It's official. Nintendogs is a huge hit in Japan.
Japanese Judges Rate Nintendo's Puppies 'Perfect' as DS Sales Increase Fivefold
Animal lovers and Nintendo fans in Japan are proving that it's almost impossible to say no to a puppy. Nintendogs(TM), the new puppy simulator for Nintendo DS(TM), hit Japanese stores April 21. In its first week, it boosted daily sales of hand-held Nintendo DS systems more than five times the average daily sales rate of the previous seven weeks. It has become the fastest-selling DS game ever for Nintendo while receiving top marks from critics.
Nintendogs, which launches in North America later this year, lets players pick a puppy from a variety of breeds and train it to chase a ball, go for a walk or learn tricks. The realistic puppies respond to voice commands and to a rub or a tap on the touch screen of Nintendo DS. Nintendogs makes use of amazing artificial intelligence.
But the appeal of Nintendogs goes beyond cuteness. Four notoriously tough game reviewers scrutinized Nintendogs for Weekly Famitsu, Japan's leading video game magazine. All four reviewers returned with top scores of 10, for an extraordinary overall perfect score of 40.
Some English-speaking fans already have imported copies of Nintendogs for their Nintendo DS systems and are blogging about their experiences. One example can be found at puppytimes.blogspot.com:
"Here I am, 30 years old and I'm talking to my virtual dog. Even more alarming is how totally disarmed and attached I feel to the little bugger already." In addition, Nintendo has video and screen shots of the adorable puppies in action at www.nintendo.com.
