From the Toysit archive
Nintendogs — Nintendo DS Puppy Companions
Meet the original Nintendo DS puppy game through voice, touch and outings, then draw a puppy outing diary of your own.
The play at a glance
A small companion with a day ahead
A dachshund looks out from the package with long ears beside its face, inviting the player to imagine a name and a familiar greeting. Nintendogs for Nintendo DS builds its puppy world around small encounters: calling a companion over, choosing something to play with and setting off on an outing. The picture belongs to Dachshund & Friends; Toysit’s original story introduces all three US launch packages.
A greeting, a toy, an outing
Nintendo’s booklet starts with a kennel visit and a name spoken into the microphone, then entered on the touch screen. At home, the stylus becomes a way to pet the puppy and handle its toys. A ball can be sent across the screen; a familiar name can bring the puppy’s attention back to the player.
Outings add a little route-making. Draw a walk that returns home, within the puppy’s available stamina, and choose places along the way. The game also offers disc, agility and obedience contests. These make different kinds of days: an outing, some practice, then time at home. Use the home-screen save icon to keep progress.
Bark Mode connects nearby DS systems, each with its own Nintendogs card. Trainer information can be exchanged, so Nintendo advises keeping personal information out of names, comments and recorded messages.
Try a puppy outing diary
Fold a sheet into three panels and invent a puppy. Give it a name and one recognizable mark—a pale ear, a spotted paw or an enormous eyebrow. Carry that detail through every drawing.
- Getting ready: draw the puppy waiting beside the door. Add a speech bubble for the greeting you imagine it hearing.
- A discovery: draw something encountered on the walk, such as a leaf shaped like a boat or a neighbor’s unusual hat. Give the puppy a curious pose.
- Back at home: choose a quiet closing scene. Perhaps the puppy watches the leaf from its cushion while the narrator writes one sentence about the day.
A partner can add the friendly neighbor and a new discovery for tomorrow. Keep yesterday’s familiar landmark so the two diary pages feel like parts of the same neighborhood. These are invented scenes for paper storytelling.
The original launch story
The August 21, 2005 account below preserves its three package descriptions, competition and trainer-point wording, and commentary about carrying a virtual puppy around. It records the excitement surrounding the original DS release.
The historical record
Original Toysit coverage
The complete earlier product account and commentary are preserved below as historical coverage.
Puppy simulator for Nintendo DS lets owners name, train, and play with realistic dogs who respond to voices through a microphone
Nintendogs is a puppy simulator for Nintendo DS that lets owners name, train, and play with a realistic puppy. The dogs respond to their owners' voices with the built-in microphone, and react to praise and positive reinforcement via the Nintendo DS touch screen. Artificial intelligence simulates a real dog. Nintendogs players pick from eighteen breeds, then owners feed their pups, buy them new toys, and take them for walks as they bond.
The game becomes available in the United States on Monday. Dogs have become hip fashion accessories, complete with their dedicated lines of jewelry and clothing.
The U.S. version will come in three different packages, each with six different breeds of puppies to begin with, including three breeds (golden retriever, husky, and boxer) not available in the Japanese version. Owners will be able to choose from the most popular breeds to train on their Nintendo DS systems.
The package of Nintendogs featuring the Labrador retriever on the cover also will have breeds like miniature schnauzer, toy poodle, Pembroke Welsh corgi, miniature pinscher, and shiba inu.
The package with the Chihuahua on the cover also will have breeds like a German shepherd dog, boxer, cavalier King Charles spaniel, Yorkshire terrier, and Shetland sheepdog.
And the miniature dachshund edition also will have breeds like golden retriever, beagle, pug, Siberian husky and Shih Tzu. Nintendogs lets owners choose a puppy from one of 18 breeds, then raise and train the pup. The pet simulation produce incredibly realistic and cute puppies that respond to voice commands and petting on the touch screen. Owners can teach their puppies new tricks, compete in obedience and agility trials, or compete in flying disk competitions. Successful trainers earn money and trainer points to use to buy additional breeds, new toys, and accessories.
Sources and editorial notes
This profile concerns the original DS game. Nintendo’s US booklet supports the interactions below; the later Nintendogs + Cats is a separate game. The preserved breed lists describe US launch selections, not eighteen puppies available at the start. Trainer points and spendable money are distinct. The diary is an original Toysit storytelling idea; game care is not guidance for caring for a real dog. No gameplay or hardware testing was performed.
- Original Toysit image — Existing same-site image reviewed and retained unchanged.
- Nintendo: original Nintendogs instruction booklet — US booklet 58289A; supplied 24 PDF sheets and diagrams reviewed, especially printed pages 6–39 and 42–43. Bark Mode is local wireless. The Animal Crossing advertisement at the back concerns another game.
- Original Toysit coverage — Complete historical account retained, including its original claims and wording.
Images and descriptions are retained as historical material. How Toysit covers toys.
Created for Toysit by Tabbloza — the artwork in our header.