Nintendogs Barks Up the Right Tree

Nintendogs(TM) has become a pop-culture phenomenon in Japan and will be available Aug. 22 in the United States. Dogs have become hip fashion accessories, complete with their dedicated lines of jewelry and clothing.

Nintendo's kennel club represents a virtual "who's who" of best-in-show contenders. The U.S. version of the smash-hit pet simulator Nintendogs for Nintendo DS(TM) 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 uses sophisticated artificial intelligence to 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 trials 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. Nintendogs is the pet for people who can't have the real thing.

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