January 10, 2007 - Lost Planet is already available in Japan and ships to North America, Australia and Europe this Friday. That is a potentially large international community for what could become one of the biggest Xbox Live titles of the first half of the year. Despite having a low 360 install base in Japan, Lost Planet is already proving a winner among those who on an Xbox. Online multiplayer sessions are surprisingly well-populated.

With a considerable number of Japanese players already enjoying Lost Planet online, Capcom's official Lost Planet blogposted a helpful beginners course in basic Japanese. The lesson should help English-speaking gamers politely introduce themselves in the game lobby before taunting their Japanese opponents in online matches.

Here's just a small sampling of the phrases you'll learn:

  • "Hello" (Kon-ni-chi-wa)
  • "We won!" (Kat-ta)
  • "Help!" (Ta-su-ke-te)
  • "Oh, crap!" (Ya-bay)
  • "Dammit" (Chi-ku-sho)
  • "How you like me now, huh?" (Za-ma-mi-ro)

For more phrases and a pronunciation lesson, check out the Lost Planet blog.