Lately I've been pondering about a Nintendo DS Lite purchase, though not for games like Mariokart or Animal Crossing. Instead, I wish to brush up my Japanese and cooking skills.

Surprised? In Japan, the Nintendo DS handheld gaming console has found a niche in non-gaming, lifestyle titles.

The trend kicked off with Brain Age, a title which made good use of the DS' handwriting and voice-recognition features to let users perform drills and puzzles designed to maintain mental fitness.

The elderly took to the DS enthusiastically. Forget the image of the brash male gamer; Nintendo estimated that over the April 2007 period, sales of the DS increased 42 per cent among women, and 212 per cent among people 35 and older.

Tokyo-based market research firm Enterbrain Inc. estimated that more than 60 per cent of DS buyers don't perceive themselves as regular game players.

Instead of directing Mario to rescue the captive princess, these DS users are brushing up language skills, keeping track of expenses, and performing other non-gaming tasks like the ones below:

A-E-I-O-U

Various Japanese dictionaries exist for the DS. There are also language titles for correcting common Japanese mistakes, practising Keigo (Japanese honorifics) and more.

Japanese kids are looking up English words too. The Yawata Board of Education conducted an experiment where 49 third-year students learned new vocabulary for 10 minutes each day using the Chuugaku Eitango Target 1800 DS title.

The students increased their vocabulary by on average 40 per cent in the five-month trial. This resulted in the incorporation of the DS in second-year English lessons in all four junior high schools in Yawata city since May.

There're also phrasebook titles for the Japanese tourist headed to Thailand, China, Korea, Germany and United States.

Yen for yen

Japanese housewives now have a new way to keep track of the family expenses, with the DS title Ganbaru Watashi no Kakei Diary (My Household Expense Book). Besides just recording expenses, it can also graph and compare expenses over categories and time periods, project bank savings and interests, and more.

Make me beautiful

Come October, housewives and schoolgirls alike can learn the art of facial beauty with Dream Beauty Skin. Following the advice of celebrity skin aesthetician Chizu Saeki, users will learn how to apply make-up and facepacks.

For those who'd rather go natural, the Face Training title, co-developed with beauty expert Fumiko Inudo, teaches facial exercises to reduce wrinkles and sagging. And it isn't just the ladies smiling for the camera - Nintendo's site features five males among 37 trial users.

The title Otona-no Joshikiryoku Training DS (common sense training for adults) also has quizzes on etiquette such as social manners and wine-tasting.

Cooking up a storm

The Nintendo Cooking Navigator is my favourite lifestyle DS title. This Nabi (Japanese for navigator) is essentially a high-tech, talking cook book.

First, choose from over 200 Japanese favourites in the Nabi's recipe database, ranging from the omelette rice to sukiyaki (steamboat). The Nabi returns with a list of ingredients, which the user will have to check off before proceeding to peeling, slicing, mixing, and cooking.

For every step there's a voice- prompt, for instance 'Mince the onion' - so you won't have to peek into the DS Lite too often. If you do, the photo-illustrations would do a good reference job of how each step should turn out.

No worries of kitchen-greased fingers dirtying your precious DS. The Nabi waits for you to say 'OK' before proceeding. Missed the instructions? Say 'moichi dou' (one more time).

Now, if only Nabi can link to the Expense Book... but who knows?