My Japanese Coach needs a release date coach
by Alisha Karabinus 
{ Sep 10th 2008 at 2:30PM }
It's a little odd when Amazon is the main source of information on a game, and when it comes to My Japanese Coach, nearly all the substantive news has come from the online retailer, from screenshots to release dates. According to Amazon, the training title, which was originally scheduled for September 18, has been delayed to October 14. My Japanese Coach was already previously bumped, but only for a week.There were some concerns over the game when those first, very early (and very rough, in places) screens appeared, and that, combined with the double delay, makes us wonder if there aren't some fixes in the works for the title. But who knows? It could be something as simple as inauspicious scheduling.
We hope to actually see My Japanese Coach in mid-October.
Gallery: My Japanese Coach
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
FantomRedux @ Sep 10th 2008 2:46PM
I'm waiting for this more than I was any of the big games this year. I really want to learn Japanese, but never really have the time. This'll be useful when I'm lying in bed or on a lunch hour at college. Now get it out Ubi!
Zealot @ Sep 10th 2008 2:49PM
I noticed this on Amazon yesterday and wasn't happy. Of course, as you said, If those extra three weeks mean a better end product I'm fine with that. Coming from the company that's given us all the Petz games, though, I'm not sure if they know what quality control is.
Alisha Karabinus @ Sep 10th 2008 6:36PM
Well, having used both the French and Spanish coaches, I can say that while this probably won't be perfect, it'll be useful!
Zealot @ Sep 10th 2008 7:16PM
I don't doubt that the game'll be at least moderately useful, I'm just a pessimist and a skeptic and thus I'm probably giving Ubisoft less credit than they deserve. I'm still definitely looking forward to the game :)
ButtercupSaiyan @ Sep 10th 2008 3:28PM
Noooo! Why is Chinese Coach out, and not this!? Dammit!
I've been spending the last month brushing up on my Japanese in anticipation for this, especially vocabulary, properly conjugating verbs and nouns, and certain pronunciations.
Feba @ Sep 11th 2008 5:27AM
I've heard that My Chinese Coach was given more attention to try to get it out for the Olympics.
erichoward86 @ Sep 10th 2008 4:51PM
oh my god....
i didn't know this even existed! i am so happy.. right now... oh and amazon is always having problems...
Paustinj @ Sep 10th 2008 4:57PM
Oh awesome! I'm currently trying to learn Japanese and October 14th is my Birthday. Win!
shaoron @ Sep 10th 2008 8:57PM
Finally!
the Japs gets so many ENGRISH tutorial titles and we finally get this! thank you!
it's about freakin time!
Engerz @ Sep 11th 2008 1:37AM
Kinda racist there. Proper terms would be "JPN" or just simply Japanese.
Kralos @ Sep 11th 2008 12:51AM
Aw, what the hell, I've been waiting for this for a while :/ Oh well, I guess i'll have to do with books to help keep things fresh for a bit longer.
kronik @ Sep 11th 2008 3:43AM
I've tried the spannish coach and I just don't like the program. It's a great innitiative but a language program is really hard to get right, and I don't feel that Ubisoft took the right decisions to make this work. You're forced to repeat certain tasks over and over again, even though you've clearly already mastered them. Also, there is little structure or diversity in these titles, and they tried too hard to make it into a mini-game collection. Obviously I understand it's a gaming system and it has to appeal to youngsters but come on... The marketing clearly aims this one at an older age group...
I think I'll stick to books to learn a language. Software is just not the way to go about learning a new language.
Although, that being said, if you're mearely interested in learning a few words, you might want to pick this up. Just don't expect more than the most basic of knowledge from these titles.
That's my view at least.
R_Fusion @ Sep 12th 2008 3:10PM
Dang it! now I have to wait more weeks til' I can get it. I hope they release a German Coach
Jamar @ Sep 13th 2008 1:35PM
Why only this one boring title? I want to see something like the multitudes of English training games that Japan gets (it would be nice if they made a "Japanese of the Dead" for starters).
Suzu @ Sep 13th 2008 3:40PM
I have been teaching Japanese for awhile now, and I can honestly say by looking at these screen shots that this game will not teach anyone Japanese, not to a readable, nor conversational level. You CANNOT learn Japanese in romaji, it's impossible. It's like trying to teach someone English using Japanese characters. If anyone truly wants to improve their Japanese try get hold of the game "Tadashii Kanji Kakitori-kun".
Obsurveyor @ Sep 16th 2008 12:53PM
You should try looking at more than the first two pictures. Romaji makes absolute sense to teach an English speaker the kana first. There are plenty of screenshots that show only kana/kanji use for reading and input. You cannot jump from English to hiragana/katakana without some kind of middle ground for pronunciation, if your only medium is text.
Hasshugiri @ Sep 19th 2008 9:37PM
I wonder what the release date is for Canada? I know that i cannot pre-order it from amazon at the moment and i think it has to do with my location i.e. the great white north.
jake @ Sep 23rd 2008 10:56PM
I went to eb games to pick up my preordered game... and it seems i made the trip for NOTHING!!! So irritating! And its to do some japanese studying for a trip to japan this December. So now I have even less time to study. I agree, they do need a release date coach! haha
Vayne Solidous @ Sep 27th 2008 6:47PM
I am so happy that this is being released, albeit late. The Spanish Coach was a great tool for learning spanish. Having taken years of spanish, I wish I had it back then. It looks like the same thing only with Japanese. And to the person saying there is only Romanji, I suggest you look at a few more shots than just the first two. I believe you WILL be able to learn some Japanese with this. Sure, the language experts might scoff at it for whatever reason, but its a great place to start. Probably a great suppliment to standard classes. Also, "Tadashii Kanji Kakitori-kun" is not friendly for someone who is just starting.
Delarn @ Sep 28th 2008 6:16PM
Maybe the game didn't pass at nintendo's quality assurance testing labs. Certification are hard to get these days.
Amy @ Oct 2nd 2008 5:38PM
I started to use "Tadashii Kanji Kakitori-kun" to improve my Japanese beside of classes.but it's pretty difficult to learn Kanji words when u don't even know what the words mean in english.My boyfriend(he is Japanese) recommended me not to use "Tadashii Kanji Kakitori-kun" before I don't know how to write the words in Hiragana/Katakana. Cause even Kids in Japan don't learn words in Kanji first.And I guess he knows what he is talking about.
I guess the Japanese Coach is a good help beside classes,and I'm really looking forward to use it.But you surely need classes and/or textbooks to really improve in Japanese.
Brita @ Oct 8th 2008 5:55PM
I picked up a copy of Spanish coach just for the fun of it when that came out- and it was mildly interesting. I knew -no- Spanish, so it at least bumped me up to average American knowledge of Spanish. (aka: a few token words)
However, this is my third year taking Japanese at a college level - I'm at the intermediate to advanced levels now- and really all I need to truly master the language is vocabulary. Lots and lots of vocab just needs to get crammed in my head. I'm hoping this will be able to help me along in memorizing words. (You can only watch so many anime, and write out so many flash cards- Going to Japan would probably be best for me. I just don't see that happening anytime soon.)
So I'm hoping the dictionary in this thing will be beyond a beginners level of Okaasan and Tomodachi. But, even if it's not I guess it can help me practice kanji.
Everyone always argues how classes are vital to any language- and I wont argue. Classes progress you along so much further than any other method (even dumping yourself in the middle of that country. Then you're just lost, and don't know anything.) But having a game like this, coupled with a few good books, a good study ethic, and loads and loads of anime and J-dramas, you may be able to pull out a semi-fluent level of Japanese. Especially if you're just mildly interested, and not looking to master it. No one said learning a language had to be hardcore. You can learn just a little and have fun with it. I don't understand why it's assumed learning a language = you must master it. :P
Anyways, I intend to get this game just to supplement the classes I take. It'll be amusing at the least.