Plato, the brains behind Nintendo's English Training software, Eigo Zuke, are bringing a virtual guitar to the DS. The software, called Hiite Utaeru DS Guitar M-06 (or just M-06, for short), allows anyone to strum out a few pleasant sounds, while proper guitar players can also feel at home with the ability to control the sound like a real guitar. 120 chords are built in, with three plucking variations of each. These are navigated with the d-pad, while the pen is brushed across the touch screen to strum. It might sound a bit limited, but in a demonstration from Plato, a professional guitarist got a kick out of it. In particular its compact form, compared to a real guitar, was appealing. Twenty songs are built into the software, for you to strum along with, and there are 18 songs in print form, bundled with the software.
Why the name? According to General Manager, Eriko Kitahara, it's just an initial, combined with "06" to commemorate its year of release, though it sounds kind of like a guitar product number too. Neat. Plato intends to sell the software first through Amazon, from December 21 in Japan, with a general release early next year on February 1. The price is a modest 3800 yen ($32).