Nintendogs Barks Up Big Bucks

Miyamoto's pet project looks to repeat its performance in the US and Japan in Europe. And it seems that it's drawing new people, too.

Though it didn't make it to the top of the UK charts last week, Nintendo's latest foray into games for non-gamers, Nintendogs, has gone down a storm in the Europe. More than 160,000 homes across the region are now filled with the sounds of owners pleading and playing with their virtual puppies, Nintendo has revealed.

The real question, though, is whether the game motivated those who usually wouldn't care to take notice. Nintendo's figures seem to suggest it has.

Last week's release of the game brought about a 400-700 per cent sales increase in the DS hardware, hinting that there were a lot of people who picked up a DS just for the game. This is a group Nintendo catered specifically for by providing bundles of Nintendogs with either a blue or pink DS.

Nintendo's Jim Merrick says that the game, which has become something of a phenomenon in the US and Japan, will "cement [the company's] position as leader in the portable market."

Getting non-gamers excited - or excited again - about games is Nintendo's main drive these days. Other hit non-games in Japan include a series focussed on brain building through puzzles and challenges.

Nintendo has hinted that this decidedly Japanese series could be making the jump to Europe. There's no word on whether the company's charming music game, Electroplankton, will do likewise.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games