Growing up, we bugged our parents constantly to fork over $50 for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) back in the 1990's. We would spend countless hours playing Ninja Gaiden, Super Mario Brothers, and Blades of Steel. And who could forget playing Contra. Remember up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start! That code will live with me forever.

Now that I am an adult, I won't say a grown up because my wife still thinks I'm a kid, I finally can have any game or console I want. I have the Xbox, Xbox 360, and several Nintendo systems. But the one thing I thoroughly enjoy is my Nintendo DS.

The Nintendo DS has several advantages that aren't limited to just kids, either. For example, there are two games that I love to play that actually use brainpower, literally. Brain Age and Brain Age II are games that are designed to strengthen your mind by exercising it through math, puzzles, and memory games.

Even at the recent E3 Expo, during the Nintendo conference, Cammie Dunaway, who is Nintendo's Vice President of sales and marketing, explained how the Nintendo DS could be used for adult activities. The DS is currently being tested and used at airports to find out gate and connecting flight information. Also, one could check to see if there are any ATM's or restaurants in the area where they are staying.

Even the Seattle Mariners use the Nintendo DS. At Safeco Field, one could bring their DS and use it to check the box scores of other major league games, or even watch game highlights.

Of course playing Ninja Gaiden or Mario Kart DS doesn't hurt either. So the next time your child bugs you for a Nintendo DS you might just pick up two.

Links: Nintendo's Website | IGN.com