2010 · Cooking Mama Limited · Minigame · Simulation

Babysitting Mama

Nintendo exclusive

The retail pack includes a life size doll to play with and the player slips its Wii Remote inside. It includes 50 different baby mini games and activities, like play washing, etcetera.

Released: 5 November 2010
Platforms: Wii
Genres: Minigame Simulation
Developers: Cooking Mama Limited
Publishers: Majesco Entertainment
Series: Mama
Modes: Multiplayer Single-player
Country: Japan
Age ratings: ESRB E PEGI 3 CERO A USK 0

About

Babysitting Mama, known in Japan as Babysitter Mama (ベビーシッターママ, Bebīshittā Mama) is a babysitting simulation-styled minigame compilation video game released for the Wii. It is the third spin-off from the Cooking Mama series; the first two were Gardening Mama and Crafting Mama. It includes a stuffed toy human baby to play with and the player slips its Wii Remote inside. It includes 50 different baby mini games and activities, like playing, washing, etc.

Keywords

toy compatibility
bundled with peripherals
tokyo game show 2010

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Players are challenged to complete various activities and errands for each of six babies, with different skin tones, utilizing the included baby controller, which is operated by inserting the Wii Remote inside with the Nunchuk connected. Each collection of activities assigned to each baby are represented in a book that groups them all into several pages that unlock as the player progresses by clearing these activities successfully.

Players are scored on how well they complete each activity with a medal system, similar to the main Cooking Mama series; gold medals are awarded for flawless completion of an activity and lesser medals granted if the player made mistakes or partially completed the objective. Medals are also awarded at the end of a series of activities pertaining to a particular baby. Babies will also dynamically respond to players' performance through audio and visual cues, including the Wii Remote speaker.

Reception

In Japan, Famitsu gave the game a score of three eights and a seven, for a total of 31 out of 40.

Western critics were generally less favorable. IGN gave it a negative review, summarizing it as “boring and gimmicky”. Game Informer also panned the game, saying that its minigames “make Mario Party’s look like God of War” and comparing it to a contraceptive.