Happy Bakery

The mass-market success of the DS has resulted in a plethora of weird and wonderful new genres.

From maths-based games to baby raising titles, the DS has seen its fair share of unusual software, and one of the most successful new genres has been the cooking sim.

Cooking Mama has been one of the most successful third party DS games on the market, and the Imagine Games label has also dipped its toes into cooking. And now Gamebridge is hoping to capitalise on this, with the first in its Happy series, Happy Bakery.

“Brands like the Imagine range and Cooking Mama series have found success targeting a specific audience,” says Rising Star Games’ product marketing assistant Tyrone Walcott.

“Happy Bakery has a different proposition with similar core values of these established brands. We have found that young gamers love to watch these games but cannot participate as they are too complicated for them and this is this where Happy Bakery is positioned. The Nintendo DS, hands down, has established itself as a perfect platform to launch such a title.

“As this is the first release from Gamebridge we are working hard to generate a real impact for the game. This is a huge opportunity and a perfect time to establish the Happy Series brand.”

Gamebridge’s Happy range is the name of its younger gamer product line, and the publisher is confident that Happy Bakery is accessible enough for children to play with their parents.

“We expect Happy Bakery will be a successful title for Gamebridge and Rising Star Games due to the positive feedback from our trade partners and market research amongst our casual target groups,” adds Walcott.

“Happy Bakery is a light-hearted introduction to cooking games for a younger audience that allows them to interact with their customers as well as gathering recipes, creating a more social and enjoyable experience.

To promote the game, Rising Star and Gamebridge are targeting parents, as well as children, in order to maximise sales. The firms are set to embark on a series of events throughout the summer, and coverage of the title will appear in a variety of print press as well as on TV.

“The focus for promotion is very much to ‘mums and nans’ as well as the kids themselves of course,” concludes Walcott.

“To achieve this we will combine our traditional support for retail with a series of events and advertising initiatives that include mum and toddler groups, cooking classes, theme park sampling and possible cross promotion with a leading pre-school brand.

“In a first for the company, we will also be getting involved with traditional family activities throughout the summer school holidays – including sampling at school and country fetes. We are seeing great support across the regional and local press as well as the ‘mum media’ and schools and family TV.”