Nintendogs, or when Nintendo made us all adopt a puppy (20 years ago)

There are games that mark an era, which capture the air of time and transform it into a cultural phenomenon. However, 20 years ago, in 2005 therefore, on Nintendo DS, the little Japanese craftsman succeeded in a master stroke with Nintendogs. Additionally, However, A simple concept. For example, almost naive on paper: raising a virtual dog, feeding it, caressing it, playing with it and taking it for a walk. Meanwhile, And that’s it? Nevertheless, Yes, that’s all. However, But behind this idea “cute“. In addition, It is a small fun revolution that has taken place, and which has left in the memory of a whole generation a scent of digital tenderness.

In the little world of video games, years go by … Consequently, but passion and memories remain! Consequently, Re: Play returns to nintendogs, when nintendo made us the great classics in the history of video games. Meanwhile, A little return to the future past. However, in search of your child’s soul or adolescent, the same one that has probably already done you (or will make you) pronounce the magic formula “it was better before”. Similarly, What if it was true …? Consequently, So we blow in the cartridge, let’s go for Re: Play!

When we caressed our Nintendo DS – Nintendogs, when nintendo made us

At the end of 2004 (and in March 2005 with us). Meanwhile, the Nintendo DS arrived with its double screen and especially … For example, its touch screen. However, At the time, it was more than a technical innovation: it was a promise of new interactions. Furthermore, When launching. Therefore, the Nintendo DS can count on certain titles to highlight its touch capacities, notably with Project Rub, Zoo Keeper or Wario Ware Tour, without forgetting Yoshi Touch & nintendogs, when nintendo made us Go, Pac Pix and other Kirby the brush of power a few weeks later.

But Nintendogs was one of the first games to exploit this idea brilliantly. No more joystick. buttons: here, we caressed his puppy at the end of the stylus, we launched a frisbee of a fluid gesture, we gave the bowl in “sliding” simply the icon in its bowl.

And then there was the microphone. Who still remembers having repeated 15 times “Rex” or “Medor” for the game to record the dog’s name correctly? We rained a little … But once our virtual four -legged companion really came when we called it, the magic operated.

Launched in Japan in April 2005. the game is a huge success, and makes it possible to boost the sales of a Nintendo DS then a bit Moribonde. On the magazine side Famitsuwe even attributed the supreme note of 40/40 to the Nintendo game and. contrary to what was initially planned, it is quickly decided to decline Nintendogs in the United States and Europe, where it will be marketed in August 2005 and in October of the nintendogs, when nintendo made us same year respectively.

A game … or a pet? – Nintendogs, when nintendo made us

The force of Nintendogs was to blur the boundaries between video games and virtual animal. It was not just a series of mini-games, but a relationship that was built day after day. We opened the console in the morning to see if our puppy had slept well. we walked in the virtual street, we made him do his needs, we made him participate in training competitions or to launch frisbee, then we left to work (in real life).

This impression of proximity to his animal was unique at the time, and each player fed a real tenderness towards his virtual companion. nintendogs, when nintendo made us By opening his console after a few days, we found his hungry dog and requiring a good shower.

And then there was this surprising realism for the time: each dog had its temperament, its preferences, its small manias. Some were constantly demanding to play, others preferred to learn tricks. Impossible not to get attached.

In terms of availability, if Nintendo has a time planned to launch a game by dog breed, the Japanese company finally opted for a launch in three distinct editions, each offering in the star five breeds of different dogs. However, all breeds can be released over the progression.

In the western versions. to the fifteen nintendogs, when nintendo made us breeds put forward on the jackets are added two secret breeds to discover: the Jack Russell and the Dalmatian. Launched the following year. Nintendogs Dalmatien & his friends offered in his starting choices a Dalmatian, but also the most popular puppies of previous versions.

A planetary card and an ultra -general public game

Beyond the touching aspect, Nintendogs was a massive commercial phenomenon. In Europe, the release of the game has literally changed the game for Nintendo. During the holidays at 2005, Nintendo DS sales were multiplied by eight compared to the previous year. Yes, eight. The game appeals to a much wider audience than that of traditional gamers: children, parents, grandparents … Everyone wanted their little dog, so that the title is often out of stock (especially the Labrador version) in shops.

Globally, in just 2 years, Nintendogs flowed to more than 13.5 million copies, all versions combined, while the Nintendo park was tied the 43 million machines. Nintendo’s canine simulation ended his career in second place in the best -selling games on the console (with around 24 million sales). behind New Super Mario Bros. A success that has also helped to make DS one of the best -selling consoles in history.

If we replace ourselves in the context. Nintendo had already initiated with the Wii (a year later) an opening to a wider audience. But Nintendogs was one of the very first to demonstrate that video games could speak to everyone. No need for pro reflexes or knowing the combos by heart: it was enough to love nintendogs, when nintendo made us animals … and want to have fun. For Nintendo. it was a question of going to seduce the “casual gamers”, Which had no desire for any quest to accomplish, a level to complete, complex controls to assimilate …

The game also served as a window for the touch screen and the DS microphone. Long before the smartphones. he showed that one could interact intuitively with an electronic device, almost as if we touched reality. So much so that some parents saw a perfect alternative in nintendogs for their toddler who asked to have. a pet.

La nostalgie Nintendogs

Today, replaying Nintendogs is like opening an old card filled with nintendogs, when nintendo made us childhood memories. We find our well -trained puppies (or not). the objects we had won, and this sweet little music that welcomed us from the title screen. We find ourselves stupidly smiling by seeing our Labrador jump on us through the screen.

It is also a testimony of an era when Nintendo experienced a lot, sometimes with improbable concepts … but always with this ability to create emotion. Nintendogs was not an action game. nor an RPG, nor a puzzle game, it was a bubble of sweetness and hair.

So yes, we have aged, we may have swapped the DS for a Nintendo Switch or a PS5 … But somewhere, at the bottom of a drawer, there is still a Nintendogs cartridge waiting for us. And the day we relaunch it. there is no doubt that our little companion will immediately recognize us, such as the right dog that nintendogs, when nintendo made us he is.

Nintendogs, and after?

Nintendo tried to relaunch the concept with Nintendogs + Cats on 3DS in 2011. with Nolwenn and Nagui as Ambassadors for TV advertising. Sympathetic, but without the “waouh” effect of the first time. Perhaps because in the meantime, smartphones and tablets had democratized touch games, making experience less unprecedented. However, twenty years later, the imprint left by Nintendogs remains strong.

In the end, Nintendogs is not only a cult game: it is a symbol. That of an era when Nintendo managed to seduce both enthusiasts and neophytes, by betting on tenderness and interaction. In 2005, it was enough for a virtual puppy and a stylus so that millions of players fell in love … and for the Nintendo DS to find its place in homes.

Some Nintendogs cartridges “forgotten”For several years also reserve a surprise: by relaunching them. the little puppy is undoubtedly always nintendogs, when nintendo made us there … But a little sad (necessarily), and covered with fleas. To you to (re) play!

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