<![CDATA[Kotaku: cooking mama]]> http://tags.kotaku.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/kotaku.com.png <![CDATA[Kotaku: cooking mama]]> http://kotaku.com/tag/cookingmama http://kotaku.com/tag/cookingmama <![CDATA[Cooking Mama, Cooking Zelda, Cooking Samus...]]> This is the cover to the latest issue of French mag IG. It features Cooking Mama. And Cooking Faith. Cooking Peach. Cooking Chun-Li (they even got the thighs right!). And, best of all, Cooking Mai. With Cooking Mai boobs.

It's an awesome pic, but also a curse, as the rest of my week will be haunted by visions of actually owning games like this. Especially Cooking Wind Waker Zelda. She's such an adorable clutz.

To see each of the Cooking Ladies individually (including a Cooking Jade not pictured here), check out Ruth Steen's (the artist) Flickr page here.

Cooking Heroines [GSW]

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<![CDATA[These Watched Cooking Mama 3 Screens Will Never Boil]]> Meet Cooking Mama 3. Looks largely the same as Cooking Mama 2. And Cooking Mama. Not that that's a problem!







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<![CDATA[Cooking Mama Dishes Dirt On Science Papa]]> Yesterday we pinged Majesco for a comment on Activision's newly announced Science Papa title for the Wii and DS, only to have Cooking Mama herself reveal her sordid past with the science geek.

We were a bit taken aback by Activision's choice of names for their new mini-game compilation, but Mama isn't surprised. After all, she dated Science Papa back when she was Cooking Single Woman.

"So you want some dirt on "Science Papa" to splash on your site? I'll shovel it. We dated briefly (when he had much better hair). And now he clearly wants a piece of the best-selling pie by associating himself with an incredibly successful, and I'll emphasize, happily married, woman. Frankly, he never appreciated my cooking and I grew weary of his tedious "experiments." You want real mind-bending science, go figure out how to make Toulouse Cassoulet for your next dinner party of 20 and let me know how it goes, Papa.

I'm no expert, but I'd say it could very well be on. Let's just hope Science Papa isn't even better than Mama at dishing dirt.

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<![CDATA[Cooking Mama Sells Four Million...Domestically]]> Majesco proudly announces that the mini-game powered Cooking Mama series has sold more than 4 million units domestically. How else would a cooking franchise sell?

Of course by domestically they mean in North America, with the company's number one franchise racking up more than four million sales between the five games in the series, which includes the recently released Gardening Mama. The company is also lowering the price for Cooking Mama World Kitchen for the Nintendo Wii to $29.99, which puts every game in the franchise under the $30 mark.

"We are thrilled to reach this significant milestone. Majesco's #1 franchise continues to resonate with gamers of all ages and genders," said Jesse Sutton, Chief Executive Officer, Majesco. "We will continue to explore ways to expand the Mama brand with innovative and compelling products that offer new entertainment experiences."

And it doesn't get much more innovative or compelling than Crafting Mama.

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<![CDATA[Mommy Dearest: The Best and Worst Mothers in Video Games]]> Mothers have it tough in video games – they get killed off, turned evil, or their children leave the nest to save the world. And their kids probably don't call home often enough.

In honor of Mother's Day, we celebrate moms in gaming – from the bit parts to the big players. Some are examples of the best parenting you could imagine; and some are so evil, they're unfit to be called "Mom." Join us now as we separate the June Cleavers from the Joan Crawfords of video game mothers.

Mothers in… Role-Playing Games
Role-playing games have the highest number of moms of any video game genre. This is because RPGs have huge, sprawling plots with huge, sprawling towns and a huge, sprawling casts of characters who you may or may not encounter depending on how you play the game. In most RPGs, you see moms as non-playable characters in towns, in flashbacks depicting the hero's reason for revenge. Some RPGs even have them as playable characters or main villains. Sadly, RPGs are also the number one "mom dies" offender, as nearly every RPG features a plucky youth out to avenge a destroyed village that usually has within it a dead mother – or at least one that's been turned into a monster.

There are way more mothers in RPGs than we could count – especially if you're going through side quests, all PC RPGs, all Japanese RPGs that were never released in the US, Final Fantasy X-2 and every single optional flashback for every possible playable character. So we've populated this list with moms who 1) had the most impact on the game's main plot or that 2) appear in the game beyond a single expository cut scene. This leaves us mostly with moms who appear in Japanese RPGs; but be sure to apologize to your dead mother in Fallout 3 for us.

Mada, Dragon Quest V – Mother of the main character: Mada gets kidnapped and becomes the subject of his quest.

Matriarch Benezia, Mass Effect – Mother of Liara T'Soni: Benezia is enslaved and later killed by Shepard in battle, but she makes up with Liara right before dying.

Polka's Mom, Eternal Sonata — Mother of Polka: this country lady is very well adjusted to time loops and apparently never taught her daughter not to talk to strange 19th Century composers she might meet while wandering around at night.

Yohn, Suikoden Tactics — Mother of Kyril: Yohn is a mute demon trapped in the wrong world who sticks around to care for her son, even though he doesn't know who she is for pretty much the whole game.

Gina , Chrono Trigger — Mother of Chrono: In one of the game's endings, Gina accidentally goes into the time portal, thus restarting the whole plot from the beginning.

Jenova, Final Fantasy VII — Mother of Sephiroth (sorta): Jenova is... an alien? We're not even sure she's a she, but "she" spends a lot of time in a jar and looks creepy.

Angeal's Mother, Crisis Core — Mother of Angeal: This small-town lady is very nice to all of her son's friends from the army, even the ones that turn evil and cause her matricide.

Queen Brahne, Final Fantasy IX — Mother of the real Princess Garnet and foster mother to her lookalike of the same name: Brahne gets fat, turns evil, tries to kill her adoptive daughter and later repents and dies in Garnet's arms.

Sarah Sisulart, Lost Odyssey – Mother of Liram: Sarah goes a little crazy and turns herself into an old woman when she thinks her daughter's been killed, but turns back into a hot nerdy chick when she finds out she has grandkids.

Seth Balmore, Lost Odyssey – Mother of Sed: Seth is immortal, but her son isn't, which is sort of weird for both of them. But they're both pirates, so there's some common ground at least.

Best Mom: Yohn… because she's selfless as only a mother can be.

Worst Mom: Jenova… because she's emotionally unavailable. And responsible for Sephiroth.

Mothers in… Fighting Games
Fighting games have a fair few mothers among their playable characters. The plot structure (or lack thereof) leaves room for all kinds of people to enter whatever world championship fighting tournament of the week is going on for various reasons that don't necessarily make any sense. So if you can have a panda, a geisha, a cyborg and whatever the hell Voldo is supposed to be enter a tournament for personal gain, a mother doesn't seem like such a weird contender. Here's a list of a few prominent mommies:

Sophitia, Soulcalibur series – Mother of Patroklos and Pyrrha: Sophitia is an Athenian who fights on behalf of the Greek God, Hephaestus, to regain Soul Edge. The sword entwines itself with her daughter's spirit, forcing Sophitia to spend eternity defending Soul Edge from anyone who tries to claim it. She's protecting her daughter.

Michelle Chang, Tekken series – Mother of Julia: Michelle fights in one of the Iron Fist tournaments to rescue her kidnapped mother and then adopts an abandoned baby named Julia. Then Julia goes on to fight in an Iron Fist tournament to save Michelle when Michelle gets kidnapped. Circle of life.

Dural, Virtua Fighter – Mother of Kage: Dural probably started out as a good mom when she was human, but then she got kidnapped and turned into an evil cyborg. That knocks her out of the Mom of the Year running.

Jun Kazama, Tekken series – Mother of Jin Kazama: Jun is the Chosen One, a wildlife activist, and a single mom. Over the course of four games, she somehow found time to save pandas, birth a son, thrash a bunch of her extended family and possibly fake her own death or perhaps dies for real when her house burned down.

Nina Williams, Tekken series – Mother of Steve Fox via in-vitro fertilization: Nina is a world class assassin who gives birth to a son while in cryogenic sleep. Though it appears she couldn't care less that she has offspring, she does neglect to assassinate him. That counts as maternal instinct, right?

Maria, Dead or Alive series – Mother of Helena: Maria is a world class opera singer who had an affair with the head of a sinister corporation. She later took a bullet for her bastard daughter onstage in the middle of an aria… what a way to go.

Crimson Viper, Street Fighter IV – Mother of Lauren: C. Viper is a working mother in the spy profession. Her life's goal is destroying the weapons produced by a sinister corporation, but somehow she made room in her busy schedule to have a daughter.

Justice, Guilty Gear – Mother of Dizzy: No one's really sure how it happened – least of all Dizzy, who was found abandoned at age 3.

Best Mom: Maria… because nothing says "Mommy loves you" like taking a sniper's bullet to the heart.

Worst Mom: Crimson Viper… because she's a workaholic. Did she even call her kid after fights? No!**

Mothers in… Action/Adventure and Survival Horror Games
Here's where the role of the mother in video games become complicated. Because these types of games usually have a more focused plot than fighting or role playing games, adding a mother usually means casting her in a narrow role that doesn't include speaking parts. Occasionally, these moms even wind up as antagonists by default. However small their part, though, these mothers sometimes make an appearance worth mentioning. Here are a few notable examples:

The Queen, Ico – Mother of Yorda: She basically had a daughter so she could sacrifice the kid and live a bit longer. I guess some species do eat their own young, but jeez…

Annette Birkin, Resident Evil 2 – Mother of Sherry Birkin: Depending on how you play the game, Annette either hid the G-Virus in her daughter's locket or cures her daughter of the T-Virus. Either way, she did abandon her kid during a zombie apocalypse. Poor form, Mom.

Amelia Croft, Tomb Raider series – Mother of Lara Croft: Like her daughter, Mrs. Croft has issues with touching ancient artifacts she probably shouldn't. Luckily, Lara learns from her mommy's mistakes and everybody's happy… until Lara has to shoot zombie Amelia when they meet up in Underworld.

Mrs. Sanderson, Chibi Robo – Mother of Jenny: Mrs. Sanderson has real marital problems that cause her to lock herself in a bathroom and threaten divorce, leaving all the housework to Jenny and her toy robot.

Ex-Mrs. Hopkins, Bully – Mother of Jimmy Hopkins: This woman lacks both fashion sense and parental priorities. She ditches her kid at a boarding school to run off on a honeymoon with a new husband and then sends Jimmy a fugly sweater at Christmas.

Maggie Monday, Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse – Mother of Andrew Monday: Like Jimmy Hopkins' mom, Maggie could use some priority adjustment. She lets her son's city get sacked by zombies and then becomes a zombie herself so she can marry Stubbs. This basically leaves Andrew with a wrecked city and a zombie for a stepfather. Thanks, Mom!

Ma Cipriani, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories – Mother of Toni: Toni never called his Ma while he was in hiding. Given that she dates guys who are into paraphilic infantilism, I can see why. Ma puts a hit out on her son and then calls it off in a fit of maternal pride when Tony finally becomes a made man.

Best Mom: Amelia Croft… because not even good moms get it right all of the time and how was she supposed to know that sword would teleport her, her husband would die and her daughter would be left an orphan?

Worst Mom: The Queen… because what she did to Yorda is way worse than what Joan Crawford did to her daughter. You think being hit with wire hangers is bad? Try being turned to stone.

Mothers in… Shooters
Here's where you barely see any moms at all. The shooter genre is reserved for masculine things like guns and aliens and spies and other stuff that doesn't leave much room for maternal influences. You'll find a lot of dads in shooters, though – but Father's Day isn't for another month, so sit tight.

*SPOILER WARNING: BioShock, F.E.A.R. 2, Metal Gear Solid 4*

Jasmine Jolene, BioShock – Mother of Jack: Jasmine was Andrew Ryan's mistress and a "dancer" which is 60s code for "prostitute." Even if she didn't accept money for sexual favors, she was certainly in a hurry to accept money for her freshly-conceived embryo. That's worse than the fairy tales where parents trade firstborn sons for magical enchantments.

Dr. Bridgette Tenenbaum, BioShock and BioShock 2 – Mother of all the Little Sisters and the Big Sister: Tenenbaum didn't give birth to any of the poor darlings, but her research created them. She eventually stepped in to foster them and shower them with toys and secondhand cigarette smoke to make up for the brainwashing.

Eva, Metal Gear Solid 4 – Mother of Liquid and Solid Snake (kinda): Eva would have gladly had Naked Snake's babies the ol' fashioned way, but the Patriots had other plans. She eventually serves as surrogate mother to the clone babies Liquid and Solid and starts calling herself Big Mamma to compensate for having nothing to do with mothering them.

The Boss, Metal Gear Solid 3 – Mother of Revolver Ocelot and the US Special Forces (which one do you think she's more proud of?): The Boss probably had no business leading the Battle of Normandy while nine months pregnant. But despite being a bad mom to Ocelot, The Boss wins major motherhood recognition as a Mother Goddess figure to at least half the cast of the Metal Gear Solid series.

Alma Wade, F.E.A.R. and F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin – Mother of Paxton Fettel, Point Man and countless telepathic clone soldiers: Alma became a mother at the tender age of 15 against her will. It's hard to tell if she harbors any feeling for her offspring conceived in captivity – bloodlust sort of obscures any tender intent. However, in Project Origin, Alma's grown up a bit and appears to have invested in being mother to the protagonist's baby, which she deliberately conceives.

Best Mom: The Boss… because out of this sorry lot, she's easily the best role model.

Worst Mom: Jasmine… because she sold her only son to his father's enemy before the son was even born. That's like the opposite of mother-like behavior.

(Dis)Honorable Mentions
Sora's Mom, Kingdom Hearts — She has one line and the whole first part of the game is about her son trying to build a raft to run away from home. Clearly the parenting thing isn't working out.
Mother Brain, Metroid — "She," if that's what that thing in the jar can be called, is an alien with no maternal feelings whatsoever.
You, Fable II, The Sims games and Harvest Moon games — Even if you play as an upstanding paragon of parental vigilance, you're going to be guilty of neglect at least half of the time in these games.

At this point, you're probably wondering why Cooking Mama isn't anywhere on this list. Apart from the lack of a convenient genre into which to cram the game, there's no evidence that Cooking Mama is even a mother. Do you see her kids at any point in the game? For all the player knows, she's just calling herself "Mama" so she doesn't have to call herself a chef, the poor self-hating hash slinger.

That's all we've got for the best and worst mothers in video games. Think we missed somebody important? Drop a line in the comments. And don't forget to call your mom on Mother's Day!

**CORRECTION: C. Viper occasionally does call her daughter after fights. But the workaholic ruling still stands.

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<![CDATA[Ohio Cops Haul In Recidivist Guitar Villain]]> Robert Snively of Port Clinton, Ohio, should be having a moment of clarity right now, because the dude is headed for town court over freaking Guitar Hero.

Snively, 33, was jamming on the game late at night this weekend, pissing off his neighbors for the last goddamn time. They sicced the fuzz on him, and they showed up and were all "Dude, not cool," and wrote him a ticket. Since he's a repeat offender for this sort of thing, that means he is off to court in April.

This reminds me of the time I had Cooking Mama cranked up to 11 and the neighbors, hearing "Maylee" raving about my kitchen skills - "You're unstoppable!", "Stupendous!", "You're good at this!", "Mmm. That was quite a treat!" - reported me to Chris Hansen and NBC Dateline.

Man Arrested for Playing Guitar Hero Too Loud [Examiner.com via GoNintendo]

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<![CDATA[Osaka Schools Passing Out DSs]]> Reports say that about 10 middle and elementary schools in Osaka will start handing out Nintendo DS consoles to students next January. Nintendo's plan to control the world: 80% complete.

The Osaka Board of Education signed off on the measure, according to Japanator, potentially restoring my faith in public education systems. Students will use "education software" to further their school studies; and by "education software," I assume they mean Brain Age and not Cooking Mama.

The DS's appearance in Japanese classrooms is nothing new. Back in 2006, Kyoto Prefecture's Yawata City had students spend the first ten minutes of class, studying vocab on their Nintendo portables. As of 2009, the prefecture was still using the DS for study.

I can't imagine taxpayers are too happy about this, especially if their kids don't go to these schools. Or they don't even have any kids. But then, Nintendo makes up a pretty serious part of Japan's economy; it could pay off.

Maybe every DS taxes buy for a school child will be 100 yen Nintendo puts toward making games that don't suck.

「DSソフト補助金は反射的利益」 橋下知事 [Sankei via Japanator via Destructoid]

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<![CDATA[PETA Beats a Dead Horse, Asks for Veggie Cooking Mama]]> We’ve been following the PETA Cooking Mama back and forth with bated breath.

First PETA created a gruesome, but sort cool take on Cooking Mama, using the doe-eyed chef to highlight some issues the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have with Thanksgiving. Then Majesco responded, pointing out that their games have plenty of vegetarian recipes, and even taking the issue to Cooking Mama herself for some overly cute quotes about animal lovin’.

Now PETA, quick to recognize a publicity train when they see when, have responded in an open letter, telling Majesco just how much they love their Cooking Mama games and asking for a vegetarian-only Cooking Mama game in the future. They’re even offering to help promote it, if the vege game comes to fruition.

Dearest Mama,

On behalf of everyone who worked on Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals, The Unauthorized PETA Edition, I wholeheartedly want to thank you for the hours of enjoyment you have provided us through your various Cooking Mama games. We played and studied them as we prepared our lighthearted parody of your successful series.

Based on your and Majesco's good-natured responses to PETA's game, I think you understand that although we made you into a demonic, knife-wielding maniac in Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals, we still love you. While we had a good time roasting you, the real purpose of our game, of course, was to bring to light some of the horrific practices of the turkey industry. And we mean the animals who are actually mistreated—not the virtual ones you cook up in your digital kitchen. I'm sure you'll be happy to know that, as a result of our game, tens of thousands of people have watched undercover footage from turkey factory farms, and hundreds of thousands have been exposed to the idea that how we treat animals matters.

It's great to hear that you want to "make the world a happier place," because that's pretty much what we want to do too (though it seems that we might have different tactics …). I do hope that you seriously consider making a vegetarian diet a part of your strategy for world happiness. By adopting a vegetarian diet, you can save more than 100 animals per year. Plus, vegetarians live longer and have a considerably lower carbon footprint. I know that—as you are a digital being—these benefits don't exactly apply to you, but I still urge you to take the pledge to be veg for 30 days.

Even if you don't take the plunge into the wonderful world of vegetarianism yourself, I still hope that you will consider making a vegetarian-only Cooking Mama game. There is such a variety of international cuisine, including Indian, Thai, Japanese, and Middle Eastern cuisine, with an abundance of vegetarian and vegan options for you and your followers to explore.

If you do decide to move forward with Cooking Mama: Vegetarian Kitchen please contact us so that we can help promote your game to our over 2 million members and supporters. I already look forward to playing it!

Best,

Joel Bartlett
Assistant Director of Marketing
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

P.S. Please give Max a big hug from everyone at PETA!

Uh-oh, I hope PETV doesn’t catch wind of this.

[Thanks PETA]

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<![CDATA[What's Taito Bringing To TGS?]]> We know what Square Enix is bringing to this year's Tokyo Game Show. The Japanese publisher is armed with some big guns — Final Fantasy XIII, Dragon Quest IX and Star Ocean: The Last Hope — one of which will actually be playable. But what about its little subsidiary, Taito? It makes games too!

While Taito's offerings aren't the stuff of attention grabbing headlines and long queues, it has a few tricks up its sleeve; Gardening Mama for the Nintendo DS for one, giving "Mama" something to occupy her time between meals in Cooking Mama 2 for the Wii. There's also Space Puzzle Bobble, which you'll find me hunched over at the Makuhari Messe this year.

Get excited... on a very small scale.

Taito TGS 2008 [Taito via DS Fanboy]

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<![CDATA[First Cooking Mama, Now Gardening Mama]]> Cooking Mama is a hit. Not just the gamer, either; Mama herself is a bonafide gaming starlet. So it's with little surprise that we hear Majesco are taking the short-tempered lass out of the kitchen and throwing her in the garden for another Mama series, with Gardening Mama due for release on the DS at the end of the year (in Japan, at any rate). Mama's fiery temper was a perfect fit for the kitchen in these Gordon Ramsey-heavy times, but gardening's always been a more relaxing pursuit. Wonder how she's going to adjust.

First there was Cooking Mama, now there's Gardening Mama? [Pocketgamer]

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<![CDATA[Majesco *Might* Get Kicked Off The Stock Market]]> Cooking Mama sure can cook. Might want to get her to cook your books, Majesco, as the company today received a formal warning notice from the NASDAQ Stock Exchange. The exchange has rules, and one of those rules is that shares in a company can't trade at under $1.00 for 30 days in a row. Majesco's have been trading at under $1.00 for 30 days now, so they've got this warning, along with a condition that if they can't get it back over $1.00 by February 2009, they might get themselves delisted from the stock exchange. A fate which is probably a lot more awful than it sounds.

Edison, NJ - August 28, 2008 - Majesco Entertainment Company (NASDAQ: COOL), an innovative provider of video games for the family-friendly mass market, announced today that on August 22, 2008, it received a letter from The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. ("Nasdaq") notifying the Company that for the 30 consecutive trading days preceding the date of the letter, the bid price of the Company's common stock had closed below the $1.00 per share minimum required for continued inclusion on the Nasdaq Capital Market pursuant to

Nasdaq Marketplace Rule 4310 (c) (4). The letter further notified the Company that, in accordance with Nasdaq Marketplace Rule 4310(c)(8)(D), the Company will be provided 180 calendar days, or until February 18, 2009, to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement. Compliance is achieved if the bid price per share of the Company's common stock closes at $1.00 per share or greater for a minimum of ten consecutive trading days prior to February 18, 2009.

If the Company does not achieve compliance within the required period, the Company will be reevaluated to determine whether it meets The Nasdaq Capital Market's initial listing criteria as set forth in Marketplace Rule 4310(c), with the exception of the bid price requirement. If the Company meets the initial listing criteria, which differ from the continued listing criteria, the Nasdaq staff will notify the Company that it has been granted an additional 180 calendar day compliance period. If the Company is not eligible for an additional compliance period, the Nasdaq staff will provide written notification that the Company's securities will be delisted. In that event and at that time, the Company may appeal the Nasdaq staff delisting determination to a Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel.

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<![CDATA[Another Year, Another Cooking Mama]]> A mantra that should cause the clucking of tongues and the rolling of eyes! But no. This isn't some skateboarding series. It's no annually-updated football franchise. It's Cooking Mama! So it's with delight that we learn Majesco will be releasing a new Cooking Mama title this year, and an all-new one to boot. Called Cooking Mama World Kitchen, it's for the Wii, and aside from an entirely appropriate (and welcome) graphical upgrade, we're promised new minigame opportunities ("if you flip a burger too high, you can control Mama as she rushes in to save the day by catching it in her apron") and better motion control implementation. It should be out this holidays. Presser and NSFW screen after the jump.

EDISON, N.J., June 30, 2008 - Preheat the oven, grease the baking pan and get out the spatula as Majesco Entertainment Company (NASDAQ: COOL), an innovative provider of video games for the mass market, today announced additional details of Cooking Mama World Kitchen for Wii. Developed by Cooking Mama Limited, the latest installment in the celebrated franchise includes an all new 3D graphic presentation along with new recipes, modes and comedic mini-game surprises.

"The Cooking Mama franchise continues to be a best seller at more than two million units sold to date," said Jesse Sutton, Chief Executive Officer, Majesco. "An original idea, inherently fun execution and Mama's appeal have clearly resonated with both Wii and Nintendo DS audiences. Mama's newest iteration, Cooking Mama World Kitchen, builds on this success with a host of feature enhancements that improve the cooking experience and deliver more of the unique personality that has made Mama such an endearing video game character."

In Cooking Mama World Kitchen, Mama and friends have a whole new look given the game's upgrade to full 3D graphics. By utilizing the Wii Remote as a universal kitchen utensil, players can simulate actual cooking by chopping, grating, slicing, stirring and rolling their way through all new recipes that range from parfait to shrimp au gratin. Best of all, kitchen mistakes during meal preparation result in comedic mini-game surprises; for example, if you flip a burger too high, you can control Mama as she rushes in to save the day by catching it in her apron. Finally, a new game play mechanic integrates traditional Wii Remote utensil play with additional rhythm and motion that makes cooking easier and more enjoyable.

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<![CDATA[Cooking Mama: 1.6 Millions and Millions Served]]> Majesco has done pretty well in North America with the Cooking Mama franchise. Between their three titles on the market (2 for the DS, 1 for Wii), they've sold 1.6 million copies here. But the larger stats freaks among you will note that the original Cooking Mama DS sold over a million copies—or roughly 2/3 of the total sales from 3 games. So it doesn't feel like much of a stretch saying that the series' popularity may have peaked.

EDISON, N.J., January 30, 2008 - Mama just keeps on cookin'! Majesco Entertainment Company (NASDAQ: COOL), an innovative provider of video games for the mass market, today announced that the award-winning Cooking Mama franchise has reached sales of 1.6 million units in the United States. Franchise titles include: the original Cooking Mama game for Nintendo DS™ that launched in September 2006 and has sold more than 1 million units; Cooking Mama: Cook Off for the Wii™ console that launched in April 2007; and Cooking Mama 2: Dinner with Friends that released pre-holiday in November 2007.

"The success of Cooking Mama has been akin to catching lightning in a bottle," said Jesse Sutton, Chief Executive Officer, Majesco. "A unique concept, iconic main character and gameplay execution that fully utilizes the stylus and Wii Remote™ have proved to be a winning combination. We appreciate the continued support from all of Mama's fans and look forward to launching the fourth title in the franchise later this year."

Look for Mama's latest game, Cooking Mama 2: Dinner with Friends on the Nintendo MLB Spring Training Tour this February and March in Arizona.

The upcoming sequel to the best-selling Cooking Mama: Cook Off game for the Wii is due out later this year. Game details will be released shortly. For additional information on the Cooking Mama franchise, please visit www.CookingMama2.com

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<![CDATA[Cooking Mama Huge Success For Taito]]> Just how important is the quirky little DS and Wii game Cooking Mama to Japanese developer Taito? Speaking to Gamasutra, Taito's U.S. representative Keiji Fujita revealed that only one game in the company's stable has managed to surpass the success of the little cooking sim that could, that game being the Japanese-only title Densha De Go (Let's Go By Train). In an interview posted on the website today, Fujita discusses the wild success of the franchise, which has now sold over 2 million copies around the world, as well as the future of Mama and her friends - including the possibility of an arcade version of the game somewhere down the line.

"Taito has the skill and the quality of arcade machines, so they could develop an arcade version of Cooking Mama. A virtual knife and cooking board or something..."
Check out the full interview below for more on Cooking Mama, Exit for the DS, and the 30th anniversary of Taito's classic, Space Invaders.

Revitalizing The Legacy: An Interview With Taito's Keiji Fujita [Gamasutra]

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<![CDATA[1,000,000 Europeans Do It Even Better Than Mama]]> 505 Games has proudly announced that everyone's favorite bundle of cooking mini-games has reached the 1 million mark in sales across Europe since it's release in September of 2006. If you had told me two years ago that a video game that centered around a besting a tiny Japanese woman with starz in her eyes (why'd they wanna go and put those there?) at cooking while she praises your work in horribly broken English would sell a million copies, I would probably be brining that up right now and telling you how right you were.

"These fantastic results vindicate the hard work and dedication from everyone at 505 that has gone into making this our most successful franchise to date," commented Ian Howe, 505 Games' Managing Director. "We've set ourselves a lofty target, but now we're all keen to see how quickly we can get Cooking Mama 2 to one million!"
Of course the main credit needs to go to Japanese developer Office Create, but success is success. Way to go marketing team! Someone's getting a pizza party!
COOKING MAMA FEEDS A MILLION 505 GAMES' COOKING MAMA REACHES ONE MILLION UNITS SOLD

Milton Keynes, 6th December - 505 Games today raised a glass as the European sales of its celebrated Cooking Mama franchise surpassed one million units. Released initially on Nintendo DS and later for Wii, the series becomes 505 Games' most successful title to date.

Since its September 2006 release, Mama has sliced, chopped and sautéed her way into the hearts of casual and hardcore gamers alike with her unique and easily accessible 'hands-on' gameplay. And with plans for the much-anticipated sequel to be released in 2008 in full motion, budding chefs keen to serve up seconds won't have long to wait.

"These fantastic results vindicate the hard work and dedication from everyone at 505 that has gone into making this our most successful franchise to date," commented Ian Howe, 505 Games' Managing Director. "We've set ourselves a lofty target, but now we're all keen to see how quickly we can get Cooking Mama 2 to one million!"

Cooking Mama is available in all good gaming outlets for DS and Wii. Cooking Mama 2 is currently scheduled for an early 2008 release.

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<![CDATA[Taito's TGS Looks Something Like This]]> The TGS anticipation continues! Taito has released its list of games appearing at TGS. And amazingly (or not, depending on how you look at it) all titles are DS games. They include:

Cooking Mama 2
Arkanoid DS
Exit DS
Space Invaders Extreme
The Legend of Kage 2
Pet Shop Monogatari DS
Paddle Controller DS (Peripheral)

Boy I hope it's Space Invaders Extreme and not Space Invaders eXtreme or Space Invaders Xtreme.
Taito's TGS List [ITmedia]

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<![CDATA[Korean Cooking Mama Gets The Mitts Out]]> Best. Item. Ever. Over in Korea, Cooking Mama comes with oven mitts. Yes, oven mitts! Because right after playing Cooking Mama, you just might feel like cooking. Hell, I already have Cooking Mama and can't read Korean, but I would so pick them up for those mitts alone.
Cooking Mama in Korea [GameBrink via DS Fanboy]

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<![CDATA[The Cooking Mama Hookers]]> Forget dirty movies. You know you've made it, when you get a prostitution business named after your game. And with Cooking Mama, developer Office Create has made it. Head over to Osaka's tricks-for-cash "Cooking Mama." Adult mini-games run ¥10,000 an hour (US $84), but probably are short. Much shorter. It specializes in not just in older motherly-types, but older motherly-types wearing nothing but aprons. Apparently, there is an audience for this! Oddly, there is a "Cooking Mama Corporation" behind this hooker outfit. It was established in 2006, which is the same year Cooking Mama hit the DS. Coincidence? Ha!
Cooking Mama [NFSW!!!, Thanks Taku!]

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<![CDATA[Mama is Cooking]]>
Pachter's at it again, this time he's predicting a sunny $15 million in forecasted sales for Majesco's Cooking Mama series in their second quarter earnings. The weather should be so bright for a company that was struggling to stay in the stock market back in April. According to Pachter:

We believe that Majesco's sales were in line with our estimate based upon in line sales of its main new release Cooking Mama (which sold-through 73,000 units through April compared with our 100,000 unit sell-in estimate)...

Though we think Majesco may continue to struggle with its low cash levels and will have to deal with its delisting issues, we believe that the company is close to returning to profitability, due to its improvements in sales and cost management.

Even the Burger King games made some cash. I'm sure Mama can pull Majesco into the green. Do not mind.


Pachter: Majesco 'Cooking On All Burners' For Turnaround [Gamasutra]

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<![CDATA[Elder Bleszinski Doesn't Welcome Wii Dominance]]>

Look familiar? That's Tyler Bleszinski (in green), older brother of Gears of War designer CliffyB. Known primarily as a sports blogger, TylerB is also a big gamer. Over at Newsweek's Level Up, he's written an editorial on why he's on edge about the current Wii popularity. From the piece:

My problem is what this new crowd appears to be drawn to. Games like Wii Sports, Wii Play and Cooking Mama have become some of the biggest sellers, and that is what has me worried. If these are the type of games that become blockbusters, then you can count on other gaming companies who cater to the more hardcore gamer—aka me and the milions of others who've been driving this business—to promptly change direction. If we've learned anything about videogame companies, it's that they all are quick to follow each other if one is successful with something.

It's a provocative thought piece — complete with BeeGees-Nintendo Wii comparisons! Sure, it's not quite the bombshell of CliffyB saying that, but they're brothers. So somewhere, deep down, he must feel the same way. Or something.

TylerB Worried [Level Up]

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