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Cooking Mama taking on two more side jobs this year
In its latest financial results release, Majesco reported satisfying sales for its Cooking Mama franchise. It didn't provide specifics, but CEO Jesse Sutton said that Cooking Mama 3 "performed well," Gardening Mama was "very successful" and Cooking Mama in general was "the most successful third party franchise on the DS" and "an evergreen brand." So, naturally, Majesco is going to retire the series on a high note. Oh, did we say "retire the series on a high note?" We meant "release two more games this year." Sutton said that following the success of the gardening-based spinoff, Majesco is working on two "additional extensions for 2010," as well as looking to "new media channels" for further extensions of the brand.
Majesco revenues up 60% for second quarter (Thanks, Jillian Michaels, Cooking Mama ... again)
Majesco announced gloated yesterday about its earnings for the second quarter of 2009 (ending April 30, 2009). The company reported net revenues increased 60.8% to $20.5 million over the $12.8 million earned in the same period last year. Majesco attributes the massive increase of revenue to strong software sales for Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum 2009, Cooking Mama titles and Gardening Mama, which hit retailers in March.Last quarter, Majesco's revenues kicked up 75% with its good fortunes also attributed to the same games with Jillian Michaels' Ultimatum selling more than half a million copies. It's then not surprising that Majesco is expanding the brand, bringing out Ultimatum 2010 for Wii and Jillian Michaels Pocket Trainer 2010 on DS next year.
This Week on the Nintendo Channel: Every Week on the Nintendo Channel
Last week, we were surprised to see that the new demo offerings for the Nintendo Channel were exactly the same as those the previous week -- most of which were repeats to start with. This week, it's two of the same demos, plus one that is a rerun from previous weeks. And this is how we've managed to feel surprised and bored at the same time.At least there are videos about Cursed Mountain and Night Game to watch. The full list of videos and demos is available after the break.
This Week on the Nintendo Channel: Last Week on the Nintendo Channel
Did you miss out on the opportunity to play any -- or even all -- of last week's downloadable DS demos? This week is awesome for you, and only for you. Because the Nintendo Channel features exactly the same demos as last week. Well, it's swapped out the Personal Trainer: Cooking mac and cheese recipe for lasagna, but that happens every week. We're still pretty happy to see Gardening Mama, but our goodwill toward the title is going to diminish as it continues to headline the demo service.At least the videos are new. Check after the break for the list of available downloads.%Gallery-35422%
This Week on the Nintendo Channel: MyDemos Party
A new DS came out this week, as you may have noticed. That means that a lot of DS owners have renewed interest in the system, and that perhaps some new system owners have joined the club. It's a great time to put grade-A demos on the Nintendo Channel -- which Nintendo certainly has with its permanent lineup of first-party titles, including both Brain Ages and Rhythm Heaven. How does Nintendo mark the big week? With two old demos (including Gardening Mama, so we're not too upset) and MySims Party, which is probably a good choice for new audiences! Of course, if you got a new DSi and you want more free games, you've got 1000 Nintendo Points to spend!
This Week in the Nintendo Channel: A new demo blooms
After last week's super-megatons, we half expected to find some more crazy surprises on the Nintendo Channel today. Unfortunately, nothing available qualifies as a crazy surprise, unless you missed the addition of the Rhythm Heaven demo to the lineup last week. It looks like a permanent fixture, like the Brain Age and Flash Focus demos!We were pleasantly surprised to find that the one debut demo today is something in which we have genuine interest: Gardening Mama. The list of demos and new videos is available after the break.%Gallery-35422%
Enjoy some sunshine with Gardening Mama
Majesco has to make sure it keeps the Cooking Mama voice actress on its payroll. She is basically magical. We love the Cooking Mama games enough to be interested in Gardening Mama anyway, but Mama's encouraging, heavily-accented narration makes us really want to do some fake gardening in the "first gardening game on DS" (which must mean that Majesco doesn't count farming as gardening)! How great would it feel to be told you're "even better than Mama" at pouring water into the ground? Pretty great. We never get such an enthusiastic "Bravo!" when we spray stuff on plants. We could use more of that kind of feedback in our lives. %Gallery-35422%
Water saplings! Add soil! Dilute serum!: Gardening Mama dishes out the orders
Wiiz has another six screens of Gardening Mama, Majesco's game for people who, like us, think gardening is a bit rubbish and not really worth our time. Naturally, we think simulating this activity through our DSes is perfectly fine, mainly because it doesn't involve getting wet feet and cold hands. So we're massive hypocrites. Sue us.These new screenshots deal with some of the new tasks we'll face as virtual gardeners. We're told to "Add more soil!" "Water the sapling!" "Dilute the serum!" "Squash those viruses!" No matter what she or her garden is going through, Mama greets all of these challenges with the same reaction: that calm (yet determined) smile. We doubt we'll manage to be quite as composed.%Gallery-35422%
Gardening Mama to sprout in Spring
Tired of wrestling with assorted meats and vegetables, Mama has moved from the confines of Majesco's kitchen and into the fresh outdoors, or at least she will next Spring when Gardening Mama is released for the Nintendo DS. Developed by the folks responsible for Mama's culinary exploits, the game will allow players to "plant, nurture and harvest" flowers, fruits and veggies growing in her backyard. Perhaps this is the beginning of a trend for Mama as she explores the world outside of her kitchen to discover firsthand just where her ingredients come from. We gleefully await the arrival of Slaughterhouse Mama to deliver some delicious reindeer steaks just in time for next year's holiday rush. Gallery: Gardening Mama [Via DS Fanboy]
Spring is the season for Gardening Mama in North America
We didn't think Majesco would find any reason not to pick this up, but we're glad to see an official announcement. The company will publish Cooking Mama Ltd.'s latest, Gardening Mama, in North America, with a scheduled spring 2009 release.According to the press release, Gardening Mama features not only planting and maintaining crops, but also segments in which players use those crops after harvesting -- including examples like making strawberry jam and carving pumpkins. Gardening Mama also features four-player multiplayer gardening, and the ability to share the products of your labor with other players online.%Gallery-35422%
Mama has skills: Taito trademarks Pet Shop Mama
Oh Mama, is there nothing you can't turn your versatile hand to? With Mama cooking games now out on DS and Wii, and a gardening game due out this winter on the handheld, Japanese publisher Taito isn't done milking the money-printing franchise.Last week, the company trademarked Pet Shop Mama, which seems self-explanatory. There's no hint of what platform this will release on, or even if it will end up being a real game (our bet: it will), but Mama's past cosy relationship with the DS makes it an obvious favorite. Our minds boggle at the potential minigames for this: will we be balancing hats on cats? Brushing dog teeth? Fending off fuming PETA campaigners armed with disturbing parody games?%Gallery-35505%
Gardening Mama says put it in the ground
Mama's so talented. No more is she limited to the kitchen, sweetly suggesting you chop vegetables before she tans that behind. Now she's free to rove in the gardens as well, pointing at the shrubbery and essaying commands. Of course, after this screenshot, we fully expect an English-Teaching Mama in the future. The sky's the limit, Mama! So long as you stick to traditionally feminine roles, anyway.505 Games just announced that they'll have the latest in Mama's franchise on shelves in Europe in the spring, to coincide with the release of that region's Cooking Mama 2: World Kitchen for the Wii. Since World Kitchen is slated for November in the U.S., and no similar announcement has yet been made for Gardening Mama here, it doesn't look like we'll see the same dual release.%Gallery-35422%
Taito to show Gardening Mama, paddle-compatible Bust a Move at TGS
Taito's TGS lineup is, like last year, all-Nintendo. While they only showed DS games last year, one Wii game is on the lineup this time, but it's Cooking Mama: World Kitchen, which isn't a huge departure. The company will show the newly-announced Gardening Mama along with a new Puzzle Bobble (Bust a Move) game called Space Puzzle Bobble, which uses the paddle controller! Three games is totally enough justification for buying one of those. Maybe it'll even lead to another production run! The site has smallish screens of both new games.The fourth game in the lineup is Tetsudou Seminar: Oote Shitetsu Hen, a quiz game about the Japanese rail system, pretty much guaranteed not to be released anywhere else.
Cooking Mama goes outside for Gardening Mama
According to the latest Famitsu, Taito is spinning Office Create (now called Cooking Mama Limited)'s hit Cooking Mama series off into another creative field: gardening. All we know so far is that there's a DS game on the way from Taito called Gardening Mama and that it's scheduled for this winter. There's an infinitesimal possibility, we suppose, that the game is about the "Gardening Mama" terra cotta protectant, but it's much more likely to be a minigame collection about planting and caring for different plants starring the lovable Mama mascot.DeviantArt user whitebelt247 correctly predicted the announcement of the game in the above artwork, posted in late August. He just made the box for the wrong system (for now)!
