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===Awards===
===Awards===
*[[E3]] 2005 [[Game Critics Awards]]: Best Handheld Game.<ref>{{cite web| title = 2005 Winners | url = http://www.gamecriticsawards.com/win.html | publisher = gamecriticsawards.com}}</ref>
*[[E3]] 2005 [[Game Critics Awards]]: Best Handheld Game.<ref>{{cite web| title = 2005 Winners | url = http://www.gamecriticsawards.com/win.html | publisher = gamecriticsawards.com}}</ref>
* [http://www.theg33ks.com/nintendogs-reviewed-03082006/ TheG33ks Bronze Award] for best Nintendo DS game.
*[[Associated Press]]: "Best Game of 2005"
*[[Associated Press]]: "Best Game of 2005"
* 2005 [[Japan Media Arts Festival]]: Excellence Prize
* 2005 [[Japan Media Arts Festival]]: Excellence Prize

Revision as of 18:22, 7 December 2007

Nintendogs
The latest version of Nintendogs, Dalmatian and Friends.
Developer(s)Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Designer(s)Kiyoshi Mizuki
Platform(s)Nintendo DS
ReleaseOriginal versions
JPN April 21, 2005
NA and SG August 22, 2005
AU September 29, 2005
EU October 7, 2005
KR May 3, 2007
Best Friends version
NA October 24, 2005
SG 15 July 2006
Dalmatian & Friends version
EU June 16, 2006
NA and SG October 16, 2006
Genre(s)Simulation game
Mode(s)Single player
Multiplayer via Bark Mode

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 Korea on May 3, 2007. It was originally re-released in three different versions - Dachshund & Friends, Lab & Friends (Shiba & Friends in Japan), and Chihuahua & Friends. 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 15 July 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. It is currently the best-selling video game for the Nintendo DS.

Setting

Location

Nintendogs does not specify where it takes place, though 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.

Story

Like the location, Nintendogs also lacks a concrete plot or story. 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, and the player is free to do as he or she wishes, accumulating items and participating in various events.

Gameplay

Using the touchscreen, the owner can play with, train, pet, walk, and wash their virtual dog. 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 agility. Players can also visit the discount shops to buy supplies for a lower price. Dogs may be entered in disc competitions, agility trials, and obedience trials, as there are five different levels in each competition.

Care

The dog is fed with three different types of dog food, two different treats, and given water or milk. The player can also wash the dog using the stylus and appropriate shampoo. Hunger can be measured from famished to full, and its thirst can be measured with ratings from parched to quenched. The quality of its grooming varies from filthy to beautiful. As time passes without being cared for, these ratings will drop. If its condition is not amended for a long period of time, eventually the dog may run away, and though it will eventually return, this will also affect the player's trainer points, which drop by the hundreds. In addition to this, dogs that are filthy, parched, or famished are not able to participate in contests until their needs are taken care of.

Walking

The game gives no indication of when a dog needs a walk, though non-player characters will comment that it is beneficial to provide them with one per day.After a walk with any particular dog, that dog will not be able to take another walk for 30 minutes, as only one dog may be walked at a time. Players also earn trainer points for walking their dog. The amount of points varies depending on the length of the walk, and activities participated in on the way, such as agility training.

Special areas around the map include two parks. Players can walk their dogs to one of two parks to practice for Disc Competitions, feed their dog to ward off hunger during the remainder of the walk, play with their dog, or have their dog socialize with other dogs. Players are able to tell if there are other dogs and how many are at the park on the map by an icon within the borders of the green park area showing one dog, two dogs or no dog. There are never more than two dogs at any park, and there is always a completely abandoned park to facilitate Disc training.

Another location is the Gym, which contains agility equipment for training dogs for the Agility Trials. Depending on what contest level the dog is currently at, different obstacles will be usable. For example, a dog in the Open Class will not be able to utilize the see-saw, while a dog at the Champion level may be trained with all of the equipment.

Dogs may also walk to a discount store where most items are discount price. These items will not include rare items found only on walks, such as RC Helicopters, Moai Statues, Knit Hats, Jack Russell Books, or Dalmatian Firehats (It should be noted that Jack Russell Books and Firehats are especially hard to find). Certain items can allow the player to unlock more dog breeds (e.g. Fireman's Hat: Dalmatian; Jack Russel Book: Jack Russel Terrier).

Box icons (Which vary in color depending on version) on the map with question marks in them mark areas that may contain neighborhood dogs or presents. When encountering another dog and its trainer, the player's dog may fight or play with the other. Occasionally, the player may stumble upon 'hidden' items, which are not shown on the map. Hidden garbage will appear if the dog is tired or hungry, and presents will appear if it is not. The hidden presents function exactly like the ordinary map-marked ones, containing a random object.

If a dog smells urine on the ground, marked on the upper screen map by large, medium, or small dots, proportionate to how recently it has appeared, it will attempt to urinate there. A dog may urinate or defacate at a random point as well; if the latter is not picked up the player will lose trainer points.

Training

Training includes agility, disc-catching skills, or a new trick. All training functions on the idea that the longer each dog practices, the better they will become. Practicing often is also beneficial, as it largely prevents the dog from forgetting what it has learned. The various sports require practice at different places. To train for agility, the player must walk their dog to the Gym, where needed equipment is set out for practice. Disc Competition training takes place at one of the two parks, but is difficult unless the park has no other dogs in it. Obedience is trained for while the player's dogs are at home, again, this is best facilitated by the dog in need of training being the only dog present. Other dogs can be placed in the Dog Hotel while not needed.

Contests

The contests are the player's main method of earning money. 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 1st.

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 currently not in the current player's kennel, that dog will become available. Also, in the music section of the Supplies screen, players can use the White Record item 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.

Available dog breeds

File:Nintendogs petting.jpg
A Miniature Dachshund puppy being pet through use of the touch screen.

Nintendo released 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 & Friends, and they go into Bark Mode with Player B, who has Lab & 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 Lab & Friends game card again, or a different Lab & Friends game card, they can not unlock the dog that they bring.

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 chart below shows all of the breeds, which version they start out on, and the dogs' attributes for the American Version.

Breed Version Size
Dachshund Dachshund/Best Friends Small
Pug Dachshund Medium
Beagle Dachshund/Dalmatian/Best Friends Medium
Golden Retriever Dachshund/Dalmatian/Best Friends Large
Shih Tzu Dachshund Medium
Siberian Husky Dachshund Large
Labrador Retriever Labrador/Best Friends Large
Shiba Inu Labrador Large
Miniature Schnauzer Labrador Large
Miniature Pinscher Labrador Small
Pembroke Welsh Corgi Labrador Medium
Toy Poodle Labrador Medium
Chihuahua Chihuahua Small
Yorkshire Terrier Chihuahua/Dalmatian/Best Friends Small
German Shepherd Chihuahua/Dalmatian/Best Friends Large
Boxer Chihuahua/Dalmatian Large
Shetland Sheepdog Chihuahua Large
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Chihuahua Medium
Jack Russell Unlockable by Jack Russel Book Small
Dalmatian Dalmatian/Unlockable by Fireman's Hat Large

As the player gets more trainer points in 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, though the game does not allow the player to have all of his or her dogs in the Dog Hotel at one time. After having 8 dogs, picking up and dropping off is disabled; only swapping may be utilized. 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 profile and the player will never see that puppy again.

Versions

There were originally three different versions of Nintendogs. In Japan, their subtitles were Chihuahua & Friends, Dachshund & Friends and Shiba & Friends. In North America, Singapore and Europe, two of the game subtitles are maintained, but Shiba & Friends was changed to Lab & Friends, a more recognizable breed in North America, Singapore and Europe, although the Shiba Inu breed is still available in the U.S. versions of Nintendogs. 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[1] 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 essentially all the same game. 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.

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.[2] 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.[3]

Awards

Recognitions

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.[9] Nintendogs also had very successful launches in North America and Europe, with first week sales of over 250,000[10] and 160,000[11] respectively.

On March 23 2006 at GDC 2006, Nintendo's president Satoru Iwata announced that international sales of Nintendogs sales had reached 6 million,[12] and as of September 30 2007, all versions of Nintendogs combined have sold 15.77 million copies worldwide.[13]

Trading cards

In late 2005, Nintendo of America released the first series of Nintendogs "6-Card Fun Paks". They usually sell the cards 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. 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 twenty breeds from the games, 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.

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.

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.

References

  1. ^ "Nintendogs - Dalmatian Edition announced!". Touch! Generations. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
  2. ^ http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3148658 - 1up.com; accessed 16-01-2007
  3. ^ www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200504/N05.0408.1929.45149.htm
  4. ^ "2005 Winners". gamecriticsawards.com.
  5. ^ "Yellow Pencil Awards". gamesutra.com.
  6. ^ "2006 Winners". PETA.
  7. ^ "IGN Editors' Choice Games". IGN. Retrieved 2006-09-02.
  8. ^ http://www.gamespot.com/misc/editorschoice/index.html
  9. ^ Anoop Gantayet (April 28, 2005). "DS Sales Skyrocket in Japan". IGN.
  10. ^ "Nintendo Reveals Impressive U.S. Nintendogs Figures". Gamasutra. September 1, 2005.
  11. ^ "Nintendo Claims European Sales Boost For DS". Gamasutra. October 12, 2005.
  12. ^ "GDC: The Nintendo keynote blow by blow (Updated)". Joystiq. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
  13. ^ "Financial Results Briefing for the Six-Month Period Ending September 2007" (PDF). Nintendo. 2007-10-26. p. 6. Retrieved 2007-11-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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