I thought 505 Games and Majesco, the bigwigs behind the Cooking Mama franchise, had taken ridiculous leaps to keep this popular series of games going when they ventured away from the kitchen and out into the backyard with Gardening Mama.  Now I’m fairly certain that some higher up VP had a brain aneurysm or something, because Cooking Mama – while still maintaining her chef credentials – is now a master crafter and a babysitter.  Two games have been announced under the new Cooking Mama World franchise, aptly titled “Hobbies & Fun” for the Nintendo DS and “Babysitting Mama” for the Wii.  I’m here today to share with you some details and screenshots of the latter-mentioned game.

Let me start off by saying that Cooking Mama World: Babysitting Mama is the first game to ever come bundled with a LIFE-SIZED BABY DOLL PERIPHERAL.  The WiiMote is inserted into a pouch in the doll’s back that “brings it to life.”  And what’s even better is that each doll is hand-stitched, so that no two babies are exactly the same!  It’s like Cabbage Patch Kids, except even more creepy and sans its very own adoption certificate.

Gameplay features are what you would expect in a typical baby simulation game (I can’t believe this is actually its own genre now): you follow instructions from Mama to take care of your baby.  This includes feeding, playing, diaper changing, teaching it to walk, explaining that Mommy and Daddy aren’t together anymore because Mommy likes girls now instead of boys…  Okay, maybe that last one isn’t part of what you’d expect in this game, but it might as well be.  There is an on-screen baby meter that displays the baby’s mood at all times, and also notifies you of how well the kid is being taken care of.  There are over fifty challenges available in this game (shoot me, please) that can also be played in MULTIPLAYER MODE!  Two babysitters compete to see who the better caregiver is.  I say that no matter what the outcome, both sitters win because the kid will end up preferring them both over his/her real parents anyway.

So Babysitting Mama will be out on November 16^th if you’re interested.  Frankly, I can’t see why you WOULDN’T be.  That’s internet sarcasm, in case you couldn’t tell.  But really, I don’t know, maybe this game will actually take off and get pretty popular…  If they market it like Fischer Price does with those scary baby dolls that pee and poop after you feed them oatmeal on TV, then I can see little girls shrieking in their high-pitched voices to their parents that they’ll hate them forever and run away if they can’t have one NOW (think Veruca Salt).  And it could also be a big hit like Tamagotchi was in the 90s where everyone felt compelled to take care of a lifeless, digital being that could show no sentiment in return.  At any rate, money has been spent and the game has been made, so if you really feel compelled to take care of a virtual something-or-other, pick up this title next month.