Nintendogs (written in all lowercase letters) is a 2005 pet simulation video game created and sold by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld console. It was first released in Japan and later made available in North America, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and other areas. The game was originally offered in three versions: Dachshund & Friends, Lab & Friends (called Shiba & Friends in Japan), and Chihuahua & Friends. It was later released again twice: first as part of a special edition Nintendo DS bundle with a new version named Nintendogs: Best Friends, and later with Nintendogs: Dalmatian & Friends.

The game uses the Nintendo DS's touchscreen and built-in microphone. The touchscreen lets players pet their dog and use items such as balls, frisbees, toys, and grooming supplies to care for the dog. The microphone allows players to call their dog by speaking the dog's name, which is chosen at the start of the game, and to teach the dog tricks like "sit" or "roll over." Players can take their dogs on walks or to the park. They can also play with others using the DS's wireless linkup feature. The game uses the DS's internal clock and calendar to track how hungry or dirty the dog becomes over time.

Nintendogs received positive reviews and won awards, including the 2006 Innovation Award from PC World and Best Handheld Game from the Associated Press. As of March 31, 2016, all versions of Nintendogs sold a total of 23.96 million copies worldwide, making it the second best-selling game for the Nintendo DS, after New Super Mario Bros. Because of its popularity, Nintendo created related products, such as Nintendogs toys and trading cards. A follow-up game titled Nintendogs + Cats was released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2011.

Gameplay

Nintendogs uses the DS's touchscreen to let players interact with a virtual dog. Players can play with, train, pet, walk, brush, and wash the dog. The dog does not die, have puppies, or age, so it stays as a puppy forever. The game also uses the built-in microphone, allowing players to call their puppy or teach it tricks. Money can be earned by winning competitions or selling items at the secondhand shop. This money can be used to buy supplies, puppies, or home decor. Players can walk their dog and take it to the park to practice disc catching for competitions or to the gymnasium to practice agility for trials. While walking, question mark icons on the map show areas where neighborhood dogs or presents might be found, though some presents can also appear without markers.

Only three dogs can be kept at the player's house at one time. Up to five dogs can stay at the dog hotel, where players can swap, drop off, or pick up dogs anytime. Players can also choose to donate a dog to the hotel. If a dog is not cared for over time, its condition will get worse, becoming more hungry and dirty. Players can check a dog's condition by clicking its name. Hunger levels are listed as: "Full," "Normal," "Hungry," and "Famished." Thirst levels are listed as: "Quenched," "Normal," "Thirsty," or "Parched." The dog's coat condition is listed as: "Beautiful," "Clean," "Normal," "Dirty," or "Filthy."

Nintendogs includes contests that help players earn money and trainer points. There are three contests: Disc Competition, Agility Trial, and Obedience Trial. Each contest has five classes: Beginner, Open, Expert, Master, and Championship. Two commentators, Ted Rumsworth and Archie Hubbs, provide feedback during contests. If a dog finishes 3rd or higher in its class, it advances to the next class, which is harder. Prize money depends on the contest, the dog's placement, and its class. If a dog does not finish in the top three, it moves to the previous difficulty level.

Nintendogs allows players to communicate with other users through Bark Mode. Before using Wireless Mode, players can choose to give another user a present. When another user with Bark Mode activated is nearby, players can interact with their dog. If the other user has recorded a voice message on their White Record, the message will be heard by the player.

Development

In 1997, Shigesato Itoi, Tsunekazu Ishihara, and Shigeru Miyamoto worked together to create a prototype of a pet creature breeding game for the Nintendo 64 called Cabbage. The game took four years to develop, and its creation was made possible by the real-time clock and the ability to write large amounts of data on the 64DD peripheral. This allowed the game to continue raising creatures even if the power was turned off. Players could also buy optional features to improve their experience. Some of the game’s functions were later made portable for the Game Boy and could be synced back to the 64DD disk using the Transfer Pak. The game was planned for release in 1998 and again in 2000, but development was paused. In 2006, Miyamoto said, "It disappeared, didn’t it… However, the ideas and techniques we developed while making Cabbage are connected to Nintendogs and other projects we are working on now."

The project that became Nintendogs started as a technical demo on the GameCube before being considered for the Nintendo DS. It was moved to the DS while the handheld was still being developed. Shigeru Miyamoto had the idea for the game after his family adopted a dog. The game’s producer, Hideki Konno, chose to create a dog simulation game to use all the features of the Nintendo DS. Originally called Puppy Times, the game was designed to have 15 versions, each based on a different dog breed. Satoru Iwata suggested this to give players the feeling of choosing a dog from a kennel. However, testing each version was too time-consuming. After considering different options, the team decided on three versions, each with six dogs, and the remaining dogs became available after completing in-game goals.

Merchandise

In late 2005, Nintendo of America introduced the first series of Nintendogs "6-Card Fun Paks." Three different pack designs, based on the US-released versions of the DS game, included a mix of "Collectible cards, stickers, and more." Each pack randomly contained two cards from a group of 18 different breeds, one card from a set of nine Dog in Training tip cards, one card from a group of six Miscellaneous cards, one card from a set of 18 Pop-Up Cards, one sheet of stickers from six different designs, one temporary tattoo from four options, and one Sweepstakes card. In early 2007, Enterplay, LLC released another series of these cards. These cards were officially licensed by Nintendo and created by the same designers who worked on the first series. The cards closely resembled the first series and kept the "6-Card Fun Pak" name. Each package included two cards from a group of 20 At the Kennel cards (which featured all 18 breeds from the games, including the Dalmatian and Jack Russell Terrier), one card from a set of nine Dog in Training tip cards, one card from a group of four Miscellaneous cards, one card from a set of 20 Pop-Up Cards, one sheet of stickers from six different designs, one temporary tattoo from four options, and one Sweepstakes card. This series also included three different package designs, each featuring a Dalmatian, Beagle, or Pug on the front.

A line of Nintendogs plush toys was released in Japan, showing the most popular breeds from each game. These toys are also sold at the Nintendo World Store. Various Nintendogs T-shirts were also available at the Nintendo World Store. In Europe and Australia, a series of plush toys with an electronic sensor was released. When the owner shook the toy’s bone, the dog would move and make barking sounds. Nintendo also released a set of plush toys through Earthwood Toys.

Nintendo created several specially designed Nintendo DS systems to match the game’s release. One of these was a pink Nintendo DS covered in diamonds, designed by Peach NYC. This DS was auctioned in 2024, and the winning bid was nearly $20,000.

Reception

The game received praise from critics, earning an average score of 85% on Game Rankings. In the May 2005 issue of Famitsu, Japan’s most popular gaming magazine, Nintendogs was given a perfect score of 40 out of 40. At that time, only four other games had achieved this score. It also received an 8.5 out of 10 in Nintendo Power. Game Informer gave it an 8 out of 10, noting the game did not include an ending. Game Oracle awarded it 85% and recommended it, stating it had more depth than most simulation games.

During its first week of release in Japan (April 18, 2005, to April 24, 2005), the three versions of the game—Shiba & Friends, Miniature Dachshund & Friends, and Chihuahua & Friends—sold 75,000, 49,000, and 44,000 copies, respectively, for a total of 168,000 units. This game also increased Nintendo DS system sales by more than 4.2 times compared to the previous week, reaching 95,000 units sold, up from 22,000. It ranked as the 91st best-selling game in Japan in 2008, with 142,591 copies sold that year. By 2008, the game had sold a total of 1,850,984 copies in Japan.

In Europe, Nintendogs was the top-selling Nintendo game of 2005, with 1.6 million copies sold that year. Globally, it sold 23.96 million copies, making it the second best-selling Nintendo DS game of all time. Nintendo reported that most owners of the game were female.

The game had successful launches in North America and Europe, selling over 250,000 and 160,000 copies in their first weeks, respectively. Lab & Friends received a "Double Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 600,000 copies in the United Kingdom. ELSPA also gave Dalmatian & Friends a "Platinum" award for sales of at least 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom. By August 2006, in the United States, Chihuahua & Friends had sold 570,000 copies and earned $17 million; Labrador & Friends had sold 620,000 copies and earned $19 million; and Dachshund & Friends had sold 730,000 copies and earned $22 million. Between January 2000 and August 2006, these games ranked 50th, 44th, and 32nd among the highest-selling games for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, or PlayStation Portable in the United States.

On March 23, 2006, at GDC 2006, Nintendo’s president, Satoru Iwata, announced that international sales of Nintendogs had reached 6 million copies. By March 31, 2008, the game was the best-selling Nintendo DS game published by Nintendo. As of March 31, 2015, combined sales of all versions had reached 23.96 million copies, making it the second best-selling Nintendo DS game, behind New Super Mario Bros.

Nintendogs received recognition from publications such as Entertainment Weekly, BusinessWeek, and the Chicago Sun Times. It also won several awards, including:
– E3 2005 Game Critics Awards: Best Handheld Game
– TheG33ks Bronze Award for Best Nintendo DS Game
– Associated Press: "Best Game of 2005"
– 2005 Japan Media Arts Festival: Excellence Prize
– PC World: "2006 Innovation Award"
– D&AD: Yellow Pencils Award 2006
– PETA: Best Animal-Friendly Video Game 2006
– IGN: Editors’ Choice Award
– IGN: Best Use of Touch Screen for Nintendo DS
– GameSpot: Editors’ Choice Award
– AIAS 9th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards: Handheld Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering (tied with Guitar Hero)

In 2010, 1UP.com included Nintendogs in their list of five "Essential Newcomers" of the decade, calling it one of five "revolutionary new games" that helped attract non-gamers to console and portable systems and helped define the "new" Nintendo. Despite criticism from some hardcore gamers, Nintendogs sold tens of millions of copies, mostly among casual gamers, and contributed to the Nintendo DS’s worldwide success. This trend led to more casual games being developed for consoles and handheld systems. Nintendo continued this approach with games like Brain Age, Wii Sports, and Wii Fit, helping Nintendo become one of the most successful game developers and publishers of the decade.

Sequel and later references

During Nintendo's 2010 E3 presentation, it was announced that Shigeru Miyamoto was developing a new Nintendogs project with new features. The game, named Nintendogs + Cats, was completed in 2011 for the Nintendo 3DS and released as one of the first games available for the system in all regions.

A small game based on Nintendogs is included in WarioWare: Smooth Moves. A Labrador Retriever puppy from Nintendogs appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as an assist trophy. Because Nintendogs is a nonviolent game, the dog does not fight but instead plays in front of the screen, blocking the view. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, a French bulldog takes the place of the Labrador Retriever. The Nintendogs + Cats stage is featured in the Nintendo 3DS version. Both the assist trophy, now a Toy Poodle, and the stage return in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. In Animal Crossing: City Folk and its sequel, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, players can purchase Nintendogs-themed items as downloadable content using in-game money.