Remember Tamagotchi? The little digital pets that evolved if you could manage to keep them alive long enough for them to reach that level? Well, the Tamagotchi have all grown up, and instead of needing your care, what they really need is for someone to help them run their stores and make money. Yep, our little Tamagotchi have all grown up. Killer Betties got to be involved with a conference call recently with NamcoBandai's Localization Manager - Brian Glazebrook - who talked about the upcoming Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop 2.

Question: Could you talk a little about the game?

For those who don't know the franchise, your objective is not nurturing a Tamagotchi, but playing with a Tamagotchi trying to build up your store and shops in various minigames within the DS. The first one had many minigames and such where you purchase a store and you start serving clients and customers and the better you do you start getting more money to upgrade your store to a bigger and better store. Now, we've actually upgraded it and you actually can keep track of your actual customers, so you're looking for repeat customers, the more you do the more often a customer will come back more and more often, however, keep messing up, and a customer will quit coming. The types of minigames, some of them have carried over from the previous series, but a lot of them are brand new. A lot of them utilize the various features of the DS such as the touch pad being used to tap music from the band, like a Beatmania, such as tapping on the proper musical instrument. You've also got a bakery where you are actually making a cake, people come up asking for type of cake, icing, design, and you use the pad to make the cake. So there are various different types of minigames this type of round. And there is still the customization aspect of your home such as buying furniture, posters, TVs, music, clothes for your Tamagotchi, suits and such, change background music, so there is a lot of customization this time around.

Question: Tell us about the new shops and what new shops are available such as the bowling alley and sushi bar and what play mechanics to they bring to the table?

The new minigames that are on this one as opposed to the previous one, has a conveyer belt type of sushi bar, people come up to the counter, telling you what type of sushi they want by the thought bubbles, then from there with the touch pad you get the rice, the wasabe, the type of fish they want, and then you put it on a plate and on a conveyor belt on your side, and it will slowly turn around to the customers and they are happy. Its not just sushi, they might order a cup of hot tea or other stuff as well. The other one, which a lot of people like to enjoy, is the gas station, where as you are playing the gas station attendant, people bring in their vehicles, anything from a crane to an airplane to other various vehicles, and you place the tires, fill up the gas, wash the cars, wax it, make sure they are all tip top shape. There is also a burger shop where people come in and tell you what type of burger they want, and sometimes they want a burger with no burger, which is kind of weird, but they say they want a vegetarian with no meat, so the Tamagotchi behind the counter starts throwing out ingredients, and all you have is the bottom part of the bun, so you start collecting the ingredients the customer requested, and when you get the okay you put the top on and that is the burger. That is just a few of the new minigames out there.

Question: How many shops altogether are there in the new game?

Twelve.

Question: How many Tamagotchi characters?

You can play as one of three that you play with, not as them, since they are almost like your partner. As for the Tamagotchi in the game, overall a hundred, from the old man to the princess. Give or take a hundred.

Question: We know the concert hall is returning. Is all the original content coming back?

For the concert hall, yes, for the most part, the type of music is different, but the mechanic is the same as the previous, where you have the music notes, and when the icon touches the ball it shows you what to connect to. So the concert hall, the music is different, but the mechanics are practically intact from the last series.

Question: Are most of the minigames from the original coming back?

Only a handful is coming back, maybe two or three. The concert hall is one of them, the florist I believe is one, and the bakery, though a little different from the previous series, is more refined this time around.

Question: Will the game support wireless multiplayer?

Not multiplayer, but what you can do is the trading of the item, so you can make a cool cake and take a picture of it and send it off to other people saying, "Look what I made." Other than that there is no multiplayer aspect.

Question: Did anything about the translation have to be changed for the American market?

Some of them had to be, the biggest aspect the humor, because it’s a more cultural thing.

A special thanks to Brian Glazebrook for taking the time to answer our questions about the game.

See the rest of our images in our Image Gallery