Let me introduce Funky. He's a young, short-haired Chihuahua with a happy temperament and distaste for learning new tricks. With a job and family duties, it's hard to give Funky the attention he deserves. But I've surprised myself. Even though I'm more of a cat-lover than a dog-lover, I'm showing a great degree of commitment to this new pup. He's a great companion, he's got a wiry sense of humor and -- don't tell him this -- he's not real.

Such is a common paradox of "Nintendogs," a new game for the Nintendo DS handheld system. The game has no battles, no puzzles, no story and no ending, making it hard to describe it as a video game. Pet simulator is a more accurate description as Nintendo designed it to draw out players' nurturing instincts by caring for a virtual puppy. On your first day you take a puppy home from the kennel, name it and treat it just as you would a living, breathing pup. This simple software is priced at 4,800 yen, but here's the shocker -- it's worth every yen.

Not to be left out by Japan's puppy mania thanks in part to the immensely popular Aiful television commercials, Nintendo has readied three slightly different versions of "Nintendogs" for retail shelves. Each version features a popular breed of dog: Chihuahua, Shiba and Dach. Players who want a baby Shiba are encouraged to buy the green "Shiba & Friends" version, giving them instant access to that breed. Players can access other breeds not included in their version by connecting wirelessly to friends who own different version. While it's initially disappointing that all 15 breeds are not available in a single version, this is meant to encourage a "Nintendogs" community with organized trading events.

What separates "Nintendogs" from the pack of other pet simulators like cell phone-embedded Post Pet and Tamagotchi-inspired tchotchke is inherent in the Nintendo DS hardware. The handheld's touch-screen adds a degree of tangibility as owners can pet, scratch, shampoo and rinse their virtual canine with their finger or a plastic stylus. The motion-captured dogs respond realistically to actions, licking their lips as you rub their chin and rolling over to encourage some tummy scratching. At times your puppy's programmed happiness can get creepy, simply because it's so convincing. What's even more eerie is the way you'll find yourself smiling and laughing at the sight of your puppy, which was programmed in 1's and 0's by engineers in Kyoto.

You may even find yourself speaking to your pet, but thankfully your dog can hear everything you say as "Nintendogs" utilizes the DS's built-in microphone to allow owners to shout verbal commands at their pup or offer simple words of encouragement. Players begin by assigning their pup a name by repeating it into the microphone several times before the name is digitally encrypted and stored on the game's cartridge. Once your pup understands its name, verbal commands like "sit," "lay down" and "roll over" can be assigned to tricks it performs.

Once you've bored with petting, bathing and teaching your pet tricks, it's time to venture outdoors for a walk around the block. This is when "Nintendogs" fires up the DS's integrated Wi-Fi capabilities. Stepping outside opens you and your pup to the outside world (populated by fellow "Nintendogs" owners). If by chance your DS handheld connects automatically with a neighboring unit, the two virtual canines will cross paths, sniff each other and exchange digital business cards.

"Nintendogs" has only been on store shelves a few weeks and already its community is thriving. My "Nintendogs"-armed DS has already found five other Nintendog owners on my commute through Osaka Station with the handheld packed away in my handbag. On one occasion an elementary school student and her mother noticed I had the game and stopped me to link up. It was obvious that the girl cared deeply for her puppy, a chocolate-colored Shiba with a pink collar, and welcomed my dog with a big smile on her face. I nearly ruined this fun digital encounter as dozens of social insights flooded my mind while we petted each other's fake pets. I thought of how curiously lifelike these dogs appeared and the problems of pet ownership in Japan, and how brilliantly conceived "Nintendogs" is and how disastrous these nongames could be for the game industry. Of course this third-grader didn't concern herself with such silly adult topics -- she just loved her digital doggy.