Sony's Talkman for PSP Headed for Europe

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has announced that innovative Japanese-released productivity software Talkman - the PSP title designed to bridge language gaps with the help of an interactive, multilingual bird named Max and a microphone - is on its way to European shores. Previously released in both Japan and Korea, Talkman uses voice recognition - via an included microphone attachment - and a large database of common phrases to help PSP owners to learn new languages and communicate effectively. The original version supported the languages of Chinese, English, Japanese, and Korean. This new European version supports even more; specifically, French, English, German, Spanish, Italian, and Japanese. "Bring the art of language to your gestures, put words behind the shrugs, turn Spanglish into perfecto Espanol, make the move on the girl or guy in that foreign bar who catches your eye - in short, become a jetsetter able to communicate in six languages with more than 3000 crucial phrases at your fingertips," says today's press release. In addition to the on-the-fly translator, Talkman also features two game modes to aid in learning; The Pronounciation Game, in which Max challenges players to repeat phrases with proper pronunciation, and The Listening Game, where one must listen to a phrase and identify its proper translation. The European version of Talkman is set to be released in May of this year, "in time for the football!" as the press release notes. There has been no formal announcement of a North American release for the title as of press time.