Nintendogs is a pet simulation video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It has been released in seven different versions - Dachshund & Friends, Lab & Friends, Chihuahua & Friends, Dalmatian & Friends, Shiba & Friends (Japan only), and Best Friends (available only in a Nintendo DS bundle). Nintendogs takes advantage of the Nintendo DS' touchscreen and was the third (WarioWare: Touched! and Feel the Magic: XY/XX used them in minigames) official DS game to use the microphone, which is used to interact with the puppies.

Since the release of the first version of Nintendogs, that and the subsequent versions have sold more than seven million copies worldwide.

Gameplay

The gameplay variety in Nintendogs makes for great interaction between the user and the puppy.

Training

Using the touchscreen, the owner can play with, train (a dog can learn up to 15 dog tricks, sit, beg, handstand, lay down, etc.), pet, walk, and wash the dog. Using the microphone that is built into the DS, the player can create voice commands that the virtual puppy will understand and (assuming it is properly trained) follow. Dogs can be walked to the park where they can practice their disc catching skills and to the Gymnasium to practice agility skills. Competitions are also an entertaining aspect of the game, as one can play frisbee with the dogs and enter them in agility contests or obedience shows whether for fun or trainer points and money.

Care

The dog is fed dry or canned food and water or milk and washed with shampoo bought at the store. The dog's hunger can be measured with ratings of: Famished, Hungry, Normal and Full. The dog's thirst can be measured with ratings of: Parched, Thirsty, Normal and Quenched. And the dog's coat hygene can be measured with ratings of: Filthy, Dirty, Normal, Clean and Beautiful.

If the dog is not fed or cleaned for prolonged periods of time, it may feel neglected and run away. It will return later and if fed will stay again. The dogs do not die like other virtual pets such as Tamagachi.

Walking the Dog

Outside of the player's virtual home, the puppy can be put on a leash and taken for a walk around the neighborhood. Dogs may also walk to a discount store where most default items are discount price. These items will not include rare items found only on walks, such as RC Helicopters, Moai Statues, Knit Hats, or even Striped Ribbons. Dogs can encounter other neighbourhood dog's and their trainers, who often give advice to the player. Whenever a player's dog encounters a neighbourhood dog they can either fight with the dog or play with the dog.

Bark Mode

Nintendogs supports two link-up methods through the Nintendo DS's built-in wireless networking capabilities. A player can link his or her system with that of another person who owns a copy of Nintendogs to let the players' puppies play together. One can also enable the other link-up system, "Bark Mode," in the game options and then close the Nintendo DS. Instead of going to sleep, the Nintendo DS will continue to look for other Nintendogs users. If another Nintendogs game in Bark Mode is detected an alert (barking) will sound and the two systems will exchange information to be used later when gameplay is resumed. Bark Mode also works while the Nintendo DS is open.

Available dog breeds

Nintendo, likely based on the success of this method with Pokémon, chose to release Nintendogs in multiple versions with minor variations from one another. While all versions of the same language are able to link to one another, each release of Nintendogs features a different set of dog breeds that are available at the beginning of each game. The Japanese editions each start with five breeds, while the North American and European editions each have six. However, players can earn other breeds during the game but may only "donate" one breed of dog with another owner. This does not mean that the player loses the dog, it only means that the other player/owner unlocks that dog and can purchase it from the kennel. If that owner has a dog that a player wants to unlock and goes on to bark mode with him, then they can unlock that dog as well. A game may only do this once with every version per the player's version, so for example, if the version Player A owns is Dachshund and friends, and they go into Bark Mode with Player B, who has Labrador and friends, and Player B brings Player A a dog they have not unlocked, the kennel will receive donations of that dog. If the players do it with the same Labrador and friends gamepak again, or a different Labrador and friends gamepak, they can not unlock the dog that they bring. They can, however, do this trick with Chihuahua and friends, Dachshund and friends, Labrador/Shiba and friends (if the language settings can handle it; this is unconfirmed.) and Dalmatian and friends. In addition, if one person buys another version of Nintendogs, this trick can happen all over again.

When the player first starts the game, he or she is brought to the kennel to choose a dog. The player then selects one of five or six available breeds, and is shown three dogs of that breed, varying in gender, personality, and color. Once the player comes to a final decision, the dog is taken home, and the player is allowed to name his or her new pet.

The different versions of Nintendogs have different breeds initially available to the player. The dogs can range from German Shepherds and Yorkshire Terriers to Shiba Inus and Labrador Retrievers. For example, in the American/European version of Dachshund & Friends, the Beagle, Golden Retriever, Miniature Dachshund, Pug, Shih Tzu, and Siberian Husky are available from the start. (The Japanese versions have slightly different selections; for example, the Japanese Dachshund & Friends has the Miniature Schnauzer and Yorkshire Terrier instead of the Beagle and Shih Tzu.) Except for the hidden breed in the game, the Jack Russell Terrier, which requires the Jack Russel book (except in the Japan versions), and the Dalmatian, which requires the fireman's hat item to be found, all of the breeds are available in at least one version of the game, and in each game the breeds not initially available can be unlocked through Bark Mode, and by gaining experience playing the game (trainer points). For example in "Nintendogs: Dalmatian and Friends" You unlock the Cavalier K.C. Spaniel when you get 2000 trainer points, the Shetland Sheepdog when you get 4000 trainer points and you unlock the desktop room when you get 6000 trainer points.

As the player accumulates funds throughout the game, more dogs may be purchased from the kennel. However, only three dogs may be kept at the player's in-game dwelling, and five dogs may be stored (but not interacted with) at the "Dog Hotel" for free; the hotel will care for the dogs. The dogs may also be swapped, dropped off, and picked up at any time. After having 8 dogs you will not be able to pick up or drop off the dogs you may only swap them. The player may not have any more than eight dogs at a time, but dogs may be "donated" to free up space for more pets. Donating a dog removes it from the player's possession and is an irreversible action.

Versions

There were originally three different versions of Nintendogs. In Japan, their subtitles were Chihuahua and Friends, Dachshund and Friends and Shiba and Friends. In North America and Europe, two of the game subtitles are maintained, but Shiba and Friends was changed to Labrador and Friends, a more recognizable breed in North America and Europe. Although, the Shiba Inu breed is still available in the US versions of Nintendogs. Nintendogs has since had a new version bundled with teal and pink (in the US, the pink version was only available at Target and Toys "R" Us) Nintendo DS models, titled Nintendogs: Best Friends. This bundle has been used in both North America and Europe. Nintendogs: Dalmatian and Friends was released on June 16, 2006 in Europe. Nintendogs: Dalmatian and Friends arrived to North America on October 16, 2006. This version includes the most popular breeds from the other versions as well as the Dalmatian available for purchase from the beginning of the game.

Reception

The game has been well received by critics. In the May 2005 edition of the Famitsu, a popular Japanese gaming magazine, Nintendogs received a perfect 40/40 score. Only five other games have attained this score: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Soul Calibur, Vagrant Story, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Final Fantasy XII.

It was also one of the five DS games to earn an Editor's Choice award on GameSpot, along with Advance Wars: Dual Strike, New Super Mario Bros., Yoshi's Island DS and Mario Kart DS. It also received an 8.5 out of 10 in Nintendo Power.

Awards

• E3 2005 Game Critics Awards: Best Handheld Game.
• PC World: "2006 Innovation Award"
• Associated Press: "Best Game of 2005"
• Famitsu: One of seven titles with a perfect 40/40 score.
• D&AD: Yellow Pencils Award 2006
• PETA: Best Animal-Friendly Video Game 2006
• IGN: Editors' Choice Award

Nominations

• BusinessWeek: Nintendogs featured on "Best Products" list
• Entertainment Weekly: Nintendogs highlighted on "The Must List"
• Chicago Sun Times: Nintendogs is on the "Game Of The Year" list

Sales information

In the first week of its release in Japan (April 18, 2005 to April 24, 2005), its sales totaled over 168,000 units (Nintendogs: Shiba & Friends — 75,000 units, Nintendogs: Miniature Dachshund & Friends — 49,000 units and Nintendogs: Chihuahua & Friends — 44,000 units). This title game also boosted the Nintendo DS system sales by over 4.2 times the previous week to 95,000 units, up from 22,000.

Nintendogs also had very successful launches in North America and Europe, with first week sales of over 250,000 and 160,000 respectively.

On March 23, 2006 at GDC 2006, Nintendo's president Satoru Iwata announced that Nintendogs sales had reached 6 million worldwide.

Related products

Trading cards

In late 2005/early 2006, Nintendo released Nintendogs "6-Card Fun Paks". Three different pack designs (each based on the US-released designs of the DS game) contains an assortment of "Collectible cards, stickers & more!". Each pack randomly contains two of 18 different 'Breed' cards, one of nine different 'Trainer Tip' cards, one of six different 'Miscellaneous' cards, one of 18 different 'Pop-Up' Cards, one of six different sheets of stickers, one of four different temporary tattoos and one Sweepstakes card.

Plush toys

A line of Nintendogs plush toys were released in Japan, featuring the most popular breeds in each game. They are also available at the Nintendo World Store in New York City for US$9.99. Various Nintendogs T-Shirts are available at the Nintendo World Store as well and retail for US$14.99. In Europe and Australia, a series of plush toys with an electronic sensor were released, and when the owner shook the bone, the dog would walk and bark.