As a kid in the 1990s, Tamagotchi were a mainstay in my little pockets as I got older. Taking care of little creatures on a variety of different circular devices taught me a bit of responsibility, and that meant that in 2005 I was ready to adopt my own virtual pet. It's easy to forget that Nintendogs was a phenomenon on the Nintendo DS. It was the second best-selling game on this console with almost 24 million units sold, and it made the game accessible (and interesting) to a whole new audience. A year later, Brain Age, or what you probably know of Dr. Kawashima's brain training, made its debut in the West. The combination of these two games has gained a whole new audience of casual gamers. So what happened to these types of titles? It could be said that these gamers have switched to mobile gaming. With smartphones starting to become the norm in 2010, top titles like Fruit Ninja, Candy Crush, Angry Birds, and more were easy to download from Apple's App Store or Google's alternative. More importantly, many of them were cheap (and in some cases free) and there was no need to buy additional hardware to play. As Nintendo now embraces mobile gaming, now is the time for Nintendogs to return by debuting on your smartphone. Unlike your Nintendo DS, you have your smartphone with you at all times. We're used to being pinged almost constantly with notifications from WhatsApp to news apps, so I wouldn't mind getting a notification that my virtual puppy needs to eat.
From DS to phone
Nintendogs as a mobile game makes a lot of sense to me, and as Nintendo continues its foray into mobile gaming with titles like Mario Kart Tour, Super Mario Run, and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, this looks like the next big addition. intelligent. Not all of these games have been positively received by critics, or even by gamers themselves, but Nintendogs could be the one to change that. Like Pokemon Go, Nintendogs' franchise (if you can call it that, since there weren't many iterations of this game) is fondly remembered and would immediately evoke nostalgia in a mobile version.
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(Image credit: Niantic) Plus, mobile phones feature all the technology that the Nintendo DS has to offer and more. Two great innovations from Nintendogs were the use of the touch screen where you could pet your favorite creature and you could talk to it through your microphone to tell it to sit down or roll over. Smartphones offer this feature, but there are others that could be accommodated as well. How about checking out the GPS functionality that allows you to take your dogs for a walk? People were happy to go explore the real world through Pokemon Go, so this feature could also be incorporated into a mobile version of Nintendogs. The online multiplayer elements would allow you to see your friends' dogs in a similar space, something the original game had, but wasn't the easiest process to accomplish, when you're in real life or sitting at home playing the game. only. It doesn't look like Nintendogs will ever be a major focus for Nintendo again, but if the company digs through its archives for more potential mobile hits, it's obviously unlikely to become a reality, but I can't help but think this is the next franchise in the catalog. from Nintendo that I could move from their handheld consoles to my smartphone. If you listen to Nintendo, I'd love to bring my original pup as well. He's 15 now, he's covered in chips and he's upset that my Nintendo DS is covered in dust at no charge in the bottom of my drawer.