If there were a trophy for missing open goals, Nintendo would have a fair few in the cabinet. For example, why didn’t we get a new Donkey Kong game back when the Super Mario Bros. movie launched last year? Why wasn’t the Wii U called ‘Wii 2’? And why, for the love of god, is there no Nintendogs game on Switch?
There was a part of me, obviously swayed by some kind of Mandela effect, that was convinced the doggy daycare sim had gone on walkies on our beloved Nintendo hybrid in the last eight years. But no, I have consulted the Ancient Scrolls (our games database) and braved the Switch eShop, and no such game exists. That is, apart from the eerily similar-looking Little Friends: Dogs & Cats, but that’s no purebred Nintendo puppy.
This isn’t a franchise I’ve thought about for the best part of 20 years, but, upon realisation, the absence of a doggy in the Switch window seems like a glaring omission. The OG sold like hotcakes on the DS (heck, with 23.96 million copies sold, it was the handheld’s second best-seller after New Super Mario Bros.), and while the creatively-named follow-up, Nintendogs + Cats, on the 3DS wasn’t quite as big of a Moment™, I struggle to think of many people who have never experienced the pain of trying to teach one of these virtual dogs to respond to its name.
You’d think Nintendo would do everything in its power to bring some of that DS and 3DS crowd over to the new system after the dark years of the Wii U, but no! Little-known curios like ‘Zelda’ and ‘Mario’ were apparently a “better business decision”, whatever that means.
The question is: why? The sales figures are clear as day, the cosy gaming scene has blossomed on Switch, and if deep cuts like Another Code and Endless Ocean have been given a seat at the table this year, why not the prize pup? I can only assume that there’s one simple answer: Nintendo hates puppies Switch hardware.
I played Nintendogs because I wasn’t allowed a real dog (something that I, a fully grown adult, am totally over), and all of the appeal was in replicating the ‘real dog’ experience without any of the messy, real-life stuff. The catch is that all of that fun was tied to the DS and, in most of those instances, the Switch ain’t gonna play ball.
Think about it; you pet, play with and clean the pup via the touchscreen. Training is a strangely realistic case of shouting into the microphone with varying degrees of impatience. You meet other dogs by putting the device in ‘Bark Mode’ and crossing paths with similar users in the real world — hey, StreetPass has a lot to answer for. A game without any of those features isn’t Nintendogs, it’s more like… well… Little Friends: Dogs & Cats.
I suppose I could give my GoodBoi a belly scratch on the Switch’s touchscreen, but docked mode isn’t going to give the same dopamine hit. I understand Little Friends subbed in motion controls as a replacement, but I have clear memories of mindlessly petting the air on the Xbox Kinect’s Kinectimals and the hilariously-titled follow-up Kinectimals: Now with Bears! (an attempt to capture the Nintendogs fever if I’ve ever seen one), and let me tell you, it was not the same.
This, paired with the absence of a mic and — the biggest sin of them all — no StreetPass-style wireless functionality, makes it difficult to imagine what Nintendogs on Switch would look like. Perhaps things would be different if the Switch 2 delivers on all of the above, but unless the form factor drastically changes to prioritise handheld play over everything else (and, looking at those rumours, it won’t), I might have to start being content with the idea that this is a Nintendo franchise better off going to live on the farm.
See? You do still have a reason to keep that DS charged.
But what do you think? Is there a home for Nintendogs on Switch and Switch 2? Would you like to see the series return one day? Bark your thoughts in the comments.
If there were a trophy for missing open goals, Nintendo would have a fair few in the cabinet. For example, why didn't we get a new Donkey Kong game back when the Super Mario Bros. movie launched last year? Why wasn't the Wii U called 'Wii 2'? And why, for the love of god, is there no Nintendogs game on Switch?
There was a part of me, obviously swayed by some kind of Mandela effect, that was convinced the doggy daycare sim had gone on walkies on our beloved Nintendo hybrid in the last eight years. But no, I have consulted the Ancient Scrolls (our games database) and braved the Switch eShop, and no such game exists. That is, apart from the eerily similar-looking Little Friends: Dogs & Cats, but that's no purebred Nintendo puppy.
This isn't a franchise I've thought about for the best part of 20 years, but, upon realisation, the absence of a doggy in the Switch window seems like a glaring omission. The OG sold like hotcakes on the DS (heck, with 23.96 million copies sold, it was the handheld's second best-seller after New Super Mario Bros.), and while the creatively-named follow-up, Nintendogs + Cats, on the 3DS wasn't quite as big of a Moment™, I struggle to think of many people who have never experienced the pain of trying to teach one of these virtual dogs to respond to its name.
You'd think Nintendo would do everything in its power to bring some of that DS and 3DS crowd over to the new system after the dark years of the Wii U, but no! Little-known curios like 'Zelda' and 'Mario' were apparently a "better business decision", whatever that means.
The question is: why? The sales figures are clear as day, the cosy gaming scene has blossomed on Switch, and if deep cuts like Another Code and Endless Ocean have been given a seat at the table this year, why not the prize pup? I can only assume that there's one simple answer: Nintendo hates puppies Switch hardware.
I played Nintendogs because I wasn't allowed a real dog (something that I, a fully grown adult, am totally over), and all of the appeal was in replicating the 'real dog' experience without any of the messy, real-life stuff. The catch is that all of that fun was tied to the DS and, in most of those instances, the Switch ain't gonna play ball.
Think about it; you pet, play with and clean the pup via the touchscreen. Training is a strangely realistic case of shouting into the microphone with varying degrees of impatience. You meet other dogs by putting the device in 'Bark Mode' and crossing paths with similar users in the real world — hey, StreetPass has a lot to answer for. A game without any of those features isn't Nintendogs, it's more like... well... Little Friends: Dogs & Cats.
I suppose I could give my GoodBoi a belly scratch on the Switch's touchscreen, but docked mode isn't going to give the same dopamine hit. I understand Little Friends subbed in motion controls as a replacement, but I have clear memories of mindlessly petting the air on the Xbox Kinect's Kinectimals and the hilariously-titled follow-up Kinectimals: Now with Bears! (an attempt to capture the Nintendogs fever if I've ever seen one), and let me tell you, it was not the same.
This, paired with the absence of a mic and — the biggest sin of them all — no StreetPass-style wireless functionality, makes it difficult to imagine what Nintendogs on Switch would look like. Perhaps things would be different if the Switch 2 delivers on all of the above, but unless the form factor drastically changes to prioritise handheld play over everything else (and, looking at those rumours, it won't), I might have to start being content with the idea that this is a Nintendo franchise better off going to live on the farm.
See? You do still have a reason to keep that DS charged.
But what do you think? Is there a home for Nintendogs on Switch and Switch 2? Would you like to see the series return one day? Bark your thoughts in the comments.
