We first learnt about the development of Majesco’s Toy Shop for the Nintendo DS last October. Challenging players to save an inherited family business, the firm hopes that it will build on the casual gaming success established by the likes of Cooking Mama and Cake Mania. We’ve got new details and the latest screenshots.

Presumably in order to make Toy Shop as accessible a game as possible, players can either choose just to build toys to sell to needy customers or, alternatively, take the whole weight of the business onto their shoulders where they’ll run all aspects of the business - tasks including product management, pricing, merchandising and reviewing customer buying habits. Shop owners can create more than 30 toys for the store, including teddy bears, action figures and board games, and a tutorial helps future entrepreneurs learn the ropes of the business.

“The concept for this unique simulation is like Santa’s workshop meets retail tycoon,” said John Merchant, Marketing Manager, Majesco Europe. “Toy Shop combines creative toy-making with overall store management to give players insight into the challenging, yet rewarding, business of fun. We believe Toy Shop has the same type of appeal as successful casual games like Cooking Mama and Cake Mania.”

Features

• Use the Stylus to control everything! From moving characters, making toys, interacting with others, and more!
• Choose your style of play, whether it’s complete control of all operations, simply running the store or just creating toys; it’s your game.
• Play mini games to create over 30 new and fun toys for your store, from Teddy Bears to Action Figures to Board Games. Earn experience by making toys to unlock new toys.
• Run your shop for 3 years, with each year divided into 4 months that represent the 4 seasons. Each month has a special event that directly influences the number of people that shop and their specific behavior prior to the event. Events include: Valentine’s Day, Summer Vacation, Halloween and Christmas.
• Work in 6 unique locations from the Toy Shop to the Toy Store, and areas throughout town with different seasonal appearances, including: Residential District, Commercial District, Main Square and Beach.
• Unlock new, bigger store locations as you earn more money selling toys.
• Adjust prices and change stock based on customer moods and habits. Touch customers with your stylus to see their budget, desired toys and perception of their Toy Shop experience.
• Customer satisfaction is important in the store and out. If customers leave unhappy, other potential customers may never visit and you’ll lose business.
• Learn the ins and outs of running the Toy Shop with an in-depth tutorial.
• Control both Mel and Mark while interacting with more than 10 important town members, including the Mayor.

We’re beginning to like Toy Shop in the same way that Lemonade Tycoon and similar titles bring out our (limited) entrepreneurial streak. There’s no mention of a release date as yet, but we’ll be sure to keep you updated.