Not knowing the specific game or time period it was released from makes it a bit harder to judge but I don’t see any reason to not order now if your actually serious about learning. If anything it could help motivate you because you’ll want to not waste your $100. 
the other fun part is … getting ahold of the Japanese version since they are technically not alowed to be sold here for whatever reason … and even so more is you can’t buy the English version if you live in Japan (against their laws). I remember a site that was based in japan that would export anything for you (kinda usless since I don’t remember the site) but I am sure if you do a little reasearch you may find it. and also some games may not have any voices (ex Xchange 1) so for a few games are going to have to be able to read their language. and the games on the Japan market are more expensive than on the english market. If I remember correctly the Japanese version of X-Change 3 ran about $60(this was about 2 months ago)(that is 6000 yen on the average 100 yen per $1 aspect) but we are also talking about a rather new game (to the US market I don’t know how long it has been out in Japan though.) I am learning the language too… The spoken aspect I probally will be finnished with before the end of the year but the writen aspect takes some time out. I HOPE to be able to be finnished learning within 4 years because that is where I want to move.(spoken part of the language only can get you in quite some trouble.)
anyone here I can only go by what I have seen or have read … please please correct me if I am wrong in any of these aspects. Thank you
There are several sites that sell Japanese games to other countries, of which himeyashop.com is the most popular.
As for buying a game before you’re able to understand it… I’ve done it before, but I don’t recommend throwing away that much money if you’re not serious about learning the language.
[ 07-27-2006, 07:00 PM: Message edited by: Dark Lord Zenigame ]
… on the other hand: if you are serious about both: learning the language and a particular game, then it indeed is adviceable to buy the game as long as it is available, because I know only a few japanese b-games that have ever been reprinted.
I want to learn the language as well, but it looks that there is very few schools/courses having this offer. If they have they don’t cover that much either, so I’m a bit stuck here 
While having a class is very nice it is only one means to learn. If your very serious then pick up a book and just start working your way through it. I don’t remember offhand but there are sites where you can meet and exchange mail with japanese people to at the very least polish your reading and writing skills. As far as speaking skills go that would likely be the biggest hurdle for you but there also ways to get around that such as finding a nearby japanese restaurant and just conversing with employees (not that it always works but it’s an idea and one I did for quite a while). My last suggestion would be to make sure you get a kanji dictionary and just start memorizing, it’ll come in handy later.
Nice! Thanks for the advice hiro!
Any good recomandation for books to get?
However, it would be nice to have a teacher though, but it would rather be expencive to hire one O.o
I would recommend getting a book that teaches you hiragana and katakana first. It is, in my opinion, the best first step to take into learning the language, and most of the books will also provide some practice words so you can expand your vocabulary as well.
Cool!
I’ve to pay a visit to some bookshops then, and search for it. If you do have some titles I can check out I’ll apreaciate that.
A word of caution. While learning Japanese through b-games is a great idea, be careful not to be too narrow in your approach. I know a Japanese girl who learned English by watching daytime soap operas, and you could tell it when she spoke, somehow. Learning Japanese by watching too much anime is also a good thing to avoid, since you don’t want to skew yourself in anime too much (and go around talking like Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star, like I did for a while there).
LOL Pete!
But I also want to learn to write the language as well. It’s not only japanese b-games I want to undertand, but f.ex anime too ^^
You are right - learning the 2000 Kanji is the most massive obstacle for playign Japanese games.
I recommend this book, because it worked for me very well. Still, it will take its time - and I had to work through the entire course twice in order to achieve a level that now allows me to play fluently.
… and of course, you should have also a firm grasp on the japanese grammar, because the Kanji alone are as useles as the grammar alone.
Plus you have to bear in mind that the book only teaches single-characetr-kanji. For composite kanjis, it still is adviceable to have also a japanese wordprocessor with electronic dictionary handy…