TalkMan coming to Europe

By Tom Bramwell Published 12 January, 2006

Gut! Bon! Etc!

Hurrah! Sony's announced that its multi-language translation assistant Max will be helping the likes of us to speak foreign languages this May. Which is code for the fact that TalkMan is due out on PSP in Europe around then.

You may remember we got a bit excited about TalkMan when we were introduced to it during the Tokyo Game Show. In short, it allows you to translate phrases - either spoken through a USB microphone peripheral that clips onto the top of the PSP or selected from a stock list - into other languages so that whoever you're talking to knows what you're saying.

But it's more than that. Creator Yoshi Yamamoto originally came up with the idea when he sat next to a girl in Florence and couldn't actually say anything to her because she didn't understand English or Japanese and he didn't understand Italian. TalkMan doesn't just translate phrases between English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Japanese, but uses a little on-screen bird called Max to animate proceedings. You can add emphasis (Max does little dances and so on), and also select the setting you're in to give him the appropriate background. There'll be 28 to choose from including hotel foyer, restaurant, nightclub and ski slope.

TalkMan also features tools to help you learn the languages included - Pronunciation and Listening games - as well as helpful voice memo, alarm clock and unit conversion features. On top of that, there's a Friend Map that lets you add markers to different areas to show where you met people - or get them to prod details into the PSP to do it for you.

Having seen it in action, we can tell you that it works pretty well. Whether it'll be the conversation-starting, ice-breaking idea that Yamamoto hopes is something we'll be able to tell you when we get our hands on one in the next few months - and just in time for the World Cup, as Sony points out.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (16) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Zuiyo #1 6 years ago

    So this game was inspired by a desire to have sex with a curvacious Italian girl. Bravo.

  • Hicksy #2 6 years ago

    Great so now when I whip out my psp in Paris to ask "how do i get to the waterfront?" I will get mugged... only in french :p

  • Dizzy #3 6 years ago

    I am sure that hot Italian babe will be very impressed when you whip out a PSP and start talking to it ;)

    How NOT to get a women ;)

    In Tokyo airport you can also get "free" translation devices... To be honest they are interesting but pretty useles in the end.

  • Zuiyo #4 6 years ago

    I think one of the default pre-recorded messages is "I'm a nerd and can't learn a language".

  • jack_klugman #5 6 years ago

    Desiderate giocare un gioco?

  • myiagros #6 6 years ago

    i for one am looking forward to this. The import one was good to play around with and this will also be with the additional languages.

  • Hicksy #7 6 years ago

    As learning software im interested (if thats included!)

    As a translater i'm not :/

  • sickpuppysoftware #8 6 years ago

    Does it just repeat what you've said only louder?

  • Feanor #9 6 years ago

    "Nintendo are also making a version. As they with the touch screen. Hence it will sell better."

    What other news from the future can you tell us?

    Anyway, I still haven't seen a confirmed US release for this. I'd rather import the Euro version than the original if there is none.

  • reality_cheque #10 6 years ago

    @Sickpuppy: Only if you're translating from American ;)

    @Feanor: Who needs a US version? We all know the American people aren't aware of a world outside their green and pleasant dictatorship :p

    @Any Americans who read this: You're not allowed to be offended by this while Bush is still your 'leader', unless you can quote the parrot sketch from Monty Python OR sing the Red Dwarf theme, which gets you special dispensation ;)

  • Dizzy #11 6 years ago

    >Software for to learn japanese, why not.

    Hmmm.. looks like you have the import version already?

    :)

  • reality_cheque #12 6 years ago

    Maybe he's just using the Dagobahian to English mode...

  • aine #13 6 years ago

    surely the question on everyone's mind - will it swear?

  • earl_roberts #14 6 years ago

    Can you imagine that this software actually works, so then you've actually met a nice foreign woman, you and your little bird are sweet-talking, making your moves, but then your PSP battery runs out. Gutted!

  • Feanor #15 6 years ago

    "@Feanor: Who needs a US version? We all know the American people aren't aware of a world outside their green and pleasant dictatorship :p

    @Any Americans who read this: You're not allowed to be offended by this while Bush is still your 'leader', unless you can quote the parrot sketch from Monty Python OR sing the Red Dwarf theme, which gets you special dispensation ;)"

    I'm not American or offended, just bored with nonsense like that. Poms voted in Thatcher over and over so they especially have no right to attack Americans for voting for Bush.
    Edited by 1 at 13/01/06 @ 13:43

  • reality_cheque #16 6 years ago

    @Feanor: That's odd... I don't remember Thatcher lying to us to bring about a war... neither do I remember Thatcher butchering British politics in order to get her friends into power. The reason people don't like Big Maggie T was because she had more balls than most of the male politicians we have over here ;) Now if you'd wanted to prove your point, all you need to do is mention the grinning twat Blair and his scary as fuck wife... but that doesn't change the fact that I WAS MAKING A JOKE.