games is that you can kill as many hours as you want. I don't think playing games is bad in itself but it makes children unable to do what they should do such as study and communication with the family," says Kawashima. Perhaps that's why his game lets you train your brain in just minutes a day.
Kawashima sounds like a truly dedicated man. Also slightly crazy, but not necessarily in a bad way.
