I'm sticking with this:

+ Watch video

But thanks.

A game for DS that teaches japanese is long overdue. Finally!

These games fail

Since it's Berlitz, I'm guessing they'll focus on speaking the language rather than reading and writing it. That's fine with Spanish, French, and whatnot, but with Japanese it's kind of important to learn the written stuff. If it uses romaji, as I'm sure it does since that's what Berlitz books use, then I personally have no interest.

I'd be interested in an italian version, aimed at adults. I guess I lose out of both counts =(

Needs zombies.

I've been waiting for some kind of Japanese language game.

What, no zombies? I guess it's America, so maybe... pirates? Robots? I mean, seriously, there's no point in learning a language if I can't learn to yell "get down!!" or "we're not going to make it!!!"

Maybe I have a filthy mind, but "Virgin Play" sounds like something completely different than a language tool.

@Yin: i agree! i've been dying to learn some Japanese myself, so bringing it to the DS is a no-brainer.

Handheld educational gaming. gotta love it. :)

@MisterSleep: well it IS Japanese... soo..... expect robots covered in neon.

I disagree with Mike Fahey. Why would the fact that it's on a DS limit it's effectiveness?

And since nobody's played it yet, how are we to know anything about it's effectiveness in general? The medium is the message, man. Just sayin'.

finallyyyyyyy about time to learn Japanese on the DS

I wonder why systems only now became educational tools, was it because they consisted of more than button inputs?

@panfriedcharlie: I think what he's talking about is that if you're learning a language with no knowledge of it beforehand, it's not going to be as effective as taking a class or anything like that. Same deal with books on tape or Pimsleur mp3s and the like. Language is all about interaction in a freeform manner rather than just regurgitating phrases, so there really is no substitute for a live person. However, as he said, it might make a valuable supplement to live instruction.

It's about time damn it.

you guys... there are some excellent Japanese learning homebrews out there. still, about time something official comes out.

@Polywhirl: waahahah that's hilarious. That's...... that's brilliant. Time for some ¡justicia del vigilante!

Let's see how well the Japanese one would go.

@Absent Blue: i think we've actually hit the point where gmaes have "grown up" in the public eye, and can now be treated as "non-game" devices as well. you can further immerse yourself in the game world now than you could back in the GB days, so making a game educational means you're going to WANT to learn things.

and, if you want to be technical, the NES was used as an educational tool as well-- DK Jr. Math, anyone?

now it's only a matter of time before someone dubs games "art". ;) hopefully in my lifetime.

@animemecha: something tells me every commenter so far just wants the Japanese one. lol

@MisterSleep: The Japanese ones should feature Ninjas.....

@Mr.SithNinja: Robot Ninjas.

Italian Version?

@IronsUK: Same here. Makes no sense to me to include all those others and not Italian. Who doesn't want to travel to Italy and learn a little Italian before going?

@frank0127: Zombie robot ninja pirates? Who are also vampires? And of course teenagers.

@frank0127: Robot Pirate Ninjas.

I can't help but to think this can't do much to decrease the amount of furries visiting Japan. Sorry Japan!

@MisterSleep: with puppy ears!

Yea teach me some japanese XD...

@gibwar: From the future.

if you want to learn another language, either have a relative who speaks another language or go to a foreign language course in high school, but don't waste your time doing it on a video game, it's pointless!!

even though i'm older, i would totally get the japanese one.

yay german! this eliminates my need to buy a CD or book!

THANK JEBUS ITS ABOUT TIME. preordered. thats all i have to say.

These would be decent to supplement the languages I picked up while going through school and never - EVER - had a chance to use since I graduated. I hope they turn out halfway decent!

Thank you Virgin Play! I'm with everyone else who is saying 'about bloody time' someone actually listened to requests for a Japanese training program for the DS.

So wow, a language training program for the DS that I will actually buy.

Sweet. I'm in Japanese II right now, and software can really help.

I used the 'Slime Forest Adventure' freeware RPG, and learned all my kana in 2 weeks!

I hope this has a lot of vocab/conjugation/Kanji in it.

It's a great idea though! The touchscreen is great for interactivity + writing practice.

What the hell are you guys talking about?

I've been in Japan for about 2 years now and I've had a DS with software for learning Japanese for over a year now and I rarely use it. Why?........It's not that useful. Those guys talking about learning Kana, it took me all of one week. A DS program will NOT teach you Japanese. Good luck. You have to speak it and be around it to learn it in a decent amount of time. Sorry to spoil your fun, but textbooks, as boring as they may be, are way more affective than a DS.
Don't get me wrong, I think this type of software is great, but don't get your hopes up. You won't learn Italian in the month before going to Italy with a DS program. Let's be realistic.

oooo, im' very excited about the Japanese one...

God, I'm going to sleep now, but you guys are nuts. There's tons of stuff available now to learn Japanese. I have no less than 8 games on my DS for learning Japanese. Go out and buy textbook and enroll in a class. It'll be more expensive than a DS game, but you'll learn way more. Anyway, good luck to anyone hoping to learn Japanese. I know over 600 characters and am still far from literate. Keep that in mind.
でも頑張ってね。もうすぐ一に日本語で話しましょう。

@evslin: in schoolgirl outfits. and they fight giant lizards.

oh, and the robots have to look like Chuck Norris.

Aren't My Spanish Coach and My French Coach sort of the same thing? This Japanese game sounds fun though.

Nice... one more thing I'm gonna buy to learn Japanese resulting in ultimate fail.
For those looking for games to learn japanese... try this one:
[www.kicl.info]
Knuckles in China Land. Yeah, you heard right.

Excellent, been waiting for a Japanese language program for the DS for ages. And to all the naysayers, I think that things like this ARE useful to language learners, but only in addition to other study. I am studying Japanese at University, but i'll take any additional help I can get! Can't wait!

I would love to get a japanese teaching ds game :D I could play video games while I study for my japanese class >.> that I will be taking sometime in the future....

@Polywhirl:
oh golly #_# I can't beleive thats real

I've studied Japanese for quite some time at the university I attend and still probably can't out speak/read/write a Japanese 4 year-old, so I can definitely see owning this game not helping at all.. Learning Japanese is fun and all, but I think people who've never studied a language really underestimate the amount of time and work it takes to get anywhere (myself included before I started, at the end of the first year I could chat about the weather and ask people on awkward dates, that's about it) so unless it comes chocked full of zombies and/or you learn more than a few random useless phrases it's going to be a definite pass in any version of the language. There's just no substitute for good old fashioned textbooks and Japanese professors/friends sometimes.

Cool... I will be waiting so that way I can learn some japanese... I already know english/spanish....

French, German, and Japanese maybe. I've always wanted to learn a bunch of languages but I don't want to take more classes. I also really want to learn Russian. I have no idea why.

How about Arabic?

I'm interested in the Japanese one despite being in my late 20's.