Cooking Mama whips up 1.6 million in sales

Majesco-published culinary franchise averaging over 500,000 a game on Wii and DS.

Never let it be said that the success of the Cooking Mama franchise has gone unheralded. Between a pair of DS games and a Wii outing, the series has been the single biggest success story of Majesco Entertainment's new casual gaming focus.

Last August Majesco boasted that the DS debut of the kitchen cooking game had shipped half a million copies in just under a year on the market. Last month Cooking Mama's European publisher, 505 Games, announced that the first DS game of the series had broken the million-sales milestone across the pond.

Majesco today one-upped its European counterparts' announcement with a sales update of its own. According to the publisher, the Cooking Mama franchise has baked up sales of 1.6 million units in the US. With 1 million of those games attributed to the original DS game, the remaining 600,000 are split between Cooking Mama: Cook Off for the Wii and the DS sequel, Cooking Mama 2: Dinner with Friends.

Majesco will release a Wii version of Cooking Mama 2 in the US later this year.

48 Comments

  • reactionsok

    Posted Jan 31, 2008 10:25 pm PT

    OBJECTION!

    please stop making fun of my girlfriend - cooking mama

    is anyone actually still reading this?

    REply - TAKE THAT U SON OF A

  • Chief_Kuuni

    Posted Jan 31, 2008 1:41 pm PT

    not bad at all, sound interesting, I love cooking, wonder if it's based on reality

  • viewtiful_jay

    Posted Jan 31, 2008 9:28 am PT

    It always makes me laugh to see everyone complaining about how the Wii is killing the game industry. To me, Cooking Mama was fun for a half hour or so, and after that I never wanted to play it again. It's not something that would suck me in, but I can see how your more casual gamers would like it. To me, a lot of the stuff on the Wii is hit or miss. To be honest, I haven't touched my Wii since I finished Super Mario Galaxy, because I'm too busy with Mass Effect & Rock Band on 360. But everyone needs to just chill and realize that no matter how good casual games do, there will always be a place for FPS games, RPGs, etc with huge epic story lines. Other than the fact that EA & Activision control basically the entire game industry, now is one of the best times to be a gamer.

  • KamuiFei

    Posted Jan 31, 2008 8:53 am PT

    Only the Wii could do this...

    Honestly, I would rather teach my son or daughter to cook in real life. But to each their own, I guess.

  • kavadias1981

    Posted Jan 31, 2008 7:48 am PT

    @kca89 - You are quite right, but I can think of a better idea that might entice the mass market, Cooking Ramsey, starring Gordon Ramsey! The game is a more realistic cooking simulator that as well as cooking the virtual meal in a virtual restaurant, includes real life recipes and instructions for making the real dish in your home. If you are messing up then Ramsey screams "You f*****g prat. Get out of my kitchen!". What do you think?

  • kca89

    Posted Jan 31, 2008 7:13 am PT

    lol at the people who are whining about this below. Just because you like FPS, RPG, etc. type games doesn't mean everyone does. Some people like casual and unusual games such as this one. Is that a problem? No. Why? Because this brings more gamers into the market which means a better future for the gaming industry as a whole.

  • vass86

    Posted Jan 31, 2008 7:08 am PT

    cooking mama sucks. but if it brings new fans to the gaming industry then i'm all for it. as long as games like bioshock, fable 2 and COD4 are still being made

  • BringTheBlood

    Posted Jan 31, 2008 6:43 am PT

    lol good god look what nintendo is doing to the game industry!!! this has to be one of the worst games ever, and look how it sells. thanks nintendo now all we are going to get is crap games like this for now on. people wont have halo parties they will have cooking mama parties, doesnt that sound like fun!?!?!?

  • Dualmask

    Posted Jan 31, 2008 6:16 am PT

    My wife and I actually tried it for the Wii, but it's just like the review said, the controls are really inconsistent. But the kids love it. Just goes to show, the world is changing. I don't think the world of gaming needs to go all casual, but there is definitely more to games than M-rated this, FPS that, heavy story this and online multiplayer that.

    Funny though, until I read this article I didn't realize that Cooking Mama was a third party game. That's how little attention I paid to it.

  • chupamelpo posted Jan 31, 2008 4:57 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    chupamelpo

    Posted Jan 31, 2008 4:57 am PT (hide)

    Great where can I find this game..... I guess if I look under the stupidest games section, I'm sure I can find it.

  • andrew_ribbons

    Posted Jan 31, 2008 4:49 am PT

    Oh dear...just oh dear. It really does prove that any old rubbish will sell. Just look at Big Rigs!

  • toadblat

    Posted Jan 31, 2008 4:47 am PT

    "Ok... why would anyone want to cook virtual food when they can cook real food?"

    because when you cook real food you have to eat the crap you make or feel guilty about throwing it in the dog's dish

  • waleedarshad posted Jan 31, 2008 4:27 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    waleedarshad

    Posted Jan 31, 2008 4:27 am PT (hide)

    1.6 miilion sad people

  • williamjuly2004

    Posted Jan 31, 2008 4:23 am PT

    Wow now only if they made a good game it would sell even more!!!!

  • rockstar_88

    Posted Jan 31, 2008 4:18 am PT

    @TrueProphecy22
    "Ok... why would anyone want to cook virtual food when they can cook real food?"

    Same reason you might ask someone "why would you play FPS games? Why not just use real guns?" It's just a game. Also, you don't have the haphazard of burning your own home down in the process or even yourself.

  • razu_gamer

    Posted Jan 31, 2008 2:45 am PT

    On a serious note, maybe they should make the game abit more hardcore by adding boss battles etc.

  • Tylendal

    Posted Jan 31, 2008 2:08 am PT

    Our game has sold over a million. (And by our game, we mean the original, plus all sequals and ports)

  • legend133

    Posted Jan 31, 2008 12:51 am PT

    I'd like to thank all the casuals, thanks to you more shovelware will be coming soon

  • puppiemaster

    Posted Jan 31, 2008 12:49 am PT

    I've got the game and its a bugger at times to peel those carrots, daughter finished the game though.

    Who said casual games don't sell.

    All the Wii needs now is an ironing and washing up game, women would be good at that.

  • Azwhtknight

    Posted Jan 31, 2008 12:44 am PT

    I haven't played it but I think it is a cool idea for a game. Hopefully this will spark an interest for real cooking just as the Wii exercise and sports games did for the benefits of exercise. Also, maybe games like this will silence some of those video game bashers out there that say that nothing good comes from playing video games.

  • R3V3N4N7

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 10:36 pm PT

    Why buy it when it's a free web game?

  • TrueProphecy22

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 9:59 pm PT

    Ok... why would anyone want to cook virtual food when they can cook real food?

  • John_of_Fire

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 9:54 pm PT

    I like to see this company stay in the game. It is too bad they have had to rely on Jaws and Cooking Mama to stay afloat.

  • SLjimbolian

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 9:13 pm PT

    Good grief, now that's crazy. I knew Cooking Mama had somewhat of a following going out, but for 1.6 million between 3 games is pretty damn good.

    Timbydude: Although I haven't played it, it's definitely one of the better Wii and DS games out there that makes good use of the systems' mechanics.

  • Contemplator

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 8:36 pm PT

    Good for them! I have to admit I'm only mildly interested in the game, but if non-shooting-people-in-the-head topics like cooking can bring more casual gamers into the fold, I'm all for widespread acceptance of gaming in the US.

  • Timbydude

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 8:13 pm PT

    Why can't better games sell this much?

  • IIBlackknightII

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 8:07 pm PT

    Cool.

  • Sonicplys

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 8:03 pm PT

    YYYYYEEEEAAAAHHHH BBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOYYYYEEEEHHHH!!

  • OfficialBed

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 7:49 pm PT

    that game always interested me

  • Tranceplant

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 7:36 pm PT

    My niece has that game and she likes it. At least it's a good game for the kids.

  • Islandertj

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 7:15 pm PT

    There is no hope for the world. =/

  • CodingGenius Site moderator

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 7:14 pm PT

    The 2 DS games are crazy mini-game fun. I just played CM2 after a long break, and it was a lot of fun!

  • rehino

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 7:02 pm PT

    wow im suprized....good for them

  • VagrantChild24

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 6:57 pm PT

    I must say, I'm amazed at how much the game has gotten a following. It's fun, but got repetitive real fast IMO.

  • EPaul

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 6:35 pm PT

    I bet half the people who bought the game can't cook in Real Life

  • LINKloco

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 6:29 pm PT

    Hell yeah!! Keep these type of games coming!!=)

  • A7Xfan

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 6:22 pm PT

    I'd like to see Majesco do good I think it's them who published Pyschonauts.

  • alberto2045

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 6:19 pm PT

    well people better start doing it in real life ont in a video game?!

  • MaxPower15

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 6:03 pm PT

    The only thing worse than doing mundane chores is to simulate it in a video game.

    Seriously, why not cook for real?

  • ctg867 posted Jan 30, 2008 5:59 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    ctg867

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 5:59 pm PT (hide)

    That's just plain pathetic. No wonder why hardcore third parties don't like publishing on Nintendo systems. Their games don't sell.... these games do...

  • higgs64

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 5:58 pm PT

    It's funny how few comments there are on this. I've never played the game, never really had a desire to do so either, but you gotta admit that Majesco probably spends very little in making these games compared to how well they've sold.

  • Smartiepants

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 5:51 pm PT

    Unbelievable - I played the DS version and the fun lasted about fifteen minutes before boredom set in.

  • Kcube

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 5:38 pm PT

    I enjoyed the game (what? I like weird titles)

  • XxSPAZxX

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 5:30 pm PT

    Wow, my sister been whining about buying that game for ever.

  • reactionsok

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 5:29 pm PT

    love cooking momma - she's so smoking hot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    TAKE THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • metalisticpain

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 5:21 pm PT

    Oh no...

  • johnny27

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 5:20 pm PT

    i thuaght one of the games had sold that much but still pretty amazing that its sold so well.

  • MigElite

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 5:17 pm PT

    can't believe it...

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