Today's cheap deals post is brought to you buy the letter "o," and, uh, the word "costc." Get it? Costco?
Now that we've sufficiently subjected you to the horrors of our evening humor (or lack thereof), those of you who are Costco shoppers might be interested in some of the games the retailer is offering for $10.99 thru 6/22:
Puzzle Quest
Sonic Rush
Dragon Quest: Rocket Slime
The New York Times Crosswords
Disney Meteos
Namco Museum DS
Cooking Mama
This sale is somewhat "your mileage may vary," since the listed games are not necessarily going to be in stock at your local Costco. These are just some games that we've decided to highlight, though. Check after the break for the full list, as compiled by CAGgers.
Last week there were a bunch of Wii deals in the Sunday ads. This week, though, there are a handful of DS games with slashed prices instead, all from Circuit City:
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for $17.50 (Sunday and Monday only)
Cooking Mama for $9.99
Sonic Rush for $9.99
Namco Museum for $9.99
Pokemon Emerald (GBA) for $9.99
Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis (GBA) for $9.99
With the exception of Phantom Hourglass, you have the whole week to mull over these sales, which are available both online and in stores. Anyone plan on picking up one of these games?
This series of videos makes us happy, but it also makes us a little sad. Why? Because we had the idea a while ago to try a recipe using the exact ingredients, instructions, and timings found in a Cooking Mama game, and never actually had time to try it. And now Thwomp Factory has undertaken a very similar experiment. It's actually part of an ongoing series of theirs about making recipes based on video games! Check it out if you want to try some Contact or Harvest Moon-inspired cuisine.
They skip to the last hilarious step in Cooking Mama 2's chili dog recipe: catching all the ingredients with the bun. "Why does Mama make her chili dogs like this?" Thwomp Factory's Amelia wondered. "Does it improve the flavor, allowing the subtle spices of the chili to mature in the open air? Does it work up an appetite, with all that running around and panicking?" Mostly it makes a risible mess. But it's a surefire recipe for awesome videos.
When we turned on our Wii earlier to check and see if the recent habit of providing us with new DS demos every week would continue, we stumbled upon something very odd. You see, this week's new DS demos are, in fact, the first set of DS demos that released alongside the Nintendo Channel. Just now, they don't have an expiration date attached to them.
For those of you with a bad memory (or no desire to click links), the list of demos available has been placed past the break.
Hey, you! No, not the guy on the next screen along with the muffin -- you. That's right. You a European? You are? Great! So let's hear it: why have we just checked the latest European charts and found that Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney charted absolutely nowhere? If yours truly can summon up the the effort to scour the high street give his credit card details to an online retailer, you can do the same! No wonder Capcom seems to be thinking twice about releasing Trials and Tribulations here.
No. We're serious. Because, really, would you want to make Mama mad? Former GameSpot scribe Alex Navarros apparently couldn't care less, because he slapped a six out of ten on Cooking Mama 2: Dinner with Friends back in February, and got a vitriolic letter from publisher Majesco for his troubles.
It's a delightfully sarcastic retort, with the author of the letter noting that "With the first Cooking Mama reaching 1 million units in Europe and near of 1 million stateside, I began to worry that this might begin to go to our heads. Majesco's parking lot would be flooded with Bentley's, Maybach's and rare hybrid cars that run on pure ego." Hit the break for the petulant tirade in full.
Featuring charts from across the region, Another Week in Europe documents the buying habits and quirky tastes of a whole continent of DS lovers.
Old Kawashima's not wrong, you know -- well, as far as the DS goes anyway. Y'see, Europe is all about Gran Turismo 5: Prologue this week, but when it comes to Nintendo's handheld, the not-for-profits Prof (along with Mario & Sonic) is making sure no other DS game gets a look-in. Oh sure, you have your Cooking Mama 2s and New Super Mario Bros.s sniffing around the fringes and occasionally racking up a top ten spot, but other than that, there's little resistance. So here's to next week, when hopefully Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles will make a dent in this tedium.
Oh, and if you're reading, Germany: Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Seriously?
The new casual approach for Majesco is working wonders for the company, as the latest sales stats pouring in show the company's profits are up. In fact, the company saw a profit of $2.7 million during Q1, doing a total of $18.7 million in sales. The majority of their profit comes courtesy of the Mama herself, as the company reports 77% of their sales came from handheld titles.
Jesse Sutton, CEO of Majesco, commented that the company "benefited from a strong domestic sales performance, driven by sales of our Cooking Mama games, which delivered a revenue increase of 47 percent versus the same period last year." Sutton added that Majesco is "focused on expanding the number of titles we publish and strengthening our retail distribution."
Majesco also announced that Cooking Mama 8: Mama Bakes in Space is due for a summer 2027 release.
Featuring charts from across the region,Another Week in Europe documents the buying habits and quirky tastes of a whole continent of DS lovers.
Imagine if Nintendo's Brain Training titles really did boost human intelligence. By now, Europe would be an entire continent of freakish, towering intellects, probably on the verge of world domination or something. Indeed, most of the region is still buying Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training, almost two years after it launched. Quite bizarrely, it's even outselling its own sequel in the majority of regions.
Apart from Nintendo's bonce-honing über-hit (notice how I casually throw my mad German skillz around the place), there's the usual suspects here, with Mario & Sonic, Cooking Mama 2, Professor Kageyama's Maths Training, and -- yaaay! -- New Super Mario Bros. all making a splash. That is, except in Sweden and Denmark, where apparently there's some kind of DS shortage. What?
While you dwell on the revelation that the DS doesn't rule every single corner of the world, go past the break for more European charts than you can shake a croissant at. Oh, and mentally prepare yourselves for next week. Why? Two words: Baby Pals. Eek!
A list of the top fifty best-selling games in the UK last year has surfaced, and the DS snagged six of the spots, though you may be somewhat surprised by what made it. Of course, considering that there are a lot more regular folks than there are "hardcore gamers" (and even the hardest of the hard like a little break now and again), you may not be that surprised after all.
The original brain game, Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training, took the number two spot as the second best-selling title overall, and the sequel, More Brain Training, slid in at number five. Considering that Big Brain Academy turned up at number 37 (along with its console cousin at number 24), there must be a lot of healthy and exercised brains trundling around Dear Old Blighty these days. The other games that turned up were New Super Mario Bros., at number 13, Cooking Mama just above it in twelfth place, and way down near the bottom, Pokémon Diamond turned up at number 44. Perhaps our friends in the UK have already caught them all.
Mama's been busy in the kitchen, not only cooking up tasty virtual treats, but also fat stacks of cash. 505 Games has announced that the franchise has sold over a million copies, becoming 505 Games' most successful franchise to day. Releasing first for the DS, another entry was later released on the Wii, cementing Mama as one of the region's most marketable mugs. Good for her!
Any of our European readers pick up any of her games on the DS or Wii?
Much like with yesterday's fantastic Space Invaders Extreme clip, Taito put out new promotional videos for four of its upcoming games -- Exit DS, Arkanoid DS, Legend of Kage 2, and Cooking Mama 2. The three-and-a-half-minute Exit DS trailer above, in particular, is pretty slick, reminiscent of Lucky Number Slevin's opening credits. Despite the touchscreen control issues many brought up when previewing Exit DS at the past TGS event, the action-puzzler looks pretty fun!
The rest of the streaming videos are available for you to check out at Dengeki's news page. Make sure to watch the Legend of Kage 2 clip all the way through, as the gameplay bits have been tucked at the end, after all the character art and gusts of cherry blossom petals.
Stuck at home while every one else is out shopping, reaping the savings of Black Friday deals? Or maybe you just didn't want to deal with the crowds, afraid that you'll end up in a fist fight over the last Gold Nintendo DS Lite bundle? No need to worry -- there are a few sales you can still take advantage of online!
With a new TV commercial about to hit the airwaves (in Japan,) we've been able to learn a little more about the "cosplayer" Taito employed in some print advertising. It turns out that she'll be the face of Cooking Mama on TV as well.
The actress in question is a Japanese comedienne named Shizuyo Yamasaki, commonly called "Shizu-chan." She's part of a comedy duo called "Nankai Candies" and also played a supporting role in "Hula Girls." We figured she must be a celebrity of some kind and not just the first person who fit in the apron.
As for the commercial itself: there are stills at Inside-Games, but no video yet. We pretty much get the idea anyway. Cooking Mama 2 is fun, whether you're a child or Shizuyo Yamasaki.
GamePro Family has posted a collection of game-inspired Halloween costumes, in case you'd like to dress up, but just haven't had the time to make a costume until today. Of course, you'd need to spend pretty much the rest of the day making some of these, but at least you won't have to go to a party as "Off-Duty Police Officer" or "Alien in a You Suit." If you start right now, you still have time to go be a huge nerd in public!
Some of the Nintendo-related suggestions include a Rabbid, Phoenix Wright, and (perhaps easiest) Cooking Mama. Unfortunately, the suggestions don't include suggested methods of costume creation. For something like Cooking Mama, it's obvious (apron, bandana, disapproval), but how do you render Paper Mario in clothing? Maybe sandwich yourself between two large foam/posterboard Mario shapes?
Today's cheap deals post is brought to you buy the letter "o," and, uh, the word "costc." Get it? Costco?
Last week there were a bunch of Wii deals in the Sunday ads. This week, though, there are a handful of DS games with slashed prices instead, all from Circuit City:
The new casual approach for Majesco is working wonders for the company, as the latest sales stats pouring in show the company's profits are up. In fact, the company saw a profit of $2.7 million during Q1, doing a total of $18.7 million in sales. The majority of their profit comes courtesy of the Mama herself, as the company reports 77% of their sales came from handheld titles.
Featuring charts from across the region, Another Week in Europe documents the buying habits and quirky tastes of a whole continent of DS lovers.
Mama's been busy in the kitchen, not only cooking up tasty virtual treats, but also fat stacks of cash. 505 Games has announced that the franchise has sold over a million copies, becoming 505 Games' most successful franchise to day. Releasing first for the DS, another entry was later released on the Wii, cementing Mama as one of the region's most marketable mugs. Good for her!
Stuck at home while every one else is out shopping, reaping the savings of Black Friday deals? Or maybe you just didn't want to deal with the crowds, afraid that you'll end up in a fist fight over the last Gold Nintendo DS Lite bundle? No need to worry -- there are a few sales you can still take advantage of online!
GamePro Family has posted a collection of game-inspired Halloween costumes, in case you'd like to dress up, but just haven't had the time to make a costume until today. Of course, you'd need to spend pretty much the rest of the day making some of these, but at least you won't have to go to a party as "Off-Duty Police Officer" or "Alien in a You Suit." If you start right now, you still have time to go be a huge nerd in public!
_thumbnail.jpg "Prince of Persia: The Fallen King")
