Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop 3

Did You Know?

• The player arrives on Tamagotchi Planet and travels to the town of Putchi Hill, where the mayor tasks them with helping struggling shopkeepers.
• The game received five Japan-only sequels, two on DS and three on 3DS.

Gameplay

Corner Shop 3 revolves around serving customer Tamagotchis in different stores via minigames. Players start by creating an ID card with their name, date of birth, and favorite color, which causes the game to generate a Tamagotchi character that may appear as a customer. Four shops are initially available: a recycling center, treasure hunt shop, greeting card shop, and gardening shop. Players choose a partner Tamagotchi from Mametchi, Memetchi, Kuchipatchi, or newcomer Violetchi, and can swap partners at any time—a series first. The goal is to expand each shop to its maximum "Royal" rank, making shops four stories tall. Combination shops return, such as the Deco-Esthetics Decoration Day Spa formed from the Day Spa and Decoration Shops, and a bakery-gardening center. The game includes 13 shops, all new to the series. A park lets players design and decorate with flowers, gardens, fountains, and unlockable items, and players can talk with other Tamagotchis there. The DS microphone is used in minigames like singing to calm crying babies at the day care centre or singing to plants. New stores include a bakery, event coordinator, and ice cream parlor, where players use the stylus to create sundaes with sprinkles and cherries. After serving, players receive a score out of three and Gotchi Points; the same points are awarded regardless of performance, and there are no failure or game over mechanics. The mayor of Putchi Hill offers shop upgrades after sufficiently high ratings, and minigames become slightly more complex with each upgrade.

Development

Corner Shop 3 was developed by NanaOn-Sha and Dimps, who had previously worked together on Corner Shop 2. The success of the first two games gave NanaOn-Sha the opportunity to continue developing for the DS, and active development began after the international release of the second game, continuing as of April 2007. Localization manager Nouaki Taguchi stated the team wanted to introduce new features while keeping the formula intact, leading to additions like journal making, fortune telling, and park customization. Masaya Matsuura, head of NanaOn-Sha and producer of the first three Corner Shop games, described Corner Shop 3 as more "sophisticated" than its predecessors.

Release

Corner Shop 3 released in Japan on September 27, 2007. Promotions included a new Data Cardass machine, "DCD TamaCon", that could wirelessly communicate with DS systems to gift special items via trading cards based on arcade game performance. A pre-order bonus in Japan offered a cosmetic pouch, mirror, and an item card for the TamaCon machine to receive a DS Lite in-game item. From November 27, 2007, a demo was available in Japan through the Everybody's Nintendo Channel, downloadable from a Nintendo Wii to a DS. In October, Shogaku educational magazines provided secret codes to unlock items like a chocolate doughnut. Toys "R" Us stores in Japan offered downloadable software via DS Download Station kiosks, and Bandai continued item distribution at these kiosks from November 2007 to April 2008. On January 7, 2008, Bandai Namco Games America announced a summer 2008 North American release; the game went gold on May 30 and released on June 17, 2008. Atari announced a European release for October 2008 on May 12, but it ultimately released on November 14, 2008, the same week as major titles like Gears of War 2 and Call of Duty: World at War. Atari also announced an Australian and New Zealand release for October 2008 on June 12, 2008.

Reception

Corner Shop 3 holds a Metacritic aggregate score of 57/100, indicating mixed reviews. Critics praised the game's presentation and writing, but criticized the repetitive minigames. AJ Glasser of GamesRadar+ called it "the same super-cute addictive game we know and love—with more of what we want." Michael Stadler of GameZone found it charming and praised the sound design and presentation, though noting visuals were not on par with some contemporary DS games. Reviewers reiterated that the game would not hold interest for long, especially for adults. Jack DeVries of IGN wrote that each title had added only unsubstantial changes, making the third game essentially the same as the first two with different minigames. He noted the virtual pet aspect was lacking, as dressing a Tamagotchi had no gameplay impact, and that minigame quality varied. The game debuted at number four on Japanese sales charts, selling 54,000 units in its first week. It sold 204,744 units in Japan by the end of 2007, ranking 81st for the year, and an additional 45,086 copies in 2008, totaling 249,830 units. Gamasutra stated it failed to repeat the sales success of the first game.