<![CDATA[Kotaku: pet sim]]> http://tags.kotaku.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/kotaku.com.png <![CDATA[Kotaku: pet sim]]> http://kotaku.com/tag/petsim http://kotaku.com/tag/petsim <![CDATA[Kitty and Puppy Love Explosion]]> Forget the Covenant. Forget the Flood. There is a war going on right here, right now. A war that has been waged for hundreds of years. It's time to choose where your allegience lies. Do you love puppoes, or kitties? You can't sit on the fence like Tri Synergy, who are releasing I LOVE Puppies and I LOVE Kittens on the PC at the end of this month. Both games feature young animals you must train, groom, and play games with. Both offer a treasure chest of rewards to the successful animal lover. The only difference? Cats and dogs. Visit TriSynergy.com and choose your side. Now it is time to finish the fight.

]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=304666&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Dolphins Join DS Pet Sim Genre]]> Come on folks, we've got to run out of cute animals at some point. 505 Games had to go aquatic for their new DS pet sim for November, Dolphin Friends, which features a rather Flipperesque tale of a young child befriending a cute little dolphin, only with the more realistic twist of teaching it tricks to make money instead of solving crimes like some waterlogged Lassie. Players will be able to train the dolphin, encourage it with petting, and feed it various foods (fish and...? Skittles? Small rocks?) in order to gain its trust, which you will ultimately betray by turning it into some sort of performing freak the other dolphins will laugh at. I highly doubt fin rot or dolphin/human love will factor into the title, though there is a comprehensive dolphin encyclopedia that makes up for those omissions none at all.


DOLPHINS DON THE DS, COURTESY OF 505 GAMES

505 Games today announced another bolt from the deep blue with Dolphin Friends, available 9th November for Nintendo DS. As the latest addition on the virtual pet genre, Dolphin Friends tasks younger gamers with raising and nurturing their very own water-bound buddy, schooling them up on stunning tricks and performing to the crowds to rapturous applause.

Using the stylus, trainers are able to directly interact with their new Dolphin friends. This includes playing simple ball games, feeding them with the right foods at the right time and stroking their heads to reward improvement in ability. The dolphins will react positively or with a degree of reticence depending on how you choose to communicate with them. Learning how best to treat your dolphin is the key to earning their trust.

Once your new friend is onside, it's time to work out some tricks and routines. This is implemented using intuitive actions such as dragging the head right for a right turn, dragging the head left for a left turn and drawing a circle for the dolphins to swim around. The performances in the pool in front the crowds let you know how much your dolphin has improved. Watch their reactions to judge how well your training has gone!

Is dolphin training proving to be a little tougher than you thought? The comprehensive help mode and encyclopaedia of dolphin facts will point you in the right direction, or simply offer an interesting reference point!

With no strict objectives to achieve or time limits to keep an eye on, Dolphin Friends is the perfect companion game to keep young hands busy whilst educating them on the life and habits of the most charming of sea creatures.

Published by 505 Games and developed by Starfish, Dolphin Friends will be released 9th November for Nintendo DS.

]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=294543&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Empire Gives Way To Animal Paradise]]> Nintendogs? Purr Pals? Horsez? We've been thinking too narrowly. What we need is a whole freaking farm full of cute animals to play with and love on until their heartbreaking death that teaches children a little something about mortality. Empire Interactive has captured that sweeping vision in Animal Paradise, a DS game coming in November that puts you in the shoes of a young person on a farm charged with caring, feeding, photographing and playing with up to 18 animals. You have a slew of dogs, a couple cats, hamsters, rabbits, a pig, a horse, a squirrel, chickens and a duck, all featuring Yoneo Morita's Hanadeka style of freakish, big-nose animal photography. The only way to top this lineup is if the Gran Turismo team switched to pet sims, but then we'd get dev vids of them sticking microphones in horrible places for realism's sake. Animal Paradise is set for a November release. Hit the jump for the press release, which includes the name being mistyped as 'Animal Planet'.

Empire Interactive Noses Ahead in Pet Product Genre

LONDON, ENGLAND, June 11th, 2007 - Empire Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of Silverstar Holdings (NASDAQ: SSTR), today announced it will be releasing Animal Paradise, a 'pet product' featuring the extremely popular Yoneo Morita's Hanadeka style of animal photography.

Animal Paradise will settle firmly into the latest genre of 'pet products'. The handheld market has been revolutionized by the popularity of the new 'pet product' genre with titles storming to the top of the charts usually dominated by the more traditional style of games.

Become best friends with all the animals in the farm. Feed, clean, walk and play with the animals, making sure they are well looked after and happy, so you can become good friends with all the animals and your uncle and his assistant can take great photos of them.

Animal Planet will also feature Yoneo Morita's massively popular Henedeka style of photography. Yoneo Morita is the most famous and enthusiastic pet photographer in Japan. Exploring the world around him, he is a pioneer in the art of pet photography utilising fisheye lenses.

The brand name "HANADEKA" is a cute and catchy way of saying "Big Nose" in Japanese. In essence, it is the name which best expresses the artistic style and theme inherent to the entire product line.

Key Features
• Feature Yoneo Morita's Hanadeka (Big Nose) style of animal photography.
• Feed the animals their favourite foods to keep them fit and healthy.
• Always make sure the animals are happy and clean so they stay your best friend.
• Take great photograph of your pet friends, collect the pictures and complete your photo album.
• Animal Paradise feature 18 different animals for you to meet, befriend and photgraph.
• The 'pet products' genre has become one of the best selling styles of products for the Nintendo DS.


Featured Animals
Miniature Deutchhound (Dog)
Welsh Corgi (Dog)
Labrador Retriever (Dog)
Golden Retriever (Dog)
Shiba (Dog)
Chi-Wa-wa (Dog)
American Shorthair (Cat)
Russian Blue (Cat)
Netherland Dwarf (Rabbit)
Lop-Ear (Rabbit)
Golden Hamster
Jangalian Hamster
Miniature Pig
Horse
Squirrel
Chick
Chicken
Duck

Animal Paradise is scheduled for release in November 2007 (?) for the Nintendo DS RRP of £????.

]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=291180&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Branding Run Amuck, The Tamagotchi Battery]]>

At little more than ten years ago, Bandai made schoolgirls scream with delight by introducing the portable pet sim Tamagotchi. Now, Bandai has teamed up with electronics maker Maxell to unleash a new product: the Tamagotchi button battery. Did I mention there will only be 30,000 of these produced? Battery goes on sale August 10th and will be greeted with a cold, harsh silence cast over school yards across Japan. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Digital World Tokyo]

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