With the incredibly popular pet stroking simulator, nintendogs + cats seeing off almost all competition in the aww stakes, it almost seems strange that no other publisher/developer have tried to get in on the action. Step in, Activision, who it seems are taking a slightly different approach.
Rather than simply letting you adopt your very own virtual pet, Activision instead are going to be providing everyone who buys Wappy Dog with a real one. OK, OK, so it's not a real, living breathing pet, but it is still a real dog. Only this one's made of plastic.
Woof!
According to the game's press release, which at the moment is all we have to go by, the Wappy Dog sounds sort of like a Furby. As you play games and interact with your Wappy Dog on your DS, your real life Wappy Dog will learn new tricks, with over 350 different responses on offer - just like a Furby. Unlike a Furby, you'll be able to converse with the Wappy Dog through your DS, and in an interesting twist, your dog will respond in bark form, which your DS will then translate!
As with Nintendogs, you'll be required to bath your Wappy (the one on the DS - not the real one. Boy, can we see this getting confusing), as well as feed it when it gets hungry, by using your DS. Coming with two modes, "Home Mode", which lets you interact with your Wappy Dog, and "Travel Mode", which lets you hit the road without the physical Wappy Dog, the game will transfer your progress to the Wappy Dog when you get home, letting you continue to bond with your new puppy, even when you're not at home.
It's a strange sounding idea, but an interesting one nonetheless, and one we'd be interested to find out more about. After all, who doesn't want a dog that can sing and dance, too?
Check out the game's official site, for the cheese-o-rific trailer.
