It's never too early to speculate about what games we'll be having this year, and if you're among those who want to play Nostradamus, the latest trademarks gaming giants like Square Enix and Namco Bandai secured may catch your interest. Find out what titles have been stamped at the full article.

Famitsu sent questionnaires out to gamers and retailers in Japan to let them be heard, and decide which developers, video games, and industry figures did exceptionally well in 2007. Find the results at the full article.

  

Japanese is a tricky language to master, both verbally and on a written level as well. However, Nintendo DS homebrew developer A.A. van Zoelen has made a nifty little application that aims to test your Japanese character writing skills and even grades you on the quality of your penmanship.

While similar Japanese learning applications on the PSP have been designed, Project JDS v1.30 is a unique application for the DS which allows you to test out the different brush strokes needed to master the hiragana and katakana characters of the Japanese language. This gives users who are interested in learning Japanese the chance to practice and identify how to write these various characters.

Since the characters are based on phonetic syllables, Project JDS v1.30 allows you to use the stylus to practice each individual character from either hiragana, katakana, romanji and all the combinations from one set of characters to another. While it doesn't support kanji characters, the application does support a feature which allows you to listen how a certain character is  pronounced.

For those of you interested or are currently learning Japanese, this application is definitely for you. This versatile learning app is something people on the go can use to master this tricky language.

Check out the complete changelog of the application right after the jump!

Download: Project JDS v1.30

Now that the PS3 has landed in Japan with the kind of deep impact associated with big meteors, it was believed games for Sony's next-gen would explode in the sales charts. Not quite. According to Media Create the games sales chart for the PS3 launch week (November 17) remained pretty much Nintendo DS territory.

According to Media Create's compilation, only two PS3 games made it to the top ten list. Both from Namco Bandai and both at the tail-end. At number 10 is Kidou Senshi Gundam: Target in Sight (21,310) and just ahead of it is, Ridge Racer 7 (21,655).

Meanwhile, ruling at the top is Otona no Joushikiryoku Training DS selling an astounding 102,240 copies in seven days! Less spectacular but just as impressive is Pokemon Diamond (78,744).

So less than 43,000 people bought PS3 games but more than 88,000 bought the console on the first two days alone. Does that mean half of the Japanese PS3 owners are sitting at home and watching their PS3s unplugged?

1. Otona no Joushikiryoku Training DS: 102,240
2. Pokemon Diamond (DS): 78,744
3. Hoshi no Kirby: Sanjou! Dorocche Dan (DS): 77,949
4. Pokemon Pearl (DS): 65,574
5. NE 200-Mannin no KanKen: Tokoton Kanji Nou (DS): 33,932
6. New Super Mario Bros.(DS): 27,361
7. Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju Kanshuu: Motto Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS: 24,166
8. World Soccer Winning Eleven DS: 23,653
9. NE Ridge Racer 7 (PS3): 21,655
10. NE Kidou Senshi Gundam: Target in Sight (PS3): 21,310

How well do you know your Japanese? Have you got your conjunctions and inflections at the right places? Well your mastery of the Japanese language can be tested in Quiz! Nihongo Ou! which roughly translates as “Quiz! Japanese King!” Unlike most language games that usually teaches English or Kanji, Quiz Nihongo Ou! runs you through a lesson proper, some quizzes, and a long term exam. There are 8 progressive classes that you can take in Nihongo Ou, just enough to give you some Nihongo nightmares.

Kanji fans shouldn't fret over the lack of Kanji tests in the game. There is a tower game wherein you gain a level in your tower if you manage to write the right kanji. If you make a mistake thrice, you start your tower from the first floor again. The game also sports a multiplayer mode wherein you and a friend could play a round of questions to answer. From guessing Kanjis to multiple choices, Nihongo Ou turns you into the powerful King of Japanese! A truly pleasant game for those who are enthusiastic in learning this beautifully complex language.

There are a lot of instruction-learning game titles for the DS, and we gotta admit, they certainly are effective in making learning more fun. If you're a fan of such games, we have great news for you.

Capcom's latest DS title is said to be catered to all those who want to learn Nihongo. You're probably asking, "But aren't there DS Kanji learning programs already out in the market?" And you're right, in fact IGN estimates that there are at least five, one of them being Minna no DS Seminar: Kanji Power! But, so far, there have been no programs/applications/titles that teaches Japanese as a whole -- that we know of, at least.

Capcom's "Tadashii Nihongo DS" (which translates to "Proper Japanese DS")  could probably be the pioneer in such genre, because we heard that that's the current DS title that the company is working on. Not much is known about the game, and (as usual) whether it will have a US release, but we heard that it will be shown in the Capcom booth at the upcoming Games Festa 2006 in Osaka. How do we know this? Because "Tadashii Nihongo DS" appeared (out of nowhere, if we may add) on the list of titles to shown in the Capcom booth in the said upcoming event.

As we mentioned, not much is known about the game yet. Looks like we'll have to wait 'til the Games Festa 2006 to find out for more info. We'll keep you posted.

Whew! What a title! The hardest part in understanding the Japanese language is the reading and writing aspect of it. It's easier to learn things by speech rather than by reading or writing. With over 1000 basic Kanjis (chinese characters) to remember, your head could just break trying to understand strokes and conjunctions.

However, there is always a fun part to studying kanjis. Ever since the GameBoy came out, there has been lots of Kanji games, from Doraemon to Kanji Boy to Minna no DS, Kanji Power!. Now, the task of remembering and practicing your Kanji is a whole lot easier in the Nintedo DS. And the game responsible for it is the Official Basic Kanji Learning Certification Test for the DS or in Japanese, Zaidanhoujin Nihon Kanji Nouryoku Kentei Kyoukai Kounin Kanken DS.

What sets this apart from other Kanji games is how it doesn't merely have the minigames with the kanji for you to choose from (like most match-em up kanji games) but it also helps you know where best to use that kanji. The On and Kun readings will play a crucial role as you figure out how to read Kanji combinations and contractions as you read it in sentences. More so, the stylus serves as a very useful tool in figuring out how to write Kanjis. In the world of Kanjis, it's not enough that you read, you've got to learn how to write it as well. This game is targeted for kids and foreigners who are still having a hard time grasping this complex combination of Chinese characters. We might be kind even to say that games like this will help Japanese learners overcome their fear of Kanjis.