So videogamer.com had an interview with lead designer Jordan Itkowitz about Deadly Creatures and why does videogamer.com look like GamSpot?

VideoGamer.com: To go back to what we were talking about before about the Wii’s controls. Some games barely use the whole motion-sensitive aspect, whereas others go completely overboard. How do you find that sweet spot in the middle?

JI: It’s a learning process. It’s obviously weeding out what doesn’t work, and having the discipline to know that there’s a reason why tried-and-true conventions are a big thing. Back when the snake was the main character, we felt like “Well we can’t do a game where you’re not gonna do this” (slither motion) and just move the remote back and forth to slither. That seemed too cool to give up - never mind the fact that that was going to get old after about 30 seconds. And then we thought, we didn’t just want to have a regular control scheme for the tarantula, so what if you do cycling forward to walk? But right away we saw that was going to get old - plus it would limit us, because how are you going to make a fluid transition to combat? So we had to take a step back a bit, and just say “let’s really work with the controllers, forget that the gestures are there for a while”. Just come up with a good control system. But for a long time our combat system was gesture based. Your basic strike as the tarantula was flicking the remote forward, and that got really old. It became spamming, button mashing - you weren’t hitting buttons, but it was the same thing. So again, it was a learning process. We needed variety and we needed to bring some strategy into it, so we looked at traditional light and heavy attacks plus block triangles. And it worked really well. The ends result is that you have a lot of moves, you pull them off in different ways, you have to fight differently as the tarantula and the scorpion - and where the gestures are there, it feels appropriate. For the quicktime events, it feels appropriate. For the the finishing moves, it feels appropriate. It’s using the gestures as the exclamation points, rather than the nouns and verbs.

Ok this is getting old news now and unless something big happens this will be the last post about this story. Also it sounds like PETA is trying to back it’s self away from a lawsuit for using Majesco’s Cooking Mama character. The first is Majesco response to PETA and PETA’s response after the break.

EDISON, N.J., November 19, 2008 - Food lover and culinary cutie Cooking Mama is a virtual chef who believes that good home cooked food, properly prepared from the best ingredients, can bring people together around the table and make the world a happier place. That’s why Mama is taking a stand with oven mitts raised high against the latest PETA objection targeting her freshly released videogame, Cooking Mama World Kitchen, that shipped this week for Wii from Majesco Entertainment Company (NASDAQ: COOL). Mama wants people to know that World Kitchen includes 51 recipes from around the world, ranging from vegetarian fare like miso soup and rice cakes to international delicacies like ginger pork and octopus dumplings.

“I would never put rat in my Ratatouille,” said a feisty Mama while beating some eggs. “Like any accomplished cook, I create my recipes to appeal to a broad range of tastes and preferences. My only goal is to ensure you leave the table well fed.”

Cooking Mama World Kitchen includes more than 25 vegetarian-friendly recipes including delicious breakfast, dinner, dessert and snack options. And, while Mama is not a vegetarian, she fully supports the humane treatment of animals, particularly for her canine protégé Max who makes his doggie debut in World Kitchen.

About Cooking Mama World Kitchen

Developed by Cooking Mama Limited, the second installment of the fan favorite Wii series is filled with new features including kitchen mini-games, 3D graphics, chef customization and 2 player cooperative cooking. In the game, players use the Wii RemoteÔ as a universal cooking utensil to chop, grate, slice and stir their way through 51 all-new recipes, ranging from parfait to Ratatouille to pancakes and French fries. A range of modes lets players cook for Mama’s approval, their friends’ picky palates or together as a team to create dishes in a new cooperative mode. A bonus hidden mode will even surprise gamers with competitive play against the original “master cook!” In World Kitchen, preparation mistakes are events unto themselves since new mini-games add hilarious fun with Mama’s lovable canine, Max. Finally, a new customization feature lets players create their own personal chef or even an adorable mini Mama! 

Cooking Mama World Kitchen for Wii is rated E for Everyone and available now for the suggested retail price of $49.99. To watch the official trailer and find out more, please visit http://www.cookingmama.com/. 

About Majesco Entertainment Company

Majesco Entertainment Company is a provider of video games for the mass market. Building on 20 years of operating history, the company is focused on developing and publishing a wide range of casual and family oriented video games on leading console and portable systems. Product highlights include Cooking Mama and Cake Mania 2 for Nintendo DS, and Cooking Mama World Kitchen and Jillian Michaels’ Fitness Ultimatum 2009 for Wii. The company’s shares are traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol: COOL. Majesco is headquartered in Edison, NJ and has an international office in Bristol, UK. More information about Majesco can be found online at http://www.majescoentertainment.com/.

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GameDaily BIZ: What are your plans for the Nintendo DSi?

Gonzague de Vallois: We’re preparing for the North American launch. There’s nothing official on when this will be. We’ve heard spring-summer. We’ve heard Q3. I believe from Nintendo’s perspective there’s no hurry to release the device in North America because DS is still selling extremely well. If the DSi and DS are close in price, the DSi will kill DS sales.

BIZ: How will you support Nintendo DSi?

GdV: We’ll support both Nintendo DS and DSi. We’re working on some games that we’ll release at retail through our distribution partnership with Ubisoft. These games will come in a single package and will work on both DS and DSi, with the DSi version taking advantage of additional options like the cameras and advanced sound capabilities. We’ll be much more aggressive with the DSi Store than at retail.

BIZ: What are your developers’ thoughts on what Nintendo DSi will open up in terms of gameplay?

GdV: We’re getting the official SDKs in December so our teams are brainstorming on what they can do with DSi in terms of sound and using the camera to integrate the players into the game.

BIZ: Who will be your target audience for Nintendo DSi at launch next year?

GdV: Nintendo’s goal with the DSi is to add the new DS to the family. We’ll learn who’s going to buy it. I think at first it will be Nintendo’s hardcore fans, so we’ll get titles that appeal to those guys and then we’ll extend games based on how it expands to maybe young girls or 30-year-old women over time.

BIZ: How will you treat different markets with releasing DSi games?

GdV: We’ll be very global. Our strategy on this is to learn on the platform and see who’s there. The Japanese market is very specific. We can look at what’s worked with Nintendo DS, as well. TV Show King worked in all three territories. There are some universal titles that we’ll focus on first and then we’ll go to local games. We’re also looking at allocating resources to support the Japanese DSi next year to test the system early.

BIZ: How big a part of your business will Nintendo DS/DSi become?

GdV: It’s not a core platform for us. We know it’s a crowded market so we try to come out with titles that can make a difference with value. We work with Ubisoft with distribution; our core business is digital.

BIZ: How has Nintendo’s WiiWare been working for Gameloft?

GdV: WiiWare is pretty open. We have eight games on WiiWare, including Brain Challenge, TV Show King and games like bowling and pool. Downloads depend on the title on WiiWare. We’re experimenting a little. Party games do really well. Simple mono-player titles like bowling or pool aren’t doing as well. The target is family or Nintendo fans only looking for Nintendo games. We’re learning on the platform.

BIZ: How has working with Nintendo been?

GdV: Nintendo still limits publishers to one title a month. They’re talking about removing this limit. Nintendo seems to be more open to more titles.

Ziff Davis CEO Jason Young said in a New York Times report that they are looking into taking Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM), online. Their were no direct quotes from Young:

“Mr. Young said the company was considering taking its other print magazine, the video-game publication Electronic Gaming Monthly, into an online-only format, but would not make a decision before the end of the year.”

After reading this on Gamasutra it’s not much of a surprise with the cost of running an magazine, ads down and ways to get your news faster with blogs and website. So how many of you still get EGM and will you read it if it going online?

Kotaku received what appears to be GameStop’s Black Friday Sale, but it has not be confirmed if it’s real. Below is the Wii and DS sales.

Wii:
–Samba de Amigo $19.99
–Wii Duel Guitar Hero Bundle $129.99

DS:
–Guitar Hero on Tour $30

–Limited Edition Ice Blue Nintendo DS with Brain Age and Carrying Case $149.99
–Limited Edition Mario Nintendo DS with New Super Mario Bros. $149.99

Source: ScrewAttack

That’s the question Capcom is asking over at their blog and they want your help. They have already remade Mega Man 9 and Bionic Commando Rearmed and now they need your help to pick what’s next. Capcom wouldn’t post this just to chat, they really want to know. So everyone need to head on over and post what game you want.

Get it here for $10!