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Neko Atsume

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Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector
Developer(s)Hit-Point
Composer(s)Ryo Shintani
Platform(s)iOS, Android
Mode(s)Single-player

Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector (Japanese: ねこあつめ, "Cat Collection") is a cat collecting game developed by Hit-Point for iOS and Android, released on October 20, 2014.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Gameplay

Cats will interact with objects when they visit a player's garden and house.

Gameplay revolves around the player purchasing food, toys, and furniture to attract a variety of cats to the player's garden. The player can watch cats in the garden, take photos of them which can be saved in an album, and receive gifts from them.

Cats will leave the player either silver or gold "niboshi" (にぼし, small dried sardines), called "fish" in the English version, after leaving the garden. The player also has the ability to get free silver or gold fish by completing a daily password. This feature is located in the "news" button in the main menu. Once there the player simply taps the cat that is holding the sign and this will direct the player to a new page with the following options; "Input Password", "Submit Feedback" and the games "Official FAQ". The player will simply tap on "Input Password" and a daily log will be created. There are five slots and after all five are completed the player receives a free can of "Ritzy Bitz".[7]The fish can be used to purchase new types of food and goods as well as extensions to the garden. Cats may leave collectible "mementos" for the player.

After purchasing the initial expansion to the garden, the player then has the opportunity to purchase a renovation for their garden. Players currently have the option to remodel their garden to one of six different styles: Original, Zen, Rustic, Modern, Western, or Sugary.

There is no end to the game, but cats will only appear so long as the player continues to put food out for them.

The game is free to play, though additional niboshi are available for purchase.

Cats

There are currently 53 cats for the player to collect. Among these, 19 are considered "rare cats" and only appear when certain items are placed in the yard. Rare cats have a unique interaction with their respective items. Each cat has a unique name, personality and appearance. The player may rename the cats after they have encountered them. Many of the rare cats in the English version of the game are named after famous people both fictional and non-fictional, with the names of the cats being puns like Lady Meow Meow (Lady Gaga) Mr. Meowgi (Mr. Miyagi), Chairman Meow (Chairman Mao), Guy Furry (Guy Fieri), Saint Purrtrick (Saint Patrick), Xerxes IX (Xerxes I), and Joe DiMeowgio (Joe DiMaggio, complete with megaphone[8] and baseball). While Peaches is not considered a rare cat, it has been noted that she is harder to find than the others.

Development

Yutaka Takasaki, the developer of the game, said that his goal was to create a game that even children could enjoy without a significant investment of skill or time.[9] While he loves cats himself, he has said that "to be honest, I do not know why this game is so popular."[9] The game "was made between the development of other applications".[10] Originally it was a software of the "just look and enjoy" style for players who like cats, and could be completed in 2–3 weeks for free.[11] Takasaki says, "We're not going to put cheats or complexity in it, and we would like to pursue a game that can be enjoyed with only simple operations."[11]

Release

As of version 1.4.5, players can now switch between Japanese and English versions of the game any time they want.[12]

On 30 October 2015, an English version of the game, called Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector, was released on the Android and iOS App stores. It allows players to switch between English and Japanese translations of the game within the game menu.[12][13] Even before the English version, guides were written for English-speaking users to play the game.[14]

In version 1.5.5, there is a chance that the player’s garden will be covered in snow.[15] The snow event typically lasts for 24 hours and changes the appearance of the garden as well as the background music. The player also has the opportunity to get a new rare cat, Frosty.[16]

Version 1.6.0 was released on March 24, 2016. This version added more common and rare cats, as well as more items, and introduced the "gallery" where players can buy wallpapers for their phones with gold niboshi.[17]

Reception

By May 2015, the game had achieved 4 million downloads for Android and iOS combined.[18] On August 20, 2015, Neko Atsume won the CEDEC Awards for best game design.[19][20][21] As of December 4, 2015, the game had achieved 10 million downloads.[22] In January 2016, the game was honored as one of the Top 5 Mobile Games of 2015 by GameSpot, who cited the game as "intensely quirky" and "increasingly compelling".[23][24]

On September 15, 2015, Google and Hit-Point teamed up for Game Week with Google Play to produce a live video event called Real Neko Atsume (リアルねこあつめ), which was broadcast on YouTube from a Cat café in Osaka.[25][26][27]

References

  1. ^ a b "Android版 iOS版同時発売！ 【ねこあつめ】" [Simultaneous releases for Android and iOS! "Neko Atsume"] (PDF). Hit-Point (in Japanese). 20 October 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  2. ^ "'Neko Atsume' is the addicting new app where you feed stray cats". CNN. July 2015.
  3. ^ Tina Amil (May 2015). "The Japanese Cat Game We Can't Stop Playing". Kotaku.
  4. ^ "The adorable cat game app you really need (even though it's in Japanese)". Irish Examiner. April 2015.
  5. ^ Shusuke Murai (June 2015). "Japanese cat-collecting game is apps' meow". The Japan Times.
  6. ^ Laura Hudson (April 2015). "I can't stop collecting cats in this Japanese smartphone game". Boing Boing.
  7. ^ "Neko Atsume tips & tricks: How to get free gold and silver fish, cheats,…". Recombu. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
  8. ^ Template:Twitter status
  9. ^ a b "世界で注目の「ねこあつめ」、はまるユーザー続出". CNN.co.jp. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  10. ^ "Twitterで人気急伸『ねこあつめ』とは？". 株式会社オリコン. 2015. Retrieved 2015-03-29.
  11. ^ a b "米CNNも絶賛のスマホゲーム「ねこあつめ」日本語版だけなのに海外でも大人気の謎". J-CASTニュース. 2015-07-08. Retrieved 2015-07-11.
  12. ^ a b "ねこあつめ、遂に世界進出。アップデートで英語対応" [Finally, a global expansion for Neko Atsume. English Update!]. PC Watch (in Japanese). Impress Corporation. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  13. ^ Byford, Sam (30 October 2015). "Cute cult cat-collecting app Neko Atsume is finally in English". The Verge. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  14. ^ "How to play Neko Atsume". Welcome to Wonderland. 25 March 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  15. ^ "ねこあつめ公式 on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  16. ^ "How to attract Frosty (the new rare cat) on Neko Atsume - Quora". www.quora.com. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  17. ^ Template:Twitter status
  18. ^ "『ねこあつめ』キャラクターブックの発売決定、41ねこのエピソードを収録". iNSIDE. 2015-05-20. Retrieved 2015-05-22.
  19. ^ CEDEC AWARDS 受賞者
  20. ^ 「CEDEC AWARDS 2015」各部門の最優秀賞を発表
  21. ^ Template:Twitter status
  22. ^ Template:Twitter status
  23. ^ "The Best Mobile Games of 2015". GameSpot. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
  24. ^ "Top 5 Mobile Games - GameSpot Game of the Year 2015". GameSpot. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
  25. ^ リアルねこあつめキター！　「ねこあつめ」の実写イベント、Google Play GAME WEEK "2015 秋"で開催
  26. ^ 9/15限定の「リアルねこあつめ」まとめ
  27. ^ 約11時間ねこ眺めほうだい！「リアルねこあつめ」アーカイブ動画が公開
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