North Americans: You'll just have to take my word on this, but (some) Japanese mobile phone games are incredible. At TGS, we played fully-3D, motion-sensitive titles that had some actual depth and gameplay, and we came away totally jealous. As hard as it is for some of us (especially North Americans) to understand, good games can be made for mobile phones. I don't know if the US version of Cooking Mama Mobile falls into this category, but we can always hope.
Taito confirms that Cooking Mama is coming to US cell phones in early 2008, and is supposed to be a simplified version of the popular Nintendo DS game.
"Given the success of Cooking Mama on other platforms, Cooking Mama is sure to be a hit on
wireless phones as well," said Keiji Fujita, co-producer of Cooking Mama. "The style of gameplay is accessible and fun for casual and serious gamers of all ages."
It's not clear how different the US version will be from the Japanese version, as many US mobile phones lack the motion sensing that better Japanese phones sport. It might be fun to cook up some dishes while we're on the go, but I hope we're not stuck hitting "5" and "#" to chop onions and fry pork chops.
Hit the jump to read the press release.
SLEEPER HIT COOKING MAMA COMING TO MOBILE PHONES
Take Your Cooking Mojo on the Road in 2008
Los Angeles, Ca.- Sept. 28, 2007 - Test your cooking skills wherever
you are when
Cooking Mama(tm), the popular fast-action cooking
simulator is served up for your mobile phone! Taito
Corporation is mixing up a simplified version of the
Nintendo DS(tm) game that was named by IGN as
the "Best DS Most Innovative Design of E3 2006." The
game is expected to release in early 2008.
"Given the success of Cooking Mama on other
platforms, Cooking Mama is sure to be a hit on
wireless phones as well," said Keiji Fujita, co-
producer of Cooking Mama. "The style of gameplay is
accessible and fun for casual and serious gamers of
all ages."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cooking Mama challenges players to use the game
controls as master kitchen tools to cook real-world
dishes. Under Mama's watchful eye, players must first
prepare ingredients, then combine, cook and present
the final meal. Let's get cooking, Mama!
Cooking Mama is expected to be available on most
major mobile carriers in the United States in early
2008. Pricing has yet to be determined by each of the
individual carriers.
Contest:
1:03 PM on 09.28.2007
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I mean, to own a DS you have to be confident in the games for the system, and ownership of a cell phone is the law now so how many moms/dads/kids will play this?
I don't know yet...We'll just wait and see.
those Japanese motion-sensing phones sound awesome, by the way, it is a pity that America is far behind in cell-phone gaming/cell phone tech in general.
But yeah, so far as actual motion sensing tech, its not in too many devices in the American Market. Sony Ericsson devices maybe, and a handful of Samsungs, but I have my doubts on your everyday RAZR-type pulling it off, barring some insane hack on the camera functionality.