Yep, Nintendogs is released
This week end was the celebration of Nintendogs in Tokyo.
This guy is promoting Nintendogs in front of a shop in Akihabara. He is wearing dog’s ears and is surrounded by boxes of the game. And in front of him stands a little fake puppy. He was the only one with the dog’s ears, but the scene was pretty much the same everywhere in Akihabara last Sunday.
Of course, most shops have Nintendogs on demo and you can just grab a Nintendo DS and play a little with the virtual puppy. There are toys you can choose and you and the dog can play with them together. Including this big rubber-like purple rope that you pull on one side while the dog bites in it and pulls it on the opposite side. Because the dogs in the game are still puppies, they are very light, and you can lift them using the rubber rope when they bite in it, and even make the dog swirl until it gets too dizzy and gets thrown to the wall. Not that I would ever do this to a real dog, but I wanted to see how far I could push the game, and I liked the result. Then, it comes back to you with a grin and expects a hug and some more playing… All this is done using the pen and tactile screen of course.
I have to admit I got into the game really fast. But I am not sure I wouldn’t snap out of it as quickly if I need to start feeding it and taking care of it like a tamagotchi…
Now, one of the landmark of Shibuya is the statue of a famous dog called Hachiko, who came to greet its master at Shibuya Station every day after work. When its master died in 1925, Hachiko returned every day to the station anyway, to wait for him. It did that for the next eleven years. This statue is extremely famous and the area is crowded of people because it is one of the most well-known and easy to find meeting spot in Shibuya. People will often tell you they’ll meet you “in front of Hachiko, Shibuya”.
Utada Hikaru (the smiling front woman for everything DS) plays Nintendogs in TV commercials, and nicknamed her puppy “Shinchan”. Surprisingly enough, Shinchan is also an Akiba, the same breed as Hachiko. So Nintendo played with the expression “in front of Hachiko” and turned it into “in front of Shinchan”.
They put a big poster with the caption “in front of Shinchan, Shibuya” just outside the gates of the Hachiko exit. And of course, underneath there is a pic of a Nintendo DS and Shinchan on the screen. Apparently, some girls already picked up the hint and are waiting for their friends just there.
Any of you bought Nintendogs yet? Did you find any cool tricks you can teach to dog?
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