Three words we weren't sure we'd ever say: God bless Ubisoft. They're finally bringing some English-based language trainers to the DS: listings for My French Coach and My Spanish Coach have turned up on GameFly. We've yearned for such as these after drooling over all the English and Kanji trainers out for Japanese DS owners, and at last, it looks like the tide has turned in our favor. Between this and Jam Sessions, we're starting to feel a little better about Ubisoft and their unfortunate port habit. Also listed is My Word Coach, which sounds like it might be a vocabulary trainer, and we're all for that! We're hoping we'll begin to hear words like mellifluous and tmesis in daily conversation.
So today's question is: are you interested in any of these three, or are you firmly holding out for languages not taught in the average high school? Or perhaps we should say, vous voulez acheter Mon Entraîneur Français? Feel free to correct any errors there -- we could use a French coach!
[Via Joystiq]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
5-16-2007 @ 10:12AM
jonnymoose said...
"Voulez-vous...?" not "Vous voulez...?"
Yes. Interested.
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5-16-2007 @ 10:20AM
Miko said...
I for one am very interested in these games however there is something I just don't get. Let's do the math shall we?
DS owner likes games.
+
Lots (if not most) of Games come from Japan.
=
DS owner likes Japanese games.
Therefore Japanese language game that would help DS owner have access to more games only makes sense to me.
What the heck? Why isn't this made already?
I am hoping actually that a lot of the big language text book publishers like Berlitz or Tuttle pay attention to the DS. It is a very viable medium for language study because that touch screen input makes the experience more interactive. Plus you take it with you so when you have time you can review a lesson or do a quiz. That is much easier than carving out an hour 2 after work or on the weekend to study.
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5-16-2007 @ 10:24AM
Sancroff said...
Um, what about "My Japanese Coach"? When was the last time you imported a game from France or Spain?
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5-16-2007 @ 10:34AM
ambient said...
I totally agree -- I'm not interested in a language game until it's a language game that can teach me to read Japanese.
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5-16-2007 @ 10:47AM
ambient said...
In Ubisoft's defense, they do already have employees that speak French and Spanish -- they do not have offices in Japan. That doesn't absolve the industry at large though. Nintendo of Japan is DROPPING THE BALL, yo.
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5-16-2007 @ 11:49AM
Ewa said...
Agreed about the Japanese one, but I'd like to have an Italian one. I admit I'm being difficult.
I like the word coach one though. If it does turn out to be as you say.
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5-16-2007 @ 12:11PM
mrbloko said...
I've been wanting a german vocab trainer.
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5-16-2007 @ 12:26PM
Troy said...
I will definitely be all over these! I am very excited!
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5-16-2007 @ 12:27PM
Alisha Karabinus said...
@#1 - I wasn't sure about that, because I've seen both constructions, so I decided to go with the one I was taught. I assume the other form is more casual? I don't know... see, I need My French Coach.
Certainly, there is a demand for Japanese language training, but French and Spanish must be easier, even if we ignore the fact that Ubisoft DOES have employees all over the world who speak a myriad of languages. Now, I say, just give it time. If these are coming out, the dogpile-onto-the-DS effect will bring more language trainers.
Ewa: I seem to hear of a lot of people lately who want to speak Italian! I'm not sure you're being that "difficult" at all on that one -- it seems to be in high demand. German as well. But again, I expect we may see a lot of these, particularly if Ubi's titles have any success at all.
This is rare for me to say, but if they seem good, I may get both, having spent some time studying both of those languages. The man of the house, though, he's definitely in the Japanese club... he's been studying the language for years and is constantly on the lookout for new ways to help him expand his knowledge, and I'd love to be able to get him something like this. I imported one of the Japanese-for-Japanese trainers, but it's pretty advanced....
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5-16-2007 @ 1:06PM
MDJ said...
Both "vous voulez" and "voulez-vous" are technically correct, but judging from context, it would actually be better to say "voudriez-vous acheter" or "acheteriez-vous" or "est-ce que vous acheteriez" because "would you buy [yada yada]?" sounds better than "do you want to buy [yada yada]?"
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5-16-2007 @ 1:42PM
ArashiUzumaki said...
If there was a japanese teaching one, i'd be game!
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5-16-2007 @ 2:03PM
3cubedminus3squared said...
I'll wait until an Italian and Portuguese version come out.
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5-16-2007 @ 4:24PM
CC said...
vous voulez acheter Mon Entraîneur Français
is the slang way to say "you wanna buy my French coach?"
Do you want to buy my French coach?
would be : Voulez-vous acheter mon entraîneur français?
Still, the best way to say it is : Will you buy my french coach?
-> Allez-vous acheter mon entraîneur français?
:)
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5-16-2007 @ 4:30PM
Karga said...
Furansu-go mo Oranda-go o kudasai!
My boyfriend has the travel bug and I'll be needing both those languages soon.
Sure I'd love to learn some Japanese too, but I'm a cynic and I don't expect they'll make that available.
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5-16-2007 @ 5:02PM
MeLeNaS said...
I've had always the opinion that educational games are a great way to learn languages. I learnt far more things in my English class (I'm a native Spanish speaker) when we played any kind of game than when the class followed the traditional boring lesson scheme. I'd love to have language training games for the DS, particularly in the German and Japanese versions :)
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5-16-2007 @ 6:07PM
Javier Silva said...
I don't need the spanish, because is my mother languague and i fully know about this :D
I will try the french =D... my girlfriend speak french and i want to learn from the DS and she.
Srry for my english >.
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5-16-2007 @ 10:32PM
tothetracks said...
Can't wait my French would always use some practice.
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5-17-2007 @ 9:54PM
otakucode said...
Learning Japanese is not easy. I have spent HUNDREDS buying dozens and dozens of books. I would LOVE anything on the DS that made it more like a game... hell, even a concentration-style game with matching tiles for kana and kanji could help recognition of kana, radicals, and full kanji and move along from there!
For now I move along oh so slowly with the best thing I have found so far - I bought a bunch of books intended for 5 year olds off of eBay (including a Japanese original of the classic Everybody Poops! I had no idea it was even Japanese originally... also got Everybody Farts ;)
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5-18-2007 @ 3:49AM
Alisha Karabinus said...
Hey, if we just make more topics in which I throw down some French, I may get all the training I need right here!
That'll really help when I'm doing homework next semester... >.>
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5-21-2007 @ 1:03AM
JC Fletcher said...
I just want the Kanji Sonomama Rakubiki Jiten with an English interface and a sub-$50 price tag. Those Japanese dictionary devices are really expensive, and I'd like to use my existing DS (with touch screen) rather than getting one of those.
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