I wonder if Nintendo realizes how well that Kanji software would sell here in America to all of the little wannabe otaku...

Indeed.

MORE proof of the inferiority of the US school systems.

Oh man, imagine the beginnings of a Universal translator that is DS based!

Maybe the app could live on the DS cart, while the GBA slot could be used for memory or language database carts or something.

-jus dreamin'

Awesome. Take that, Jack Thompson.

The DS rocks as a learning tool. I have the Japanese "Rakubiki Jiten" (Easy-find dictionary) to help me study Japanese, and it's worked better than any other study method/dictionary I've tried. Now all Nintendo has to do is make a remote controlled English training game for use in home/classrooms, and you've got a Wii in every school.

DSes in a classroom does not a good school system make. School systems in the US may be inferior to lots of things, but they are in no way inferior to the Japanese school system, whether or not a Nintendo DS is involved.

Now all we need is for Nintendo to support the Wii with these types of software, so kids can play with their wii in class.

Reminds me of Touch Dic.

I wouldn't mind a Japanese thing for my DS. It would be handy indeed, especially for imports.

Tyjinks, I'm not sure if your conclusion are fact-based or not, or even if it's true or not, but damn, those guys can make really good cars and appliances!

Actually, Japan has already released a very good kanji dictionary program for the DS, "漢字そのまま楽引辞典" is quite easy to use, unfortunately it doesn't have a very extensive list of words.

Also the 旅の指差し会話帳DS series of point and show translation is pretty good to use in a pinch.

tjinks, I thought Japanese were some of the best schooled students in the world?

Works for me. After all the discussion of mobile platforms for students, you have systems like the DS that have a great interface, rugged build, plenty of features (for basic education, anyway, even if they're not much as computers) and a really low price. Now if Nintendo would just make it easier to develop homebrew apps for the DS.

... oh, and I could use a Japanese course on DS, too.

Phineas: I'd suggest taking a look at Kanji Kentei. Great kanji quizzing. Scales in levels and is pretty cheap( I picked mine up in Beppu for about 3000yen when it dropped ).

Link: http://www.rocketcompany.co.jp/kanken/

I ahve great interest in Kanji Kentei, is it really good? Btw, Nintendo really need to release some japanese learning language tool for the DS... Maybe someone could do a homebrew port for Knuckles in China Land adding the ds touch screen support. It would be great.

Anyone got any sales data on the English Training games released in various European countries? I would expect the sales to start slow however.

I wonder if English Training in Japan will get a huge sales boost if schools start to recommended it.

I would like to see Japanese training for Americans and maybe some other languages like Spanish and French. Brain Age was just the start of something huge, huh?

Rakuhiki Jiten is great. But I absolutely suck at the in-built tests... Those are seriously for people with a much larger vocab under their belt. My JLPT3 is nowhere near enough to attempt them.

I have the Kanji Sonomama DS dictionary by Nintendo and it's absolutely wonderful. At times it's more comprehensive than the handheld electronic dictionaries of the past (and for $250+ less than what they generally retail for, it's a no-brainer).

It's a bit ironic that the PSP needs less of this stuff and more games, while the DS, which is perfect for these kind of applications needs more.

@ Bishamonten:

How difficult the Kentei cart? I'm at an intermediate level and would love something challenges me, but would I be able to understand what's going on? Maybe I'll check it out on youtube and see what it's like in action.

Either way, Nintendo should seriously create programs like this for the U.S. audience.

@phinehas

It's not super difficult and it scales in difficulty as you progress. You have to pass tests to move onto the more difficult levels. The training and the tests aren't very hard. I'm taking sankyuu this year and I'm not going to pass, but I can play this game. I'd say it's mostly for Japanese youngsters, but if you've got a japanese dictionary( like wordtank or hell even Jim Breen's wwwJDIC ) you can punch in the vocab you don't know - and if you're smart review those words they're often pretty common. It doesn't seem that the grammar itself is any harder than what you need for sankyuu. A nice feature is you can review your missed answers. After a training test you can select the review option and be retested on only the ones you missed. So far, it's a great learning tool. I lucked out and happened to be in country when it dropped, so I'm not sure how much it will set you back if you import. Good luck!

It's not poor language instruction that bars other people from learning English, it's that English is seriously the most retarded language ever because EVERYTHING is an exception to the rule that there may as well be no rules.

Do the kids have to yell "BRUE"?

quick tips:

-to speak english (assuming this will be your second language) properly you must buy the sugariest gum there are and get 4 on your mouth, after a few minutes, your mouth will get sticky and full of spit, that will give the correct accent (this will also rot your teeth and turn them yellowish for that complete look).

-Now for pronounciation, just give a try your first time reading it, you might get the first time and if not, most americans don't know how to pronounce it anyways and then wait to hear it in the tv to learn how to do it. For example, Versace is pronounce something like pistachie, yet they always read it like Versage. Or Schwarzenegger was unreable and reffered as "that terminator guy " after 20 years in the movies.

-To really get the american Vibe, Whatever you say finish the sentence with "nigga" for men and "bitch" for women. Believe it! it does work! and makes you get that "urban hip hop" feel they like so much overthere...

Do you guys think they will make Structural Design for Engineers on the DS?