Launched back in 2005 as one of the Nintendo DS's main launch titles, Nintendogs rapidly became a hit among players and successfully enshrined itself as the beginning of a 'non-game' trend, drawing in crowds of gamers. Were it not for Nintendogs and its meteoric rise to become the Nintendo DS's second best-selling game in its lifetime, games like Wii Sports or Wii Fit may never have come to pass to carry the torch for 'non-gamers'.
The franchise still lives on, though, with its last entry serving as launch title for the 3DS and expanded to Nintendogs + Cats, illustrating that Nintendo continues to have faith in the series. It's disappointing, then, that at the time the Switch was launched, Nintendogs was uncharacteristically absent from its line-up. Not only would it have been perfectly suited to the platform, combining the benefits of handheld, touchscreen, and motion control play styles, but it could have continued its legacy of appealing to non-gamers since its inception. With the release of Nintendo Switch Sports and the recent popularity of 'non-game' games, now is the right time to bring Nintendogs back to the scene.
The History And Success Of Nintendogs
Shockingly, the original concept behind Nintendogs saw it begin life back in the days of the Nintendo 64 as a prototype pet breeding simulator called Cabbage, but while the initial game eventually saw its development drop off, the ideas and conversations that went into its development carried on. Perhaps Nintendogs might have seen its release on the Game Cube instead, but as the DS was in development, it was Shigeru Miyamoto who took the executive decision to bring the concept to the handheld console. Inspired by his own experience of owning a family dog, Nintendogs finally got off the ground and its scope quickly expanded to make use of all the DS's new features, focusing gameplay on utilizing the new touchscreen functionality and capitalizing on the portability to further expand its reach with other players.
The initial release of Nintendogs was one of the DS's launch titles actually saw it receive multiple different iterations of the same base game. Approximately 5 different versions were sold upon release, several of which were region-specific: Labrador & Friends, Dalmatian & Friends, Daschund & Friends, and Shiba Inu & Friends, with a fifth version innocuously titled Best Friends. The choice was made by Nintendo to keep Shiba Inu & Friends as a unique release to Japan given the breed's popularity, with Labrador & Friends replacing it for the European and North American markets.
Best Friends was also another region-specific release, only ever making it to North America, making it somewhat of an outlier from its siblings. While all breeds were ultimately unlockable through gameplay, making the version differences a little perfunctory, all the released versions boosted sales for the DS fourfold from the previous week. The game became so popular that it earned gained celebrity endorsements, with the likes of Paris Hilton declaring herself a Nintendogs fan. In addition, though it performed admirably in Japan, the game positively exploded within Europe, becoming Nintendo's top-selling game that year with 1.6 million copies sold and overall selling 23.96 million copies worldwide, beaten to Nintendo's top spot by New Super Mario Bros.
Nintendogs' Continuing Legacy
It's no surprise that after becoming such a big seller in Nintendo's line-up, Nintendogs saw plenty of appreciation and recognition from other games. Even today games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and its predecessors paid homage to the series by featuring a level inspired by Nintendogs, complete with Assist Trophies and Spirits that show off the adorable Toy Poodle, French Bulldog, and Labrador Retriever. Its success also earned it a sequel with Nintendogs + Cats for the 3DS launch, which sought to expand on the foundations of the original by combining newer features such as the front-facing camera and AR functionality. Though it maybe wasn't as successful as its older counterpart, Nintendogs + Cats and its 3 versions did achieve the accolade of being the 3DS's first platinum game, selling 1.7 million copies within its first 2 months.
As such, it is odd that Nintendogs is missing from the Nintendo Switch. Even if a new game was never planned for the launch of the console, the Switch marks Nintendo's movement away from traditional home consoles and more to a new hybrid of at-home plus handheld gaming, so a return for Nintendogs should surely be inevitable to help with this transition. Not only is the game already poised to take advantage of all the functionality the Switch offers, but a new installment could bring all the various iterations throughout Nintendog's history together under one roof, possibly going even further to include more breeds, more animals, and more cooperative play with the Joy-Cons.
Moreover, with the recent release of Nintendo Switch Sports and its success, Nintendo is demonstrating that it's fully interested in bringing back its classic games and series to the Switch. Nintendogs should be one of the hundreds of games that have been or will be ported, remastered, or even remade for the Switch, as it has been a disappointment to fans to not see it make the cut. With the DS line of consoles slowly fading from relevancy, so too is Nintendogs.
Is Nintendogs Getting Replaced?
It might be hard to come to terms with the fact Nintendogs may no longer be on Nintendo's list of priorities for Switch games, but this might be because the market for pet sims is beginning to get a little crowded. Following the success of Nintendogs, many clones tried to follow in its wake, but none could quite capture the same lightning-in-a-bottle that Nintendo had. However, in the absence of any new Nintendogs on the Switch, plenty of replacements have emerged to fill Nintendogs' void. Games such as Little Friends: Dogs & Cats, A Shiba Story, and Puppies And Kittens all take after their inspiration of providing non-gamers with non-gaming content they crave.
Nintendo is also now contending with a gaming market specifically aimed at non-gamers, with new releases designed with non-traditional play styles in mind. Success with games such as Unpacking creates a more accessible experience for players who don't share the same high-energy adventures that come standard with other games. With a multitude of franchises already on its plate, including Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Pokemon, not forgetting all the various spin-offs they bring, maybe Nintendo is deciding to place Nintendogs back into its archives for the time being to focus on games it knows there is a higher demand for. It would sadly seem then that every Nintendog has its day. In the meantime, here's hoping though that someday soon Nintendogs will finally make its Switch debut.
