(Photo: Nintendo)
‘Cooking Mama’ lands in hot water
Looks like a small stove fire just started in the kitchen…
The license holder and publisher of the new “Cooking Mama: Cookstar” have taken to the Internet to argue over who has control over the title.
The original developer of the DS game, Office Create, first licensed Cookstar to publisher Planet Entertainment back in 2018. Later in March, the game was made available on Nintendo Switch, but it was pulled from shelves days after being available for sale.
Office Create released a statement saying that the title “failed to meet the standards its customers expect and deserve.” The developer raised their concerns with Plant Entertainment, but it seems the publisher went ahead and released the game anyways.
The drama surrounding Cooking Mama: Cookstar is reaching reality TV levels of entertainment…. #cookingmamacookstar https://t.co/Oh1XEkkWX1
— GameSense (@GameSensedotCo) April 17, 2020
However, Office Create said in a statement that Planet was “contractually obligated” to address all concerns before release. As a result, Office Create is considering legal action against Plant in order to protect customers, property rights and the Cooking Mama series.
Plant Entertainment released its own statement saying that “creative differences arose” that were “outside the scope” of the two companies’ agreement. The statement went on to say that “there is no active litigation or ruling that prevents Planet from publishing the game.”
“Cooking Mama” is a popular series of cooking simulation-styled games. Players perform different kitchen tasks through the instructions of “Mama” and must cook various meals. So far, there have been five main games on Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS, two spin-offs on Wii and DS, and one spin-off on 3DS.
