Nintendogs
Nintendogs is a pet simulation video game, similar to a virtual pet, for the Nintendo DS portable game system. The player is given the ability to interact with virtual puppies via the DS's touchscreen and microphone. It began as a project for the GameCube, but was later scrapped and re-worked for the dual-screen portable. The game made its debut at the 2004 Electronic Entertainment Expo as a tech demo for the system. At one time, the North American version was to be titled Puppy Times? Fun Times!, but this was changed back to Nintendogs before the game's release.
Information
There are four different versions of Nintendogs; In Japan, their subtitles were Chihuahua and Friends, Dachshund and Friends and Shiba and Friends. In North America, two of the game subtitles are maintained, but Shiba and Friends was changed to Labrador and Friends, a more recognizable breed in North America. Nintendogs has since had a new version bundled with teal or pink Nintendo DS models, titled Nintendogs: Best Friends. This bundle has been used in both North America and Europe.
The game has been well received by critics, and in the May 2005 edition of the Famitsu, a popular Japanese gaming magazine, Nintendogs received a perfect 40/40 score. Only four other games have attained this score: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Soul Calibur, Vagrant Story, and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. It was also one of the three DS games to earn an Editor's Choice award on GameSpot, with Advance Wars: Dual Strike and Mario Kart DS.On nintendogs, there are many different breeds
Available dog breeds
Nintendo, likely based on the success of this method with Pokémon, chose to release Nintendogs in multiple versons 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.
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; for example, in the American/European version of Dachsund & 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 Dachsund & Friends has the Miniature Schnauzer and Yorkshire Terrier instead of the Beagle and Shih Tzu.) Except for the hidden breeds (one in the Japanese release, two in other releases), 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 by earning points or by linking with a different version of Nintendogs.
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". 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.
Sales information
In the first week of its release in Japan (April 18 to April 24), 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 [1].
Nintendogs had also very successful launches in North America and Europe, with first week sales of over 250,000 [2] and 160,000 [3] respectively, making it the fastest selling Nintendo DS game in both regions to date.
Worldwide sales are approaching the 2 million mark, according to Nintendo of America vice president of sales and marketing, Reggie Fils-Aime. [4] Over 1 million have been sold in Europe alone since its debut on October 22 [5].
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