majesco posts (Subscribe to this feed)

'Let's Draw,' says Majesco to Nintendo DS owners

Majesco's Let's Draw is ridiculously cute. Chances are it won't be as cute in untrained hands, but that's no reason not to try! Let's Draw combines minigames with Drawn to Life–style customization -- it's part drawing book, part game -- and adorability varies (based on the player's skill).

Kids (and yes, this is for kids) draw and color images as prompted by the game, which are then animated in minigames like Whack-a-Mole and Air Hockey. Let's Draw also includes simple drawing lessons, based on a Japanese drawing book series. Drawn to Life was a big success for THQ -- we'll see how this younger take on the idea works out for a somewhat bruised and beaten Majesco when the game releases this March for $19.99.

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 reports $6.6 million loss for 2009

Majesco has just released the financial data for its fiscal 2009, which ended October 31, 2009. The company posted revenues of $23.9 million in the three months ending October 31, 2009, a significant increase over the $18 million in revenue during the same period in 2008. Still, Majesco didn't manage to post actual profits, instead posting a loss of $5.5 million in the fourth quarter, compared to a $0.4 million income during the same period in 2008.

Looking Majesco's entire fiscal 2009, the company reported revenues of $94.5 million, which it claims is a 47.8 percent increase over 2008. Again, though, Majesco reports an overall operating loss for the year, amounting to $6.6 million. This is compared to an operating income of $2.8 million in 2008. The publisher cites "the Cooking Mama franchise, Jillian Michaels' titles and strong distribution revenue" for pushing its "top line," but blames a retail market "especially hard on non-branded and new IP titles" for its losses.

Majesco's major goal for 2010 is profitability, which the company will pursue by cutting costs, releasing "fewer, but stronger titles" and, of course, "leveraging" the Cooking Mama franchise.

Pirates Plundarrr sailing Wii-ward this April


click to plund-arrr the gall-arrr-y
Majesco followed up its announcement of Attack of the Movies 3D with another multiplayer Wii experience, this time with a much sillier title: Pirates Plund-arrr. Three r's. If it were two r's, it would be the planet that the Thundercats' enemies come from. Obviously.

The Wii game, developed by casual game creator Boomzap Entertainment, is a 2D side-scrolling brawler, with (obviously) a pirate theme. You and up to three friends beat up a bunch of pirates and ghosts (and pirate ghosts, presumably) in a quest to find Captain Rudebelly and retrieve the Scepter of Power.

To help them along, players will be able to ride warthogs and ... "trigger meat meteor showers raining down from above." The combination of four-player fighting, Flash-like 2D graphics, and character leveling makes this sound somewhat like a take on the Castle Crashers style, which sounds good to us. Majesco plans to release Plund-Arrr in April.

No Wii is safe from 'Attack of the Movies 3D'

Avatar may be the big buzz in 3D flicks these days, but for many, the technology is always going to be associated with monster movies and those red-and-blue anaglyph lenses. For those of us hopelessly infatuated with those ridiculous-looking lenses and cheesy movies, Majesco is publishing Attack of the Movies 3D for Wii.

The on-rails shooter features set pieces heavily inspired by movies, for up to four players to blast point-and-click their way through. With your friends, you'll "battle large alien space cruisers, shoot underwater monsters, join the resistance against the machines and more" against enemies "culled from the annals of film history." And you'll get to do it in glorious red and blue -- the game includes four sets of 3D glasses!

Attack of the Movies 3D is expected for release this spring.

Data East Arcade Classics drops in Feb. 2010 for $20, new trailer

Majesco has released the first trailer for its upcoming Data East Arcade Classics collection. You might not remember the names of all the games in the video, but children of the 80s are likely to recognize at least a handful of them. One or two of them might even prompt shouts of "Hey! I remember ... that game! With the guys, and the explosions."

The good news is you won't have to wait too long to figure it out, as Majesco has announced that Data East Arcade Classics will release in February 2010. Even better news, it will only cost twenty bucks. Yeah, $20 for Bad Dudes, Burger Time and Magical Drop III. As if that weren't enough, the game also ties your high scores to your Mii and features unlockable bonus material.

The best news of all, the pizza joint down the street isn't getting any more of our hard-earned quarters ever again.

Uwe Boll is adapting everyone's favorite video game, Bloodrayne 3

At the risk of being repeatedly pawnched, we think we can accurately describe all of Uwe Boll's video game-based films as "wretched." However, we've got a theory for why that is -- his attempt to adhere to the plot of these games limited his otherwise limitless directing potential. Fortunately, that won't be a problem on his next film project: Bloodrayne 3: Warhammer, a film based on a video game which does not exist.

We'll contact Majesco to find out if this means another Bloodrayne title is secretly in the works -- but let's be honest, now. This sounds a lot like some good ol' fashioned Bollnanigans. Bollshines. Bollduggery.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Hands-on: Dawn of Heroes (DS)

You might expect Dawn of Heroes, a tactical, turn-based RPG from Wicked Studios and Majesco, to be super serious. It seems games in this genre seldom stray into the territory of slapstick and humorous banter, but here's Dawn of Heroes, doing just that -- and doing it well!

Continued →

Interview: Wicked Studios president Yves Bordeleau on Dawn of Heroes (DS)


Dawn of Heroes is a tactical RPG from Wicked Studios and Majesco. You'll be able to check it out for yourself when it releases next month, but Majesco was kind enough to offer us a preview build, as long as a brief interview on the with Wicked Studios president (and executive producer on Dawn of Heroes) Yves Borderleau. While we're still hammering out our preview (look for it tomorrow!), have a look at our Q&A session after the break.

Continued →

Joyswag: Cooking Mama 3 and Cake Mania 3 (DS) [update]

Update: That's it, folks -- the contest has come to a close! Keep an eye on your email's inbox to see if you won!

In our latest Joyswag, we're hooking one lucky reader up with a pair of new Majesco DS titles: Cooking Mama 3 and Cake Mania 3. Keep 'em to yourself or pass 'em along as a gift this holiday season. See how you can enter to win below:
  • Leave a comment telling us whether you prefer to bake or cook
  • You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec)
  • Limit 1 entry per person per day
  • This entry period ends at 2:59PM ET on Tuesday, November 10
  • At that time, we'll randomly select one winner to receive Cooking Mama 3 for the Nintendo DS ($30 ARV) and Cake Mania 3 for the Nintendo DS ($20 ARV)
  • For a list of complete rules, click here

Majesco publishing DSi augmented reality game 'Ghostwire' in late 2010

Ghostwire, A Different Game's DSi-only title that uses the camera to fill players' real surroundings with virtual ghosts, looked quite promising when it was unveiled. The only problem: without a publisher, it was nothing but an apparition of a game. Today, Majesco announced that it is publishing the augmented reality title (which was originally intended for Nokia phones) with a projected late 2010 release date, under the title Ghostwire: Link to the Paranormal.

Using the mic and camera on the DSi, as well as in-game tools like the "EMF tuner," players search around them for hidden ghosts, and then attempt to give them peace by solving puzzles. Some ghosts will require items before they appear and interact with you, and some will apparently be malevolent and less receptive to your efforts. At which point, we assume, you have to solve their problems despite their lack of help, instead of just leaving them to go about their ghostly business.

Review: A Boy and His Blob

A Boy and His Blob tells the story of an extra-terrestrial, amorphous lifeform and his young handler as they combat an evil emperor, hellbent on doing what all evil emperors want to do: kill most and rule over what's left. The only thing standing in this extreme evildoer's way is the boy's willingness to feed the Blob different jellybeans, which cause him -- it? -- to transform into different shapes, thereby overcoming the game's many obstacles.

After playing the game for a bit, it became clear that I was going to have to give up my need to solve the game's puzzles unsupervised. See, A Boy and His Blob thought that I would be far better off if it held my hand.

[Note: This review also comes with this "complimentary" video. Enjoy!]

Continued →

New Serious Sam HD trailer is anything but serious

If you were to ask us to what sort of modes we expected to see in Serious Sam HD, "Super Happy Fun Time Mode" wouldn't even be on the list. Much like the first time you heard the bewildered Mortal Kombat announcer utter the word "Friendship," the video above is likely to fill you with unexpected glee. Don't be surprised if you emit giggles, chuckles or maybe even a guffaw or two. Of course, we still have to wait and see if Serious Sam's punishing gameplay has withstood the test of time.

For now, just enjoy the video.

A Boy and His Blob gameplay video is remarkably huggable

You know what more games need to have? A hug button.

This inspiring innovation is introduced in the gameplay demonstration for A Boy and His Blob seen above. Okay, so maybe an "embrace command" wouldn't pan out too well in, oh, say, Gears of War. Perhaps hugs are rarely appropriate in a video game context, requiring the presence of anthropomorphic gobs of slime to be considered acceptable. We don't really care about all that stuff -- all we know is that our hearts have been warmed to a point where eggs could be scrambled on our bare chests.

Cooking Mama 3 trailer, fresh from the oven

Majesco's first trailer for Cooking Mama 3: Shop & Chop features one aspect of the Cooking Mama series we don't expect to see in the actual DS game: the voice acting, which is as endearing as ever.

The trailer features the first look at the game's new shopping mode, which appears as a top-down RPG-style presentation. It also features flashes of the familiar cooking gameplay, including the return of the most ridiculous recipe from Mamas past -- instant ramen. Really?

For the most part, it looks like Cooking Mama, which we've yet to become tired of, so we don't mind. And now with the addition of food with faces, we don't think we will ever get tired of it.

Joystiq Features





Featured Galleries (view all)

Trauma Team (2/10)
Ancients of Ooga (XBLA)
Need for Speed: Shift Ferrari Racing Pack
Rocket Knight character art
Calling (2.8.2010)
Age of Zombies (PSP and PS3 Minis)
Blaster Master: Overdrive (WiiWare)
Supreme Commander 2
Metro 2033 (02-04-10)

Team Joystiq

Chris Grant

Editor-in-Chief

RSS Feed

James Ransom-Wiley

Managing Editor

RSS Feed

Ludwig Kietzmann

Senior Editor

RSS Feed

Andrew Yoon

East Coast Editor

RSS Feed

Randy Nelson

West Coast Editor

RSS Feed

Justin McElroy

Reviews Editor

RSS Feed

Alexander Sliwinski

Contributing Editor

RSS Feed

Ben Gilbert

Contributing Editor

RSS Feed

David Hinkle

Contributing Editor

RSS Feed

Griffin McElroy

Contributing Editor

RSS Feed

JC Fletcher

Contributing Editor

RSS Feed

Kevin Kelly

Contributing Editor

RSS Feed

Mike Schramm

Contributing Editor

RSS Feed

Richard Mitchell

Contributing Editor

RSS Feed

Xav De Matos

Contributing Editor

RSS Feed

About Joystiq

Joystiq Podcast

New episodes every Friday! Now playing: Joystiq Podcast 125, for Friday, Jan., 29.



Archive | RSS | iTunes