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.