Nintendogs

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Nintendogs

The latest version of Nintendogs, Dalmatian and Friends.
Developer(s) Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s) Nintendo
Designer(s) Kiyoshi Mizuki
Platform(s) Nintendo DS
Release date Original versions
JP April 21, 2005
NA August 22, 2005
AUS September 29, 2005
EU October 7, 2005
Best Friends version
NA October 24, 2005
Dalmatian & Friends version
EU June 16, 2006
NA October 16, 2006
Genre(s) Pet-raising simulation
Mode(s) Single player, multiplayer via Bark Mode
Rating(s) CERO: A (All ages)
ESRB: E (Everyone)
PEGI: 3+
OFLC: G
Media Nintendo DS Game Card

Nintendogs is a real-time pet simulation video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 2005, and was later released in North America and Singapore on August 22, 2005, in Australia on September 29, 2005, in Europe on October 7, 2005, in China on June 29, 2006, and in South Korea on May 3, 2007.[1] It was originally released in three different versions - Dachshund & Friends, Lab & Friends (Shiba & Friends in Japan), and Chihuahua & Friends.[1] Nintendogs takes advantage of the Nintendo DS' touch screen and microphone, which are used to interact with the dogs.

Another version of Nintendogs called Nintendogs: Best Friends was released in North America on October 24, 2005 in a bundle which also contained one of two differently colored Nintendo DS consoles. After the initial shipment, Nintendo did not restock the bundle, but it was released later in Singapore on July 15, 2006. Another version called Nintendogs: Dalmatian & Friends was released in Europe on June 16, 2006 and later in North America and Singapore on October 16, 2006. As of December 31, 2007, all versions of Nintendogs combined have sold 17.79 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling Nintendo DS game published by Nintendo.[2]

Contents

[edit] Gameplay

A Miniature Dachshund puppy being pat through use of the touch screen.
A Miniature Dachshund puppy being pat through use of the touch screen.

Using the touch screen, the owner can play with, train, pet, walk, and wash their virtual dog.[3] With the microphone that is built into the DS, the player can create voice commands that their puppy will understand and, if properly trained, follow. Dogs can be walked to the park where they can practice their disc catching skills, and to the gymnasium to practice dog agility. Players can also visit the discount stores to buy supplies for a lower price. The game features two types of currency; money and "trainer points". Money is used to purchase items, while trainer points increase or decrease depending on the actions of the player. As points accumulate, more dogs become available for the player to buy, and more background can be purchased to decorate the player's in-game house.

Only three dogs may be kept at the player's in-game dwelling at one time, and five dogs may be stored at the "Dog Hotel". The dogs may also be swapped, dropped off, and picked up at any time, though the game does not allow the player to have all of his or her dogs in the Dog Hotel at one time. The player may not have any more than eight dogs at a time, but dogs may be "donated" to make space for more pets. Donating a dog permanently removes it from the player's profile.

In caring for the dog, it can be fed with different types of food and groomed with varying items. As time passes without the dog being cared for, its condition will slowly deteriorate, as it becomes more hungry and dirty. If its condition is not amended for a long period of time, eventually the dog may run away, though it will eventually return. Dogs that are especially dirty or hungry are not able to participate in contests.

By walking their dog, players earn trainer points; the amount of points varies depending on the length of the walk, and activities participated in on the way, such as contest training. While walking, question mark icons on the map point out areas that may contain neighborhood dogs or presents, though presents can be found unmarked as well. When encountering another dog and its trainer, the player's dog may fight or play with the other.

[edit] Contests

The contests are the player's main method of earning money and trainer points. There are three contests: Disc Competition, Agility Trial, and Obedience Trial. In each of them, there are 5 classes: Beginner, Open, Expert, Master, and Champion. If the player's dog places 3rd or higher in whatever class it is in, the dog will proceed to the next difficulty level. Prize money earned differs depending on which contest has been entered, what place is finished, and the class the dog is in. If the player does not place at least 3rd, they will be dropped to the previous difficulty level, unless they were in the Beginner class, at which point they will remain there. Dogs who consistently place higher than 3rd at the Champion class remain at that level. Consecutive placings of 1st while at the Champion class will go towards the 'winning streak', which is broken as soon as the dog places under first place.

[edit] Bark mode

Nintendogs supports a link-up method 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. This is called "Bark Mode". If connected with a player who has a dog not in the current player's kennel, that dog will become available. Also, players can use an item called the "White Record" to record a message. This can be used to say something to the other player. Dogs may also carry a present to give away for good to the other player.

[edit] Setting

Nintendogs does not specify where it takes place, and the time period appears to be modern, although items such as record players make appearances. The game world focuses on a single town which appears to be coastal, due to the ocean and visible beach which occupies the background when near the edge of the map. Other than this, the location is never given out, and it is not possible to travel to another town or city. The game also allows players to buy new backgrounds for the interior of their in-game house, which alter its appearance. Players can choose styles such as a condominium style home with a view of a cityscape, or a seaside style situated on the beach. It is not made clear whether or not this represents a change of location, as the landscape when leaving the house does not change.

The game does not have a concrete plot or story, being more of an open-ended simulation game. The player takes on the role of a dog owner, caring and training for various dogs of his or her choice. Similarly to titles such as Animal Crossing, the game runs in real-time,[4] and the player is free to do as he or she wishes, accumulating items and participating in various events.

[edit] Development

Nintendogs began as a technical demo on the Nintendo GameCube long before it was considered for the DS. It made its way to the handheld when the DS was still in development. Shigeru Miyamoto originally came up with the idea for the game when he and his family bought a dog, which inspired him to create the project.[1] The game's producer, Hideki Konno, looking for a game to take full advantage of all of the Nintendo DS' features, decided on a dog simulation game. Nintendogs, first called Puppy Times, was originally designed to have 15 different versions, one for each breed of dog. Satoru Iwata suggested this to convey the feel that the player was choosing a dog from a kennel. However, the debugging process for each version would have been too time consuming to be feasible. After going back and forth between numbers of versions, they eventually settled for three, with six dogs each and the rest available after completing in-game goals. [5]

[edit] Versions

Originally, three different versions of Nintendogs existed. In Japan, their subtitles were Chihuahua & Friends, Dachshund & Friends and Shiba & Friends. In North America, Singapore and Europe, the game's subtitles are maintained, but the Shiba & Friends title was changed to Lab & Friends, a more recognizable breed in those countries, though the Shiba Inu is still present in the game. Another version of Nintendogs, titled Nintendogs: Best Friends, has been bundled with teal and pink (in the U.S., the pink version was only available at Target and Toys "R" Us) Nintendo DS models. Nintendogs: Best Friends was released in Singapore on 15 July 2006 after new location of GameScore at Funan opened. Europe had slightly different bundles: a pink DS bundle with the Dachshund version of the game, and a blue DS bundle with the Lab version. Nintendogs: Dalmatian & Friends was released on June 16, 2006 in Europe[6] on North America and Singapore 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, without the player needing to locate the Fireman's Hat.

All the versions contain all the breeds and are all identical. The difference between versions is the selection of the six breeds which the player starts with, but the other 14 breeds can be unlocked as the player progresses through the game. Unlocking occurs when the player achieves certain goals, for example gaining a certain number of trainer points or finding a particular object. The other difference is that each version has different exclusive items one can obtain whilst going out for a walk. However, it is possible for one version of the game to receive all of another version's exclusive items when two people connect via Bark Mode.

[edit] 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 seven other games have attained this score: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Soulcalibur, Vagrant Story, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Final Fantasy XII, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Metal Gear Solid 4 .[7] It also received an 8.5 out of 10 in Nintendo Power. Game Informer gave Nintendogs an 8 out of 10, reflecting on the game's lack of an ending.[8]

[edit] Awards

In addition to recognitions from publications such as Entertainment Weekly, BusinessWeek, and the Chicago Sun Times, Nintendogs also won a wide variety of awards.

[edit] 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.[15] Nintendogs also had very successful launches in North America and Europe, with first week sales of over 250,000[16] and 160,000[17] respectively.

On March 23, 2006 at GDC 2006, Nintendo's president Satoru Iwata announced that international sales of Nintendogs sales had reached 6 million,[18] As of December 31, 2007, all versions of Nintendogs combined have sold 17.79 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling Nintendo DS game published by Nintendo.[2]

[edit] Related products

[edit] Trading cards

In late 2005, Nintendo of America released the first series of Nintendogs "6-Card Fun Paks",[19] each normally sold for $1.99. 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 "Dog in Training" 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.

A second series of these cards were released in early 2007 by Enterplay, LLC.[20] These cards, officially licensed by Nintendo, were created by the same individuals who worked on the first series. As such, the cards greatly resemble the first series. Keeping the "6-Card Fun Pak" name, each package contains two of 20 different "At the Kennel" cards (which feature all eighteen breeds from the games,[21] including the Dalmatian and Jack Russel Terrier), one of nine "Dog in Training" tip cards, one of four different 'Miscellaneous' cards, one of 20 different 'Pop-Up' Cards, one of six different sheets of stickers, one of four different temporary tattoos and one Sweepstakes card. The second series also features three different packages, this time with a Dalmatian, Beagle and Pug on the front of the package.

[edit] Plush toys

A line of Nintendogs plush toys were released in Japan, featuring the most popular breeds in each game.[22] 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.

Nintendo has released a set of plushes through Earthwood Toys. Currently there are 12 breeds of bean bag plush with sounds that pant, growl and bark. These include 6 breeds of Trick Trainer Pups that can be trained with the included magnetic bone, and 6 breeds of Interactive pups in 3 styles: Tug 'n Play, Pet 'n Play, and Howl with Me.

Mcdonalds also gave out miniature Nintendogs with their happy meals.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Nintendogs on GameSpot
  2. ^ a b Financial Results Briefing for the Nine-Month Period Ended December 2007 (PDF) 6. Nintendo (2008-01-25). Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
  3. ^ [www.gamespot.com/ds/strategy/nintendogschihuahuaandfriends/media.html Gamespot Nintendogs video]
  4. ^ Gamestop Nintendogs information
  5. ^ Development information on IGN.com
  6. ^ Nintendogs - Dalmatian Edition announced!. Touch! Generations. Retrieved on 2006-06-30.
  7. ^ http://kotaku.com/5012898/famitsu-gives-metal-gear-solid-4-perfect-score - kotaku.com; accessed 06-04-2008
  8. ^ Game Informer Nintendogs news
  9. ^ 2005 Winners. gamecriticsawards.com.
  10. ^ Yellow Pencil Awards. gamesutra.com.
  11. ^ 2006 Winners. PETA.
  12. ^ IGN Editors' Choice Games. IGN. Retrieved on 2006-09-02.
  13. ^ IGN.com presents the Best of 2005. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-05-01.
  14. ^ Editor's Choice - GameSpot
  15. ^ Anoop Gantayet. "DS Sales Skyrocket in Japan", IGN, April 28, 2005. 
  16. ^ "Nintendo Reveals Impressive U.S. Nintendogs Figures", Gamasutra, September 1, 2005. 
  17. ^ "Nintendo Claims European Sales Boost For DS", Gamasutra, October 12, 2005. 
  18. ^ GDC: The Nintendo keynote blow by blow (Updated). Joystiq. Retrieved on 2006-06-30.
  19. ^ 6-Card Fun Paks
  20. ^ Nintendogs - Is That One Good?
  21. ^ Nintendogs trading cards
  22. ^ Tug 'n Play Nintendog plush

[edit] External links