62/100
Players9 ratings: 65/100
Critics2 reviews

Where to get it

Nintendo eShop

2011 · Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development · Simulation · Virtual pet

Nintendogs + Cats

Nintendo exclusive

nintendogs + cats, a game that lets players interact with realistic puppies - and kittens - in a variety of fun ways. There are three versions of the software, each with different starting breeds: French bulldog, toy poodle and golden retriever. But in each version players can unlock and enjoy more than 20 different breeds.

Released: 26 February 2011
Platforms: Nintendo 3DS
Genres: Simulation Virtual pet
Developers: Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development
Publishers: Nintendo
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: First person
Country: Japan
Age ratings: PEGI 3 CERO A ESRB E
Languages: Chinese (Simplified), Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese (Portugal), Russian, Spanish (Spain)
Copies sold: 1.7 million as of 2011-03-31

About

Nintendogs + Cats is a 2011 pet simulation video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. It is a sequel to the Nintendogs games for the Nintendo DS. It was released as a launch title for the system on February 26, 2011, in Japan, March 25, 2011, in Europe and March 27, 2011, in North America.

It is one of the first online-enabled games to use the Nintendo Network and is the first such Nintendo-published game, although the Nintendo Network brand itself was not revealed until early 2012. All three editions of the game were re-released on the Nintendo eShop on January 30, 2013, in Japan, December 19, 2013, in Europe and November 6, 2014, in North America.

Keywords

streetpass support

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Much of the gameplay is common to the original Nintendogs, including various breeds of dogs and cats, and training exercises. There is now a tutorial for each trick as the game progresses, and the player is no longer required to say the exact name of the trick. Touchscreen, microphone, and camera input uses facial recognition technology to interact with the player. For example, after a while, the pet will facially recognize and greet the player, and may react negatively to a new player. If the face is close to the camera, then the puppy will come up to lick it; they will also mimic a head tilt.

Competitions have five cups each: Junior, Amateur, Pro, Master, and Nintendogs. In addition to Disc Competition and Obedience Trial, there a new competition, Lure Coursing.

Development

Designer Shigeru Miyamoto stated that the idea of dogs and cats getting along came from his own pets. This made him think of the Disney movie The Incredible Journey and its 1993 remake, Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey. He stated that "Making a game called Nintencats just didn't seem right for Nintendo", so he brought cats into Nintendogs. The game was announced alongside the 3DS during Nintendo's E3 press conference.

Reception

Nintendogs + Cats received mixed reviews by critics, having an aggregate score of 74.14% on GameRankings and 71/100 on Metacritic. Japanese magazine Famitsu gave the game a 38/40, the highest score of all Nintendo 3DS launch titles.

Two months after the first launch, Nintendo announced sales of 1.71 million units, making it officially the first platinum game for the 3DS. As of December 31, 2015, the game has worldwide sales of 3.99 million.