Wii Cooking Mama Adds Welcome VS. Play

Last Wii post of the evening/morning for me, I promise!

According to IGN:

Cooking Mama: Anata to Isshoni Oryouri Taikai (Taito, Dec. 2006)
Developed by Office Create, this is the same Cooking Mama that appeared on the DS, only now it's been Wiified. You use the Wiimote to directly cut and dice, roll dough, smash and stir. The game includes over 50 recipes from 9 countries, including Japan, Italy, America and China. Two players can compete in a cooking face-off.

It'll be like a 16bit Iron Chef in my living room.

I've been really enjoying Cooking Mama, even though I've only had it for a day now. It's unique and clever. Frankly, I don't know if just adding 2 player will drive it up from a good priced $20 DS game to a $50 Wii game.

The idea and execution of the DS version, though, is good enough to get my interest piqued that the Wii incarnation could be something cool.

And I thought Harvest Moon was an innovative game!

Sounds great.

Digging up an old thread, but this is good news. I will buy this title the moment it comes out. The VS. play could be really fun.

I'm all for more Wii titles, but I hope this whole "port over DS titles with a few new features" ordeal doesn't blow into a full on fad.

I'd much rather they focus on a Cooking Mama 2 with better graphics and mucvh more (NEW) content. Instead, we're getting a DS port with a versus mode that's hopefully not tacked on.

[quote name='-Never4ever-']I'm all for more Wii titles, but I hope this whole "port over DS titles with a few new features" ordeal doesn't blow into a full on fad.

I'd much rather they focus on a Cooking Mama 2 with better graphics and mucvh more (NEW) content. Instead, we're getting a DS port with a versus mode that's hopefully not tacked on.[/quote]

It is an odd trend, porting DS games to Wii. While I appreciate the new features, I don't plan to get any of these ports until/unless they are available at a value price (even though the new Trauma Center footage looked great). I've already got Trauma Center DS, and Cooking Mama DS, and got them for $20 or less each (TC was used, Mama was new), so I just couldn't bring myself to pay $50-ish for essentially the same game.

Of course, they might not be $50. I'd guess Cooking Mama would be released as a value title for $30 (maybe $20, but I won't hold my breath), and Trauma Center would be a full price title at $50, which would be well worth it for people who haven't played the DS version.

There's another thread with Far Cry screen shots. Some people think they don't look good, some think they look like fried gold.

I bring it up because I see a game like Far Cry for the Wii and I think, "That's been done elsewhere." But games like Cooking Mama could be the kind of games that will define the Wii IMO if the Wii is to succeed. Playing FPSes with the accelerometers could be fun, sure, but I think Nintendo's target demographic--the new gamer--is going to be more interested in new gaming experiences like Wii Sports, Trauma Center, and Cooking Mama than they are rehashing old experiences with a new controller.

There's the idea out there that the controller is going to somehow make stale genres like FPS and action/adventure more interesting to the new customer that Nintendo is going after, but I think the important thing about the controller is that it makes new genres--that new gamers will find attractive--more implementable. Cooking Mama is one of those new genres, games that exist simply to simulate real-life movements in a fun way.

I don't buy into this being a direct port of the DS title. Wait to see a little more. The game may wind up being more of a value title, but I can't imagine that it won't catch on with people who dig the Wii Sports or Wario Ware experience. In fact, I think it'll be a little more accessible than Trauma Center and maybe more successful for that reason. We'll see.

I'm really excited for these kinds of games. I can sense already that this console is going to be my family's new favorite. I just hope we get some decent multiplayer titles in time for holiday fun.

I'm glad that Cooking Mama is going to be on the Wii, and I agree that it's games like this that can really make the Wii something special.

My concern is that Cooking Mama is a great portable game. I like it for what it is, and that it cost $20. I don't have marathon Cooking Mama sessions or play it for hours.

I hope some time and energy will be put into making it better suited as a console game, with more depth and challenge and variety. 50 recipes sounds paltry, especially when many are variations on a theme.

[quote name='-Never4ever-']I'm all for more Wii titles, but I hope this whole "port over DS titles with a few new features" ordeal doesn't blow into a full on fad.

I'd much rather they focus on a Cooking Mama 2 with better graphics and mucvh more (NEW) content. Instead, we're getting a DS port with a versus mode that's hopefully not tacked on.[/QUOTE]

Same here... I can't get excited about something I just played on the DS.

I'm hoping this trend will kind of taper off after awhile and it's just developers making a quick buck at or near launch.

I mean, even games like Trauma Center that are just enchanced ports, I'd rather see a full blown Trauma Center 2.

Well, it's already added depth through versus play. As long as they add some different techniques and charge a budget price, it'll be worth it. But I agree, near launch we'll see a lot of DS ports from DS developers, and console ports from console developers, but with any luck, we will start seeing a lot of original content heading to the Wii.