Forget Rachael Ray: Why food games are so popular

Once upon a time videogames were all about blasting space aliens, breaking bricks, kicking ass as a ninja and/or saving a princess. Now, it seems like every activity imaginable has a videogame, from cheer leading to dog grooming to gardening. This is best exemplified by the insane popularity of cooking/food-based games, a genre that was practically single-handedly invented by a little DS game three years ago called Cooking Mama.

The title was immediately popular on the casual-friendly DS, and went on to spawn several sequels and tons of similar games, including other TV tie-ins like Hell’s Kitchen and Iron Chef, paved the way for more novel ideas like the cookbook software Cooking Navi, upcoming restaurant sim Order Up, and the more casual imitators, like the Cakemania series. Right now, cooking games are everywhere you look – you can hardly shake a rolling pin in a game aisle without knocking down something tasty-looking. But why the sudden kitchen invasion? I have a few theories.